In Fear of the Tiers

A serious post, for a change.
Today, the Government announced which tiers each region of the nation would be in when we come out of Lock Down.

And here in Oxfordshire we're in Tier 2. 
Which sucks.
Although obviously a little less than the millions stuck in Tier 3.
As far as the pubs go, Tier 2 means only those selling 'substantial meals' are able to open, and may only serve alcohol alongside that meal.

Yep, I can travel into town on a stuffy bus, go shopping, go to the gym, get my nails done, and be one of 2,000 spectators watching Oxford United play.
But no way can I be trusted to sit and have a beer in a pub unless it's accompanying a meal.

In fact, the only places in Tier 1, where we can head to for a couple of pints without eating are Cornwall, the Isle of Wight and the Isles of Scilly.

This is a massive blow to pubs, many of whom will not be able to viably open unless they're in Tier 1 (and even then, 'viably' is questionable).

Is that substantial enough?

Wet-led pubs are often key to their local communities; social hubs helping the well-being of those suffering with the isolation of lock-down.

There's a big difference between these community pubs and the city centre bars that the media head to when they want footage of people being irresponsible.

Back in September, Nick Forbes, leader of Newcastle City Council - an area particularly hard-hit at the time, stated that "The evidence we've found from local testing is that it's spreading in three main areas - in pubs, in people's homes and in grassroots sports".

Not garden centres and yoga classes. 
Not artisan coffee shops and dogging.

Nope - grassroots sports and pubs were to blame.

The spread in people's homes appears to be universally agreed upon.  Sports - grassroots and professional - have been given a reprieve.
But pubs have seen a tightening of restrictions.

Pubs have consistently been the scapegoats throughout this pandemic. "The evidence" has been repeatedly asked for and never provided by the powers-that-be.

Yet from the 24th September we endured tighter rules: the much derided 10pm curfew, table service and mandatory mask-wearing when not seated.
My initial reaction was that I no longer wanted to visit the pub with these new restrictions. 
But two days later I was in the Kings Head in Bledington.  Seems we adapt pretty quickly, especially when we want a pint.

Signs, signs, everywhere there's signs...

But the latest restrictions of Tier 2 and 3 throughout the country make me worry just how much use I'll get out of my 2021 Good Beer Guide.
I can only hope that great pubs, who've put so much effort and money into making premises safe, are able to survive through this rotten winter.

I can't help but conclude that our politicians don't understand or care about the nation's pubs.
We keep on hearing how important Christmas is, with all the stops being pulled out to 'save it'.
But y'know what?  For me, a pint of Plum Porter and a chat in the Royal Blenheim are way more important than any overblown commercial holiday.   

I really hope infection figures lead to a loosening of these restrictions, and some relief for publicans and brewers and everyone associated with the industry.

I want to blog about pub crawls, not pub closures!