please empty your brain below
You've got a bigger selection of locals than I'd have thought.
The Lord Tredegar is part of a small group too, and it seems they're all opening today. No word on whether their sister establishment, the Holly Tree in Forest Gate will have its miniature railway in operation.

martin | 04.07.20 - 7:13 a.m. | #

And here I was expecting a stinging lampoon of the government's strategy.

I for one won't be rushing to the pubs, not least those that require the contact details of any entering punters. The information security minded side of me is worried about such high levels of surveillance, and who knows if they'll stick in the new normal.

On a related note, respect to the Sheffield council worker who posted this.

TheLupineOne | 04.07.20 - 7:34 a.m. | #

My local has been doing up the garden and everything (inside and out) has been decorated. Just for their effort alone they will get a visit from me.

London needs to get back to work and play.

chicker | 04.07.20 - 7:41 a.m. | #

God knows, I miss a good pub. But I won't be heading to one today, nor in the foreseeable future.

Frank F | 04.07.20 - 7:45 a.m. | #

DG's observation about the lack of current info on pubs' websites & social media platforms rings true down here in Seaside. I've been searching for news of pub openings here for my local Camra branch but few pubs have bothered to provide any updates on reopening this weekend. My local the is opening this weekend (http://theladiesmilepub.co.uk) but with a whole raft of restrictions etc. Unfortunately I wont be visiting just yet.

Southern Man | 04.07.20 - 8:10 a.m. | #

Excellent post. I won't be going near a pub for a while and that'll be outside in the garden at somewhere suitable. Biggest problem is getting there, whereever it may be on public transport. Coming back won't be a problem.

Old Guy | 04.07.20 - 8:13 a.m. | #

Excellent little micro social survey.

Alas conducting a similar exercise near me would be even more depressing; among my nearest locals at least one closed down just before lock-down, two have been long-term empty awaiting planning permission for conversion, and another has been running a dodgy "takeaway" sales service on its' beer-terrace for weeks.

A | 04.07.20 - 8:23 a.m. | #

The Lighthouse gives off a very "1930s bus depot built as a sign of prosperity and integrated transportation links then falling into disrepair in the 1970s and passing through several different unsuccessful uses before winding up as a just-successful-enough pub" vibe to it.

Jamesthegill | 04.07.20 - 9:31 a.m. | #

Looking at the photos of your local pubs DG I am not sure any of them are my sort of pub. I would love to get back into a pub or restaurant for a nice pub lunch but not with all the ludicrous rules and regs (I am not worried in the slightest about the virus). Until the government sees sense and allows us to do what we want I won't be going anywhere near.

davews | 04.07.20 - 9:31 a.m. | #

That is a lot of pubs. I can count 1 proper pub and 2 that are really just converted end-of-parade shops!

I guess all 3 will be opening.
One was re-fencing their corner scrap of terrace the other day plus they'd only just re-opened in March after a major refit which had closed them since January!

Of the 2 proper stand alone pubs nearby - both were demolished and are now flats.

Cornish Cockney | 04.07.20 - 9:51 a.m. | #

Everyone has ten nearest pubs. Mine just happen to be within three quarters of a mile from home.

But It still took me 1½ hours to walk round to them all. Fifty years ago it would have taken ten minutes.

diamond geezer | Homepage | 04.07.20 - 10:00 a.m. | #

The Lord Tredegar is “fully booked” for all of today, and l thought it was a pub, not a high-end restaurant. The “new normal”? Another facet of this preferred “advance reservation“ policy is that on many pub websites, it is not possible to “book” a visit for less than two persons. Blatant discrimination against the solo drinker.

I refuse to visit non-essential shops now that customers are treated like lepers, l won’t use public transport if l have to wear a muzzle, and looks like l’ll be treating pubs the same way. Good luck with restarting (what remains) of the UK economy. To think they worried about Brexit...

Kim | 04.07.20 - 11:43 a.m. | #

The Tred actually has a good-sized garden out the back (right next to the main line out of Liverpool Street to Essex, as it happens), so I’d imagine they'll be able to fit in a small but serviceable number of customers. Can't wait until they start doing Sunday roasts agin, but that's not quite yet. And I'll wait until the frenzy dies down to try it out, I think.

Chris M | 04.07.20 - 2:38 p.m. | #

Just back from local pub, it was well organised and everyone well behaved. The Sunday papers will have a different story tomorrow - drunken hooligans on rampage.

chicker | 04.07.20 - 2:58 p.m. | #

Having to follow a few inconvenient social distancing rules is a small price to pay if it means we keep the vulnerable safe.

It's that or we go back to an even longer lockdown.

Even if you don't care about yourselves, have a thought for others.

Darren | 04.07.20 - 7:59 p.m. | #

> holding out for at least another fortnight in the hope that the government drops the 'one metre plus' rule to a more profitable 'one metre'.

Given that there is still nothing in the law in England forbidding mingling at any particular distance, why aren’t such businesses opening regardless of the government’s non-binding advice?

After all, there is no distance at which risk suddenly changes, and no rule which will be invariably obeyed. Though 1 metre is thought to be two to ten times as risky as 2 metre if all other things are equal, 2 metres talking face-to-face in a busy cavern may be many times more risky than 1 metre quietly side-by-side in an airy space.

Some wild guesses. (1) Have they been tricked into thinking the “rule” is a law? (2) Do they fear being criticised by the public if they take more risks than others? (3) Do they believe that the current advice, though non-statutory, might be cited as a basis for prosecution under the ordinary health and safety laws? (4) Are they pretending they have no choice as a pretext for minimising costs while they sit tight avoiding insolvency?

All of these seem at odds with canny businesses ostensibly keen to resume. Deferring reopening may well be wise for various reasons, but it is creepy how the government continues to blur the recommendations it makes with the obligations it imposes. Holding out, indeed.

Rich G | Homepage | 04.07.20 - 9:33 p.m. | #

Rich G they can be prosecuted under health and safety legislation.

John K | 04.07.20 - 10:18 p.m. | #

Great stuff dg, I will avoid all off these as I’m thankfully 200 miles SE.

Kevin | 04.07.20 - 10:24 p.m. | #

Re the Morgan Arms. Given that Greene King has been bought out by a HK investment company that is family owned I would say that this pub will be sold off for housing.

Marmaduke Jinks | 04.07.20 - 11:54 p.m. | #

The excretory phrase from Antic is a good reason for me never to visit any of their establishments again. It's entirely unnecessary and inappropriate in corporate publicity.
I feel the same about the new corporate values introduced at the Best Western Hotel Group by its new Aussie Chief Exec, as featured on TV recently.

Well-spoken | 06.07.20 - 10:15 a.m. | #

I’m sad to see the Morgan Arms boarded up. It used to be my local. Not that I’d be venturing inside any pub right now.

I guess the Palm Tree is not one of your ten closest? I wonder how they’re doing.

dg writes: You guess correctly.

Gail | 06.07.20 - 5:01 p.m. | #

The Morgan Arms has safely reopened.
The Galvanisers Union and The Widow's Son remain closed.

diamond geezer | Homepage | 12.08.20 - 8:52 p.m. | #











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