There were plenty of talking points in Brigg bars at the weekend - one being how to pay for your pint.
Brigg Blog suggests that people planning to visit any local pubs take cash as well as a bank card with them. We came close to being caught out on Saturday (August 22) which is not something that should happen to a long-serving former club cricketer!
What we assume were technical issues meant that the Yarborough Hunt, on Bridge Street, was temporarily unable to accept card payments. As we had anticipated using the modern method, we hadn't much cash to hand, but did manage to stump up enough for a round.
Hopefully, things are now back to normal at the Yarborough, but in future we'll ensure there is plenty of cash in pocket before leaving home to visit any of our bars, just in case.
When this pub reopened it initially indicated card payments only, but please note it is now "allowing cash payments although card is preferred." Booking a visit in advance is advised (by phone call or Facebook Messenger) but not compulsory, at weekends.
There was a good mid-evening attendance at the Yarborough on Saturday, including a number of regulars we hadn't previously seen on the premises post-lockdown.
New landlord Mark Burns spent his first weekend in charge at the Britannia Inn, on Wrawby Street, and hosted a free buffet for customers on Friday afternoon from 3pm through to 6pm. By then it had become Burns Night! Mark has moved to the Brit from the town centre's Exchange, which still remains closed.
Government-imposed signing-in tracing requirements continue to operate at local bars.
Michelle Dunnion, the new bar manager at the Dying Gladiator, has clipboard in hand as she records customers' names, while at the Lord Nelson visitors continue to write their names down on a sheet on arrival and post it in the box provided. Yarborough Hunt customers are allocated numbers on their initial visit and merely quote that to staff when they drop in again.
Please note that Brigg people will be welcome at a summer fair this weekend where social distancing will be observed. The organisers in nearby Wrawby on Sunday, August 30 (from noon to 5pm) have put careful thought into setting things up.
Stalls will be dotted around the village outside people's homes, and scarecrows will also be on display. Refreshments can be purchased from some of the stalls.
There's also an opportunity to call in at the Jolly Miller, on Brigg Road, for a drink and/or a meal as part of a visit to the summer fair.
Broughton Working Men's Club reopened on Monday after lockdown. Signing in guests has been suspended for the time being.
