The world has again changed, with a return before Christmas to the clouds associated with the beginning of the pandemic. How has the omicron variant affected the pub trade this festive period? Rules hadn't changed prior to Christmas but, afterwards, the Welsh government reintroduced face coverings in pubs and the 'rule of six'.
Quieter than usual. Most pubs were 'comfortable', with tables occupied but public areas not over full. The Myddelton was booked full. There was evidence of bouncers, once again, at the Castle Hotel and the Boar's Head. Even so, the Castle Hotel was still patchy. Origin was not open. Takeaways before midnight were struggling. The streets were very quiet till about 11.45 p.m., when people began to gather. This year, school-age teens significantly outnumbered others, and the youngsters looked as if they'd be better off doing their homework. The only part of Rhuthun/Ruthin where there were any pre-midnight outside activity was at and opposite the Park Place, with about 30 basically children present on the street in two 'gangs'. The mild weather at 13½°C resulted for this demographic in the donning basically of beach wear. These youngsters no doubt felt immune, for they refused to wear face coverings as was now required; they claimed exception and I had no idea there was such an asthma epidemic among our children in Rhuthun. No doubt they didn't want to ruin their make-up. There was no real attempt at the required table service, either. There were a few older people sat in the Castle Hotel beer garden. Oddly, a group of young teen girls were examining the notices on the County Hall doors. For those venues carrying on after midnight with music (basically, a club), there was no checking of covid passports. The usual 10 minutes of fireworks at the Castle went with bang or two.
It wasn't that parky outside the Parky.
Little evidence this morning of New Year's Eve rubbish, though there was some broken glass and a few empty beer bottles abroad. Rubbish had collected by Llewelyn Jones solicitors
Black Friday December 17th
This was altogether a more restrained affair than in previous years. It was more akin to an 'ordinary' pre-coronavirus Friday night, rather than the packed-to-bursting pubs usually associated with the last Friday before Christmas. There was little evidence of the usual hugs and social kissing, for example—tough this was more evident on New Year's Eve. Pubs were not stupidly packed as you would normally expect. As for food, the Myddelton was full of diners and there were even a handful enjoying a meal in the Manor House. Back to the pubs, there was a distinct lack of that festive feeling. Most patrons chose and remained seated at their table. But it was certainly livelier than we have seen in a long time, with early evening traffic driving into town and parking awkwardly anywhere they felt it was OK to do so. By the end of the evening, patrons had spilled out under the veranda at the Vaults but, generally, as the evening progressed, numbers appeared to thin, which was a reversal of the usual position. There remained scores rather than hundreds in the pubs towards the end of the evening, and the numbers on the street were very low, lending a slightly deserted feel to the town.
Thursday December 16th
A very different picture but people no doubt weren't prepared to spend twice, saving themselves for Black Friday. The Boar's Head and Wine Vaults were actually empty. The Feathers had a score and five. There were pockets in the Castle Hotel. There were very few people or cars moving around in town. The streets and the takeaways were bare.