Second delay was really like ‘a kick in the teeth’
SANDIE and Derek Stanley of the Boomerang Bar in Bray are chomping at the bit to get back to work.
‘We’re just very distressed, upset and frustrated really,’ said Sandie. ‘Because we have put so much hard work and effort into getting ready.’
She said that all of the staff have been doing training while unable to go to work, including Fáilte Ireland training. They have put in screens, redecorated, and put numerous hygiene measures in place. ‘We’re a small family pub with a few loyal and long-serving staff,’ said Sandie. ‘Everyone wants to get back to work.’ She said that she and her husband Derek and all the staff really miss their customers.
‘We are there 23 years,’ said Sandie. Head barman John Anderson has been with them from the start.
‘Our pub is an older-style pub,’ she said. ‘We have a mixed group of customers of all ages. In the afternoons many of those would be retired people who come in for a cup of coffee or a pint, and maybe a read of the paper and to say hello.’
She said that the pub is a social outlet for some of their older customers. ‘I’ve been ringing some of them to check in and some haven’t been going elsewhere because it’s not the same.’ One gentleman has sat in the same seat in the bar for his whole life, since he was a young man. He’s now retired and has never been the patron of another pub. ‘He misses his buddies, watching the football and having a bit of a chat.’
The second delay in permitting the pubs which don’t serve food to reopen was a ‘ kick in the teeth’ said Sandie.
‘We weren’t surprised this time because of the first delay on July 20, and the big spike of 85 before the Bank Holiday.’
‘You were still hoping,’ she said. ‘For our family public health and the safety of everyone in the community is of course of the highest priority, but we feel we can open safely and should be given the opportunity to prove ourselves.’
With one-metre distancing, the pub can accommodate around 30 people, she said. ‘ The Boomerang is kind of like a big sitting room. Everyone knows anyone and it’s very friendly. Tourists and visitors are also made feel very welcome by ourselves and the regular customers.’ She doesn’t have much confidence that they will be allowed to open their doors in the coming weeks, but does hope that they will be permitted to, following the next review on August 31.
They look forward to getting back to work, she said, and having the craic with everyone in the bar. ‘If other pubs can open, why can’t we?’