This is Talk Radio across the UK, online, on DAB and on your smart speaker, the Independent Republic of Mike Graham right here on Talk Radio.

It is the 1st of July, ladies and gentlemen, meaning that we have been in some form of lockdown now for what, about 460 plus days.

And it's certainly beginning to feel a bit like that, isn't it?

Let's recap, shall we?

The holiday plane is still in a holding pattern,

stacking high above the airport.

That's right, you can't really go anywhere.

Nearly 400,000 children are being forced to stay at home

instead of being sent to school because of COVID.

The NHS is paralysed by a virus and is causing plenty of positive tests but very few deaths. England fans can't go to Rome to watch their beloved team try and qualify for the semi-finals of Euro 2020

and you still can't go shopping without wearing a bleeding mask. So, why oh why, despite various positive noises from the government,

are we still trapped in limbo without any real guarantee that this will all come to an end

in precisely 18 days' time?

I mean, we're hearing all around us now that when they do lift the restrictions on July the 19,

as Sajid Javid, the new

health secretary has said they will, they probably won't lift the travel restrictions. They

probably won't still allow anybody to come here from many countries in the world. They

probably won't be able to lift every single restriction in the way that they said that they

would. They're already making those noises.

And we're already hearing about school problems. We're already hearing about work-related problems, office occupancy problems. We're already hearing about the fact that you won't be

able to go to America probably until next year. I mean, for God's sake, this morning we'll be

asking Baroness Kate Howie what she thinks of this continued cautious approach,

...