Sunday Mirror (Northern Ireland)
INNDEPENDENCE DAY
COVID-19 CRISIS: UK PARTIES WITH PINTS, HAIRCUTS AND WEDDINGS
BRITS went barmy on their own version of Independence Day by necking pints in pubs, eating fry-ups, having haircuts – and getting married.
Thirsty drinkers queued from 6am as boozers opened up when the dawn of July 4 brought a 104-day lockdown dry spell to an end.
Experts estimated around 15 million pints were drunk yesterday, the same kind of spike seen when England are in the World Cup.
They forecast takings of £210million – some £60million more than a typical pre-lockdown weekend – even though many pubs weren’t even open on a wet and blustery day.
The Campaign for Real Ale said around half of England’s 37,500 boozers had decided opening was just not viable under strict social-distancing rules.
In Birmingham, customers queued patiently outside the Briar Rose. Fire protection installers Ben Clark, 33, Curtis Birch, 22, and Connor Cowen, 22, were first in line.
Ben said: “We just finished our night shift. We came and reserved our tables ready for a pint of San Miguel and a breakfast.”
On Blackpool’s Golden Mile, stag-dos and hen parties were a no-no, but drinkers were still determined to have fun. Lisa Schofield, landlady of Shenanigans Bar, said reopening was
“strange but exciting.” In Newcastle, lorry driver Justin Evans, 42, who worked all through lockdown delivering reels of paper to make labels for Covid-19 tests, was celebrating his 18-year-old son joining the Army.
Justin said: “It’s fantastic that we have been able to come out as a family.”
Many drinkers showed their comic sides, with a punter in Manchester’s Circus Tavern jokingly gurning against one of the perspex screens erected to separate customers.
And at The Wellington in Borehamwood,
Herts, a crowd of locals supped pints wearing full PPE and face masks. Drinkers in London’s
We reserved our tables ready for a pint of San Miguel and a breakfast
NIGHT SHIFT WORKER BEN ON EARLY START AT PUB
packed Borough Market were also in high spirits.
Pub chain Wetherspoon, which opened all its 730 outlets in England except five in Leicester, said it was “delighted.”
Pubs in Wales won’t open until July 13 while Scottish ones stay shut until July 15.
There was also a huge demand for cafe grub, with customers flocking to places like Pellicci’s in Bethnal Green, East London, for full English breakfasts.
And as 30,000 hairdressers reopened, there was a rush to get barnets trimmed. Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer and fouryear-old Flynn Williams, of Durham, were among the first to queue up.
Louise Arnold and Jennifer Wilson, both 22, tied the knot at a minute past midnight yesterday in Runcorn, Cheshire, in front of 16 guests.
And the new James and Lucy Bone got hitched in Ingram, Northumberland.
Meanwhile Nigel Farage was at the centre of a row after going to the pub for a pint. Lib Dem leader Ed Davey reported him to Kent police fearing he had breached quarantine rules following a US visit.