months later, government guidance on ppe showed that items like those purchased from clandeboye agencies and others were suitable for use only as disposable aprons. it was now clear that the items the government had paid over £100 million for weren t the actual gowns the nhs had needed after all. government thought it was buying, arm, a rolls royce, erm, but it was getting a ford fiesta. jolyon maugham, a london based lawyer and founder of a legal campaign group, has taken the government to court over this and other covid contracts. we can t know whether civil servants in a tearing hurry, erm, ordered the wrong thing what we can know is the thing supplied for £108 million of public money
plague us if we get rundown at this time of year, including mouth ulcers. dr xand explains why tea doesn t cause them but there are some foods you may want to avoid. and if you re in need of something feel good, today we meet a remarkable woman, who s gone over and above for her local community, helping thousands in their hour of need. we ll be sharing the special moment she s crowned neighbour of the year. that is a lovely film. also today, if you re worried about the cost of christmas dinner or think it s too much hassle, chef theo michaels explains how you can easily serve up a tasty meal for under a fiverjust by using food from a can! an absolute bargain stop. 108 million rolls of gift wrap are thrown away every year in the uk, butjacqui joseph has some tips and tricks on how to get your presents looking perfect while saving paper and some cash. and to mark a0 years since the release of wham s first single, scott mills tells us how he s celebrating the music of the great george m
thank you so much, dr. peter hotez. so for many, putting the turkey leftovers away means heading to the mall or taking out your phone or scoring some great deals on holiday gifts but this year, waiting until this weekend to start your holiday shopping, that might be a little risky. let s go to nbc business and technology correspondent jolene kent with all the details. hey there. reporter: hey, alex. this black friday continuing to look very different than the rush of black fridays past. a lot of the mad dash for the good deals were happening online, and customers were going crazy for clothing. consumers embarking on the final stretch of holiday shopping. but instead of storming stores on black friday, many just sauntered in, looking for deep discounts. it s emptier than i expected it to be. reporter: on black friday, an estimated 108 million people shopped both in-store and online. 64% hitting physical stores, up from about half last year. but spending on thanksgiving day
brings a different kind of holiday. black friday. the day traditionally signifies the kickoff to holiday shopping season. this was the scene at the mall of america on friday. clothing led the way with 86% increase over last year. with supply chain bottlenecks and fears of inflation, shoppers, might find higher costs and effort shelves. alison kosik has the details. reporter: despite the fact that we re paying more for almost everything, consumers are shopping like crazy. the national retail federation is expecting this holiday season to see spending break records. consumers are expected to spend anywhere between 843 to $859 billion by the time this holiday shopping season is over. black friday expected to see 108 million people shop with 60% of those shopping isn t stores. why? unlike previous years where
crossing off the christmas list early and in person. i wanted to get out and get the experience. i didn t want to do everything on line. that s the whole experience, the month leading up to it. not just sitting in front of the computer and ordering it. today is the official kickoff to the holiday shopping season, but it looks different. deep discounted door buster deals that people used to camp out overnight to grab are the ghost of black friday pasts. several retailers stayed closed. this season, it s been a steady flow of sales. businesses trickling out deals weeks before thanksgiving. more people are shopping in person this year. 64% of the 108 million black friday shoppers are expected to be out and about today. but that doesn t mean there aren t some things getting shoppers a chill popping crisis from inflation, shipping snafus