I know I said the last time that the last lockdown post was going to be to be the last lockdown post, but if Bowling for Soup can do 3 farewell tours, then I can do an extra lockdown related post if it takes my fancy. Plus, last weekend was quite monumental for the Newman/Weatherstone clan as it was our first time back in pub in six months. And whilst I said last time that I was nervous about getting back out there in the big bad, germ invested world, did I stick to that? Or did I let the whole occasion of pubs being open again get to my little blonde dizzy head?
Well, you probably all know me well enough by now and know I’m a woman of my word, and I did indeed stick to my instincts and stayed local. Our very lovely local in fact, The Twin Farms. Which, incidentally, is where we were having a drink in on the Saturday evening of 31st October 2020, which is when pubs were told they needed to shut again. It seemed fitting that the Twinnies bookended lockdown 3.0 for us.
It also helped massively that the weather gods were shining on us, as, at the time of writing, restrictions only allow pubs and restaurants with outside space to be able to open again. So the rule of six meant that me, Dave, my mum and dad and brother and sister-in-law were able to meet for for long overdue drinks, and, for two hours, it almost felt like things were back to normal again.
Naturally, I can’t speak for other pubs, but props need to be given to the team at the Twin Farms as they pulled out all the stops to make sure they ran like a well oiled machine. We were able to book our table on line; they have pic nic tables socially distanced around the entire outside space including a tipi for if it rains. The table was ready as soon as we arrived (in the tipi, incidentally, but they were most accommodating when we asked if it was possible to be moved to a table in the sun).
We left our track and trace details and you could either order drinks on their app, or catch a member of staff on their way past, which is what we did to be honest as it never took long to catch somebody’s attention. Despite how busy they must have been, and what a challenging few months they’ve just come out of, all of the staff were in great spirits and really good fun.
In terms of being covid safe, despite having large sets of toilets, they operated a one in, one out system to eliminate people passing each other indoors, payement was contactless and even though we were outside, all staff wore masks or visors the whole time
We only booked a 2 hour slot, which we did need to adhere to, but to be honest, after not being in a pub for over six months, that was all we needed to feel a taste of the old life again. And that’s fine with me because I don’t want too much too soon, or for all the sacrifices we’ve all made over the last 14 months to all be for nothing. Dave and I are still yet to be vaccinated so are more than happy to take things slowly. I always said I just wanted to start off by dipping my toe back in the water of normality again and that’s what it felt like we did.
