Dame Vera sings her famous song again in charity duet with Jenkins
Great Easter getaway off due to the lockdown
MORE THAN 20m Easter getaway journeys by road will have been cancelled due to the coronavirus lockdown, a survey suggests.
An AA poll of 16,000 motorists carried out shortly before the pandemic indicated that 78 per cent planned to drive somewhere for a holiday or day trip over the Easter weekend, equating to about 26m journeys.
But the vast majority of these journeys will no longer take place as the Government has ordered people to avoid non-essential travel.
Department for Transport figures show that road traffic has fallen by around two-thirds since mid-March.
VisitEngland estimated that 7.4m Britons would take an overnight holiday in the UK during the Easter weekend last year, bringing a £1.8bn boost to the economy.
DAME VERA Lynn and Katherine Jenkins have recorded a duet of We’ll Meet Again, inspired by the Queen’s address to the nation.
Money raised by the single will go to NHS Charities Together, which supports staff and volunteers working on the front line of the coronavirus pandemic.
During a televised message on Sunday night, the Queen told the country in lockdown, separated from their families and friends: “We will meet again.”
The phrase was seemingly a nod to the wartime anthem by Forces’ Sweetheart Dame Vera, who helped raise British spirits during the Blitz.
Dame Vera said: “The words ‘We’ll meet again’ speak to the hope we should all have during these troubling times.”
Jenkins added: “It is a song of hope and Dame Vera and I sing this in honour of – and in aid of – our superhero NHS workers and
The new version of We’ll Meet Again was inspired by the Queen’s speech.
their families. They are putting themselves at risk to ensure we will meet our dearest again.”
Dame Vera’s daughter, Virginia Lewis Jones, said her mother had found the Queen’s reference fitting.
She told ITV’s Good Morning Britain: “She actually thought it was quite funny.
“She thinks the Queen is wonderful, which she is.
“I think the Queen actually made a complete point of saying that right at the very end, because they are words that resonate now as much as they did all those years ago.
“They will continue to do so, because people will always be apart, people will always hopefully get back together again.
Virginia Lewis Jones added: “The words are meaningful, very poignant and very important.”
Jenkins previously performed a duet with an original recording of Dame Vera singing We’ll Meet Again during BBC Radio 2’s D-Day 70 Years On event at London’s Royal Albert Hall.
Donations to NHS Charities Together are passed on to the 140 NHS charities in England, Scotland and Wales, funding food deliveries, overnight stays, kits and travel costs.
■ We’ll Meet Again by Dame Vera and Ms Jenkins will be released on Decca Records on Saturday.