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The Largs Viking Festival has fallen victim to the coronavirus pandemic this year. The event was due to run from 29th Aug 2020 – 6th Sep 2020 and would have been the 40th Anniversary of the festival. Nevertheless organisers are already making plans to "direct its efforts to planning and delivering the best possible Largs Viking Festival in 2021". This is scheduled for 28th August to 5th September 2021, with the spectacular Viking Festival of Fire taking place on Saturday 4th September 2021.

With the continuing threat of Covid-19, original plans for Tynwald Day (the Isle of Man's National Day) were scaled down substantially, with members of the public advised not to attend with a view to 'social-distancing' and the restrictions on gatherings. Bur prior to the day itself the Isle of Man Government decided that, due to the lengthy period without any new, known cases of the virus, that a skeletal version of the annual proceedings could take place.

The Isle of Skye (Scottish Gaelic: An t-Eilean Sgitheanach), is the largest and northernmost of the major islands in the Inner Hebrides (Scottish Gaelic: Na h-Eileanan a-staigh) of Scotland. Now the Island has its own flag. It was designed by a nine-year-old boy, Calum Alasdair Munro and was chosen by a public vote organised by the West Highland Free Press newspaper. Calum's winning design has now been formally approved by Scotland's heraldic authority, the Court of the Lord Lyon.

Calum told the West Highland Free Press:

Voting is now open to name Scotland's Tree Of The Year and also Wales' Tree Of The Year 2020. A shortlist has been drawn up by a panel of judges and the vote is open to the public via the Woodland Trust website who organise the competition.

Excerpts from an article at Nation.Cymru:

The lockdown crisis of the past few months has accelerated a huge social and economic revolution that is taking place before our eyes.

Second homes in rural Wales have rightly become a source of much anger since the beginning of the coronavirus lockdown.

Many of us have been outraged at the behaviour of some owners during the lockdown, such as those who were, according to police, trying to outwit them.

Organised in the wake of restrictions implemented during the Covid-19 pandemic, a weekend of special events was organised to celebrate St Maughold, regarded by some as the patron saint of the Isle of Man, and the beauty and history of the parish church.

The last positive case of coronavirus on the Isle of Man (Manx: Mannin) was recorded on 20 May, 2020, making it 93 days as of the 21st August. The island's border was closed to almost everyone on 27 March in a bid to control the spread of the virus. At the time Manx Chief Minister, Howard Quayle said the border remained an "integral part of our defences" against the disease. This decision has been seen to be the right one and was a factor in the Isle of Man becoming the first place in the British and Irish Isles to live without lockdown and to end social distancing on Monday 15th June. 

At last the end is in sight for the three-century-old Scottish union with England, a union that has resulted in the domination of Scotland by its larger neighbour. A series of opinion polls, conducted months apart, have shown a consistent rise in support for Scottish independence. At the same time the Scottish National Party (SNP) remains well ahead of the Scottish pro-union political parties. Suggesting an outright majority for the SNP in next year's elections to the Scottish Parliament (Scottish Gaelic: Pàrlamaid na h-Alba), with a predicted 57 per cent share of constituency voting.

'Bloody Sunday' is a date that many associate with the events in Derry on January 30, 1972. On that day the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association called a protest in Derry. At that peaceful demonstration British soldiers shot 26 unarmed civilians killing fourteen people. This was not the only ‘Bloody Sunday’ in 20th century Irish History. This year marks the centenary of forces under British control opening fire on the crowd at a Gaelic football match in Dublin.

Kernow

16 Mis Est 2020

To:

Rt Hon Robert Jenrick MP, Secretary of State for Housing Communities & Local Government

Rt Hon George Eustice MP 

Steve Double MP Cornwall's Representative to the Council of Europe

Scott Mann MP

Sherryl Murray MP

Derek Thomas MP

Cherilyn Mackrory MP

Thangham Debbonaire MP Shadow Housing Minister