This is an incredibly sad day for Rhuthun/Ruthin. And already you can hear the click of tomorrow's headline writers' keyboards. "Time called on pub gatherings". "Last orders for Britain's pubs".
Tonight, the town is shutting down. Social distancing has just got more distant. As many seem not to be heeding advice, we now have no more restaurants, pubs, clubs, gyms, cafés and leisure centres. They're all to close. Our prime minister made it very clear that people should not be going out tonight and pubs should be closed as soon as possible. Yes, tonight.
Did Rhuthun's pubs head the call and did our residents?
Every pub was open this evening, without exception. Those inside enjoying their last orders were nevertheless few, certainly at 8p.m. There was about half a dozen in the Star; about a dozen in the Boar's; a similar number in the Vaults; and I'd put it at about two dozen in the Feathers. All much fewer than usual. Perhaps it's because younger people feel invincible that they've been out but the median age for those dying is going down and is now at 63, so younger people are not just potentially affecting their grandparents but also now their parents.
Remember, too, those who live on their own and who rely on pubs and cafés for regular social contact. Rhuthun's pubs and cafés are businesses providing social contact for the whole community. Businesses that have survived wars, beer duties and recessions, sometimes for centuries, are now under threat.
Tomorrow, Saturday, will be a very different Rhuthun. A number of local restaurants are nevertheless able to offer a takeaway services, though, and this is permissible. We're aware of On the Hill, The Myddelton Grill, the White Horse Hendrerwydd and the Nant y Felin.
Meanwhile, as landlords were in shock, pubs will have thousands of pounds-worth of stock, some in five figures. Beers don't keep. Does this mean it will need to be dumped? Or will breweries take it back, to ensure that at least pubs save their excise duty.
And, talking of doors closing, today, Friday, County Hall had no more than half-a-dozen staff. A small group of senior managers took advantage of the empty space by using a large meeting room to get together, by occupying each of the four corners. That way, they could socially distance themselves *and* work more productively than trying to communicate using technology from their own homes.
Tonight, the town is shutting down. Social distancing has just got more distant. As many seem not to be heeding advice, we now have no more restaurants, pubs, clubs, gyms, cafés and leisure centres. They're all to close. Our prime minister made it very clear that people should not be going out tonight and pubs should be closed as soon as possible. Yes, tonight.
Did Rhuthun's pubs head the call and did our residents?
Tomorrow, Saturday, will be a very different Rhuthun. A number of local restaurants are nevertheless able to offer a takeaway services, though, and this is permissible. We're aware of On the Hill, The Myddelton Grill, the White Horse Hendrerwydd and the Nant y Felin.
And, talking of doors closing, today, Friday, County Hall had no more than half-a-dozen staff. A small group of senior managers took advantage of the empty space by using a large meeting room to get together, by occupying each of the four corners. That way, they could socially distance themselves *and* work more productively than trying to communicate using technology from their own homes.