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1/ Right then. I am no conspiracy theorist, but I am convinced that the hospitality trade is being set up as a patsy for this useless government. Here’s why:
1/ Right then. I am no conspiracy theorist, but I am convinced that the hospitality trade is being set up as a patsy for this useless government. Here’s why:
2/ Firstly there does seem to be any sort of scientific basis for these new restrictions. The pub curfew seems to be based on a model used in Belgium which a) was significantly different and b) hasn’t really worked. There seems to be no evidence to suggest this will work
3/ our industry started to reopen at the beginning of July, and we all worked our socks off to do it safely. There was no significant increase in the R rate for the best part of two months - suggesting that we did achieve safe reopening
4/ The R rate has only now started to head skywards in September - after schools are back and people have started to go back to offices. There seems to be little evidence of transmission in pubs for this - between 1.6% and 5% of new cases, depending which stats you look at
5/ Nevertheless Boris and his cabinet full of chocolate teapots have decided that drunk people forgetting to social distance late at night are to blame and therefore all hospitality needs a curfew
6/ But here’s the thing. When this curfew has absolutely sod all impact on the R rate in a few weeks time (in the same way that reopening had sod all impact), Boris and the Crap Kickers will cry that it’s still not working, people aren’t listening and so we need harsher measures
7/ Cue a new 2 week “circuit break” lockdown just in time for half term - which of course was the plan all along we just now have a scapegoat to blame!
8/ To be fair I would almost respect this more than the alternative - it would be calculating and deceitful but at least it would show planning. The other option is that this is just another clueless knee jerk reaction, and they are yet again woefully inept
9/ We’ve worked bloody hard in my two pubs to make everybody feel safe, and I feel like we had the balance right.
10/ One of my pubs is in a village, and all 3 pubs in that village have at one point in the last two weeks closed temporarily due to a Covid scare. To be clear, not because the Gov told us to, but because we wanted to make sure we kept our staff and customers safe
11/ All three were false alarms, but we all deep cleaned, tested staff etc and kept our customers abreast of everything we were doing. We kept everyone informed before we reopened
12/ This just demonstrates how seriously most of us in the trade are already taking it. Pubs and restaurants are in general very very safe. So to have this horseshit imposed on us is extremely tough to take
13/ I do about 15% of my turnover after 9.30pm. Which means this is potentially devastating to a business that is already 25% down on last year. And others have it much much worse.
14/ Hospitality is not the problem. Sure there are always some places who break the rules but that’s what fines are for. Come down hard on those that aren’t doing their duty or sticking to rules, but let the rest of us operate safely as we’ve already been doing.
15/ To our customers and the public: please please continue to use us. Your local pubs and restaurants need you now more than ever. And at least you’ll still be in bed at a reasonable hour!
16/ To Boris and his merry band of Pinocchios: stop destroying an industry that brings so much to the economy in terms of employment and tax. Own your failures and concentrate on the places try hard are genuinely spiking new cases.
