Dave must whistle for dream holiday

Dave Morris, the world’s champion whistler, is hoping a wind of change can blow away his holiday blues.

Because Dave and his wife Helen are scheduled to fly off to sunny Cancun shortly to enjoy a well-earned two-week break.

But the Mexico swine flu crisis has thrown his plans, and scores of other Oldhamers planning to visit the country, into turmoil.

Sitting glumly on the steps of his Dobcross home, Dave said: “I just don’t know if the holiday is on or off. The situation is changing by the hour.

“The uncertainty is making things very worrying.”

Dave, who has recently produced a new CD album of classic tunes, added: “I’ll just have to keep my fingers crossed that the situation is sorted before we have to make a final decision over our holiday.”

Co-operative Travel in Oldham town centre has reported calls from ‘extremely anxious’ travellers planning breaks to Florida, Cuba and Spain.

A spokesman said: “Advice from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office is changing on a regular basis, as is the position of the tour operators and flight providers.

“As soon as we are made aware of any developments we are cascading that information to our travel advisers, and our advice would be to contact your travel agent for information.”

Lisa Griffith, a 48-year-old support worker is planning to take her partner and daughter, Danielle (14) on a £3,000 two-week Cancun break soon.

She said: “As yet we don’t know what will happen. The Co-op Travel representatives have been brilliant, giving us regular updates and doing everything they can to help.”

Thomson and First Choice have suspended flights to Mexico and said they would begin repatriating travellers, as the death toll rises to more than 150, following advice from the Government.

“While we appreciate that the news may be a great disappointment to customers, we hope they will also understand that their health and safety is of paramount importance to us,” the company said in a statement.


Has your trip or holiday been affected or cancelled by the flu crisis? Contact us at news@oldham-chronicle.co.uk