Finally on the road to somewhere

There are 106 miles to Chicago, we have a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it’s dark and we’re wearing sunglasses. Oh, wait, that’s another movie and one which ended with a lengthier lockdown. Whereas we have a ‘roadmap’ and an end date looming, tantalisingly just over the horizon.

So, if we’re all on the right page we can follow the Government’s carefully marked path into the sunlit uplands of, er, summer when the final stage of Covid-19 restrictions is banished on June 21. If, that is, all goes according to plan, there are no more alarming variants and the rollout of vaccines protects ever-increasing numbers of the population from this awful virus.

All steps towards normality will need to be negotiated carefully. Licence conditions and safety checks will have to be pored over and we at Complete Licensing are perfectly placed to handle those issues

But the diners will be dining and the drinkers drinking well before that. April 12 is the all-important date when, fingers crossed, the hospitality industry begins its own recovery. From that date, customers will be allowed outdoors at pubs, restaurants and cafes provided table service is in place. Gone is the need for a ‘substantial meal’ which means if people just fancy a drink they can have a drink. Of course, plenty of us will be so sick of home cooking by then that the restaurant and pub kitchens of Old England will be working overtime (especially as there’s no curfew).

From May 17 (at the earliest) indoor hospitality will become a ‘thing’, though again only table service will be permitted. Even hotels will be able to open.

Then comes that glorious First Day of Summer. No doubt it will be pouring with rain, but that’s unlikely to dampen enthusiasm as long as test events go well. Because June 21 will see the reopening of nightclubs nationwide.Imagine spending your time in a late-night dance venue, sharing a bottle of something with friends and trying to be heard over booming music and constant shouted conversations. Ridiculous notion isn’t it, but we used to indulge once upon a time and there’s a good chance we will again.

All these small steps towards normality will need to be negotiated carefully. Licence conditions and safety checks will have to be pored over and we at Complete Licensing are perfectly placed to handle those issues and plenty more besides, including operating restrictions to deal with Covid-19. Let’s face it, licensees will have enough on their plates as the bar staff might even have forgotten how to pull a pint after a year of enforced inactivity.