KentOnline

Theatres, museums and music venues are being given £1.5 billion to help them survive the pandemic.
They’ll be able to access the grants via government loans and grants.
It follows weeks of warnings about the future of performance venues, but what about panto this Christmas? Hear from our senior features writer Angela Cole.
Also in the podcast, tributes are paid following two fatal crashes in Kent, and a salon boss is angry they still can’t reopen.

Ahead of so-called ‘Super Saturday’ we’ve been finding out how police and volunteers are planning on keep people safe as pubs reopen.
Also hear from a Kent MP who’s urging us to ‘be careful’.
Also in the podcast, hear from a hairdresser who’s opening her salon at midnight to cope with a demand for appointments and the University of Kent prepares for its first ever virtual open day.

It’s been confirmed today all children will be expected to go back to school in September – and parents will be fined if they don’t…
 
But what about the children who, by then, would have missed 6 months of school?
Well, the search is on to find retired or trainee teachers to join a pop up academy offering English and maths lessons during the holidays.
Also on the podcast – a promise from health bosses that parts of Kent and Medway won’t face lockdown if covid cases rise and the Tonbridge couple hoping to get humanist weddings made legal.

It’s being dubbed ‘Super Saturday’ but as we reach 100 days of lockdown, there are concerns about the major relaxation of restrictions this weekend.
We’ve been speaking to a behavioural scientist who thinks pubs will struggle to enforce social distancing when they reopen.
Also in the podcast – calls for an investigation into faulty PPE and a 5-year-old fundraiser from Kent gets an award from the PM.

We start today with the amazing achievement of a 5 year-old from Kings Hill who’s completed a challenge to walk every day in June to raise money for charity.
Tony Hudgell had to have his legs amputated when he was a baby and only received his prosthetics just before lockdown.
Also on today’s podcast – concerns over secondary schools opening to all pupils in September as one head teacher says there’s no way they could social distance, and how the benefits system is coping with the pandemic.

Our top story today is all about when and where you might be able to travel on holiday this summer…
It’s looking more and more likely you will be able to go abroad and not have to quarantine when you get home.
Also in the podcast – the business owners who say they’ve been forgotten by the government as they remain closed, and how homeless people could remain off the streets of Kent after lockdown.
 

Two men in their 20s have been taken to a London hospital after being stabbed when hundreds of people gathered on a Sheppey beach.
Around 200 are thought to have attended a party at Leysdown last night.
Also in today’s podcast – one of Thanet’s MPs hopes for a long summer season so traders can recover from lockdown and Kent’s police chief backs the use of spit hoods as the number of assaults on officers goes up.

It’s been a scorcher in Kent today, but there has been traffic misery as thousands of people headed to beaches in the county and in neighbouring Sussex.
Also in today’s podcast – concerns over new Airbnb cleaning rules, two teens arrested over death at castle and why more redundancies could be on the cards.

Arts charities and organisations across Kent have reacted to receiving crucial emergency funding from Arts Council England, as the ongoing coronavirus pandemic continues to cripple the creative industries.
It was announced this week that individuals and organisations would receive a share in almost £2.1 million worth of funding, as part of an Emergency Response Package designed to ease the pressure facing the creative sector this summer.

As the coronavirus lockdown begins to ease in Kent and the rest of the country, our thoughts return to life before the pandemic.
The businesses that enriched our lives – gyms, cinemas, pubs, bookshops – have been closed since March but many look set to return as the virus is brought under control.
But the anticipation of reopening comes with a unique set of challenges for each business, as owners strive to keep their offerings intact while keeping customers safe.
To find out about the trials and tribulations facing Kent’s businesses, we spoke to owners across the county about how they are preparing for the coming months.