Read on Twitter
I'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'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 'plausible deniability' that they weren't there to see friends. Just like Early Doors
Anyway. He's just told me he'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're only letting people in if you book a table through an app.
He doesn't have a smartphone, and wouldn't be able to use one anyway. The pub won'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't go to the pub any more.
He's already gutted because the bookies next door shut a couple of years ago, because everyone does betting on their mobile apps now. He'd have to get a pal in the pub to put a bet on for him, via his app. He can't even do that now.
I hope technology doesn't outpace us when we reach that age.
