Who Really Deserves A Drink This Saturday?

I fully expect this Saturday to be a day of national madness. Remember what happened on Friday 20th March when Boris Johnson announced that the pubs would close later that night? The general public went down the pub for one last hurrah. That’s the British for you. Look at the beaches during the recent hot weather or reports of illegal raves, virus or no virus, we generally don’t like doing what we are told if we think we can get away with it. Give us a third and we will take a pint. This may stem from an inherent national rebellious streak or we could just be following the bad example of the cummings and goings of those in power.

A recent survey on the CAMRA Facebook group showed about a quarter of drinkers are not planning to return to pubs just yet, which will be a blessing in disguise, but one thing is for sure, if the sun is shining on 4th July pubs are going to be very busy and they will struggle to cope. The question isn’t if there will be a queue outside every single ‘Spoon’s come opening time, but if it stretches into the next postcode.

In the long term it is all about altering drinkers’ attitudes; not being able to get in to a pub because it is heaving is nothing new, but imagine being turned away because the place is “full”, even though it looks relatively empty? As a nation we have always enjoyed dropping in for a pint on a whim, as the Prime Minister described it: “The inalienable free-born right of people born in England to go to the pub” but that has now changed, for a while at least.

No matter how prepared the pubs may be they still face a massive challenge as they adapt to a very different world. Rumours were that the big pub chains were given draft guidelines weeks back, but for the smaller pub estates and independents there was only silence until last Wednesday; to be blunt there hasn’t been time for them to read, digest and act accordingly. Yes, some of the recommendations are common sense but what about those that require extra thought and planning? Let’s hope that the general public will be understanding and patient, even after the fifth pint.

The big question however is why a Saturday? Why not mid-week, say Wednesday 1st July? That way the new measures could be trialed before the inevitable massive piss up at the weekend, who in their right mind thought that date was a good idea?

With the immediate future looking like booking tables in advance or queuing outside like we are panic buying toilet rolls, things are going to be strange but given time the pub trade and the drinkers will adapt. We’ve shown that we are bloody good at that these last few months, but for the time being is it any wonder that some places are choosing to remain closed? Those who have that luxury of being able to watch and wait are making a wise decision, even if they hold off for a week or two it’ll allow the novelty to wear off and for the new normal to sink in. Like a dog isn’t just for Christmas, a pub isn’t just for 4th July.

Inevitably some places will be forced to open; those that have struggled financially through Lockdown will have to grin and bear it through what is likely to be a collective release of pent up frustration and l wish them all the luck in the world. Out of everybody it’ll be the hardworking publicans and their staff who will really deserve a drink this Saturday.