# but i know we'll meet again some sunny day... # it is interesting how today will be marked and there is obviously no question things will be very different today in relation to ve day, but the weather is relevant, good morning. nonetheless, if nothing else, sarah, welcome to breakfast with charlie stayt a lift spirits to see the blue and mega munchetty. skies, even if we are not allowed to our headlines today: ministers warn the public to stick enjoy them hold events as we might to the social distancing rules over otherwise have done. the bank holiday weekend, yes, that's right, good morning to saying there'll be no quick change to the restrictions. you. many people will be out in their gardens having an afternoon commemorations for the 75th tea, for instance, and most of us anniversary of victory in europe, should see a bit of blue sky and a but there'll be no crowds bit of sunshine as well. it will on the streets to mark it. feel quite warm out there today. in events will take place at home fa ct, feel quite warm out there today. in fact, those temperatures will be and online to pay tribute to the men creeping up into the mid—20s for and women who fought many of us. there will also be in the second world war. scattered showers developing later on this afternoon and the we remember their sacrifice and we thunderstorm around as well. it will be cloudy for some of us, especially in the north and west. mostly dry ta ke we remember their sacrifice and we take pride in being their conditions holding on for many central and eastern parts because compatriots. good morning. we've got quite a big area of high

will retail sales bounce back? pressure sitting across continental shopping on the high europe. a few weather fronts across street and online fell the north and north—west of the uk. by a third last month. retailers warn of a "catastrophic we have a little more cloud impact" on business. magically across the irish sea coast, murky through the day, heavy good morning. there's a row over where games should be played showers across the south—west of when the premier league returns. the idea of playing at neutral england, northern ireland, scotland seeing some of those showers. later venues is being opposed by clubs on this afternoon as the bills we who don't want to could see a future was across lose home advantage. good morning. it is another warm day northern england and into the midlands, the thunderstorm. many of ahead today with temperatures up into the mid—20s but also some heavy us midlands, the thunderstorm. many of us will dodge the showers and temperatures up to 18— 24 degrees. a showers and some thunderstorms. i'll little cooler across the north of be here all morning with the details for today and the rest of the bank scotla nd little cooler across the north of scotland where we keep the cloud and some outbreaks of patchy rain. into holiday weekend. the evening some of those heavy showers and thunderstorms continue to rattle through. they should fade good morning. away through the course of the it's friday the 8th of may. our top story: night. there could be thunderstorms as the uk prepares to celebrate for the midlands, for instance, the ve day bank holiday, ministers are warning towards lincolnshire and north wales against breaking social distancing rules over the weekend. overnight. temperatures will stay up on today's programme, we'll be sharing the memories between eight and 10 degrees first of the men and women thing tomorrow morning. through the who fought for victory, weekend we have a real change on the including captain tom moore, as we look at how the day will be cards. things are going to be commemorated during lockdown. turning quite a bit colder, the government says there will be no optically by the time we get to change to regulations ahead of the prime minister's address sunday. for saturday, another mostly on sunday, when he's expected dry day for many of us. quite a lot

to spell out the next steps, but any changes are expected to vary of sunshine around. notice the rain throughout the uk, as our political correspondent across the north of scotland. that's jessica parker reports. across the north of scotland. that's a weather front pushing its way south. it is similar to today's will have some of those isolated but potentially heavy downpours during the day. thick lee for northern ireland, northern england, into bagpipes skirl. wales as well. temperatures up to 24 pots and pans bang. degrees in the south —— united appreciation last night across the uk for frontline workers, particularly. a star to change saturday night into sunday. the blue the prime minister joining the applause. colours, the cold air mass sweeping on sunday, he'll explain how lockdown might be eased. south across the british isles and we have these fairly cold northerly we're going to be very, very cautious about what happens wind arrows around as well. that and under what timetable. means brisk northerly wind, a real wind chill. it will be similar going from july tempted on saturday to this isn't going to be a single announcement that that's the end something like the middle of march by the time we get to sunday. of the lockdown and everything is back to normal. showers around in the and wintry sure, i wasn't expecting that. we are in this for long haul. flurries across the north—east of we are, sadly, going to have to live scotland. we could see some sleet with this virus for some time, and snow down to relatively low and that means that we are going levels across the north—east of scotland. many of us stuck in single to have to have a gradual approach to loosening some of figures on sunday. probably the these restrictions. warmest of the weather down towards but no change yet — the south and south—west. we could "maximum caution" the watchword — just about c17 also. a different and could rate of infection be going up because of feeling day with the windchill as

well. enter monday, a similar sort what is happening in care homes? of day, quite cold with the the number has probably gone upjust northerly or north—easterly wind, a little bit since last estimates, gusts 40—50 mph in the south—east. quite a cloudy day for many of us, and that is driven by the epidemic in care homes, he would say, medically scotland and eastern and i would not parts. met brightness to be found demure from that. until now, governments across the uk have been more further west. temperatures 9— 13 or less in step. degrees. at least 10 degrees colder than they have been over recent days. it holds on for the coming week. after a fairly chilly start of the week we have sunshine on offer but in scotland, as lockdowns are extended, there is unease and then temperatures slowly start to where number 10 may be headed. to creep up through the course of i particularly strongly believe for us to drop the clear, the week ahead. a real change in the well understood stay—at—home message right now could be field to the weather through the a potentially catastrophic mistake. course of the weekend. back to you in northern ireland, no movement yet on easing restrictions. both. in wales, we'll hear more today about how and when minor adjustments could begin. there is unity here but, on releasing lockdown, different parts of the uk move at different speeds. though, the pace of change is set to be slow. jessica parker, bbc news.

welcome back. the queen, the prince of wales and the prime minister will mark the 75th anniversary of ve day today — when nazi germany surrendered this is breakfast with to allied forces and charlie stayt and naga munchetty. the second world war in europe was declared over. we'll bring you all the latest news and sport in a moment, commemorations have been adapted to reflect social distancing but also on breakfast measures, but we are still being this morning... they're not just any encouraged to celebrate safely at home. old tom, ken or harry — our correspondent robert we'll be hearing ve day memories from three second world war hall has this report. veterans we have come to those who were there, to know well on breakfast — tom moore, ken benbow it seems a lifetime ago, and harry billinge. # we'll meet again. but the scenes they witnessed # don't know where. on that spring day in 1945 have # don't know when...# never left them. dame vera lynn's song defined the experience of those separated by war — and now it's gained a new relevance during the lockdown. we'll be chatting to dame vera's daughter, virginia lewis—jones, a tidal wave of euphoria after eight o'clock. and excitement filling the city streets to overflowing and reaching every corner of the british isles. in all our long history we have never seen a greater day than this. in an old and tattered tent, there occurred the greatest and 75 years after winston churchill battlefield surrender of this or any other war. sparked nationaljubilation the instrument of germany's with those words, his great—grandson randolph is hoping to unconditional surrender was signed. inspire a new generation the fighting in europe had of budding speech—writers. effectively been over for several more on that at 7.50. days, since the first surrender

documents had been signed. but for millions of people, this was the moment to begin a party that would last through the night. we had quite good celebrations — good morning, here's a summary of today's main stories from bbc news. as the uk prepares to celebrate the ve day bank holiday, about a dozen, i would suppose. ministers say there will be no change to social distancing rules ahead of an address and we had a bottle of red wine from the prime minister on sunday. on the end of the lorry and a bottle of white wine, and we enjoyed last night people took to their doorsteps to clap in support of frontline workers the evening very much. for the seventh week in a row. northern ireland has also said there will be no change before the weekend, bill ridgewell served throughout while the lockdown in scotland has europe with the royal electrical and mechanical engineers. been formally extended. he says ve day is still an important wales will give event on his calendar. an update later today. and to celebrate it now, it'sjust after 6.30, which means we must learn that that must the doctor will see us now. never happen again. and today it's dr kalpana sabapathy, who is a gp in buckinghamshire. the waste of material, of lives and of innocence good who is a gp in buckinghamshire. morning to you. t talking good morning to you. thank you for through the war was tremendous. talking to us on the programme. we a lwa ys talking to us on the programme. we always start when we speak to our it's just a pure waste, water out. jps, we ask how you are. what are you thinking about? —— micro our

gps. i'm fine, thank you, nice to have good weather. absolutely. the —— it'sjust a pure message from the government is still waste, is warfare. to stay at home. how is that but how different it will be 75 years on, translating to whether people are no flags, no parties, no crowds? coming to surgeries? so a lot of our just a call for us all to mark this momentous day however we can. all of us who are born since 1945 consulting, wherever possible across the nhs, said in the general practice, has converted to remote are acutely conscious consulting via telephone or video that we owe everything we most value link. when people need to be seen, to the generation who won the second world war. we are triaging who comes in and who and we remember the millions doesn't. i think the greater concern of people from across the united kingdom and from across the world who came together is, especially for people who don't in world war ii to fight for our shared values. have access to an outside space, a values of freedom, garden, it is the frustration about being cooped up and that is a of democracy, of peace. challenge. whatever the weather. covid—19 has shredded elaborate there are pros and cons as to whether the weather is nice outside plans drawn up for cities, towns and villages. or not. people have talked about not getting enough vitamin d. how much do you need to be healthy per day? five years ago on the 70th anniversary, thousands of us joined said to make the recommended dose in acts of remembrance, sat down for street celebrations or lit beacons. terms of over—the—counter medication, it would be ten

micrograms that people should think we are celebrating ve day about getting and taking on a because it's the 75th anniversary. regular basis. in terms of hours of in 2020, we can't gather together sunlight, i can't give you a figure in the way we used to but lockdown on that, but when we get outside we has taught us all to adapt, so the bunting's going up are exposed to direct sunlight, then in our homes, gardens and streets. the need for supplements is reduced. if we are indoors then in these even those shielded from the pandemic could play their part — northern hemisphere conditions we after all, many of them probably should be taking vitamin d. we have lots of questions from the remember the real thing. viewers. wayne has asked, and you will be aware of this in the news, this year's remembrance in lockdown will, in a strange way, with the news of people of ethnicity be part of history itself. it will be part of the mad story being at a higher risk of death, how of this great lockdown. do the stats affect people of mixed i don't know how — of course, heritage? it was interesting, i had a woman on social media who said her it's too soon to say — daughter was asking, who is of mixed our historians will remember it. heritage, i safe or not? the first by 1945, war had brought many families and communities closer together. radio linked them with events thing i would remind people is we at home and abroad. are all at risk and there are, of now we're all learning that even course. . . are all at risk and there are, of course... i think that is what the when we are forced apart, we can still share experiences. question alludes to. some groups have been seen to fare worse. we and maybe we can understand a little more about the sense ofjoy have been seen to fare worse. we have had the data that lack of

and release 75 years ago. robert hall, bbc news. african origin, pakistani, bangladeshi, they are the top three, our reporterjon donnisonjoins us sadly. mixed heritage are up there with the high risk, as —— as well. now from outside buckingham palace. it is so fascinating seeing those archived pictures of the place you are now. and of course once again todayit it isa are now. and of course once again today it will have a role to play. with the high risk, as —— as well. it is a much harder question to it will, yes. and it is strange a nswer it is a much harder question to answer but in the data collected, if someone identified as mixed then times at the moment, very different they would be classified as mixed times, but i think people are going and we are seeing that translate to to be celebrating nevertheless but they are being encouraged to do so higher mortality. the question of at home in their back gardens, if you are lucky enough to have one, ppe is coming up. we have had much discussion about supply. the living and by watching the coverage on —— michael elizabeth asks, why don't television. there is going to be extensive coverage on the bbc we recycle it? if soap and water throughout the day, at three o'clock this afternoon the victory speech of kills the virus could ppe not be winston churchill is going to be fully washed and sterilised and broadcast and people are going to be reused? we do, with some elements of asked to stand and maybe raise a glass if they are having perhaps a ppe. they can be reused. visors, for 1940 - glass if they are having perhaps a 1940 — style tea party. now, there example. others are like masks i is also going to be a fly past much harder to do, depending on the

type of mask. yes, by all means, it carried out by the raf who are going to be in belfast, in edinburgh, in is possible to do that, and that is cardiff and here in london, and at done, but things get damaged, things 11 o'clock at the minute's silence a wear and tear so that is not the loa n 11 o'clock at the minute's silence a only answer. matthew asks, he is loan spitfire will fly along the cliffs of dover. now, of course, you concerned, he had pneumonia four yea rs concerned, he had pneumonia four years ago and is wondering if he is talk about 75 years ago and here at more susceptible to covid—19. years ago and is wondering if he is buckingham palace who had remarkable scenes of huge crowds then up this more susceptible to covid-19. in itself, that isn't classed as a particularly high risk group. there morning, pretty much deserted. the may be other underlying conditions royal family as well as winston churchill up on the balcony behind that matthew might have. it would me. the royal family, the queen in windsor today, not celebrating as she was 75 years ago but will be have to be assessed, the whole picture, really, if there are other celebrating nevertheless. jon, thanks very much. conditions predisposing hymn to lung the arch bishop of canterburyjustin welby is commemorating ve day infections. that would be the more in a video message. important factor. is he weakened in it, he reflects on the parallels since having pneumonia, or his lungs between the spirit of hope shown we four years later? that is what during the second world war and the current coronavirus pandemic. lots of people here, there stories, he pays tribute to the wartime generation, and to today's health care staff and key workers. ventilation is the last resort, but he is obviously fearing that. depending on the extent of his pneumonia, then scar tissue does

hope kept couragejuly develop following severe infections. hope kept courage july from hope kept couragejuly from 1940 to but like i said, it isn't one of the 1945. hope was expressed in the national day of prayer. hope shows conditions in the data that has in our determination to build a shown up as being of greater risk. better a fairer, more christlike world and country. a country built although a chronic lung conditions, in justice, world and country. a country built injustice, peace world and country. a country built in justice, peace and world and country. a country built injustice, peace and generosity. as they do fall in the list. my advice we are united before the threat of certainly when patients ask me these the virus and united by the courage questions is that ultimately the of medical staff and carers, as well more you protect yourself, if you don't come into contact with people, as so many more essential workers. ovate hand hygiene, your chances of plans are being made to increase getting it are much lower. it would train services a week on monday — be safer to treat yourself as high that's may the 18th — ahead of a possible easing risk, as we all should, with the of restrictions to allow more people back to work. distancing advice. ok, this is a at the moment, only half of train long one. there is a method to the services are running but rail bosses and government sources say services theory. someone asks, when you are will be increased to about 70% of the normal timetable. resources are likely to be focused on urban commuter lines, responding, when your body is rather than long distance responding, when your body is responding to fighting a virus, it raises its temperature, causing a fever. if you take paracetamol, then intercity routes. you are told it suppresses the fever. it will suppress the feed.

the hong kong government is relaxing you are told to take it to help with restrictions on public gatherings today and allowing gyms, cinemas the aches and pains at the start. and beauty parlours to reopen. does taking paracetamol in the early our china correspondent stephen mcdonell is in beijing. stephen, it's not a complete return stages of the coronavirus restrict your body's ability to fight the virus? the fever response, the body to normality, is it? creates a fever when it is fighting yes, absolutely. i mean, hong kong has had considerable success in infection. in fact a very high fever can cause severe organ damage, brain fighting the coronavirus. they have damage. so in fact, lowering a fever had just over 1000 cases and only would be a good thing to do to help four deaths in total. i mean, it your body, not one that is harmful. seems incredible when you compare it 0k. your body, not one that is harmful. ok. lots of questions. thank you to other cities, to other parts of very much. i know we started this the world. but crucially, for 18 days now, there has been not a conversation about how things have changed in terms of remote single domestic infection and so, the authorities have decided to ease appointments. do you think that is the way forward now, once off these restrictions which have restrictions are eased, perhaps we beenin off these restrictions which have been in place from early on. i mean, get to some sense of normality, will hong kong attack this problem with that be the future for gp appointments? i think they're some enthusiasm from a very early stage so from today, bars and certainly is, we are being forced to adapt to a situation that for years restau ra nts stage so from today, bars and restaurants opened again but with we have been slowly moving towards.

only up to groups of eight people. cinemas reopening but they can only telephone triage at most gp practices, they have introduced some of that. in all avenues of life we have half —— only half filled the have adapted in ways we never seats. gyms, mah—jongg clubs, other thought we could. pretty much things like that reopening again with restrictions but people will be overnight. there is a role for that, happy to be able to gather again but on the other hand, my concern is with their friends, even happy to be able to gather again with theirfriends, even if happy to be able to gather again with their friends, even if it means the numbers have to be capped. and for people who keep calm and carry you know it does just i think show on, and there is great merit to that advice can but there are people who the success of the measures taken should be coming forward for whether there, obviously, people in hong it is covid related symptoms or kong were used to the sars epidemic may put on masks early and when the non—covid related symptoms or hanging back and waiting because of the advice to stay home because of authorities encouraged social distancing, well, they did it. and not wanting to bother the gp, to it does seem to have worked. finally their detriment. it is a very enough though, also meaning that the difficult balance. are there benefits to remote consulting? yes. summer protest season may be still for certain groups of patients, delayed a bit with only gatherings of eight people allowed, not much of certain conditions. but it is something that needs to be explored a protest with eight people, as you quite carefully. the fallout as a result of what has happened with can imagine. obviously. steve, thank lockdown. are you after work today? you very much. it is 12 minutes past have you chatted to us before doing

six. we've heard plenty of comparisons a shift? yes. very grateful. dr in recent weeks between the national efforts to beat coronavirus and to win the second world war. doug vince and margaret maxwell experienced both. kalpana a shift? yes. very grateful. dr they lived through the war and, kalpa na sa ba pathy, you a shift? yes. very grateful. dr kalpana sabapathy, you have answered lots of questions for us today. after meeting for the first time two thank you and have a good date. years ago, they decided to self—isolate together thank you and have a good date. during the lockdown. shaun peel reports. thank you. so good coming on talking to us before a shift. and we always get a very hands—on approach to what the decision was made in a brief is happening in communities, which is happening in communities, which is such an important part of what is moment. no hesitation. when lockdown going on. certainly. let's talk to was announced, margaret moved in with doug. together in isolation. mike. we have no idea what will well, i had a choice, really. either happen with domestic football. that remains ask the family to take me home or out there in terms of a decision but stay with doug so that he was not on matches are just starting to be played elsewhere in the world. his own, because at the time, they absolutely, and do you know what? said it could last for 12 weeks. so if you have been missing watching i decided to stay. and i liked her live football, it is back on the bbc today, at ten to 11, company so it suited me. and i've this morning, albeit the k—league been here seven weeks now. as a from south korea. jeonbuk motors versus the suwon bluewings takes place behind closed doors, young man, doug wanted to be a pilot and there are a few players that used to play in the uk involved. but he ended up as a flight engineer

it will be interesting to see how on stirling bombers flying out of the new safety measures work. suffolk. returning from one mission, then a week today, germany's top two leagues return his plane was hit by enemy fire and behind closed doors — the first in europe to start up again. it was on fire as it landed. doug's tensions over how the premier league returns hand was badly burned. in england are growing. it was on fire as it landed. doug's hand was badly burnedlj it was on fire as it landed. doug's hand was badly burned. i grabbed a fire extinguisher to try and put the fire extinguisher to try and put the fire out and it was in the fire so it into the middle out of my hand. i the problem ahead of the vote can remember trying to put it down on monday is the idea of playing at neutral venues to deter any fans and it was stuck so i had to throw from gathering around grounds. it to get rid of it. doug's hand was the bottom six clubs, though, including brighton, run the risk of sanctions treated by the pioneering plastic if they continue their surgeon archibald mcindoe using skin opposition to the idea. but brighton's technical director dan ashworth, says they fear going to neutral venues will put them at a disadvantage. grafted from his inner thigh. surgeon archibald mcindoe using skin grafted from his inner thighlj found grafted from his inner thigh.|j found the grill standing somewhere we should finish the season as it away from the plane and i went and started — albeit there are some joined them and then i realised that different circumstances — and play our home games in our home ground because that's my hand hurt. when you say your hand the competitive advantage for us, hurt, is that a bit of an for home games — that's fair and set understatement? yes. on ve day, as and that's what we set out to do. now with the current situation i think everybody accepts that has

to be behind closed doors, doug was recovering in hospital, of course, but we don't agree with the policy 17—year—old margaret was celebrating. she is the one lying down. she had spent her teenage year of going to neutral venues. in and out of aerated shelters, terrified by the sound of sirens. much more debate on that to come in and out of aerated shelters, terrified by the sound of sirensm did more damage for me than anything between the clubs until that big else, to hear the siren go off, it vote on monday. five rugby union stars just shook my nerves to pieces. and are the latest to have to apologise after breaking the coronavirus lockdown rules. it took me years and years to get england's billy vinupola, alex goode and nick isiekwe, along with scotland's sean maitland over but i'm all right now! so doug and propjosh ibuanokpe — who all play for saracens — and margaret will spend ve day were reportedly seen in st albans tomorrow in lockdown together, town centre on monday, drinking takeaway coffee and chatting. sharing memories of their war and the club has condemned the players' actions and reminded them more. and after seven weeks, their of their responsibilities. friendship is closer than ever. horse racing is under well, yes, very close friends, yes. starters orders, with the british horseracing authority very close. that's enough! planning to run 13 meetings in a week, as soon as it's given the go—ahead to resume. it would all be behind closed doors. shaun peel, bbc news. the sport returned to germany yesterday, for the first time since mid march, with a 12—race card in hanover. there is a story to make you smile. it was run under strict hygiene measures with riders wearing masks and with no spectators.

margaret and doug, lovely couple. it isa margaret and doug, lovely couple. it is a quarter past six. let's take a look at today's front pages. the daily mirror carries a photograph of people celebrating but sport is back in germany. and ve day with a street party in 1945. it says we should take inspiration from the wartime generation yes, 10:50am, to watch that match as we fight another "cruel from south korea. so, mike. on bbc enemy", coronavirus. the financial times has an even older image — the frozen river thames from the great frost of 1709. that's to illustrate a warning iplayer and the website. in terms of from the bank of england that the uk global viewership... i don't expect economy is heading towards its you to know this. but in terms of sharpest recession in more than 300 years. global viewership for the k league, how much more do you think they will get now? it is the only football that will be on now for ten days before the german league starts again. it is a bank holiday, so you that was some of the bank of england can go on to the iplayer or at the comments from yesterday. bbc website and watch live football the telegraph focuses on comments by the labour leader and because it has been 59 days, i sir keir starmer, who says the ve day generation deserve "dignity think, since the last live football and respect" and those in care on tv was around, people have been homes should be protected from the coronavirus. champing at the bit to see some. we and the bbc news website shows some will get quite an audience. there is of the stunning views enjoyed around the world of this month's supermoon, also the start of the faroe islands when the moon appears larger and brighter. league today. i'm guessing that probably will not draw the crowds as much but in the south korea league there are a few players that people

might recognise, they used to play in the premier league or the we saw some of these images in the championship from various clubs like cardiff. it will be interesting paper. yes! it is that time of year, watching all of our exports correspondents and commentators larger and brighter than usual. looking at the new teams. these were people enjoying it. they would imagine because a lot of people talking about the clearest guys at largely ignored but not up front and the moment so the double impact of centre. even more so in germany, we the moment so the double impact of will have to adopt a german team. i the moon looking amazing and the clearest guys giving people a lot of jov- have decided on borussia dortmund clearest guys giving people a lot of joy. should we throw our direct a because that will be fascinating. a curve ball. is there any chance we lot of interest in that when that can see outside this morning? just returns next friday. it's a real because we're talking about the chance for these leagues to be a clearest guys and lovely temperatures this weekend. that is showcase to the world. it also it is more than that. i will be watching our view outside the building this this south korea league match to see morning. hazy at the moment but i'm how it will be done, how the safety sure it will clear up stop looking measures will be in place with i on the inside, one thing i have think the coaches wearing masks. notice... have you done anything fascinating. thanks a lot. different, have you taken up a hobby already learned a skill, charlie, i non—essential shops have been closed since the end of march, so it's no surprise that high street am talking to you, quit looking sales were hit hard last month — away, there are only you and i in but even a rise in online sales the studio. there are a lot of other wasn't enough to help. ben's looking at why. people here! on the sofa only you and me. i don't think so. maybe take

a lot of this is obviously pretty and me. i don't think so. maybe take grim. what is the detail? good a little longer with something. artistic, be more artistic? you morning. you are absolutely right. have? love. well actually, have no huge surprise that sales in physical stores on high street and started playing the piano. this is in retail parks fell pretty sharply the time is supplement. you have last month. but if you put online and physical stores together, you pierce brosnan who has taken up our, painta and physical stores together, you paint a really bleak picture. sales sylvester stallone and demi moore down 30% last month according to the have taken up pieces of art. pierce latest official figures. brosnan's artwork... abstract. like down 30% last month according to the latest officialfigures. it down 30% last month according to the latest official figures. it is a survey from bdo, a monthly retail tracker. they have been examining sales in about 10,000 stores. picasso? a—list is making because so many of them are closed masterpiece out of a crisis. anthony you would imagine we might go online. yes, online did pretty well. hopkins, reese witherspoon, the if you strip that out, sales flower on the right is by sharon doubling over the past month. it is stone. paris hilton has gone very a record high. that was not enough to cancel out the fall in sales modern with emojis. art is one of elsewhere. the physical sales on the those things, you just need a little high street. so what many retailers bit of time and away you go. are warning of is a catastrophic imagination. let it run wild. we are impact on the high street when things started to get back to seeing these pictures of athletes

and how they are trying to keep themselves going and vaguely train. normal. it will be difficult for them to get back to anything this one is a shot from team gb resembling normal if they cannot trade now. a really worrying time. olympic diverjames heatly who is practising his moves using a crash particularly the things that really struggled with fashion, clothing and mat. he lives near and brother. the home ware. we are not buying any of that stuff, even online. dog is blissfully unaware and he is right now we're down at home. we are doing... you want to see the after photo of that stop once he has learned it and see what the dog did. in our sloppy is mostly at home! iimagine the speakfor learned it and see what the dog did. i imagine the dog, it would be like he lands on the crash mat and the in our sloppy is mostly at home! speak for yourself, like! the bank dog leaps up in the air. presumably of england report yesterday showed so many people, the extent of the he doesn't delicately, with perfect damage this has had on the uk precision. not a big splash, they economy, and will have. it was land with precision. i am saying that even when things get back to normal people are still not convinced... it is 19 minutes past six. we are asking you, talking going to be spending? yes, that is a pictures, to send any pictures you worry, trying to emerge out of all have via e—mail or social media, if of this. the bank of england you have pictures from 1945 or ve forecast all sorts of scenarios about what might happen next. pretty day then we would love to see them bleak. unemployment made more than and share them on the programme. double to close to 9% by the end of day then we would love to see them and share them on the programmem is 90 minutes past six. the year. the economy will shrink by

when we look back at the second world war, 1496 the year. the economy will shrink by 14% by the end of the year before we often talk about the men who went off to fight. but let's not forget that more bouncing back. it is that bounce back and how long it will take that than 250,000 british women also signed up for military service. is worrying many retailers. right brea kfast‘s graham satchell caught now they are closed. it is not as if we will suddenly flock back to the up with two of them. stores and buy that stuff, particularly fashion and home ware. that is seasonal. rather than by the nice to meet you. yes, indeed. summer stuff we would be buying now, perhaps we'll meet one day. betty normally, when those shops are open will maybe be looking at autumn and and molly, two quite remarkable winter and they will have missed the women. i shall be 97 this time... earlier sales. that is a concern. while there might be some changes, i 97? i am 132. think scenes right across the country of empty city centres and town centres, shops are boarded up, images like this will go on for a little while yet. it is not like we hundreds of the first girl conscripts of this country has ever are able to get straight back into known at a depot to be ranked into those shops. of course it means the ats. more than a quarter million retailers will be looking particularly closely and listening to what the prime minister has to womenjoined the ats the ats. more than a quarter million women joined the ats in the second say on sunday with that update. give world war. in this time that it the 21 's and un de sceaux have said goodbye to cv close and ajoy —— them some indication about if and when and how they may be able to

donning the uniform of the ats. they reopen in some shape or form, are in the army now. molly is including this shop in north london. thought to be the oldest surviving it sells women's wear. they are female veteran. it takes a small army of helpers to put all her having to think really carefully about how they can reopen but do so medals on. i was a supervisor in safely. we're coping with the social woolworth and i wanted to join the distancing measures we put in place, army, so whyjoined up when i was the sanitary regulations we have to 22. i was a sergeant major within nine months. wow. yeah. ijust went adhere to, that we will be able to start the business. one issue we are a bit concerned about is there have to the top. this is afterwards. been rumours of people coming into that's me there. look at that shops like ours will not be able to try on clothes. we don't know if thatis try on clothes. we don't know if that is true. we have to get around uniform. incredible. you look so smart, betty. betty webb spoke that is true. we have to get around that somehow. we are hopeful this nightmare is coming to an end and german, so when she signed up she are there that we can somehow get was interviewed by military details flowing again. intelligence and sent to leslie and start living again. getting park. what did you do when you got there? oh, well, to start with, read details going again, that could be and sign the official secrets act, one real concern for them. some which was pretty frightening. i wasn't expecting it. and it was a really practical changes that businesses are having to make to make it safe for us to go back, so they can get back to some kind of fairly formidable documents, as you normality. as you touched on naga,

can imagine. what happened at bletchley park was kept secret for decades. it was home to the the idea of normality could look different when shops finally codebreakers and decades. it was home to the codebrea kers and credited decades. it was home to the codebreakers and credited with shortening the war and saving cou ntless reopened. shortening the war and saving countless lives. and he was myjob, thank you, ben. see you later. to register the signals coming in we're marking the 75th anniversary of ve day today — from all over the world. -- betty sadly the number of people who actually experienced buss mcdonagh. it was up to the that historic moment grows smaller every year. codebreakers buss mcdonagh. it was up to the codebreake rs to make thankfully, we've got to know buss mcdonagh. it was up to the codebreakers to make sense of it all. another group of people would three of them rather well here on breakfast over recent months. decide where the messages were to last week we said happy 100th birthday to captain tom moore — go, eitherdirect to now colonel tom moore — who has raised £33 million for the decide where the messages were to go, either direct to the field or winston churchill. the prime nhs during the coronavirus pandemic. minister, accompanied by the churchill, visited anti—aircraft we also met the royal navy veteran assets. did you meet winston? only ken benbow, after he charmed us with his emotional reaction to being given a cushion with a picture of his in inspections. not to be a pal. late wife, ada, on it. didn't come to dancers or anything like that. at the height of the it was a gift from kia, blitz molly was myjob was to who works in his care home. control a battery of anti—aircraft and then there was the d—day job —— done is stationed in richmond veteran harry billinge, who has spent so much time park. i had to tell them what campaigning for a permanent memorial in france to his fallen comrades. refused to put in the guns and to today's anniversary seemed like the perfect moment to introduce

tom, ken and harry to each other — stand by and stand by and stand by using video technology, of course — and share their memories of ve day. and fire! when i said fire that was breakfast‘s john maguire when they had to let them all go.|j did the honours. just wanted to ask you whether it how are we all? was scary, molly, when you were doing thatjob? shall we all wave to each other, first thing to say? was scary, molly, when you were doing that job? no, was scary, molly, when you were doing thatjob? no, not was scary, molly, when you were doing that job? no, not a bit. no, give everyone a wave. not a bit. i loved it. it was all their combined age is pushing 300. bustle. did you feel comfortable telling men what to do? oh, yes, these men have shared an experience that now belongs to an ever smaller number. they had to do what i've told the they fought in a world war. morals they would be put in the when the german surrender came, captain — now, of course, cookhouse. laughter. colonel tom moore — did you quite enjoy that? yes... was training tank crews in dorset. don't mess with molly. we may allow i was very pleased for all ourselves a brief period of the people in europe. rejoicing. the end of the war in but i was very apprehensive, europe, ve day, 75 years ago today. and it was unfortunate, as soon as the news came through because all the friends that i had were still back in burma. bletchley went slightly mad and i harry billinge landed in france on d—day. went up to london with others, on eleven months later, when victory was announced, he was in hospital being treated the train, and we milled around in for injuries sustained

in the liberation of europe. london, everybody singing and dancing and drinking. and there were we were on the news. everybody told me it was over. 70 there, you didn't have to and well, that was it. consciously walk you we just pulled along by the crowd. well, it was it didn't mean nuts totally late and, of course, relief to me though, really. after a ll none of these days make... totally late and, of course, relief after all the problems. sadness for because the war was still on. those who had lost people. but, the same time, great deal ofjoy. on ve when i saw my mates coming home day molly was still on the frontline that even added to my frustration. in shortly afterwards she married and you can't live with that. her husband. they were the first ken benbow was in the royal navy, couple to marry in occupied germany. and also took part in the invasion keep yourself well. and you. talk to of normandy, but on ve day was still in action off the coast of japan. you again. betty and molly, just two we were just about alongside of the extraordinary, remarkable of okinawa, and we were getting women who helped to win the war. she attacked by the kamikaze pilots. is lovely, isn't she? so i didn't know a lot about ve day, graham satchell, bbc news. other than on the radio. wonderful women. we were tickled pink. wonderfulwomen. sometimes wonderful women. sometimes i am really enjoying the way these we were just going in to attackjapan, so we were

linkups are really enjoying the way these linku ps are anywhere really enjoying the way these linkups are anywhere people give a really scared still. little wave or there is a little and that was our main thoughts, comment that maybe they are not but we were very, very pleased that entirely sure is on camera. it is a war was over in the uk. little twist. we have had some waves as the streets of the united kingdom filled with dancing, from our guests. they like it. parties and freedom, bathed millions of us went outside last in lights not seen for years... night to clap for key workers and tonight, we'll have another everyone singing. chance tojoin our neighbours — we couldn't see them actually this time for a national singalong. dancing, but they were dancing in the song in question is the streets and they were drinking, dame vera lynn's we'll meet again, and they were having which has taken on a new resonance a first class party. during the lockdown. let's hear a few thoughts, including some from dame vera herself, about why this track has unfortunately, we weren't in it! we couldn't be with them. stood the test of time. everything was going well here, but they were still out there, risking their lives and battling on, # we'll meet again # don't know where as they always did. # don't know when... good luck, tom. and good luck to our boys, eh? god bless you. nice to see you. in recent times we've come when this song appears, to know and respect ken, it's precisely at the point tom and harry for the men where thousands and thousands of families are being they are now. separated. archival: to our men but 75 years on from ve day, they — in uniform, from the girls and we — will remember at home. you've got tens of thousands the men they were then, of british groups scattered and especially those denied across the world, apart from theirfamilies, the chance to grow old with them. so the song encapsulates that,

and radio is the means of connection. it's been an honour and a pleasure. thank you. god bless you all. john maguire, bbc news. it's really nice to think if you're separated, that your families back home are listening to the same thing at the same time and the song there you go. the wave. the way we itself, of course, we re there you go. the wave. the way we were talking about at the end of all we'll meet again, encapsulates exactly the wistfulness those calls. and the sadness but also the determination to meet again harry said, nice to see you. they that so many soldiers are all fabulous gentlemen. lovely to see them get together. all week we've been asking you to share your photos and civilians felt. and memories of ve day with us. let's have a look at some of them. it is like a photo gallery with archival: a personal letter in words and music. stories attached. let's have a look sincerely yours, vera lynn. at some of them. you think, well, now. what am i going to close the programme on? it's got to be something — oh, yes! #we at some of them. i know! # we will might meet again, don't i've been singing a nice song know where, don't know when. in the theatres, variety theatres, we'll meet again. that's a nice... # but know where, don't know when. so that's when i chose #butl know where, don't know when. # but i know we would like meet we'll meet again as my fading again at some sunny day. —— we will out song on radio. and, of course, back me to go. it's never left me. # keep smiling through, just like

you always do. clearly, we can overdo the comparisons with war, but there is something stunningly similar here, which is this whole notion # till the blue skies drive the dark of enforced separation and we are willingly doing it because we have some sort of faith that there will be clouds far away. an ultimate victory. so it is about separation which is endurable if there is a sense of purpose. #so clouds far away. # so will you please say hello to the folks that i know. archival: it's sort of wonderful, where husbands # tell them i won't be alone. and wives torn apart by war can be brought together by music. the fact that these songs # tell them i won't be alone. # they will might be happy to know were so emotional really worried the top brass that as you saw me go # i was of the bbc, and one of them said, "how could men fit themselves for battle with such debilitating tunes ringing in theirears?" singing this song. and the people who actually made the programmes visited the soldiers' camps and they could see for themselves not just that vera lynn #we singing this song. was really popular, # we will like meet again, don't but there was absolutely no know where, don't know when. sign whatsoever that their resolve to fight was being weakened. this was a real moment in history when emotions were ok, even among fighting # but know where, don't know when. #butl know where, don't know when. men, and it was also a moment # but i know we'll meet again, i in history, really, that was a lesson for the old guard that, actually, it was a lesson in learning to trust the people 00:27:59,741 --> 2147483051:50:44,586 and to not underestimate 2147483051:50:44,586 --> 4294966103:13:29,430 their resolve. know we'll meet again.

# yes know we'll meet again. #yesl know we'll meet again. # yes i know we'll meet again some sunny day. lovely pictures. thank you for sending those in. keep sending them in. we'll try to show more through the programme. the weather in a moment. first though, there are no public forecasts on the bbc during the second world war. apparently no weather forecasts. here second world war. apparently no weatherforecasts. here is the second world war. apparently no weather forecasts. here is the first weather forecasts. here is the first weather bulletin on ve day read by the chief announcer at the time, stuart hibbert. we give you britain's weather on the day that it happened. that is something you haven't heard about since the war began. three started with violent rainstorms in many districts, but most of the time it's been sunny and very warm. and here

is too nice weather forecast. there will be sporadic rain over the whole country. thundering places. but there will be bright intervals in most districts. now that is a chart that doesn't sell the weather. iam sell the weather. i am rather keen on the delivery as well, the voice. very stern. sarah, you've reverted. is that the same charge from the first forecast that was delivered? yes, it is. good morning. this is the weather chart from ve day, the 8th of may, 1945. a little bit different to what we have got at the moment. we still use some of the same principles. we still use isobars on the chart and these weather fronts as well. there were no weather forecast issued to the public during the nearly six years of wartime public during the nearly six years of war time because weather was a top security matter. in military planning, for instance. and also the food security. there were fears the

luftwaffe would drop bombs on crops, ruin the harvester. it was really quite secret during those war years. the day marred a welcome return to the great british tradition of delivering the weather forecast on a daily basis. out there today we are set to see a warm day. if you're celebrating in your garden there should be some time for many of us but also some scattered, heavy showers. an area of high pressure keeping things largely dry and settled. that is easing towards the east. a couple of weather fronts in the north and north—west, bringing some showers, particularly along the irish sea coast. a few heavy showers for the south west of england, northern ireland, parts of scotland. later in the day as the sunset raises those temperatures, we could see heavy showers and thunderstorms, particularly parts of northern england and the midlands. towards the south—east, 24 to 25. things are cooler across the north of scotland

most of us in the high teens or mid 20s. some of those heavy showers and thunderstorms are said to continued this evening but most will fade away during the night. a weather front bringing heavy rain in the north of scotland. most places dry and mild. generally this weekend things are going to turn colder, particularly by the time we get to sunday. saturday, another warm day with plenty of sunshine, especially in the south and the east. more cloud and heavy rain across the north of scotland. the chance of heavy isolated showers developing in the afternoon. temperatures 24 to 25 degrees, but are turning colder by sunday. headlines coming up.

good morning, welcome to breakfast with charlie stayt and naga munchetty. our headlines today. ministers warn the public to stick to the social distancing rules over the bank holiday weekend, saying there'll be no quick change to the restrictions. commemorations for the 75th anniversary of victory in europe — but there'll be no crowds on our streets to mark it. events will take place at home and online to pay tribute to the men and women who fought in the second world war. we remember their sacrifice and we take pride in being their compatriots. this morning we'll meet some of the people who took part in that key moment in history and hear their memories. everything and hear their memories. was going well here, but they

everything was going well here, but they were all still risking their lives and battling on, as they a lwa ys lives and battling on, as they always did. it's friday the 8th of may. our top story... as the uk prepares to celebrate the ve day bank holiday, ministers are warning against breaking social distancing rules over the weekend. events today to mark the 75th anniversary of the the end of fighting in europe will be held in line with the current restrictions. the government says there will be no change to regulations ahead of the prime minister's address on sunday, when he's expected to spell out the next steps. our political correspondent jessica parker reports. bagpipes skirl. pots and pans bang. united appreciation last night across the uk for frontline workers, the prime minister joining the applause. on sunday, he'll explain how lockdown might be eased. we're going to be very, very cautious about what happens and under what timetable. this isn't going to be a single announcement that that's the end of the lockdown and everything

is back to normal. sure, i wasn't expecting that. we are in this for long haul. we are, sadly, going to have to live with this virus for some time, and that means that we are going to have to have a gradual approach to loosening some of these restrictions. but no change yet — "maximum caution" the watchword — and could the rate of infection be going up because of what is happening in care homes? the number has probably gone upjust a little bit since last estimates, and that is driven by the epidemic in care homes, he would say, and i would not demure from that. until now, governments across the uk have been more or less in step. but in scotland, as lockdowns are extended, there is unease at where number 10 may be headed. i particularly strongly believe for us to drop the clear, well—understood stay—at—home message right now could be a potentially catastrophic mistake. in northern ireland, no movement yet

on easing restrictions. in wales, we'll hear more today about how and when minor adjustments could begin. there is unity here but, on releasing lockdown, different parts of the uk move at different speeds. though the pace of change is set to be slow. jessica parker, bbc news. our political correspondent helen cattjoins us now from our london newsroom. in the press briefing yesterday dominic raab was asked about whether some of the messaging from the government after what boris johnson have said about his announcements on sunday had ended up selling some confusion. well, guess. if the government is going to start unlocking the economy, as they have said they want to, they will set out this idea of how they match gradually over time ease lockdown restrictions, then it is clear they will have to change that stay home a message to something more nuanced to

give people the confidence that there will be a safe way for some people to return to work, that sort of thing, and to move into a different way of living. it is clear the message will need to be changed but the criticism has come in that now we know a few days in advance that that message is going and because boris johnson that that message is going and because borisjohnson had said that as well as setting out this long—term road map on sunday evening, he also plans to make some changes to rules in england from monday, what we got were a lot of stories in the papers yesterday looking at what there potential easing of lockdown restrictions could be. and the fear of course is that that creates a message that maybe it will all disappear quite quickly and perhaps people could start to chip away at those restrictions particularly over this lovely sunny bank holiday weekend. last night a senior government sources dismissed those newspaper reports as highly speculative, and downing street has insisted its message has been completely clear in that lockdown restrictions stay in place as they have been so far will stop and on sunday we will get this

very gradual long—term plan for how the government might bring in restrictions to ease lockdown and it will be monitored over time. thank you. the queen, the prince of wales and the prime minister will mark the 75th anniversary of ve day today — when nazi germany surrendered to allied forces and the second world war in europe was declared over. commemorations have been adapted to reflect social distancing measures — but we are still being encouraged to celebrate safely at home. our correspondent robert hall has this report. to those who were there, it seems a lifetime ago, but the scenes they witnessed on that spring day in 1945 have never left them. a tidal wave of euphoria and excitement filling the city streets to overflowing, and reaching every corner of the british isles. in an old and tattered tent, there occurred the greatest battlefield surrender of this or any other war. the instrument of germany's

unconditional surrender was signed. the fighting in europe had effectively been over for several days — since the first surrender documents had been signed. but for millions of people, this was the moment to begin a party that would last through the night. we had quite good celebrations — about a dozen, i would suppose. and we had a bottle of red wine on the end of the lorry and a bottle of white wine, and we enjoyed the evening very much. bill ridgewell served throughout europe with the royal electrical and mechanical engineers. he says ve day is still an important event on his calendar. and to celebrate it now, we must learn that that must never happen again. the waste of material, of lives and of innocence

through the war was tremendous. it's just a pure waste, is warfare. but how different it will be 75 years on — no flags, no parties, no crowds. just a call for us all to mark this momentous day however we can. all of us who are born since 1945 are acutely conscious that we owe everything we most value to the generation who won the second world war. and we remember the millions of people from across the united kingdom and from across the world who came together in world war ii to fight for our shared values. values of freedom, of democracy, of peace. covid—19 has shredded elaborate plans drawn up for cities, towns and villages.

five years ago on the 70th anniversary, thousands of us joined acts of remembrance, sat down for street celebrations or lit beacons. we are celebrating ve day because it's the 75th anniversary. in 2020, we can't gather together in the way we used to but lockdown has taught us all to adapt, so the bunting's going up in our homes, gardens and streets. even those shielded from the pandemic could play their part — after all, many of them remember the real thing. this year's remembrance in lockdown will, in a strange way, be part of history itself. it will be part of the mad story of this great lockdown. i don't know how — of course, it's too soon to say — our historians will remember it. by 1945, war had brought many families and communities closer together. radio linked them with events at home and abroad.

now we're all learning that, even when we are forced apart, we can still share experiences. and maybe we can understand a little more about the sense ofjoy and release 75 years ago. robert hall, bbc news. our reporterjon donnisonjoins us now from outside buckingham palace. how eerily different, i suppose, life is for us over the last few months, but when you look back at the archive footage and all the people gathered outside the palace and how it's going to be today. yeah, it is going to be very different. we are living in strange times. this morning outside buckingham palace, pretty quiet. a few people out taking their daily exercise. maybe a few key workers heading into work. but you're right, 75 years ago you had those amazing scenes outside buckingham palace, huge crowds, the royalfamily on scenes outside buckingham palace, huge crowds, the royal family on the balcony with winston churchill. and

75 years on, i think people will be celebrating but they are being asked to do it in different way, so celebrating at home, in their gardens if you are lucky enough to have one, and online. people are also being advised to watch the events happening on television, extensive coverage on the bbc today. you are going to have the victory speech of winston churchill being broadcast at 3pm and people being invited to maybe stand up and raise a glass when that has aired. you will also have a number of fly pasts in belfast, cardiff, edinburgh and london, and down over the cliffs of dover, a lone spitfire will fly along the coast at 11 o'clock when we have that minute of silence. but stay at home, watch it on tv. thank you, jon donnison for us. the archbishop of canterbury, justin welby, says the spirit of hope which helped the uk through the war can also be

seen in our response to the coronavirus pandemic. in a video message, he also drew parallels between the wartime generation and today's health care staff and key workers. hope kept courage alive from 1940 to 1945. hope was expressed in the national day of prayer. hope shows in our determination to build a better a fairer, more christlike world, and country — a country built injustice, peace and generosity — as we are united before the threat of the virus and united by the courage of medical staff and carers, as well as so many more essential workers. archbishop of canterbury speaking there. let's speak now to the most senior uniformed officer in the british armed forces, general sir nicholas carter. thank you very much for your time this morning. i want to give us a sense, the ve day of course today. what it still means in society and

to the armed forces who are serving. it's always these commemorative events a re it's always these commemorative events are special for all because it gives us a chance to remember what our forebears it gives us a chance to remember what ourforebears did it gives us a chance to remember what our forebears did in defeating the germans in this particular case and of course we remember their values and what they stood for and the sense of teamwork that saw them through. their positivity, their high spirits and good spirits in adversity. and of course the sacrifice they make. it's very important for the modern military to remember. general, of course, because of coronavirus, things are very different this year in terms of the major events which many military would have been involved in. can you give us a sense of how you have had to change what has been planned because you obviously it is all having to be done remotely but what we have been able to do is prerecord some events respecting social distancing and all that and the

programme that the bbc is showing this afternoon will have some of those things on it. what will also happen, which i hope will be uplifting for people, is a fly—past by the red arrows over at london today and of course a separate flyby ats of cardiff, edinburgh and belfast, as well. we will do what we can to commemorate it visibly and it will be different. it is tough for vetera ns will be different. it is tough for veterans and all of those who lived through the war. because they would like to see a parade and sadly they will not be involved in that. i think we should spare a thought for them as we commemorate at home. these are personal stories in a way and people will decide for themselves how they do in these different circumstances market and we've spoken to a number of veterans this morning who are making different arrangements under the current restrictions. yes, of course. the other thing we should remember about this is that these tremendous people, and we have seen this of course with the now colonel

tom moore, who has become a legend of the last month or so. they give us of the last month or so. they give us hope, and your previous report from the archbishop of canterbury i think is very relevant. we were fortu nate think is very relevant. we were fortunate enough to be involved in the construction of the bristol nightingale hospital over the last month or so. at that opening ceremony, tim whittle stone, the medical director, observed that they had done something far more special than build a 300 bed state—of—the—art digitally enabled hospital in less than three weeks. they had actually given the people of bristol and the south west hope andi of bristol and the south west hope and i think that word, hope, is really important at the moment to. do you see there's parallels very clearly between a generation now... it is interesting because we look at this older generation who fought in the war, who they beat children in wartime and the war, who they beat children in war time and what they had to go through. and now a younger generation who are having to go through a different kind of ordeal but in some ways with some of the parallels to do with the

restrictions on their lives and also what life might be like in the future. yes, i think so. it is those values and standards which our forebears had at the heart of what they did. that will see the young through today. it was tough for them in the early 1940s, but it will be tough for them going forward now, ifear. tell me a little bit more about the role of the military has played? i know you mentioned the building of the nightingale hospital is. there have been other roles as well? yes, the under scoring point to make is that our role has been very much in support of the heroic front line for health and social care workers, of course. a lot of it has been about logistics. i talk to the other day about it being a remarkable logistical challenge, achieving what people have achieved. the nhs has had to go from... as you mentioned,

the building of the hospitals. we have also been involved in some of the ambulance requirements. we've been involved in a lot of the planning capacity that has gone on. and we've been involved helping the government with misinformation and those sorts of things as well. and a personal note and an official note, what will be the key moment for you and what will you be doing given the restrictions in place? well, i think the two—minute silence at 11 o'clock will be really special. i also look forward to listening to her majesty the queen at nine this evening. we thank you for your time. thank you very much and thank you for all the work that those members of the armed forces are involved in to do with the coronavirus pandemic. public gatherings may have been ruled out, but it was always going to take more than a national lockdown to prevent ve day celebrations and commemorations from taking place. with much of the real world off limits, many of us are holding events online, as breakfast‘s tim muffett

has been finding out. commemorations planned for years disrupted in weeks. but to quote winston churchill "it's the courage to continue that counts". what i've managed to do is pull together a number of standard bearers from across the uk and further afield to have a virtual act of remembrance to basically film themselves performing an act of remembrance and a royal salute. the royal british legion's virtual remembrance parade go online at 11 o'clock. you get a real age range of people taking part, haven't you? our youngest standard bearer, lola, she is five. hi, lola, how are you doing? now, lola, you're the youngest person taking part in the virtual parade. how does that feel? amazing. a generation ago they carried on as normal so i think we need

to carry on as normal as possible to mark — to remember this. pipe major roger bayes has composed a special ve day march. it was supposed to be performed at ceremonies across the uk. i play with the city of norwich pipe band. would have been playing at the most easterly point in the uk, which is ness point in lowestoft. but of course they can't do it now so we'll all be playing at our own separate addresses. the 27 countries it is going to be played in by over 1000 pipers globally. so for you, elaine, ve day has always was been very special, hasn't it? it's a very special day because i was born on ve day 1945. it's always been a familyjoke that they didn't dare fight after i was born because they would have sorted them out. and how will you be marking your birthday and ve day? i live alone so it'll be the first year in my whole life that i have not celebrated it with friends and i will miss that, but my god—daughter

sent me six bottles of prosecco to celebrate. # we'll meet again... tonight at nine o'clock across the uk the nation is invited to sing along to we'll meet again. pupils of the roche school in south london have already recorded their rendition. # some sunny day... # keep smiling through... it's hoped it will be led from her window by 103—year—old dame vera lynn, alongside her daughter, virginia? it does depend on how she feels and how cold it is. if it's very chilly then she won't be near the window. but, anyway, she will be singing and we we'll all be singing. and how is your mother now? she is fine, she's fine. but at 103, you know, very bright and breezy one minute, not quite as bright and breezy the next. but on the whole she's doing very, very well.

this song is part of our national story, isn't it? does it feel especially poignant at the moment? i mean, it resonated extremely widely because of the current crisis. it's timeless and it willjust carry on. people who are away, people who are parted, there will always be that feeling that they will meet again one day. # some sunny day...# let's see how residents of one street in chester are celebrating today in lockdown — holly hamilton is there this morning. good morning, holly. you are going to show us something remarkable today, i think? to show us something remarkable today, ithink? yes, good morning. i suddenly feel very underdressed. let me transport you back to 1945. so many people have had a very street

parties, their celebrations to mark the day. they were cancelled. but that hasn't stopped this street in chester coming up with an alternative and socially distancing safe way to celebrate today's occasion. let me bring you my two metre mike. we are adhering to social distancing rules and making sure everybody‘s two metres apart. first of all, matter, you are one of the organisers of what would have been the ve day street party. what are you doing instead? the street would have normally been adorned with bunting and they would have been crowds of people doing dances and all sorts of things. but of course the social restrictions mean we cannot do that. we are all socially distanced down the street with our tea, coffee and cakes. we can sing from the doorsteps. and you have been singing as well. you created a video in the attire that you have on now and it's gone viral?

yeah, ican't you have on now and it's gone viral? yeah, i can't quite believe we did. we did a film showing community spirit but i'd social distance. using all the songs from the second world war, which had a real resonance with the times now. it was just amazing that so many people have watched it all around the world, it seems. it has been shown on national television everywhere. were you surprised by the reaction? really surprised. friends from germany, america and australia have been asking, was that you are television?! you look amazing. you are going to sing us a tune now for our wonder down into history. now this street is full of history. some of the residents here, their families have owned these homes for generations. there is one resident on the street who lived through the second world war, someone who has documented many a street party during that time is neil, who we are

going to meet right now. there have been many street parties taking place here? yes, there have. over the years going back to the 40s there is a history of street parties and the community getting together. so naturally at the best of times we are very close community with lots of shared history. so it seems especially poignant of this year that we are all separate but still going out of their and are doing our thing. completely. you have been documenting some of these three parties over the years? absolutely. in 2014 we made a three minute black and white film of the street recreating a bit of the 1940s. in a way i've been here is a bit of a custodian for the street and its history. it's been incredible seeing everybody coming together like this, even though we are keeping very much a part? yeah, yeah. as the film shows it is a very naturally social street. matt and kirsty next door,

we are all very friendly, we'll connect with each other, we know each other in a first name basis. it feels very much like wartime. this street has old—fashioned community values. one of the lovely things we are seeing nastily is more of that. i would have got all dressed up for the occasion if i'd known. a little bar there as well. let's look at some of the different customs. we have got scones with jam and cream. sadly i'm not allowed to have any of them, or any of the cakes, which is a nightmare. we can meet little beatrix. she was born during the lockdown. beatrix hasn't met her grandparents yet, has she? no, she hasn't, not yet, unfortunately. she will do soon and they will be lots of cuddles. one third? congratulations. these ladies to looking remarkable, absolutely gorgeous. again, more jam and bonds that i cannot have! looking

remarkable. a lot of people are drawing the comparison to this event here, to the club for nhs carers. we have got an nhs worker who lives on the street. good morning, maria. again with et and the bonds. you look fantastic. an nhs worker yourself? shout out to all the key workers and essential workers working today. it must be really difficult right now? it is really nice today to be able to wave to the neighbours and everybody makes an effort. this is a really friendly street. this is really nice. you've got some traditional recipes on show? i made a traditional wartime welsh cake recipe with the bits at the bottom of the cupboard. i think it's ok! it looks pretty good to me. we are seeing an australian flag behind you? yes, i'm an australian. this is the aussie corner of the street. it must be fantastic for you to be living on a street like this, which is extremely friendly, coming together at a time like this? yeah,

we are really lucky. it's a good bunch of people. it looks absolutely remarkable. at a time when we are adhering to social distancing rules, we have to be two metres apart, there are so many people across the uk doing similar things today to mark the 75th anniversary of ve day. it is interesting to see at a time when most of us have to stay apart, the whole of the uk really coming together for this very special day. holly, thank you so much. at a street. that is a sense of community, isn't it? it really is. and i am celebrating having seen a tea cosy, which i haven't seen for quite some time. the lady had it all lined up. i have not seen a tea cosy for quite a long time full stop how long? i don't know, honestly. it's been a while. used to be always a teapot tea cosy. if you asked someone who uses a tea cosy still, send us your pictures.

-- if cosy still, send us your pictures. —— if you are someone. i'd be very interested. that one log home knitted. i don't mean that in a bad way. you have proper modern ones, art deco. send the traditional ones in. i'd love to see them. sarah is the weather. that is a lovely image. did you see the bunting on the street in chester? absolutely, yes, it was gorgeous. this is special ve day bunting overlooking the river thames in twickenham. a fairly serene start to the day. a bit of high cloud. that will turn things hazy. we have got a one day ahead. temperatures are really on the rise. there will be scattered showers and some of them will be quite heavy with thunderstorms, especially later this afternoon and into this evening. high pressure still not far away, keeping us mostly dry and settled. more cloud in the western part of

the uk. quite cloudy along the irish sea coast. showers in the far west of england. northern ireland and scotland as well. dry and sunny weather for much of england and wales. later in the afternoon a few isolated but potentially heavy, thundery downpour is said to develop. those temperatures today in the warmer spots up to 24, even 25 degrees. many in the high teens, late 20s. cooler in the north of scotland. this evening we will keep some of those heavy showers. the odd rumble of thunder, particularly towards parts of the midlands, towards parts of the midlands, towards lincolnshire. more rain in the north of scotland tonight. much colderair the north of scotland tonight. much colder air for the second part of the weekend. most of us started saturday on a largely dry and mild note. afairamount saturday on a largely dry and mild note. a fair amount of cloud. they should be sunshine in the east. things turning colder by sunday. saturday another warm, mostly dry day for many. quite a bit of

sunshine. similar to today, day for many. quite a bit of sunshine. similarto today, later this afternoon is when we see isolated heavy showers and thunderstorms, particularly in parts of wales, northern england. temperatures 17 to 24 degrees. things turning colder in the north of scotland. outbreaks of rain. this is quite an active front, making its way south across the british isles through saturday night into sunday. a blue colours returning to the map. a blue colours returning to the map. a very different feeling day by sunday. saturday temperatures like the middle ofjuly, but by sunday it will feel like the middle of march. cold winds drawing on some wintry showers for parts of north—east scotland. rain showers further south. temperatures stuck in single figures. the warmest of the weather on sundayjust figures. the warmest of the weather on sunday just holding figures. the warmest of the weather on sundayjust holding on down towards the far south—west. but that colder, drier theme to the weather continues into monday. high pressure holding on. we have the wind chill with these northerly winds. gusty

through the english channel. the best of the suntan and the lighter winds to be found further west. temperatures below par, nine to 13 degrees by monday. things gradually will turn warmer once again as we head into the coming week. thanks very much. hello, this is breakfast with charlie stayt and naga munchetty. as the uk prepares to celebrate the bank holiday, ministers say there will be no change to social distancing rules ahead of an address from the prime minister on sunday. last night people took to their doorsteps to clap in support of frontline workers for the seventh week in a row. northern ireland has also said there will be no change before the weekend, while the lockdown in scotland has been formally extended. wales will give an update later today. let's speak now to the culture secretary oliver dowden. thank you very much for talking to us thank you very much for talking to us this morning from st albans. good to have you on the programme. good

morning. what is the message? it seems very morning. what is the message? it seems very mixed in terms of the prime minister making a statement on sunday, speculation this week about certain parts of the lockdown restrictions being eased. it is mixed at the moment. can you make it clear? the situation remains exactly as it has been several weeks. that is people should be staying at home in order to protect the nhs and save lives. that has not changed and once again we have that temptingly sunny bank holiday weekend coming up, but people should please not be home except for the limited reasons we have already set out, and it is ve day to day so they will be plenty of good stuff going on that we have been working to organise. now on sunday, watch the prime minister will do, is set out the road map ahead. it now appears that we are past the worst of this virus, the peak so far. so we are seeing... whilst death rates remain sadly high

they are falling on a rolling basis. the number of hospital admissions are falling, as well. so we can start to look to the future but we will have to do so in a very tentative and cautious way. so people should not expect a big changes from the prime minister on sunday. but what they should expect, and this is what people have been asking for some time, tell us where we are going. give us a road map ahead and the prime minister will set that out but what they should expect, and this is what people have been asking forfor some expect, and this is what people have been asking for for some time, tell us been asking for for some time, tell us where we are going. give us a road map ahead and the prime minister will set that out but, and the worst thing that could happen is after a ll the worst thing that could happen is after all of the effort we put in, huge complaints from people up and down the country, including all of your viewers, and we have this thing under control. we don't want a second peak that overwhelms the nhs. why, then, you say don't expect big changes, set out a road map... why did we see all the newspapers with speculation about what was

happening, even though the foreign secretary dominic raab has said that those reports on easing restrictions we re those reports on easing restrictions were not a reliable guide? that was ina were not a reliable guide? that was in a press conference yesterday. our own political editor confidently good report that the stay—at—home message would be going on sunday. where are those coming from? i'm afraid i can't speculate on where newspapers are getting there sources, but we are clear all along that the message remains, people should stay at home in order to help protect the nhs and save lives. but equally it is fair that people are rightly asking, well, as we get through the worst of this peak, as we start to get it under control, where do we go next? the prime minister on sunday will be setting out where we go next but he will do so in out where we go next but he will do soina out where we go next but he will do so in a cautious way because we want to just ensure that we will take a step, see whether it is working in the sense of if there is any indication that things are starting to get out of control we will not hesitate to step aback. but people should be able to look forward to the weeks and months ahead, to know

where we will be going and in the order in which we are doing it to.|j understand a road map. i understand thatis understand a road map. i understand that is what you have made clear so far in this conversation. i road map will be laid out. the various stages, if and when certain criteria are met. that is what the prime minister will do. when you say do not expect big changes, are any changes going to be announced on sunday? forget the road map. willa life change from sunday night monday morning? i don't want to get drawn into massive speculation about what the prime minister will say on sunday. but that is what people are facing at the moment, that is why there are so many questions at the moment from people who are not feeling they are getting a clear message. the prime minister will set out the next steps, but as i have been at pains to say, and as the foreign secretary said last night, as well, and indeed the prime minister has said to us, cabinet,

yesterday... the health of the nation comes first so we need to proceed with caution. so expect limited moves to begin with and then, over time, if limited moves to begin with and then, overtime, if there limited moves to begin with and then, over time, if there was i starting to work, we can start to go further. and what we will do is set out the different steps we can take further along the path so people know where we are going. the first minister of scotland, nicola sturgeon, has warned it could be catastrophic to drop the stay—at—home message. she announced that the nation's lockdown in scotla nd that the nation's lockdown in scotland would be extended. yesterday it was made clear that all four devolved nations would work together when it comes to a lockdown strategy. will there be a point where the restrictions, say, in scotla nd where the restrictions, say, in scotland would be different to those in england? as you say, we have sought to work together and i pay tribute to all of the four nations. i sit on cobra alongside the first

secretaries of each of the nations. we have worked constructively. prime minister has spoken to them all in the past 24 a was. we want to continue the uk wide approach as we have done in the past. that may be in some limited circumstances based on the particular needs of each nation and may be up some slightly different speeds. it is important we move together as a nation. could you clarify what kind of situation slightly different speeds might be neededin slightly different speeds might be needed in variance to the nations? well, the prime minister will set out our steps on sunday. clearly it is up to nicola sturgeon in scotland and the wales first minister to set out very delicate their response. you said there could be slightly different speeds, i was asking for an example of that between the nations. i... i have accepted that because we have each of the

different four nations are based on their own circumstances being able to set out their path, that is a possibility. i have accepted that as a possibility, but we are working together between the four nations, so that is a speculation at this stage. let's see what the prime minister has to say on sunday and what h of the four nations say. what do you say to people who are hearing reports... we had from the bank of england yesterday, rather dire predictions on assessment of the uk economy, perhaps not surprising considering where we are at. there are people who want to get working next week, who need to get working next week, who need to get working next week. we are about to talk about credit card debt and how people are struggling. what do you say to them with these restrictions in place? the first thing is to understand the restrictions as they are at the moment. what saying to people is stay—at—home if you can. work from home if you can. but if

you cannot work from home, people should work... can go out to work but should do so in a way that is safe to do so. think social distancing and so on. look, clearly, because of the unprecedented measures that we have taken to deal with this public health emergency, it has had huge consequences for the economy and that's why the chancellor has ta ken economy and that's why the chancellor has taken huge measures, for example there is a fair employment for 6 million people. —— this furloughing scheme. it has clearly had an impact which is why we wa nt clearly had an impact which is why we want to get back to work as soon as possible in every sense but that must be done consistent with the public health interests of the nation. we will only take these steps when it is safe to do so. i wa nt steps when it is safe to do so. i want us to get back to normal as soon as possible, consistent with public health. the prime minister on wednesday during pm hughes said it

is absolutely right... he was responding to keir starmer, leader of the labour party, said it was absolutely right to say there was an epidemic in care homes, which is something i bitterly regret. it is poignant today that we are seeing the impact of coronavirus on the elderly, particularly those in care homes. i'm sure you have seen this. keir starmer is being quoted. there are going to be many people are watching today with families, older generations in care homes, who are petrified for their safety and, u nfortu nately, are petrified for their safety and, unfortunately, many who have lost older members of their family. what do you say to them about how the government has detected them or how they will say that they have not been protected? well, first of all, my deepest sympathies go to every single person who has lost a loved one. notjust in care homes but in any situation. now, as the prime minister acknowledged, and you have just said, there have been

challenges in respect of care homes. that is why we have set out an action plan as to how to deal with the social care setting. so that is why we are getting more testing into ca re why we are getting more testing into care homes. so for example we are getting tens of thousands of people in care homes who are residents and people who work in care homes and tested. more money into care homes, so for example we have £2.7 billion into local authorities, and a lot of that will go to the care homes. we are getting protective equipment, as well. and we are starting to grip with, and it is starting to have an effect. whilst the death rate remains too high, we have seen on the latest figures on above deaths in care homes are starting to fall. it is still a real priority for the government. of course it is ve day, as at headline alluded to, how do you think the uk should be marking it in these different times?m you think the uk should be marking it in these different times? it has been a huge pleasure of mine as a secretary of state for culture to

work together with many others on these plans. it is not what we intended in the first place, so we won't be having the street parties or parades, we will mark from home. they will be some real highlights. we will get to hear the queen at 9pm tonight, prince charles will lead the nation at 11am in the two—minute silence. but also on a personal level because we are at home we have the opportunity to connect with relatives. those of us who are fortu nate relatives. those of us who are fortunate enough to have relatives that remember ve day, phone them up. don't look back in years to come and think, oh, icould don't look back in years to come and think, oh, i could have spoken to them but didn't get a chance. i have looked into my own family. a mixture. my gran worked in a barrage balloon factory. sadly my mum's dad lost his first wife and all three children during the blitz, so it is a mixture of memories and sadness and poignancy but i think the nation will come together on this occasion and hopefully it will be a special

date. oliver dowden, media and culture secretary, thank you for talking to us this morning. time is at 7:42am. let's look at financial issues. ben is looking specifically at credit cards. a lot of households feeling the pinch. what is the picture in regards to what people are doing about credit card debt? good morning. yes, if money is tight right now, you might be one of the thousands who've taken a payment holiday — that's to say a break from paying off your credit card. new figures this morning suggest more and more people are speaking to their banks and asking for more time. at the end of the last month, the banks had offered payment holidays for 696,700 credit cards. it's part of a range of measures to help borrowers who've been affected by coronavirus. they've also frozen payments on about 469,300 personal loans. and there have been changes to overd rafts, too. over 27 million customers have been

offered the option of interest—free borrowing for three months on the first £500 of their arranged overdraft. some people have had to ask for them, others have been offered it automatically. but they're not doing this out of the goodness of their heart — the financial watchdog the financial conduct authority told the lenders they needed to come up with a plan to make it easier for people. and they also encouraged those changes to overd rafts. it gives us all a bit more breathing space to get out of this. so these stats out this morning show that people are really taking banks up on the offers. right now it is helping people to tide theirfinancial right now it is helping people to tide their financial system over while they get back to work. a lot

of people might be thinking, if you ta ke of people might be thinking, if you take a payment holiday, is that somehow causing a problem for you? will you be registered somewhere, does it look bad on your credit record? all sorts of concerns, quite rightly. many people up until now have been religious about paying back what is owed. when it is owed. and making sure you meet all of those deadlines. uk finance represents all the banks and building societies it says it won't harm your credit file if you take a payment holiday, but you will still be charged interest on the outstanding allens. it's not like you are getting the money for free. it could cost you more in the longer term if it takes you longer to pay it back. and also remember this is not cancelling the payment outright. you still oh it, it will just give you more time to pay it back. thank you. as attention turns to easing the lockdown across the uk, the westminster government has said that changes may vary across the different nations. let's hear how it might work in northern ireland, where firm plans are due to be announced next week.

the first minister of northern ireland arlene fosterjoins us now. thank you very much for your time this morning, arlene foster. can you just establish first of all for us what is your timeline in relation to any announcements to do with relaxing the restrictions? well, good morning. and just like the other nations of the united kingdom we have our own regulations, and we review those regulations, we reviewed them yesterday on the three timeline, and we have decided to reimpose those regulations for another three weeks. the reason behind that, it's to do with this very famous r rate, the transmission of the virus. we are told in northern ireland that our number is around 0.8, 0.9. we don't want to ta ke around 0.8, 0.9. we don't want to take any chances that that will go above the number one again and the transmission of the virus will increase again. that's why we've

decided to reimpose the regulations again. but at the same time we do of course recognise that we have to give hope for the future and a plan for the future, so early next week we will be publishing our road map as to what will happen in the coming weeks and months. just to be absolutely clear then, for a further three weeks there will be no change to the way that you are advising people to behave, no changes in social distancing, no changes in the amount of daily exercise they can take, everything will stay as it is? everything will stay as it is. we have a process, risk analysis that we used to look at all of these matters. we don't just we used to look at all of these matters. we don'tjust look at we used to look at all of these matters. we don't just look at the public health, of course that is the priority. we do have to look at the economic damage that is being done to our country and the societal damage and the wider health issues we have to take into account as well. so during the next few weeks well. so during the next few weeks we will continually look at those

risks and we will look to see if we can make minor amendments within those three weeks. at the end of those three weeks. at the end of those three weeks. at the end of those three weeks, what can we do to relax those regulations? but at the moment we want to make sure that we don't see the virus becoming very lent again and coming over that number one —— very lent. if it does that, the virus will transmit again in the community. if i can that, the virus will transmit again in the community. if! can remind you of boris johnson in the community. if! can remind you of borisjohnson pass my comments in the house of commons where he said, we will want, if we possibly can, to get going with some of these measures, which is to do with the changes, and monday. i think it would be a good idea of people had a good idea what is coming the following day, that is why sunday is the best day to do it. do you see any discrepancy in what he is saying, as to what you have just told us? no, i don't. we spoke with the prime minister yesterday, all of the devolved administrations.

he said to us that he was moving forward with maximum caution and he recognised that for scotland, wales and northern ireland we have to review our own regulations, but at the same time he and i as well want us the same time he and i as well want us to move forward if we can in a four nations way. when we do that we have simplicity of message, we have clarity of message and people really —— really understand what is going on when we moved together as a block. of course we do recognise that our r rate is different across the four nations. in scotland, wales and northern ireland it is at the operand. whereas in london we are told it is down about 0.5 at the moment, and that is simply because london had of the virus before the rest of the country and therefore we are now in a different place. i think when people talk about different regions moving at different regions moving at different times, that is perhaps what they are speaking about. but from my point of view the simplicity and clarity of the message works best when we are all able to move at

the same point in time. given what you have just said, the same point in time. given what you havejust said, and i know there isa you havejust said, and i know there is a great deal of caution around particularly as some of the newspapers interpreted what boris johnson said, they were talking about extending the time you could be out of doors, may be changing restrictions on households. if it we re restrictions on households. if it were to be the case that boris johnson announced for england that there were to be changes, may be nuanced changes like those, you would stay with the restrictions that you have in northern ireland? is that how that would work? well, i think there is a difference between sticking with the restrictions and making nuanced changes. as i said, we can make nuanced changes within those three weeks where we have the regulations in place again, where we are by law, we have to look at those regulations every three weeks to make sure that they are proportionate and necessary for the protection of public health. that is absolutely right. but during these

three weeks we can look to see if there are some nuanced changes we can make. and i would put going out more for exercise in the open air as a nuanced change rather than a fundamental change. so i think those things can be looked at during the three weeks but what is important is that the regulations are in place for another three weeks because we believe they are needed to protect the health of citizens of northern ireland, and! the health of citizens of northern ireland, and i think you will see that right across the united kingdom. you share a border with the republic of ireland and we know already that from the 18th of may they have said very clearly that they have said very clearly that they would reopen the country in a slow phased way, there is a different timetable happening there which relates to things like outdoor meetings between people, extending how far people are allowed to go from their home in their exercising and possibly the opening of schools ata and possibly the opening of schools at a certain timetable. do you foresee any problems around those border areas where you may have

people living closely together but who are living under very different regimes? i don't think they will be very different regimes. i think what is important as well is that we continue to share information across the two jurisdictions continue to share information across the twojurisdictions on continue to share information across the two jurisdictions on the island. we have been doing that very well. our chief medical officers have a very close relationship and speak to each other so that we can understand how the disease is working in both jurisdictions. add the important thing is that we share information. if there are slight different, that we communicate those differences and are able to understand why they are in place. that is important for our citizens, and clarity of message and a simplicity of message, and that comes across best when we work as four nations within the uk and when we communicate with our neighbours in the republic of ireland as well. on the clarity of message issue, a lot of people are saying the message has not been clear. you listen to nicola sturgeon, you listen to boris johnson, we listen to you this morning. and it feels like there are

discrepancies there. are you concerned? i appreciate you have tried to be very clear and make your own message, but do you appreciate some people are thinking there have been messaging issues along the way? i think we're at a critical point now where the disease is beginning to plateau, but what we don't want to plateau, but what we don't want to see happening is that it comes back up again. as it begins to plateau, of course we will want to plan for the future and give hope to people. on this ve day it is important we achieve another victory in europe and this virus. what is important is that we give hope but also say to people, stick with us, stick with the stay—at—home message if you can, go to work and practice safe working practices if you need to go to work, but it is important, very important, that we look to the future as well for the sake of our economy and for the sake of helping our people move into the future as well. arlene foster, first minister

of northern ireland, thank you. when we look back at the second world war we often talk about the men who went off to fight. but let's not forget that more than 250,000 british women also signed up for military service. brea kfast‘s graham satchell caught up with two of them. nice to meet you. perhaps we'll meet one day. betty and molly, two quite remarkable women. i shall be 97 this time next week. 97? lam 102. you're a chicken! archive: hundreds of the first girl conscripts that this country has ever known arrived with volunteers at a depot to be welcomed into the ranks of the ats. more than a quarter of a million womenjoined the ats

in the second world war. archive: in less time than it takes to tell, the 21s and unders have said goodbyes to civvy clothes and are donning the uniform of the ats. they're in the army now. molly is thought to be the oldest surviving female veteran. it takes a small army of helpers to put all her medals on. i was a supervisor in woolworths, and i wanted to join the army, so whyjoined up when i was 22. i was a sergeant major within nine months. wow! yeah. ijust went zoom, straight to the top. this is afterwards. that's me there. ah! look at that uniform. incredible. you look so smart, betty. thank you. betty webb spoke german, so when she signed up she was interviewed by military intelligence and sent to bletchley park. what did you do when you got there? oh, well, to start with, read and sign the official secrets act, which was pretty frightening,

because i wasn't expecting it. and it was a fairly formidable document, as you can imagine. what happened at bletchley park was kept secret for decades. it was home to the codebreakers, and credited with shortening the war and saving countless lives. betty'sjob, to register the signals coming in from all over the world. it was a mammoth task for the codebreakers to make sense of it all. another group of people would decide where the messages were to go, either direct to the field or winston churchill. archive: the prime minister, accompanied by mrs churchill, visits anti—aircraft gun sites which are tackling flying bombs. did you meet winston? only in inspections. not to... ..not to be pally with. didn't come to dances or anything like that. at the height of the blitz, molly's job was to control a battery of anti—aircraft guns,

stationed in richmond park. i had to tell them what fuse to put in the guns and to stand by and stand by and stand by and fire! when i said "fire", that was when they had to let them all go. i just wanted to ask you whether it was scary, molly, when you were doing thatjob? no, not a bit. i loved it. i was all bustle. did you feel comfortable telling men what to do? oh, yes, they had to do as i told them, or else they'd get put in the cookhouse peeling the spuds! did you quite enjoy that? yes. don't mess with molly! we may allow ourselves a brief period of rejoicing. the end of the war in europe, ve day, 75 years ago today. as soon as the news came through, bletchley went slightly mad

and i went up to london with others, on the train, and we milled around in london, everybody singing and dancing and drinking. and there were so many people there, you didn't have to consciously walk, you we just pulled along by the crowd. well, it was total elation, of course, and relief after all the problems. a lot of sadness for those who'd lost people. but, the same time, a great deal ofjoy. on ve day molly was still on the front line, in nuremberg. shortly afterwards she married her husband bernard. they were the first couple to marry in occupied germany. keep yourself well. yes, and you. talk to you soon. talk to you again. betty and molly, just two of the extraordinary, remarkable women who helped to win the war. she is lovely, isn't she? yes. graham satchell, bbc news.

i like the wave. i like the way. this morning we have been asking you to send pictures of tea cosy is. a bit of a fascination. we spotted one earlier this morning in a street in chester, where we will be live later. we saw a tea cosy. mentioned it and everybody has sent pictures in. they are impressive. sarah, knitted or modern day tea cosy, if you have one? i am quite a fan of a tea cosy, yeah. it has got to be knitted. out there today we have got quite a lot of warm weather. if you are out in your garden celebrating 75 years since ve day. a fair amount of high cloud this morning. a good deal of brightness. a lot of dry weather on the cards. temperatures on the suplex that will make up. scattered showers and thunderstorms later on this afternoon for some. i press are keeping things mostly dry.

some weather fronts in the north cloudy skies across parts of scotland and northern ireland. murky through the irish sea coasts. some showers for the south—west of england, northern ireland and scotland. dry and fine for much of the day. some heavy showers and thunderstorms developing later this afternoon. temperatures up to my 24 degrees. across the north of scotland that we are looking at around 12 to 14 celsius. through this evening and tonight of those heavy showers and thunderstorms eased away. the odd rumble of thunder and lasting through the night. into tomorrow morning, a mile start on saturday. fairly cloudy in the north and west. another warm day on saturday, rein in the north, called for all of us by sunday. headlines coming up. good morning, welcome to breakfast with charlie stayt and naga munchetty. our headlines today... ministers warn the public to stick to the social distancing

rules over the bank holiday weekend, saying there'll be no quick change to the restrictions. commemorations for the 75th anniversary of victory in europe — but there'll be no crowds on our streets to mark it. events will take place at home and online to pay tribute to the men and women who fought in the second world war we remember their sacrifice and we take pride in being their compatriots. fundraing hero, captain tom joins the veterans remembering the part they took in a key moment in our history. it was going well here but they were still out there, risking their lives and battling on, as they always did. they sing.

ata time at a time when we are being asked to state very much a part, i am at a street in chester, residents have found an alternate way to come together at a safe distance to celebrate ve day! good morning. it is friday the 8th of may. as the british public starts to celebrate ve day, the government is warning about celebrations over the weekend. celebrations to mark the weekend. celebrations to mark the end the fighting in europe will be held in line with current restrictions. the prime minister will address the nation on sunday, and he is expected to spell at the next steps. our political correspondentjessica parker next steps. our political correspondent jessica parker has this report. bagpipes skirl. pots and pans bang. united appreciation last night across the uk for frontline workers, the prime minister joining the applause. on sunday, he'll explain how lockdown might be eased. we're going to be very, very cautious about what happens

and under what timetable. this isn't going to be a single announcement that that's the end of the lockdown and everything is back to normal. sure, i don't think anybody was expecting that. we are in this for long haul. we are, sadly, going to have to live with this virus for some time, and that means that we are going to have to have a gradual approach to loosening some of these restrictions. but no change yet — "maximum caution" the watchword — and could the rate of infection be going up because of what is happening in care homes? the number has probably gone upjust a little bit since last estimates, and that is driven by the epidemic in care homes, he would say, and i would not demure from that. until now, governments across the uk have been more or less in step. but in scotland, as lockdowns are extended, there is unease at where number 10 may be headed. i particularly strongly believe for us to drop the clear,

well—understood, stay—at—home message right now could be a potentially catastrophic mistake. in northern ireland, no movement yet on easing restrictions. in wales, we'll hear more today about how and when minor adjustments could begin. there is unity here but, on releasing lockdown, different parts of the uk move at different speeds. though the pace of change is set to be slow. jessica parker, bbc news. our political correspondent helen cattjoins us now from our london newsroom. helen, the things we know, there will be an announcement on sunday evening from the prime minister. in the meantime, there has been quite a bit of confusion as to how this plays out ahead of that moment? yes, there has. partly, it's pretty obvious that if the government is going to unlock the economy as they have said, then they will need to

change what has been a very effective message of stay at home to something slightly more nuanced but the criticism has come in that we've known a few days in advance they are going to scrap that and because of that, we have also added in as well that, we have also added in as well that boris johnson earlier that, we have also added in as well that borisjohnson earlier in the commons this week said that he would change some things, possibly from monday. because of that, we've then seen a newspaper report suggesting yesterday what that easing of restrictions might be. senior government sources have suggested there was a highly speculative but there was a highly speculative but the risk is it causes confusion for people, they look at this and think if things are going to change on monday, maybe i can chip away at them over this weekend. however the culture secretary oliver dowden earlier told this programme he defended the government strategy. we've been clear all along, that the message remains the same, people should stay at home in order to protect the nhs and save lives but

equally, it is fair, people are rightly asking, as we get through the worst of this peak, as we start to get it under control, where do we go to get it under control, where do we go next and so the prime minister on sunday will be setting out where we go sunday will be setting out where we go next but he will be doing so in a cautious way because we want to just ensure that we take a step, see whether it's working, in the sense of if there is any indication things are starting to get out of control again, we won't hesitate to step back but people should be able to look forward to the weeks and months ahead to know where we will be going and the order in which we will be doing it. whatever boris johnson sets out on sunday evening will only apply directly in england, scotland we already know has extended its lockdown. the welsh government is due to set out their plans later today and we understand there will bea today and we understand there will be a policy of minor adjustments, maximum caution, perhaps talking about something to do with exercise but with an emphasis on staying local. the watchword for all nations is one of caution, we should not expect any major lessening of restrictions at all in the coming

days. helen, thank you. plans are being made to increase train services a week on monday — that's may the 18th — ahead of a possible easing of restrictions to allow more people back to work. at the moment only half of train services are running, but rail bosses and government sources say services will be increased to about 70% of the normal timetable. resources are likely to be focused on urban commuter lines, rather than long distance intercity routes. the mercury—nominated rapper ty has died aged 47 after contracting coronavirus. tributes to the nigerian—british musician came from celebrity fans including the actor idris elba, who described him as a "uk hip—hop pioneer" and said he was "broken" at the news. ty‘s death was confirmed online by his press team. the time now is seven minutes past eight. the queen, the prince of wales and the prime minister will mark the 75th anniversary of ve day today — when nazi germany surrendered to allied forces and the second world war in europe

was declared over. commemorations have been adapted to reflect social distancing measures — but we are still being encouraged to celebrate safely at home. our correspondent robert hall has this report. to those who were there, it seems a lifetime ago, but the scenes they witnessed on that spring day in 1945 have never left them. a tidal wave of euphoria and excitement filling the city streets to overflowing, and reaching every corner of the british isles. in an old and tattered tent, there occurred the greatest battlefield surrender of this or any other war. the instrument of germany's unconditional surrender was signed. the fighting in europe had effectively been over for several days — since the first surrender documents had been signed. but for millions of people, this was the moment to begin a party that would last through the night. we had quite good celebrations —

about a dozen of us there, i would suppose. and we had a barrel of red wine on the end of the lorry and a barrel of white wine, snf our pint mugs and we enjoyed the evening very much. bill ridgewell served throughout europe with the royal electrical and mechanical engineers. he says ve day is still an important event on his calendar. and to celebrate it now, we must learn that that must never happen again. the waste of material, of lives and of innocence through the war was tremendous. it's just a pure waste, is warfare. but how different it will be 75 years on — no flags, no parties, no crowds.

just a call for us all to mark this momentous day however we can. all of us who were born since 1945 are acutely conscious that we owe everything we most value to the generation who won the second world war. and we remember the millions of people from across the united kingdom and from across the world who came together in world war ii to fight for our shared values. values of freedom, of democracy, of peace. covid—19 has shredded elaborate plans drawn up for cities, towns and villages. five years ago on the 70th anniversary, thousands of us joined acts of remembrance, sat down for street celebrations or lit beacons. we are celebrating ve day because it's the 75th anniversary. in 2020, we can't gather together

in the way we used to but lockdown has taught us all to adapt, so the bunting's going up in our homes, gardens and streets. even those shielded from the pandemic will play their part — after all, many of them remember the real thing. this year's remembrance in lockdown will, in a strange way, be part of history itself. it will be part of the mad story of this great lockdown. i don't know how — of course, it's too soon to say — how historians will remember it. by 1945, war had brought many families and communities closer together. radio linked them with events at home and abroad. now we're all learning that, even when we are forced apart, we can still share experiences. and maybe we can understand a little more about the sense ofjoy and release 75 years ago. robert hall, bbc news. our reporterjon donnison joins us now from outside buckingham palace.

you would have seen the archive footage in the pastjust how busy it was there at buckingham palace 75 yea rs was there at buckingham palace 75 years ago, such a different scene this year. that's right and i think if things were different, you would expect big crowds to be starting to gather here this morning. but of course that isn't going to happen, it's going to be very, very different this time round. 75 years ago, in the report there, we saw some amazing footage, as you suggest, we had the royalfamily out on the balcony at buckingham palace, behind me. with winston churchill. we had large crowds gathering here, spontaneously, and throughout london and the country and i think the truth is today people are going to be celebrating but they are going to be celebrating but they are going to be asked to do it in a different way, staying at home, getting out in their gardens, maybe if you are lucky enough to have one, and meeting up with people online and watching it on tv, there is going to

be quite extensive coverage on the bbc, at a 3pm we are going to have the victory speech of winston churchill will be replayed and people will be asked to maybe stand at 3pm and raise a glass. we are also going to have several raf flypast here in london and also in cardiff, belfast and in edinburgh. but again, people being asked not to go out to try and watch those, and mix with other people but to stay at home, watch it on television. thank you very much for that. we should say, coverage of the ve day commemorations will begin at 10:55am this morning, bbc one, ahead of that two—minute silence at 11am. we will chat with our colleague sophie raworth later on, he will be hosting a number of different ways the bbc is marking ve day. we will chat with her later. a lot of people giving lots of thought to how given the restrictions, how it can be marked

regardless. we're marking the 75th anniversary of ve day today — sadly the number of people who actually experienced that historic moment grows smaller every year. thankfully, we've got to know three of them rather well here on breakfast over recent months. last week we said happy 100th birthday to captain tom moore — we're marking the 75th anniversary of ve day today — now colonel tom moore — who has raised £33 million for the nhs during the coronavirus pandemic. we also met the royal navy veteran, ken benbow, after he charmed us with his emotional reaction to being given a cushion with a picture of his late wife, ada, on it. it was a gift from kia, who works in his care home. and then there was the d—day veteran, harry billinge, who has spent so much time campaigning for a permanent memorial in france to his fallen comrades. today's anniversary seemed like the perfect moment to introduce tom, ken and harry to each other — using video technology, of course — and share their memories of ve day. breakfast‘s john maguire did the honours.

how are we all? shall we all wave to each other, first thing to say? give everyone a wave. their combined age is pushing 300. these men have shared an experience that now belongs to an ever smaller number. they fought in a world war. when the german surrender came, captain — now, of course, colonel tom moore — was training tank crews in dorset. i was very pleased for all the people in europe. but i was very apprehensive, and it was unfortunate, because all the friends that i had were still back in burma. harry billinge landed in france on d—day. eleven months later, when victory was announced, he was in hospital being treated for injuries sustained in the liberation of europe. we were on the news. everybody told me it was over.

and well, that was it. it didn't mean nuts to me though, really. none of these days make... because the war was still on. when i saw my mates coming home from prisons of war, that even added to my frustration. and you can't live with that. ken benbow was in the royal navy, and also took part in the invasion of normandy, but on ve day was still in action off the coast of japan. we were just about alongside, off okinawa, and we were getting attacked by the kamikaze pilots. so i didn't know a lot about ve day, other than on the radio. we were tickled pink. we were just going in to attack japan, so we were really scared still. and that was our main thoughts, but we were very, very pleased that war was over in the uk.

as the streets of the united kingdom filled with dancing, parties and freedom, bathed in lights not seen for years... and everyone's singing. we couldn't see them actually dancing, but they were dancing in the streets and they were drinking, and they were having a first class party. unfortunately, we weren't in it! we couldn't be with them. everything was going well here, but they were still out there, risking their lives and battling on, as they always did. good luck, tom. and good luck to our boys, eh? god bless you. nice to see you. in recent times we've come to know and respect ken, tom and harry for the men they are now. but 75 years on from ve day, they — and we — will remember the men they were then, and especially those denied the chance to grow old with them. it's been an honour and a pleasure. thank you. god bless you all. john maguire, bbc news.

i love those waves. lovely men. there is a bit of me hoping that one day, ina there is a bit of me hoping that one day, in a different time, different place, they will be able to meet, what a remarkable thing that would be. there is clearly a tie in and eve ryo ne we be. there is clearly a tie in and everyone we spoke to says the same thing, there is the same tie—in with the spirit of what those people represent from that generation, some of what we are going on at the moment. absolutely. possibly most clearly illustrated on thursday nights. millions of us went outside last night to clap for key workers, and tonight we'll have another chance tojoin our neighbours — this time for a national singalong. the song in question is dame vera lynn's "we'll meet again", which has taken on a new resonance during the lockdown. let's hear a few thoughts — including some from dame vera herself — about why this track has stood the test of time.

# we'll meet again. # don't know where. # don't know when...# when this song appears it's precisely at the point where thousands and thousands of families are being separated. archival: to our men in uniform, from the girls at home. you've got tens of thousands of british troops scattered across the world, apart from theirfamilies. so the song encapsulates that, and radio is the means of connection. it's really nice to think, if you're separated, that your families back home are listening to the same thing at the same time and the song itself, of course, we'll meet again, encapsulates exactly the wistfulness and the sadness but also the determination to meet again that so many soldiers and civilians felt. archival: a personal

letter in words and music, sincerely yours, vera lynn. you think, well, now, what am i going to close the programme on, it's got to be something. oh, yes, i know, i've been singing a nice song in the theatres, variety theatres, we'll meet again, that's a nice... so that's when i chose we'll meet again as my fading out song on radio. and, of course, it's never left me. clearly we can overdo the comparisons with war, but there is something stunningly similar here, which is this whole notion of enforced separation and we're willingly doing it because we have some sort of faith that there will be an ultimate victory. so it is about separation which is endurable if there is a sense of purpose. archival: it's sort of wonderful where husbands and wives torn apart by war can be brought

together by music. the fact that these songs were so emotional really worried the top brass of the bbc and one of them said, "how could men fit themselves for battle with such debilitating tunes ringing in theirears?" and the people who actually made the programmes visited the soldiers' camps and they could see for themselves not just that vera lynn was really popular, but there was absolutely no sign whatsoever that their resolve to fight was being weakened. this was a real moment in history when emotions were ok, even among fighting men, and it was also a moment in history, really, that was a lesson for the old guard that, actually, it was a lesson in learning to trust the people and to not underestimate their resolve. # but i know we'll meet again some sunny day...#

joining us now from east sussex is dame vera lynn's daughter, virginia lewis—jones. thank you so much for taking the time to talk to us this morning. isn't it wonderful that song still resonates today? absolutely, and it is appropriate, it's not exactly the same situation but people are apart and the meaning is the same as it was all those years ago. you know? people must have some hope that they will all meet again at some point andi will all meet again at some point and i think that extremely, extremely important. and i think that extremely, extremely importantlj and i think that extremely, extremely important. i must ask, how is your mother, dame vera, and how has she reacted to the song and its resurgence? well, obviously, she was com pletely resurgence? well, obviously, she was completely surprised when her majesty mentioned it at the end of her speech. but as she said herself, it is still very important today. people are apart, and especially those who are on their own. in tower

blocks, they can't even get out into a garden, you know. it's very, very difficult for them and they must have some form of hope that at some point, they are going to see their family and friends again, it's terribly important. will you be managing to get in touch with your mum? we lived together. i didn't realise, that's all good, how will you be commemorating ve day?‘ realise, that's all good, how will you be commemorating ve day? a manic household of about six people! we've got television, will be, you know, commemorating i think is a better word, ve day together. and probably raising a glass at some point. and just being together and being very grateful that unlike a lot of other people, we are altogether. your mother would have spoken to you, as well, we had the two minute's silence at 11am, that means so much and it's a moment to reflect for everyone. absolutely, and it's very important to remember all the sacrifices that all those people

gave during the war for us now so that we can be a free country and i don't think that's been overestimated, it's supremely important for even the very youngest to understand that, which they do, they are taught about the war in primary school and we are always getting letters from eight—year—olds saying please can you give us some of your experiences during the war. it's very interesting. and it should meana it's very interesting. and it should mean a lot to people in this country to know that the only reason they are doing these programs and being able to speak to people in an open manner is because of those people that sacrificed themselves for us during the war. couldn't have said it better. also, i suppose, you would have been having conversations, as all families have been and households have been, about how we cope in lockdown. what kind of pearls of wisdom or reflections have you exchanged with your mother?

well, similar to that which i have said really. people who are on their own, it's very difficult to keep your spirits up when you are on your own and you really have to speak to people on the phone, skype, xoom, whatever you have, portal, whatever it is, at least to connect with people. it's not the same as having someone in your own room but at least to have a connection with people is very important and you have to have that thought that one of these days, you will be able to get out and meet all your friends and especially your family, get out and meet all your friends and especially yourfamily, that's terribly, terribly important. at some point today people are going to be asked as part of the commemorations tojoin be asked as part of the commemorations to join in a singalong with we'll meet again. what will you be doing and what will that mean to you and your family and of course your mother, dame vera? the same thing, we will be singing along as well. i understand our village, everyone is going to be yelling out of their windows, hopefully that mummy will hear when the time comes! we have a very good

community here. apparently, i was told by one of our friends yesterday, the whole village is going to be singing very loudly, hoping she will be able to hear them all! that sounds wonderful, i hope she hears it and enjoys it and i hope you and your family and household all stay well. thank you so much, virginia, the daughter of dame vera lynn, for talking to is from east sussex. thank you. what a special moment that will be. can you imagine, the whole village. singing, hoping it's loud enough. raising their voices in order that she can hear. listening in to some of the thoughts about keeping your spirits up, in amongst these very difficult times, and commemorations are celebrations about ve day, coronavirus, the restrictions, one of the ways people keep their spirits up as they smile about silly things, this morning our attention was drawn as we look to the ve day celebrations in chester, one of the people setting up in the street there had a lovely table laid out. tea pot there had a lovely table laid out. teapot and a tea cosy on and it drew

my attention. you were and you said it has been a long time since you've seen one. since we mention it, our production team is a little bit annoyed with charlie, we've had hundreds of pictures of your knitted tea cosy. so many, the e—mail inbox has crashed you crash the inbox, charlie! here one by sue. her woman tea cosy, she made that herself. and this owl charlie, that is a sheep! and this bad? it is sideways on. very fluffy. here is the al, i am liking this! good use of blanket stitch. sent in by mark. i had so many on my social media feed, i had one from someone, can't remember the

name, it was here, i've got so many. nan knitted the tea cosy, 45 years ago. still got it. it's blue, knitted, cannot find it, iwish ago. still got it. it's blue, knitted, cannot find it, i wish i had it! if you are having one of those today, at home, obviously, you're ve day moment, maybe the tea cosy will have a part to play and why not? it's 27 minutes past eight. we willjoin sarah in a minute for the weather and i didn't know this, here is a fact for you, there were no public weather forecasts on the bbc during the second world war. what we can do it now though was here the very first weather bulletin on ve day, this was read by the chief announcer at the time. as a tailpiece to victory day, we give you the weather for britain on the day that it happened. that's something you haven't heard about since the war began. victory day started with violent rainstorms in many districts. but most of the time it's been sunny and very warm. and

here is the weather forecast tonight. there will be sporadic rain over the whole country with thunder in places. but there will be bright intervals in most districts. isn't it fascinating seeing that and sarah, what is the map you have there right now? good morning to you both. this is the weather chart from 75 years ago, the 8th of may, 1945. this weather map shows quite a lot more dated than we show you today on the tv but some things haven't changed, we use these isobars marking the pressure, these weather fronts as well but actually the reason there were no weather forecast for six years during work ona forecast for six years during work on a couple of reasons, first of all military planning reasons, the weather forecast was top secret for both home defence and offensive plans as well but the other reason, is because of food security. there we re is because of food security. there were fears during the war that if there was a period of dry, sunny weather, the crops ready for

harvesting, perhaps the german forces would drop bombs on the crops so food security was really vital and the farmers had coded weather forecasts to warn them of any bad weather approaching or any frost as well. now, today, 75 years later, things are a little bit mixed out there today. we have a lot of dry weather with sunshine, this picture from one of the weather watcher windows in lancashire shows a fair amount of cloud, but there will be hazy sunshine breaking through at times and some sunshine around, temperatures on the rise today. turning quite worn for many of us, mid 20s for many areas in the south. scattered showers, some of them heavy and thundery later. high pressure keeps things dry for a lot of places, we have a couple of weather fronts in the north and north—west, bringing a bit more cloud and some showers. fairly cloudy, murky conditions through the irish sea coast, showers for scotland, northern ireland, west wales, south—west england, elsewhere

across england and wales, a lot of dry weather, some sunshine. as it warms up dry weather, some sunshine. as it warms up through the day you will see a few of these are scattered, heavy downpours especially through wales, the midlands, northern england, bringing some hail and perhaps thunder as well. in the south—east, temperatures of 24 or 25, widely out there around 18—20d. this evening we still have some of the sharp showers and thunderstorms across northern england and the midlands, fading away overnight, many places strike tonight but there will be more cloud and outbreaks of rain across the north of scotland. this approach in weather front will bring a real change in weather conditions through the weekend as things turned colder, especially by the time we get to sunday. for saturday, another warm day for most places, quite a lot of sunshine once again, cloudier, persistent rain across the north of scotland, this active cold front. elsewhere, similarto active cold front. elsewhere, similar to today, scattered, heavy showers, thunderstorms developing, especially for northern england, wales, northern ireland, right in the south, temperatures reaching 24

or 25 degrees. colder air spills its way south as we head through saturday night into sunday. much colder day across the board on sunday. even some sleet and snow showers across the north—east of scotland, some rain showers in the south, blustery winds, temperatures by the time we get to sunday, 10—13d lower than they will be on saturday. back to you both. its just after itsjust after 8:30am. hello, this is breakfast with charlie stayt and naga munchetty. as the uk prepares to celebrate the ve day bank holiday, ministers say there will be no change to social distancing rules ahead of an address from the prime minister on sunday. last night people took to their doorsteps to clap in support of frontline workers for the seventh week in a row. northern ireland has also said there will be no change before the weekend, while the lockdown in scotland has been formally extended. wales will give an update later today. commemorations for ve day have had to be changed to reflect current social distancing measures

but we are still being encouraged to celebrate the day safely at home. the prime minister and the royal family are leading tributes across the day. a two minute's silence will be held at 11 o'clock this morning and a message from the queen will be shown later this evening. and for the next half hour we're going to be focussing on those ve day celebrations. we'll meet the british army veteran who witnessed the german surrender in 1945. we'll be on the street in chester, where residents are throwing a socially—distanced ve day party. in all our long history we have never seen a greater day than this. and 75 years after winston churchill sparked nationaljubilation with those words, his great—grandson randolph is hoping to inspire a new generation of budding speech—writers. we'll speak to him in a few minutes.

there's plenty happening on the bbc today to commemorate the 75th anniversary of ve day. much of it is hosted by sophie raworth, who joins us live from outside buckingham palace. in beautiful sunshine there. but there is no question the look and feel of these ve day moments and celebrations to mark the event are very different this year. it couldn't be more different. i was supposed to be here today for five or six hours of live broadcasting. there was supposed to be a studio at st james' park and the mall was supposed to be full of thousands of people and at three o'clock this afternoon we were expecting a march past up the the mall at the exact moment winston churchill had addressed the nation 75 years ago. obviously when the coronavirus started that all had to be cancelled, there was no way it was going to happen. for quite a long time we didn't know what we would

do. i thought there might be nothing on the bbc at all and we didn't know how we would market. but in the last three weeks the team has pulled out all the stops and we are putting out two programmes today, one at 2:45pm this afternoon, coming from the downing street gardens, where winston churchill made the address from the cabinet room at three o'clock on the day. we will be broadcasting a programme from there this afternoon. and then this evening at eight o'clock, running up to the queen's message at 9pm, there isa to the queen's message at 9pm, there is a programme from inside buckingham palace here, from the quadrangle inside the palace. it looks quite magical, all lit up. it's an extraordinary scene with people performing, katherinejenkins will be singing, anton du beke kicks the whole thing off with some strictly dancers who are married and therefore can dance together, and we have a military band drawn from some

of the finest military musicians. we had to do all this very responsibly, they will all be sitting three metres apart. with these two programmes today, instead of our six hours of broadcasting live, we have been trying to put veterans at the heart of the programmes. we will still hear their stories. we have had to phone them because we can't visit them and fill them, but we wa nted visit them and fill them, but we wanted to include their stories and that's the most important thing, to hear their stories and memories on this day. a lot of the veterans we have spoken to describe what they see as some kind of resonance with the circumstances we find ourselves in now, restrictions of lifestyle. it does feel there is some parallel between those times. the common sacrifice, what we are all being asked to do for the greater good. but for me, what's extra that is especially poignant, is the

generation that is being hardest hit is that world war ii generation, those most vulnerable to this virus are precisely that generation. i think that's why it was so important for us to do everything we could to really celebrate them and to honour them and say thank you to them for their sacrifices then and for what everybody is facing now, and to put something on this evening that people can enjoy, and it is also an element of escapism. it's particularly beautiful what you will see tonight, especially from the quadrangle at buckingham palace with the singers and entertainers taking part. there was something about going in there, i was in their wallet was set up and there is something magical, almost and escapism, and i think we all need that relief from what's going on co nsta ntly a rou nd that relief from what's going on constantly around there. —— i was in the quadrangle when it was set up. we will see you later today, sophie raworth.

it was the news that britain and her allies had waited nearly six long years to hear. and it was expressed — with his trademark elegance — by the prime minister winston churchill. here he is, addressing crowds on whitehall, in westminster. today is your victory. it is the victory of the cause of freedom in every land. applause. in all our long history, we have never seen a greater day than this. cheering amazing words that so many of us remember, or can recall now. and we can speak to winston churchill's great—grandson, randolph churchill, now. lovely to have you with us this morning and thank you for taking the time. knowing that your great grandfather was such a great orator, how has that passed down through

yourfamily? how has that passed down through your family? it can't be avoided. it's such a special bit of history. i must say, my great grandfather was so inspired by the nation, the people, and it is wonderful the nation and the people still have this great spirit today. beautifully reflected on your programme. at the height of the battle of britain, to quote, never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few. that's a phrase many people are familiar with. earlier, we we re people are familiar with. earlier, we were talking to our news presenter sophie raworth who is outside buckingham palace, talking about the sense of what we owe to that generation and how we are protecting them in this generation. the words are still so poignant. indeed. we are so inspired by the current veterans. behind me i actually have the poster with that quote on it. i think my great

grandfather would be thrilled to see how the nation, in these difficult times, has stopped to be inspired by what those veterans and those that did not return to this country, what they gave. i really do sense the younger generation have really taken the spirit up and it's remarkable how people have gathered behind these celebrations in their own way. it's interesting, in these very different times now, for example, i'm looking at pictures of crowds on ve day, 75 years ago. the royal family out on the balcony at buckingham palace. it is all so different. lots of comparisons being made recently about the warlike spirit we have now. and all of us being in it together. do you feel that in do you feel your great—grandfather's words are resonating through? they absolutely do. he said the nation and the

people around the globe had the lion's heart and he was called upon to give the roar. the people with the lion's heart right now are those on the front line, doctors and nurses and all those key workers. and we are providing the roar at home with our pots and pans and applause, supporting those on the front line. and unfortunately those who are suffering at such a difficult time. i like the word roar there. it's not a clap for carers where you are, it's a roar, and i'm sure it's greatly appreciated. as president of the church hill society, one of the reasons we have got to you on the programme today is your mission to get people to inspire like churchill. his words and actions inspired the nation in

1940 and we want to inspire the struggle against cover two. we have so many wonderful examples of what is being done to support people, so we wa nt is being done to support people, so we want a younger generation to come forward and submit their words in a short video in a competition. it's called inspire like churchill, and set the winston churchill .org website. the winner will get to give a donation to a covid charity of their choice. there are no rules for participating for our younger generation, but we really want to engage. we have all seen in this time of lockdown people are using their ingenuity, and this is a way we can reach out. if churchill can be an example for his great words and for people of our generation to come forward and create their own words and videos, that would be a wonderful thing. and you have

words and videos, that would be a wonderfulthing. and you have it in the blood, so i have to ask you, and as part of the churchill society, what's the trick to getting that message heard? i'm afraid it's never give in. people shouldn't be shy. they should just crack on and do their best. and if they don't succeed the first time, try again and again and again. what this nation has always shown is its spirit. it always gets there in the end. getting through with the spirit that feeds through in that writing. thank you so much, enjoy your day and ve day commemorations, great grandson of winston churchill. we've heard plenty of comparisons in recent weeks between the national efforts to beat coronavirus and to win the second world war. doug vince and margaret maxwell experienced both. they lived through the war and — after meeting for the first time two years ago —

they decided to "self—isolate" together during the lockdown. shaun peel reports. the decision was made in a brief moment. no hesitation. when lockdown was announced, margaret moved in with doug. together in isolation. well, i had a choice, really. either to ask the family to take me home or stay with doug so that he was not on his own, because at the time, they said it could last for 12 weeks. so i decided to stay. and i liked her company so it suited me. and i've been here seven weeks now. as a young man, doug wanted to be a pilot but he ended up as a flight engineer on stirling bombers flying out of suffolk. returning from one mission, his plane was hit by enemy fire and it was on fire as it landed. doug's hand was badly burned. i grabbed a fire extinguisher to try

and put the fire out and it was in the fire so it burnt the middle out of my hand. i can remember trying to put it down and it was stuck so i had to throw it to get rid of it. doug's hand was treated by the pioneering plastic surgeon archibald mcindoe, using skin grafted from his inner thigh. i found the crew all standing somewhere away from the plane and i went and joined them and then i realised that my hand hurt. when you say your hand hurt, is that a bit of an understatement? yes. on ve day, as doug was recovering in hospital, 17—year—old margaret was celebrating. she is the one lying down. she had spent her teenage years in and out of air—raid shelters, terrified by the sound of sirens.

that did more damage for me than anything, to hear the siren go off, itjust shook my nerves to pieces. and it took me years and years to get over that, but i'm all right now! so doug and margaret will spend ve day tomorrow in lockdown together, sharing memories of their war and more. and after seven weeks, their friendship is closer than ever. well, yes, very close friends, yes. very close. that's enough! shaun peel, bbc news. i love that relationship. such a lovely relationship. and that little bit of banter, as you would call it now. i think you would call it that back then as well. many of us are getting ready to commemorate the day to day, the 75th

anniversary of it. we can't go out on the streets as we would have done in years gone by, can we. let's see how residents of one street in chester are celebrating today in lockdown — holly hamilton is there this morning. and they go for ve day in a very big way. absolutely. this is a street full of history in chester. they have had many a street party over the years. but obviously, like everything else at the minute, those plans had to be cancelled. but they have come up with an alternative way of celebrating ve day, keeping socially distant. if you are a fan ofa socially distant. if you are a fan of a bit of bunting and a tea cosy there are plenty on display and a fine bit of dressing up as well. this is the place for you. let's transport you back to 1945, because that's what it feels like this morning. we will speak to some residents to find out what they are up residents to find out what they are up to. i have my two metre stick to adhere to all those social

distancing rules. ladies, looking gorgeous. unfortunately i can't have any to your cake this morning so this is all a bit of a tease. this street put a video together dressed in those costumes you can see now, looking stunning, and that video went viral across the world. let's speak to lucy, you were behind the choreography for the video. tell us about it. i dance and choreograph a nyway about it. i dance and choreograph anyway so i got roped into doing it. it was a pleasure. we do have some strong movers on the street! it's very interesting to choreograph from my doorstep, to instruct everyone. there were a lot of laughs, very much fun, yeah. and quite literally multitasking. and who is this? this is beatrix, born six weeks ago at the countess of chester hospital. she is a lockdown baby. born in lockdown. she hasn't had a chance to

meet her grandparents yet. no, that's the most heartbreaking thing, but we have been all right, haven't we? because of this street and the help at the hospital. we have been 0k, and we are just thinking of the times we can meet up with the family, lots of cuddles and making up family, lots of cuddles and making up for lost time. making up for lost time and all the celebrations you will have when this is over. and something like the video and doing that has really helped. it has definitely kept us busy and it's interesting that a duchy has been asleep for most of the rehearsals, she is very well behaved. and who is this down below? this is my best friend simon says. he is the only person who listens to me. and he was born in lockdown as well. he should probably stay that way! some of the

other costumes, teasing me with those scones and jam. a little bar over here. this street is full of history, a lot of the residency, theirfamilies have history, a lot of the residency, their families have owned their homes for generations. rebecca, you have only lived in the street four yea rs. u nfortu nately you have only lived in the street four years. unfortunately you are being kept away from your fiance at moment. i have. he was due to come back on april one but just over a week prior to that he couldn't come back. because we all went into lockdown. he is stuck in spain. i'm hoping he gets to come home sometime soon. when we went into lockdown, there's lots of people around the country in the same boat, living on their own. it is a bit worrying but lam very their own. it is a bit worrying but i am very fortunate to have such lovely neighbours. sol i am very fortunate to have such lovely neighbours. so i really do appreciate that. i love them all dearly for it. i'm sure this has all been a welcome distraction with every body coming together.m been a welcome distraction with every body coming together. it has, it's been a big tonic. these are

tough times we are all facing but this makes it a lot better. when you hope to see your fiance again? hopefully in the next week or two because spain, the lockdown is being released, and we are heading towards a more normal way of life here, fingers crossed. hopefully got the chance to see your video and this this morning. matt, you are looking very dapper. you have been behind a lot of the organising. you must be disappointed to have the plans put on hold. like everybody around the country, the plans changed overnight. we went into lockdown and everything changed. i have just realised that a street like this, i would like to think we were not unique, that there are lovely community spirits all over the place, but ijust thought, here we are, we can't move from our front gates except for our exercise, and there are people happy to sing, and this street would normally have a big street party anyway. so why

don't we try to do something here. we waited until after the nhs clap, we had a drink and i said, who fancies some singing. it grew from there. it's amazing what can happen in these situations, creativity bursts out. it's been incredible to see this morning. you make me feel very underdressed. but you will give us very underdressed. but you will give usa very underdressed. but you will give us a bit ofa very underdressed. but you will give us a bit of a treat and a rendition of some music this morning. we will doa of some music this morning. we will do a song from the second world war period. i would love that. after three. siegfried line... singing #we three. siegfried line... singing # we are going to hang out the washing on the siegfried line # washing day is here # washing day is here # wonderful weather, wet or fine

# wonderful weather, wet or fine # hang out the washing on the siegfried line # the siegfried line's still there. cheering studio: what an extraordinary scene that is. they spent so much care and time. and obviously enjoying it as well. i'm sure there will be lots of... when we spoke to dame vera lynn's daughter, she said their village was getting together to sing will meet again. so many people are getting together to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the day, when the war in europe ended, and most brits learned the good news from radio bulletins, news reports, or the excited climber in the streets.

but charles boyer had a front row seat to that historic moment. he was a military policeman with the allied forces when the germans surrendered near hamburg. we can speak with him now... very good morning to you. what an honour to talk to you on this special day, on the day. can i ask you to start with your storyjust before ve day. you witnessed the german surrenderfirst before ve day. you witnessed the german surrender first hand. can you explain where you were and what happened? we were in lunenburg at the same time as the peace treaty was signed. we could see all the activity going on, part of our company, about half a dozen of the military police stayed with montgomerie for security reasons. but on the actual day, we knew peace was coming. it had been coming for

three orfour was coming. it had been coming for three or four days that we were messing around, so when it came we celebrated. we didn't see any germans, who were ordered to stay at camp, but the streets were lined with displaced labour. they were all concerned about the russians coming. we didn't know, but we certainly told them they were not coming and they were ready to go home to wherever they lived. and then the ladies came out waving white flags and handkerchiefs, most of them bringing usa and handkerchiefs, most of them bringing us a cup of coffee, which we welcomed. they had quite a chat with us, the females, and we got the impression they were very glad it was all over, that they welcomed the peace treaties. so we were pleased for them. the rest of the day, we spent celebrating, cheering and

waving and things like that. we finished up in the mess, drinking beer. that's as much as i remember, i think beer. that's as much as i remember, ithinki beer. that's as much as i remember, i think i had a blank night! but we really thought, peace is here at last and we are going home. we were going forward to a better world. there would be no more war, and that was vile, especially when we learned about the concentration camps. we will never forget those. so we wish everybody more than good luck, respect each other, and hope we will never have another war. charles, it's wonderful to hear your thoughts around this time. ve day itself, which we are marking today, you were a long way from home so it must have been a strange time for you. we have

shown some of the archive footage of the celebrations in london and outside buckingham palace but you we re outside buckingham palace but you were still a long way away. yes, it was. but we were thinking, we are going home now. i didn't realise at the time but my wife was in the london crowds on duty. it was a great day. explain to us, your wife was out there. my future wife was in london right in the middle of the celebrations on duty. but i flew from lunenburg, and met her nearly two years later in cook's harbour and we eventually got married and settled in germany for the next five yea rs. settled in germany for the next five years. then we went out to malaya. u nfortu nately years. then we went out to malaya. unfortunately she is not with us any more but we were together 70 years.

i hope everybody remembers this victory day and we go forward and have respect for everyone we ever meet and look after them for a better world. chars, so many people at the moment, and i know you are in at the moment, and i know you are in a care home right now, so many people are drawing a parallel between the times we are living through and the restrictions people are living through, and the spirit people are showing, and some of what your generation went through. what are your reflections on that?|j your generation went through. what are your reflections on that? i have beenin are your reflections on that? i have been in isolation now for the last eight weeks. i am quite used to it. i respect everyone who obeys all the rules. and those who don't... they ought to be ashamed of themselves. i would bring back conscription for

them. but at the end of the day i think we will come out much better, we will respect each other more and hope we make a nice peaceful and prosperous world. good luck to everyone. and finally, charles, how will you mark events today? we will have a bit of a party this afternoon in the home. we have unionjack hats and all kinds of things happening. we will thoroughly enjoy it. we wish you well, have a great party and it has been lovely to talk to you this morning to stop thank you so much. thank you. those words to finish with from charles, respect each other, and we will have a peaceful and prosperous future. that's it, we will be back from 6am tomorrow.

this is bbc news with the latest headlines. ministers urge the public to maintain the coronavirus lockdown amid accusations that it's delivered mixed messages about the restrictions. the queen is to lead tributes to those who fought in the second world war — 75 years to the day sir winston churchill announced victory in europe.