Hair today: customers flock to pubs, shops and salons
Hairdressers hacked through overgrown barnets, shoppers flocked to high streets and drinkers downed pints as coronavirus restrictions were lifted in England yesterday.
The prime minister, Boris Johnson, urged the nation to “behave responsibly” as life took another step back towards normality, with indoor gyms, swimming pools, nail salons and zoos also welcoming customers back.
In southeast London, queues of shaggy haired men snaked along rows of shops in Blackheath Village, waiting their turn at local barbershops. Salons bustled with the sound of hairdryers and chatting, as clients
took the opportunity to catch up with their stylists after a long winter.
Although customers were excited to get their unruly manes back into shape, it is the stylists and salon managers who were most looking forward to the steady stream of clients once again. Jess Sharp, assistant manager at the Good Looks Hair and Beauty Salon, told The Independent: “We’re booked out back to back for the next two weeks, we’re so busy, but it’s really good to be back."
Some salons could barely wait for 12 April to reopen. Kelly Boad, owner of the Hair & Beauty Gallery in Warwick, said she opened her salon at midnight for a symbolic “first cut” of 2021. “I thought it would be nice to do a cut as soon as we possibly could and it wasn’t hard to find someone who wanted their hair doing after so long,” she said. “It felt great to have a pair of scissors back in my hands and I can’t wait to see all our great customers again.”
Snow showers and cold breezes made al fresco socialising a chilly prospect in parts of southern England, but at the Royal Victoria Pavilion in Ramsgate, believed to be the biggest pub in the country, thirsty customers cheered as the first pints were served.
As Pippa Ingram, 51, who received the first drink to be poured, said: “Absolutely delicious. It’s not gonna last long at all! That is banging.”
The Oak Inn in Coventry opened its doors shortly after midnight, with marquees, heaters and blankets for customers in the large beer garden – but council officials are investigating after videos posted on social media showed more than 100 people queuing in the street outside the pub.
In Birmingham, a lengthy queue developed outside the city centre Primark store before it opened its doors. Retail analysts Springboard said that footfall across all retail destinations in the UK was up 116 per cent by 3pm yesterday compared to the same time a week ago.
London’s main shopping streets saw around 44 per cent of the pre-pandemic level of April visitors, slightly up on expectations. But Jace Tyrrell, chief executive of New West End Company, said “until international shoppers return, West End businesses will continue to need extra government support”.
Despite the relaxation in lockdown rules, social mixing indoors will remain heavily restricted, with around two in five adults yet to receive their first dose of a Covid-19 vaccine and the vast majority yet to get both.
Mr Johnson said: “I urge everyone to continue to behave responsibly and remember ‘Hands, face, space and fresh air’ to suppress Covid as we push on with our vaccination programme.”
Modelling by government advisers in the UK has suggested yesterday’s relaxation will not result in a surge of cases that would put pressure on the NHS, but it is “highly likely” there will be a further resurgence in hospital admissions and deaths after subsequent steps along the road map out of lockdown.
The fanfare for the easing of restrictions has been muted by the national mourning for the Duke of Edinburgh. Mr Johnson postponed his celebratory pint, although he found time for a haircut.
In England, pubs and restaurants have been making changes during lockdown to maximise their ability to serve customers outside. But the British Beer and Pub Association estimates that just 40 per cent of licensed premises have the space to reopen for outdoor service.
In response to the easing of restriction, the Metropolitan Police said it will be “stepping up” patrols in high footfall areas. Deputy Assistant Commissioner Jane Connors said: “Of course, where we need to take action against those who dangerously flout the rules we will do.”
People in Wales were also enjoying renewed freedoms yesterday, with non-essential retail reopened and border restrictions eased to permit travel again with the rest of the UK and Ireland.
Remaining school pupils returned to face-to-face teaching in Wales and Northern Ireland, in moves being
echoed in Scotland as some pupils return from their Easter breaks. The “stay at home” order in Northern Ireland also ended as the number of people permitted to meet outdoors increased from six to 10.
The next significant date is 17 May, when socialising indoors will be permitted under the “rule of six”, if the prime minister judges that the vaccination programme is safely breaking the link between infections and deaths.