The Mock Turtle

Yes, it's so they don't have a midnight party I don't think the intention is that people will be queuing for a Snakebite & Black at 6am. Although I fully expect Wetherspoons to interpret that way (half of Twitter has too).

My mum’s husband is refusing to go shopping tomorrow because he would have to walk past a Wetherspoons to do it.

Mountain Goat wrote: ↑Fri Jul 03, 2020 2:20 pm Apparently only ones that have that sort of license anyway, so in practice that's about two pubs near Smithfield.

Which means it was a completely unnecessary announcement and just intended to get people in the plague spirit, I suppose.

I was thinking it will only be the pub at Smithfield Market. Hackney has just had an injunction granted to ban all booze in London Fields. In advance of the Pub on the Park and the Cat and Mutton fully opening I expect.

The confusion
https://twitter.com/i/events/1279043930290454531

Pubs opening, but libraries not, seems wrong on so many levels.

Our libraries start opening on Monday.

I am very conflicted about libraries opening.

Ours doesn't open until August. It would be good if it would open sooner.

Pip, what are your feelings on it?

Can it survive long on paper? Plus I think they've said they'll quarantine books for 72 hours. Plus the usual sanitise hands on entry and exit (though I don't see people doing this as often as you'd think.)

We walked up to Bermondsey Street and Maltby Street today and got some nice food for lunch (but takeaway, not eat-in). We put masks on to go into the shop, but I don’t think we saw anybody else wearing them at all. FFS!

Well, is it ok to put staff back on the front line? Public libraries aren’t the cleanest places at the best of times. But then I’m a librarian who’s been working throughout and staffing a much higher risk library, so kind of want to slap down the public library staff who are whingeing.

Also, yes, you can quarantine books that are returned, but if you allow browsing, people will touch things.

Ah, I thought that it was click & collect only, which at least reduces the browsing. People in libraries are likely to be better behaved than people in pubs.

The second hand bookstore we went to had bins throughout the store where you had to put books that you’d looked through but weren’t buying so they could be quarantined.

They also keep their itinerary up to date so you can ask for what you need if it’s not on the shelf. It really does restrict how many people can be in the store at any given time. Can libraries do that kind of thing or is it too limiting?

Our libraries have been open for a couple of weeks, but just for dropping off and picking up holds. It's slow, but I'm really happy with it all. The books are quarantined at various stages. To pick up a hold you have to queue outside on markers and the librarian is at a screened off doorway.

Yes, i think well just use it for reservations. J desperately needs more reading material!

Ella77 wrote: ↑Fri Jul 03, 2020 7:31 pm We walked up to Bermondsey Street and Maltby Street today and got some nice food for lunch (but takeaway, not eat-in). We put masks on to go into the shop, but I don’t think we saw anybody else wearing them at all. FFS!

I’m glad you got lovely food, but reading this makes me feel so homesick!

I’ve still not been to a restaurant or at here to eat in/outside. There are some places doing ingenious things with their car parks (one place has covered it in small marquees each with a table and open at one end for service) that would be good if I had a group to go with. But for a single person household it doesn’t really make sense.

I noticed a real increase in people wearing masks here today. I didn't wear mine outdoors in the shopping centre, just putting it on before the first shop and taking it off after the second and final one, and felt in a minority because most people had one on the whole time (it's open on one side so not indoors).

Heebie Jeebie wrote: ↑Fri Jul 03, 2020 8:29 pm I noticed a real increase in people wearing masks here today.

J went to Sainsburys this morning and he said the same, i think it must be due to the announcement yesterday because they're not mandatory until next week.

I saw an IG post from our libraries today and they said they're working on making them as safe as possible and will hopefully be opening later this month. I would (selfishly) like them to reopen asap as we're all running out of (new) reading material! Our library is part of the same complex as our Picturehouse, so I wonder if they will open at the same time.

I wish they'd make masks compulsory in shops in England as well - I'd say about 1/10 are wearing them in my area.

Epp, there’s almost nothing to miss right now, honestly. I was pleased to see that so many restaurants and shops had opened up their front windows to the street and were selling what they could.

Even my dad wears a mask these days! You could have knocked me down with a feather when I heard that. They really should be compulsory. I know there’s an income thing to consider, but I’ve seen packs of 50 for less than £4 online.