Life returns to Wairarapa
The mild autumn weather and friendly remarks between townsfolk made it feel like life had instantly returned to the commercial heart of Wairarapa.
Like many CBDs yesterday on the first day of alert level 2, there were queues outside the hairdressers and the banks in Masterton, but otherwise one might not instantly be aware that we were still at war with a globeconquering virus.
Year 7 student Kadyn Webster was waiting outside Tonz Barber
Shop to get his comb over and fade going on.
His mum, Julienne Webster, said lockdown had come with its challenges, but it was exciting to be coming out the other side.
The contrasting views of two business owners seemed to capture the mood of retail on the rural main streets of the nation post-lockdown.
Stephen Shivas, of Selah Musicworks on Queen St, was in no mood to be excited yesterday because he was all too aware of the financial hole he had to claw his way out of.
He said the real test would be in a couple of months to see if those high street businesses on the edge like his would close their doors.
Shivas was already talking to his landlord about downsizing.
Cinema owner Brent Goodwin, on the other hand, was looking forward to cranking up the projectors later in the month. He admitted he had weathered the storm better than most because he owned his own building and didn’t have a landlord or creditors knocking on the door.
Considering the bigger picture, Goodwin hoped that the pandemic might do something to alleviate the divide between rich and poor, but he wasn’t holding his breath.
Next door, Welshman Mark Rogers of Bear Flag Books and Retro said it was good to see people back on the streets.
‘‘All of a sudden people are out and about. Old habits die hard.’’
Looking at friends back in the UK, he understood how fortunate we were being able to return to some kind of normality relatively quickly.
‘‘We’ve been lucky with strong leadership sadly lacking in other countries.’’