I& #39;m not really in favour of pubs being open with the pandemic on and everything, but they are, and my dad - in his 70s and living on his own - goes for one or two pints every afternoon at his local, and has a chat with his mates...

...They& #39;re all socially distanced anyway. Even before covid they all sat on separate tables about 10 foot apart from each other, talking to the room rather than directly at each other. A sort of & #39;plausible deniability& #39; that they weren& #39;t there to see friends. Just like Early Doors

Anyway. He& #39;s just told me he& #39;s not been there for a week. They used to ask people to sign in, giving their names and phone numbers, for the contact tracing. Too many people must have been giving false info, so now they& #39;re only letting people in if you book a table through an app.

He doesn& #39;t have a smartphone, and wouldn& #39;t be able to use one anyway. The pub won& #39;t allow people to book tables for other people, or to book a table that other people can come and join. So they turned him away and he can& #39;t go to the pub any more.

He& #39;s already gutted because the bookies next door shut a couple of years ago, because everyone does betting on their mobile apps now. He& #39;d have to get a pal in the pub to put a bet on for him, via his app. He can& #39;t even do that now.

I hope technology doesn& #39;t outpace us when we reach that age.