SLEET AND SNOW? PAH! WE WE RE NEVER GOING TO MISS THIS
IT may have been bitterly cold – and still without total freedom – but the excitement of being allowed out to get some retail therapy swept the land yesterday.
As shops, hairdressers, pub gardens, restaurants and gyms opened their doors for the first time in three months, the buzz was palpable.
Customers flocked to businesses which had been given the green light to start trading amid an expected £ 4.5billion spending boom. Although extended opening hours had been put in place to avoid overcrowding, huge queues had already formed outside city centre stores at 7am yesterday.
In Manchester, the most eager shoppers began to assemble outside sports stores at 11pm on Sunday night.
And at Primark shops from London to Birmingham, barriers were erected outside so that hundreds of early-morning customers could queue safely before entering. The relaxation of Covid rules also meant that restaurants, cafes and pubs could serve groups of up to six customers outside only.
And despite snow and sleet in some areas, pub-goers wrapped themselves up in hats, scarves and winter jackets while they enjoyed a taste of freedom.
Some drinkers were already queuing for their first pints when the clock hit midnight yesterday and the Covid restrictions that have been in place since January finally ended. There were cheers outside the Kentish Belle in southeast London when pub staff told awaiting drinkers that they were ready to be served at 12.01am on Monday. Nicholas Hair, the landlord, said: ‘I’m hoping that this is a sort of rebirth and that we are reopen for the foreseeable.’
Meanwhile, hundreds of customers arrived outside The Oak Inn in Coventry after it said it would open its doors to customers between 12am and 6am yesterday.
Landlord Darren Lee, 51, said that 320 customers were allowed to sit at the pub’s 64 outdoor tables throughout the early hours of the morning.
Coventry City Council later said the pub was under investigation for a possible breach of rules after images showed more than 100 people queuing to get in.
Meanwhile, Joe Foyster made the most of the easing of restrictions as he received a free haircut with a
‘Joy on their faces’
pint of Heineken at a pop-up hairdressing station at The Gregorian pub in London.
The cold weather led to pleas for customers not to abandon their bookings. And one appeared to have heard the call as he braved the snow while he sipped a pint at The Bowes Hotel in Northumberland.
And James Chiavarini, of the Il Portico restaurant in west London, said the perseverance of customers left him ‘proud to be British’. Another two diners were pictured at Yangaz Bistro Grill in Surrey with ith only an umbrella to protect ct them from the falling sleet. eet.
Hairdressers essers and beauty salons were ere among the first to pull up p their shutters yesmorning yesterday morning ahead of an expected business boom.
Some opened as early as 5am to cope ope with the surge in demand that has left many fully booked ked for the next few months at least.
But some me could not wait this long and received their treatments ts at midnight yesterday. yesterday. M Magdelaine Gibson, of Secret Spa, Sp visited Isabella Robinson inson at her home in south London don for a spray tan. Meanwhile, Mea former model Christina Chris Estrada had her hair styled at celebrity hotspot hotsp Michael Charalambous bous in Chelsea, London. And for those who have exhausted exha running and home hom workouts, gyms reopened pen yesterday. And An there were large queues que at London Zoo and Chester Che Zoo as outdoor attractions, including theme parks, were allowed to welcome visitors once again with strict social distancing measures in place.
Among other venues finally allowed to reopen yesterday were indoor skydiving centres.
At the iFLY centre in Manchester, more than 150 daredevils took the opportunity to forget about their lockdown worries in the 14ft wind tunnel.
‘To see the joy on people’s faces that they can finally get out and about has been fantastic,’ said assistant manager Steve Rottier.