BBC Radio 5 Live

All day long there have been queues of men waiting patiently in line to get their lockdown locks under control here in Sheffield.

Barbers have been doing a roaring trade today. Some are not accepting walk-ins until May, such is the demand for appointments.

The hair and beauty sector has invested huge sums of money making their premises Covid-secure - from visors and masks to Perspex screens and plenty of hand sanitiser.

Joth Davis, who runs Savills Barbers, says it’s a relief to have the doors open again. He adds the government’s restart grants for small firms, and the business rates holiday, have really helped.

In the middle of Liverpool One shopping centre, Boujee bar has doubled its outside space to accommodate as many socially-distanced tables as possible.

Everything here is pink – from the tables to the flamingo sculptures to the flowers at the queuing area – which makes for great Instagram photos, especially in the afternoon sunshine.

Huge queues outside the shops and restaurants haven’t dented anyone’s mood, but they’re pleased to sit and get their first drinks out in months.

“There’s a really good atmosphere – you can tell everyone’s excited to be back out,” says student Izzie.

Although it might take a bit of getting used to for her friend Lolita: “It feels a bit surreal that there’s a bit of normality back.”

It’s only nine degrees, but with the sun out hundreds of people are more than happy to wrap up and sit outside.

“It’s freezing,” says Shannon, who’s here with her mates after going to college this morning. But it’s “100%” worth it for a cocktail and a plate of fries.

This is Shannon’s first legal drink out – she turned 17 in the first lockdown, and 18 just a few weeks ago.

It’s a belated birthday drink too for Tom, who turned 18 a few months ago – and he says it’s “finally nice to experience being 18”.

Their friend Finn says it’s been great to be out again, but he’s “definitely worried” cases might rise as lockdown eases.

“But I don’t think anyone would be that bothered any more. Because we’ve all just been stuck inside for ages.”

Image source, Mark Forrest

As theme parks reopened in England, Blackpool Pleasure Beach super fan Mark Forrest wasted no time in getting back on the rides.

He set off at 5:30 BST from a snowy Newcastle to arrive in sunny Blackpool when the gates opened.

“We’ve been in lockdown such a long time – we all deserve to have some fun now,” says the season ticket holder who normally visits the attraction up to 30 times a year.

“It’s so good to be back here. The weather is brilliant and it is absolutely amazing to see everyone with big smiles on their faces.”

The 40-year-old says visitor numbers had been limited as part of the theme park’s Covid-19 safety measures so it “wasn’t crowded but enough for an atmosphere”.

Blackpool's tourism industry is being given £1m to help it recover from the impact of the pandemic.

Image source, Auto Ride Count

Tom Edwards
Transport Correspondent, BBC London

Image source, Getty Images

As lockdown restrictions begin to ease, it seems passengers are slowly returning to the capital.

Parts of the Underground network were certainly a lot busier today.

Transport for London (TfL) figures show that by 10:00 BST, there were 690,000 bus boarding taps - up 15% on last Tuesday's passenger numbers.

There were also 670,000 entries and exits on the city's Tubes - up 18% on last Tuesday's journeys.

TfL also saw a 31% bump in passengers travelling to shopping hubs such as Oxford Street, Stratford and White City as non-essential retail reopened.

Read more on this story.

Image source, Getty Images

Pubs in England can now serve alcohol outside but the rules have changed since they were last open.

You don't have to order a substantial meal with alcoholic drinks - so that solves the scotch egg situation. There's also no 10pm closing time. But there are still Covid measures in place:

• Customers must order, eat and drink while seated at a table
• You must follow either the rule of six, or be in a group of any size with no more than two households present

• Every customer aged 16 and over will have to check in to NHS test and trace, or give contact details to staff
• When not seated - for example being shown to a table, or going to the toilet - customers should wear face masks (unless exempt) and observe social distancing

Read our guide to brush up on your coronavirus pub etiquette before you get the drinks in.

Anna Holligan
BBC News Hague correspondent

Image source, Kelly Vos

As we told you earlier today, a group of 187 Dutch nationals are swapping the snow of the Netherlands for eight days on the Greek island of Rhodes in what is a holiday experiment - ostensibly designed to help policy-makers assess whether foreign holidays are feasible during a pandemic.

They'll be tested for Covid before and after the trip and will have to quarantine for at least five days when they return home.

But at a time when both the infection rate and intensive care admissions in the Netherlands remain high, questions have been raised about whether authorising such escapism is sensible or foolhardy.

About 3.2 million people (in a country of 17.1 million) have received their first vaccination. Some hospitals are postponing heart and cancer operations to free up beds and staff to care for Covid patients.

Critics of the Dutch government's strategy have suggested the funds used to pay for the data generated by these experiments would be better spent on speeding up the vaccine programme to protect people and allow everyone in the Netherlands to be released from lockdown.

Kelly Vos spontaneously applied for one of the all-inclusive tickets to "get away from it all". The last year has been turbulent and the curfew was the final straw, she says.

"I often have dinner with my mother, and now I have that feeling of being rushed. My only worry is the travel and maybe someone in Greece will infect me," Kelly says.

All staff working at the resort will also have to show negative tests.

Kelly believes offering to be a guinea pig on a Greek island could help society get back to normal faster. And, she points out, it's not a normal holiday - no excursions, shopping trips or paddling on the shore.

These field lab tests are as much about analysing behaviour as the science. How this group actually acts will also be a valuable indicator of if, and how, foreign holidays can take off again.

Image source, Kelly Vos

A widely available inhaled asthma drug could shorten Covid recovery time for people who are not admitted to hospital, a new study suggests.

Researchers say the discovery is a "significant milestone" and the drug, budesonide, is effective as a treatment at home and during the early stages of the illness.

Early treatment with the drugs shortens recovery time by an average of three days for Covid patients who are at higher risk of more severe illness and are being treated in the community, according to the research.

Budesonide was added to the Oxford University's Platform Randomised Trial of Interventions against Covid-19 in Older People (Principle) trial in November last year.

Experts suggest medical practitioners around the world may wish to consider the results of the study, which is yet to be peer reviewed, when making treatment decisions.

You can read more here.

A pub landlord has been told beach huts installed in his beer garden cannot be used by customers as they are deemed indoor facilities under Covid-19 rules.

Colin Curran, of the Farmer's Arms in Shadforth, County Durham, said he was told two sides would have to be taken off to make them compliant with the regulations.

Durham County Council said the huts did not meet "national criteria" as less than half their perimeter was open.

Mr Curran, who spent £15,000 on outdoor improvements to the pub, said a council officer visited the premises and said the huts could not be used as they had to be 50% uncovered.

The landlord said he believed that would make them unsafe, as the huts were right next to each other, so people could be less than two metres away from other groups.

He added that "common sense" had to be applied to government guidelines.

As we've been reporting, hairdressers in England have reopened for the first time since the start of the latest lockdown, along with pubs, shops and gyms.

Customers at two Colchester salons posed for portraits before and after their makeovers, while sharing their thoughts about being back in a hairdresser's chair.

During lockdown, Sophia Beckford had done her own extensions - and booked an appointment for today to get her hair straightened.

Sophia says it was a temporary measure before deciding exactly what she wants done next with her hair.

"It can be quite stressful if you're not used to doing your own hair," she says.

"You have to become self-taught in how to manage your hair.

"You do miss your professional hair stylist because they keep your hair the way it should be.

"So while I have managed, I have missed Lore [at AB Beauty Salon] and I'm very happy that she's back."

• See more before and after hair cut transformations.

Nalina Eggert
BBC News

Tucked away behind the many UK searches for "Primark opening times" this morning, Google Trends threw up another insight into England's lockdown easing - an Increase in searches for "how to cancel HelloFresh".

The meal subscription service, which sends menus and ingredients to customers' doors, had its most profitable year yet in 2020 and hired 3,000 new staff across 14 countries.

But as restaurants slowly reopen, perhaps some customers are breathing a sigh of relief that they can once again pay someone else to do the cooking - and the dishes.

One of the biggest immediate problems facing pubs reopening in England is the current cold weather.

At the Coach and Horses pub in Bradfield Green, near Crewe, they’ve spent more than £20,000 on new covered seating areas and installed heaters and socially distanced seating.

The owners of the pub have helped pay for some of the work with the publican paying the rest.

Andy Wilkinson, 52, the Operations Manager for Punch Pubs, says the industry has had to react quickly as the lockdown rules are altered.

"The government regulations have changed more than any other industry and therefore we’ve had to make alterations all the way and it’s been really hard for the tenants to understand what they need to do and then spend the money to make those alterations as well," he says.

The drinks industry is also keen on seeing the successful reopening of pubs, as it relies heavily on alcohol sales to pub customers to survive.

Angus Henderson, from the cider makers Thatchers, says the past 12 months have been "incredibly difficult".

"It’s getting people back out of the habit of being comfortable buying drinks in the supermarket.

"If people continue to shop in the supermarkets, landlords and landladies are going to struggle to survive.

"And that’s why as a brewery we want to support them. Let’s not forget that pubs are 50% of our business - we’ve got this huge sleeping giant ready to explode again.”

England's reopening started at midnight when pubs were able to serve drinks outside - does anyone remember whose round it is after all this time?

Shoppers hit the high street and fitness fanatics headed to the gym. Here are some of the scenes from across the country as people embraced the new freedoms of lockdown easing.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, AFP

Image source, AFP

Image source, Getty Images

See more pictures of England reopening here.

Many young people show lower levels of concern over the risks of catching Covid and do not comply with social mixing guidance, a study shows.

Responses gathered by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show some felt they were "missing out" on their social life because of the pandemic.

Others said the increased isolation and lack of socialising caused by lockdown restrictions had negatively affected their mental health.

The ONS says there was an underlying assumption among some participants that they were less at risk from Covid-19 because they were young.

• What can I do now?

It says few respondents knew anyone who had had the virus, so many concluded it was unlikely they would catch it themselves.

Many young people felt social mixing rules were confusing because of the changes around where and how many people a person could meet.

But the survey also found many young people also said they wanted to do the right thing and do their part for society.

Image source, Google

Hospitality and tourism leaders in Scotland are calling for their sectors to be reopened sooner and say the delay will cost the economy £20m.

Scotland is at least two weeks behind England in allowing pubs and restaurants to serve customers outdoors.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon says with all nine priority groups expected to have received their first jab by mid-April, the government would have "confidence" to begin opening up hospitality from 26 April.

Stephen Montgomery, who owns the Townhead Hotel in Lockerbie and is a spokesman for the Scottish Hospitality Group, says he would "love to be opening up at the same time as our colleagues down south".

"We're going to be seeing people jump the border... for that long-awaited pint of cold beer while we still remain closed," he told BBC Radio's Good Morning Scotland.

Read more on this story.

The managing director of Waterstones bookshops says he is "very relieved" to reopen all but one of its 289 stores.

James Daunt told BBC Radio 5 Live's Wake Up To Money programme the latest lockdown had been "more surreal".

"When we were very abruptly closed just before Christmas, which is a crucial period for us, there was something of a bewilderment," he says.

"Having gone through these subsequent months being able to shop at WH Smiths and Rymans and obviously all the supermarkets and many other retailers, it was particularly difficult for us.

"It is a desperate situation. Not so much for a big retailer like Waterstones, we've got the balance sheet, but I'm feeling very concerned for how smaller shops, specialist shops will have fared during this period."

He says the furlough scheme has been "completely essential" for keeping his staff but the pandemic has been "hugely financially painful".

Image source, PA Media

Here's a look at what's been happening so far today:

• For the first time in months, pub gardens, shops and hairdressers are reopening in England
• It comes as Northern Ireland's "stay-at-home" order is ending and some rules are also being relaxed in Scotlandand Wales
• Chilly temperatures have so far appeared to do little to dampen enthusiasm for outdoor pints or early-morning queuing for shops and salons
• And there were queues as shoppers rushed back to the High Street on Monday
• The government has announced a review covering David Cameron's efforts to lobby ministers on behalf of finance firm Greensill Capital - to increase the firm's access to a government-backed emergency loans scheme for firms hit by the Covid pandemic
• And an update to England and Wales' contact tracing app, intended to coincide with the easing of restrictions, has been blocked for breaking the terms of an agreement made with Apple and Google

Sarah Corker
Business presenter, BBC Radio 5Live

The deck chairs are out. The marquees are up. No need for outdoor heaters here in Sheffield today. The sun has come out for the occasion.

The Devonshire Green area of the city is a patchwork of independent businesses. There are queues outside the street’s vintage clothing shops, barbers and bars.

There’s a booking systems for those wanting to dine alfresco this afternoon - diners advised to book ahead to get a table.

Businesses have spent a lot of time and money making sure they are Covid secure and ready to welcome visitors back. They hope it pays off.

Allen Cook
BBC News

Hundreds of people queued outside the world's largest Primark in Birmingham city centre as it reopened its doors at 07:00 BST.

Among them was Antonietta Sagoe, from Smethwick, who told us she was "very, very excited" about going inside.

"We have been planning to come here since last week so I think a lot of people have had the same idea as mine," she said.

Ally Mitchell was queuing with her friend Ellie Lloyd. Ally said it had been "very hard" for the younger generation.

"We have missed out on everything so we need to experience our summer to be honest," she says.

Ellie was after some festival clothes and felt positive that events would happen in the summer.

"We just want normality back, just going here is like being back to normal, it is just nice," she said.

Read more from shoppers in Birmingham here.

Image source, Getty Images

Many people are excited about lockdown restrictions easing. But for those with social anxiety, there's a worry about how they'll adapt to life after lockdown.

Social anxiety disorder , externalis a fear of social situations and includes worrying about meeting strangers, how to act with groups of friends and generally feeling self-conscious.

It can make everyday life extremely difficult and can manifest physically by causing sweating, palpitations or panic attacks.

Charley Gavigan is a psychotherapist who specialises in anxiety disorders and says a lot of people have been coming to her for advice on how to cope with lockdown easing.

She has a few tips for people who are starting to panic about life returning to normal.

"Focus on the present," she says. "Worrying isn't actually solving any problems - the approach that I work with people is, 'What can you do to feel more at ease?' and a lot of that is rooted in dropping being perfect.

"Many people in social situations hold themselves to these standards of being exceptional and the life and the soul of the party - maybe it's just about being good enough and seeing how they can relax themselves?"

She says you should also stop yourself from thinking back to previous social situations you've found uncomfortable and concentrate on what's in front of you.

Read more here.

Image source, Reuters

Footfall across retail destinations in the UK was up by 101% by midday on Monday, compared to the previous week.

The most recent figures from retail analysts Springboard showed footfall at shopping centres had risen 148%, while high street footfall rose 130%.

Meanwhile, retail parks saw a 12% drop in footfall.

Across all destinations footfall was still down 36% compared with 2019 figures.

But it rose 346% compared with this time last year, which was the height of the first lockdown.