(^) The Mail on Sunday September 1 • 2019
By Sanchez Manning
Millennials
snub DIY...
because of
‘scary’ tools
NERVOUS millennials are
neglecting DIY tasks –
because they are too scared
by the noise of power tools.
Just over a third of Brits
aged between 18 and 35
admit they are ‘intimidated’
by drills, nail guns, electric
saws and angle grinders.
A new study reveals that a
whopping 49 per cent don’t
have a clue how to put up a
shelf and are ‘completely
baffled’ by spirit levels.
Even the simple task of
hanging a framed picture is
beyond a third of those
questioned in the survey.
Plastering is seen as the ‘most
impossible’ DIY task by 65 per
cent, followed by assembling
flat-pack furniture with 35 per
cent. Nearly half ask their
parents for DIY advice even
though three-quarters admit
Mum and Dad think they are
useless. About a quarter rely
on YouTube tutorials or
instruction manuals.
The survey, by the online
household goods retailer
AO.com, focused on
millennials who rent.
But DIY expert and TV
presenter Jo Behari said:
‘Renting doesn’t mean you
can’t make your home unique.
‘Renters may well be
homeowners themselves one
day, so learning DIY skills is
really beneficial.’
18
STRANDED
ON SCILLY
Hundreds of holidaymakers unable to get
home after islands’ only ferry breaks down
Hundreds of visitors have been
stranded on the scilly Isles for
several days after the islands’ only
passenger ferry broke down.
The crisis began to unfold last
Wednesday morning when two
engines on the scillonian III started
to fail and it was forced to return
to the mainland.
The ferry is the only means for
tourists to access the islands, which
lie 28 miles off Land’s end, via a
sea crossing.
The only other way to reach
them is on scheduled flights on
eight- and 17-seater planes, which
run 15 times a day.
Yesterday there was growing
anger among stranded holiday-
makers, who claimed they had
been left in the dark by the ferry
operator Isles of scilly Travel.
The company, which also runs
the passenger flights, has contin-
ued to fly in new visitors despite
growing pressure on hotel rooms.
nurse Barbara Hunt, 54, who
had travelled to the island of st
Mary’s with her sister, brother-
in-law and niece, 12, was due to
leave last Thursday but has been
forced to pay out an extra £1,500 to
cover their extended stay.
Mrs Hunt said: ‘This is a crisis
and it’s stupendously irresponsible
that new people are being brought
in when more than 1,000 people
can’t get off these islands.
‘I’m having to pay out an extor-
tionate amount of money. There is
a lot of anger and anxiety.’
The scillonian III has a passen-
ger capacity of 485 and usually
completes a return trip once a day
between Penzance in Cornwall and
st Mary’s.
A number of those stranded said
they had been unable to get in touch
with Isles of scilly Travel, with one
woman claiming it had at one point
‘switched off their phones’.
One disgruntled woman, who took
to Twitter to air her frustrations,
said: ‘We have to check out by 10am
on st Mary’s. We have three small
children and I’m pregnant so where
do you suggest we go?’
Another holidaymaker wrote:
‘After trying to contact your offices
over 30 times this morning we
have not received any information
regarding our return to Penzance.
We are travelling with two small
children with three older children
waiting at home.’
Another passenger added: ‘We
were supposed to travel yesterday.
My mum has multiple sclerosis
and brother is autistic so would
appreciate contact as the lack of
plans is causing them distress.’
A spokesman for Isles of scilly
Travel said it was ‘committed’ to
contacting all passengers ‘to sup-
port them with their enquiries and
alternative travel options’.
About 700 extra passengers and
‘numerous dogs’ who had been
due to sail had been transported off
the islands by plane, he added.
The firm hopes the ferry will
return to service today.
CRISIS: (Clockwise from top) the
island of Tresco, passengers on ferry
after it broke down and the Scillonian III
Thompson
‘There is a lot of anger
and anxiety’
ALAMY
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