Gillian Keegan
Slowly but surely we are continuing to take steps to open up our economy. On Saturday my husband and I went to The Crate and Apple in Chichester to celebrate their reopening – our first pint in a pub since lockdown began 103 days ago. It was so lovely to once again enjoy a drink and a lovely lunch in the hustle and bustle of a pub. There are of course new measures in place such as leaving contact details, sanitising our hands more frequently and the tables were spaced out to enable us to keep our distance from one and other. Personally, I felt very safe and Robin the owner and all the staff are doing a great job of keeping the pub Covid-secure.
Our fun day out didn’t stop there as in the evening we went to Goodwood Motor Circuit for their new drivein secret cinema. It was a fantastic way to spend an evening as we were transported to a 1950s style American drive-in movie experience. Rather fittingly we watched the action-packed Formula 1 drama Rush, which was certainly a good choice given we were lined up on the race track itself.
Films will be screened throughout July and August and I would definitely recommend the experience to anyone wanting a change of scenery – something we are all craving these days!
It is important that we support our local pubs, cafes, bars and restaurants as well as other businesses as we begin to rebuild our lives and our economy. I think we made the most of our new found freedom before I had to head back to London at the start of the week.
Throughout this pandemic, I have heard from many of you regarding a whole range of issues and concerns, not least your support for the creative industries. This is unsurprising as Chichester Festival Theatre is the best regional theatre in the country. Our cultural offer is hugely important to us all and is of major importance to the UK economy.
That is why last week the Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced a huge £1.57billion support package to help the industry get through this virus.
The money will support 700,000 plus people who work in our worldrenowned theatres, galleries, museums, heritage sites, music venues and independent cinemas. This comes on top of the support already out there for businesses such as the job retention scheme, loans and business rates holidays.
Vital sections of our economy are still yet to reopen, but it is great to see many shops, pubs, cafes and restaurant who are up and running again and now they all need our full support.