FIRST WEEKEND AFTER FREEDOM DAY FOR BRIGG BARS

 

The first weekend for Brigg pubs and licensed clubs since the lifting of some of the emergency period restrictions on Freedom Day is now approaching.
Social distancing measures have been removed, as has the need to sign in on arrival. Customers are also permitted to visit bars once again to buy drinks, rather than having to place orders with staff while seated at tables and have their full glasses brought to them and the empties collected later.
However, the Government has given the owners and operators of business premises an option to continue requesting mask-wearing in what are considered crowded places. Customers are being asked by the powers-that-be to show common-sense.
Depending on the weather, the beer gardens available at all Brigg's licensed premises are expected to prove popular this weekend, permitting al fresco drinking.
It's likely that some bar customers will still opt to wear masks indoors, particularly while purchasing their pints, even if licensees don't request it.
Local bars have lost a lot of trade during lockdown periods when they had to close, and while restrictions were in place when they were permitted to open - prompting some people to stay at home.
In late July things have still to return to how they were before the Coronavirus emergency was declared back in March 2020, as some people are still reluctant to visit licensed premises as often as they once did. But hopefully, in the coming weeks, normal service can be resumed in terms to attendance.
On Monday - the date when various restrictions were lifted - we noted that many people were continuing to wear masks while shopping at a number of Brigg premises, even though it is no longer a legal requirement. This continues to be the case as the initial week following Freedom Day nears its end.
We also made reference to some businesses continuing to restrict the number of customers admitted at a time, although the social distancing requirement has been removed by the Government. Since Monday we've observed a few more examples of this.
Many people (and we are among them) still don a mask when reaching shop doorways. Having done so repeatedly for 15 months, it has become second nature.
However, on licensed premises which are more spacious than small shops, and particularly in beer gardens, we won't be face-covering unless bar bosses choose to request it, in which case we will comply. Others, we are sure, will be taking the same stance.