Today is the glorious 12^th. No not 12^th August but 12^th April!

The glorious 12^th traditionally refers to the start of the shooting season in the UK. As this is a relatively restricted activity, this name will not be widely known. But it is the day of which grouse shooting opens the shooting season, in fact basically in Scotland. Perish the thought that the glorious 12^th should open with a layer of snow on the ground which was the case over quite a large area of the country first thing although the snow melted fairly quickly when the sun came out.

But the glorious 12^th today refers to the re-opening of non-essential retail, the pubs for outdoor service and a variety of other activities.

And early reports indicate that this has got off to a super start with queues outside shops and pubs getting fully booked for the service of food and drink. For the pubs however this is only a partial success because only about 40% of them have the facilities to be able to operate service outdoors – quite simply because they do not have outdoor space and that most particularly in towns and cities.

Many public houses have invested quite heavily in outdoor furniture and may be al fresco will become more popular this year than before. Still warmer weather would be a good idea.

It will be interesting to see if the initial enthusiasm wears off or is maintained.

Adrian Leopard 12-04-21

Photo Chris J Walker