the people of north shropshire have been represented by a conservative mp in the house of commons for the past two centuries. this thursday, voters there will be electing a new member of parliament in a parliamentary by—election caused by the resignation of owen paterson, who broke parliamentary rules on lobbying. our political correspondent alex forsyth has been talking to people in the constituency. in north shropshire are they not necessarily used to this attention, but this constituency has been thrown into sharp focus. it is the centre of a clinical contest thatis centre of a clinical contest that is particularly crucial for the conservatives. their candidate is trying to hold a seat that has been tory for decades, but for which he is having to fight.— decades, but for which he is having to fight. there are lots of distractions _ having to fight. there are lots of distractions nationally - having to fight. there are lots of distractions nationally but l of distractions nationally but what is important to me as i'm talking to the voters there, i'm talking to the constituency and putting forward a positive message, they would say among some of my opponents i'm the only candidate putting forward a positive message with solutions.— solutions. this is a vast constituency, _ solutions. this is a vast constituency, swathesl solutions. this is a vast. constituency, swathes of farmland scattered with market towns. most people here back to brexit. a loss here would be a blow for the conservatives. this time the lib dems are pitching themselves as the alternative.— pitching themselves as the alternative. think there is a very strong _ alternative. think there is a very strong sense _ alternative. think there is a very strong sense that - alternative. think there is a l very strong sense that people have been taken for granted by the conservatives so what we're saying is if they can send a message to the government that thatis message to the government that that is not acceptable anymore and elected mp that is going to listen to the people here and fight in the corner for them nationally. fight in the corner for them nationally-— fight in the corner for them nationall . ., , , ., nationally. labour is standing firm in this _ nationally. labour is standing firm in this fight, _ nationally. labour is standing firm in this fight, hoping - nationally. labour is standing firm in this fight, hoping they can cause a political upset. it's great, meeting and off a lot of people who usually vote story, as they do around here, who are frankly fed up, they feel like they have been taken for granted, it isjust feel like they have been taken for granted, it is just not a christmas party, it is about no—one who has been setting up for us. no-one who has been setting up for us. , . . for us. there is anger here at recent events. _ for us. there is anger here at recent events. they - for us. there is anger here at recent events. they are - for us. there is anger here at l recent events. they are abiding b their recent events. they are abiding by their own — recent events. they are abiding by their own rules _ recent events. they are abiding by their own rules and - recent events. they are abiding by their own rules and that, - recent events. they are abiding by their own rules and that, to | by their own rules and that, to me, is unacceptable.— me, is unacceptable. trying to keep conservatives _ me, is unacceptable. trying to keep conservatives out, - me, is unacceptable. trying to l keep conservatives out, working class _ keep conservatives out, working class boy— keep conservatives out, working class boy from a little village mining — class boy from a little village mining town, like. but class boy from a little village mining town, like.— mining town, like. but of course perspectives - mining town, like. but of. course perspectives differ. it isjust course perspectives differ. it is just a course perspectives differ. it isjust a distraction course perspectives differ. it is just a distraction from what is just a distraction from what is going on. there are more so —— serious things pandemic. they shall bow down conservative. tyrone downie things — conservative. tyrone downie things that are good and the things— things that are good and the things that are good and the things that are good and the things that are bad and i think barthet— things that are bad and i think barthet has done very, very well— barthet has done very, very well in _ barthet has done very, very well in adversity.— well in adversity. this by-election _ well in adversity. this by-election is - well in adversity. this by-election is an - well in adversity. this - by-election is an important by—election is an important measure of the public mood and important moment for boris johnson. there is honest in his party, but for many conservatives he is the man who has won the elections, so they will be watching to see if that happens here on traditional torrita are very few turbulent weeks in westminster. the challenges are circling. the green party saying local services have been neglect that. reform uk is out campaigning, even though their candidate has covid, hoping to capture disillusioned voters. the reclaimed party and ukip are pushing at the door as well. au summit has become a little frustrating. i’m well. au summit has become a little frustrating.— little frustrating. i'm sick death of— little frustrating. i'm sick death of everyone - little frustrating. i'm sick death of everyone telling people not to believe that intermodal because they go straight into the recycling bill. �* ., , straight into the recycling bill. �* ., straight into the recycling bill. ., ., ., bill. i'm a bit more tolerant, i think, bill. i'm a bit more tolerant, | think, that _ bill. i'm a bit more tolerant, i think, that my _ bill. i'm a bit more tolerant, i think, that my wife. -- - bill. i'm a bit more tolerant, | i think, that my wife. -- bin. i think, that my wife. —— bin. parties— i think, that my wife. —— bin. parties need to think long and hard _ parties need to think long and hard about how they treat their constituents.— constituents. there are multiple _ constituents. there are multiple factors - constituents. there are multiple factors at - constituents. there are multiple factors at playj constituents. there are - multiple factors at play here, local issues, the national picture, whatever colour people pick could determine just how merry this christmas is for the parties in this race. alex forsyth, bbc news, north shropshire. there are a total of ia candidates standing in the north shropshire by—election. here's a full list of them. and you can find more details about the by—election on our website — bbc.co.uk/news. and coverage on the website as the result is announced on the website. now on bbc news, it's time for the travel show with christa larwood. this week on the travel show: heading back for the first time in over two years. let's go to gate! squeals this aussie girl is finally going home. laying on a special treat as a thank you to thailand's monkeys. and how the aftermath of the second world war helped to create one of berlin's most famous takeaway snacks. but first, with the christmas holiday season beginning, many will be crossing their fingers for a return to something more like normality when compared to this time last year. particularly those expats heading home to family. and for australians who've been abroad during the pandemic, which includes myself, reuniting with family back home this year will be especially significant. there are a few things you have to do to go to australia. first of all, you need to be eligible to go to australia, it's not completely open, you have to be double vaccinated and be able to prove it, and then you get proof of that, you get an australia travel declaration, very similar to the arrival document you have to do the most places across the world now, and you have to do... one of these lovely pcr tests. so i will be dealing with that soon, you're not recording it! laughs i don't mind it at all, this is like an extra bit of my passport at the moment as far as i'm concerned. so it went from a situation where you could easily travel around the world at the drop of a hat to... ..you need to have a long—term plan and a lot of money to get into your own home country as an australian. i think the first reaction was shock, like everyone around the world when the pandemic hit, and also feeling quite grateful when australia did shut its borders initially, because it felt like, well, everything is being done to keep my family and friends safe, and surely this is a sensible precaution. but it was this low—lying kind of stress because it meant if something happened to someone at home, instead of being 2a hours away, 36 hours away maximum, now you just couldn't get home. it wasn't possible unless you had very deep pockets. i'm originally from the uk, but i've lived in australia now for a number of years, and i'm married to an australian, we're all australian citizens, we've got four kids. we came on holiday initially in early march for a three—week holiday to visit family in the uk, and we've been trapped here ever since, stranded. the main challenge is that we have a small house and there are six of us, so we are filming this where we actually sleep. this is my dad's study in the shed in the garden. and the uncertainty of not knowing when that would stop has been particularly difficult. when the australians decided to put limitations on the number of people arriving because it put pressures on quarantine, the airlines have actually been forced to discriminate against the economy passengers, and so we've actually been removed from a couple of flights. we've done everything in our financial means to get home, but we're just not able to. well, we did actually get back home eventually, to here in tasmania. we had a 3—week holiday to the uk, which actually became a 6—month extended stay. we feel so blessed to be home, even here, a year on, to be back here in hobart after such a time. we had instances in australia where some passenger planes were carrying maybe two, four or five passengers into australia. that's how bad it got. surprisingly, it was hugely supported, and for a long, long time, there is polling that shows consistently around two—thirds or three—quarters of the australian public actually did support these very, very strict international border bans, even when it meant locking out their compatriots. thankfully, after a late start, australia really did a fantasticjob in terms of getting vaccinated. a bit of a heart... kind of. i won't be working as a barista any time soon! victoria, my home state, has already reached 90% vaccination, which... yeah, it's quite emotional for me because... it's meant i can go home, so... there's going to be a lot of tears in the next few days! this is very exciting, very exciting. although i've completely lost the knack of how to pack. i used to be like pow, pow, i could be packed in 15 minutes, and now it is like, what is the weather going to be like? hot is the answer to that. i have to wait while my test gets checked, but i'm, like, ijust want to go! so there's been a bit of a curveball in the last few hours. concern mounts as countries around the world ban flights from southern africa... a third case of the new omicron variant... the omicron case, _ a confirmed case in the uk... i have received notification that the quarantine has been reimposed to some extent, so it was quarantine—free travel, now it is 72 hours of quarantine upon arrival, and having to be isolated from my family, so the joyous reunion is maybe off the cards. i don't really know what's going to happen, how i'm going to be isolated within my family home, if that's possible, do i need to get a hotel. i also need to get a permit to enter the state of victoria, which, despite my research, i've just found out about. so it's getting a bit complicated. i guess the joys of travelling during covid. well, let's go to gate. squeals oh, man, i'm so excited! i don't even care if i have to quarantine, i don't care. that's me, of course. i've just checked in, and i'vejust seen the melbourne on the sign. welcome aboard qantas flight 10 down to darwin and onwards to melbourne tonight. we're just about to head off, and i'm so excited. jackpot! on a long—haul flight, three seats to myself! yes! to date, the overall death toll in australia from coronavirus is just above 2,000. so they have done extraordinarily well in protecting life. technically, the issue of stranded australians, or �*stranded aussies' as it became known colloquially, that should have abated by now. although there are still government repatriation flights being put on by the australian government, because there are some places in the world where people didn't get vaccines that will be authorised or recognised by australia. it makes it very challenging for them to get on commercialflights. i haven't left russia in two years coming up to february. i've given up hope on christmas, i'm thinking i'll be lucky to get back by february next year if things go well for me. i've just been living this limbo existence where i don't know what next month is gonna bring. i've been living with a constant dagger over my head of the russian government just saying, "your visa is up," and i don't know what the hell i will do them. where do i go if that is the situation? because what country wants me at the current moment with everyone having covid, i'm not properly vaccinated, and at a status where i don't know when my own government will let me back into my country. about 15 minutes away from landing now... ..after a very long flight and a quick stop in darwin. we hope you have enjoyed your service on board today. we do look forward to seeing you on board our aircraft again very soon. guess who's out of quarantine! yay! i'm out! i'm free! i'm out of quarantine at long last, and it's given me a bit of a chance to reflect on what it's meant to come home. i missed you guys! my word, we are lucky to live in a time where, in usual circumstances, you canjump on a plane, and 2a hours later be on the other side of the world, in my case, i can be home. and i think the pandemic has sort of shown me that in past years, i've really taken that for granted. it feels normal to be able to do that. and it's not necessarily something to be taken for granted, and i think going forward, i'll feel fortunate every time i get on that plane. aunty christa! you are so big! still to come on the show: we are on the hunt for berlin's best currywurst. eaten by everyone from homeless people to the chancellor. and we are in thailand to see a monkey festival that has been helping bring back tourists to the region. what can i say? it is great to be home. but now we're turning around and heading straight back to europe where sausages and curry sauce may not seem the most natural flavour combination but in berlin, currywurst, as it is known, has become a street food favourite. so we headed to the german capital to find out more about this dish and its surprising origins. in the �*50s and the �*60s, currywurst was one of the fast foods easily available and everyone grew up with currywurst. napoli has a pizza of spanish descent, paella, it's literally part of the culture of the city. voila. hello, my name is laszlo and welcome to curry 36, the most famous currywurst stall in berlin. it is easy. you just get a sausage, cut it in six or eight pieces. and then you add tomato sauce on top. and top it with curry powder and spices and that is it. you also need a fork. it is that simple. grazie mille. buon appetito, ciao. we have customers from all over europe from asia, from the states, basically from everywhere. thank you for your patience and sorry for the inconvenience. enjoy it, have a nice day, you're welcome. l'una e l�*autre is con carne. i am actually only able to sell currywurst in a lot of different languages. i'm not fluent in italian or spanish or whatever. every region claims to have invented currywurst. the only true story is how it happened in berlin. after the second world war herta heuwer had a small food store and she always saw the gis eating out, having steak and ketchup. she wanted to replicate that but it was not possible to have a steak. it was really expensive after the war. and so she just tried it with local ingredients and one day she mixed up curry and ketchup by accident and tried to refine it with more spices, she put on a sausage, customers tried it, they loved it and that was the birth of currywurst. there is currywurst with casing. it is a smoked sausage, a bit more salty, a bit more on the savoury side. and the local thing is currywurst without casing. it is a boiled sausage that is fried afterwards and just a little more softer and tender. currywurst without casing, it was born out of necessity because after the second world war, berlin was isolated, it was in eastern germany, so we did not have enough casing for sausages. there was no way to get the casing into berlin. it was just too expensive. one of the things that stands out is the purity of the ingredients, the tomato sauce is as important as the sausages. basically, it is what we are famous for. this is only about 200 litres of it and on a regular day we go through a ton of it in all three restaurants. it is 87% tomato, some salt, sugar, spices, that is it. some curry sauces have less than 50% tomato. that is not a standard that we try to achieve. currywurst in berlin is eaten by everyone from homeless people to the chancellor. i think it is important. i think it is pretty important, it transcends social classes. everyone eats cu rrywu rst. and that is a taste of berlin. i would say it is down—to—earth and easy—going. but have a try yourself. next up we are in thailand where tourists have gradually been returning after the government launched a quarantine—free travel scheme in november. and it isjust in time for the lopburi monkey festival. once a year the resident macaques get to dine like kings. on the most elaborate displays of fruits and vegetables lovingly crafted by locals behind—the—scenes. we prepare the fruits. we have many, many kinds of fruits. tropical food, mostly. banana, papaya, grape, mangosteen, longan, mango and all kinds of vegetables. and we learn every year what they like most. we just know that they like durian the most. the feast costs over 100,000 baht — that's over £2000 — and is mainly sponsored by the lopburi inn, a local hotel. the owner started it 33 years ago, offering a fruit buffet to the monkeys as a thank you for bringing in customers. and it has grown in size, taking on different themes each year. the monkey is an important symbol in buddhist tradition and as such they are revered and treated very well. but a word of caution. you will be bargaining for more than just a selfie. these longtailed monkeys are very comfortable around people. that was the first time. it was a bit afraid but it was ok because it was worse for other people than for me so it was ok. and here we are. the moment they have all been waiting for. because of covid—i9 there has been an two—year gap since the last festival and in general the pandemic has been hard on locals and these guys. the city is home to thousands of monkeys and during the lockdown a lack of tourists and locals out on the streets resulted in frequent monkey battles over scraps of food but things are looking up. they like the traditional dessert this is made from egg and he likes durian the most. more than 100,000 travellers took advantage of the thailand pass in november. it means not seem like a lot but that is as high as the number of arrivals from january to october combined. i can see that tourists are having fun, there are a lot of thai tourists here. families and little kids. they're having fun, but less people because of covid—i9 but i think the event brings joy to lots of people. well, now their bellies are full and locals are free to take the wheelchairs. 2000 kilos of food were prepared for the weekend festivities but nothing is going to waste. the leftovers are ta ken to monkeys living in the mountain temples outside the city. well, that is all we have time for on the programme this week. join us next week when rajan will be spreading some christmas cheer and revisiting some of our favourite stories from a year that, well, let's face it, has not been the best for travel. i have to be honest with you, that was a little bit frightening. we're in an all—electric revamp of an iconic british motor. did you see that?! this is wild. ii lions. this is wild. until next time, from me, christa larwood at home finally here in australia and the rest of the travel show team it is goodbye and we will see you next time. hello. mild night out there. high pressure is also building, and that means that over the next few days, the weather is expected to be settled. it's going to be mild, often cloudy, but a bit of sunshine every now and then as well. so, this is what it looks like through the early hours. we still have a weather front in the north west of the uk, so there is some rain about first thing in the morning. but the rest of the country is dry. and it's very mild first thing in the morning. ten degrees in the south, 8—9 in the north, maybe one or two other spots a little bit colder than that, but certainly frost—free across the uk. the cloud cover on wednesday will vary considerably. some of us will have plenty of bright or sunny weather. others will be stuck underneath the cloud. it should be cloudy across northern ireland with some spots of rain, perhaps south—western scotland and the lake district. also thicker cloud further south, but notice around northern wales, the midlands, eastern england and northern scotland, it should be sunny. bye— bye. welcome to bbc news. i'm mark lobel. our top stories: most countries probably have omicron cases and it's spreading faster than previous variants. the world health organization warns the world to prepare. even if omicron does cause less severe disease, the sheer number of cases could, once again, overwhelm unprepared health systems. the noes to the left, 126. wow! j gosh! here in london, despite the pm claiming success, dozens of his own mps vote against new coronavirus restrictions in the latest blow to borisjohnson's authority. a record temperature's observed in the arctic. scientists say the 38 degrees celsius heat is an alarm bell for climate change.

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