It seems like it has been a long winter with being stuck inside in the lockdown.

But here we are following the government’s road map to the gradual lifting of the lockdown bit by bit.

Tomorrow will be a big day for the hospitality industry – hospitality will re-open, albeit service will all have to be outside. The success of this move is going to be down to the weather. A week or so ago we had some glorious summer weather but then this past week has been very cold, at last warming up a bit today. Actually it only feels warm because of the glorious sunshine – it remains pretty cold and the weather for the coming week is going to improve but don’t get too excited.

A lot of hospitality businesses have invested quite a lot of money in outdoor facilities so it really it is to be hoped that we shall have decent weather this year so that these facilities will prove to have been worth whole.

Unfortunately there will be a lot of businesses which simply cannot re-open tomorrow because they have no outside space available. For them they will have no choice but to wait a bit longer. There are also a lot of businesses who say that they do not believe they can operate on a viable basis just with outside service. They will also wait for inside service to re-start.

But caution – even though these businesses are re-opening bit by bit, it does not mean that the pandemic has gone away. It is receding certainly in the UK with the continuing use of vaccines but there is still considerable risk if people start to ignore social distancing rules. Some Jonahs continue to predict a third wave.

We shall all be watching with great interest to see how the next week unfolds – some people are going out to have a pint at 0001 hrs tomorrow. Are they really that keen? What is a certainty is that they will need their thermal underwear as the temperature is predicted to be freezing at midnight tonight! So will it be a glorious exodus or just a bit of a damp squib? We’ll see.

Adrian Leopard 11-04-21

Photo Jaroslaw Kwoczala