A second outing

Following the first outing to town of the second lockdown noticed at reference 1, a second a couple of days later, on this occasion for a warfarin test.

Arriving a little early, I had time to further inspect the nearby Wetherspoon's, noticing a little black and white sign above the door, a sign which gave opening times. But a sign which reminded me of the little black and white signs you used to have above the doors of public houses, in pretty much the same position as this one, telling you that so and so, that is to say the tenant or manager of the house for the time being, was licensed to sell beers, wines and spirits or whatever. Sometimes the tenant's or manager's wife in the case that the tenant or manager had been in a spot of trouble with the law; perhaps for use excessive or inappropriate force, sometimes called ABH or GBH. As I recall, signs written by a signwriter rather than by a computer. Do pubs still do this? Have they changed the rules?

In any event, it is going to be a little while before we can take advantage of all the late opening on offer. And how many did? Or will? I remember being in Edinburgh, many years ago now, shortly after opening hours were extended to midnight, well before anything of the sort happened down here, when the answer seemed to be, at least during the week, that no-one much wanted to drink at that time anyway. All rather quiet and dull after around 2230. Just a few hardened local drinkers and a few other people not quite ready to return to their hotels rooms.

Then around the back, by the dustbins and empty barrels, a stash of something or other, possibly foot operated bins for the disposal of hand wipes during the plague. A plague which is still with us, so why are Wetherspoon's getting rid of them all? They look brand new. Perhaps there has been a change of rules here too.

My business finished, I continued around Jubilee Way, on very quiet roads. Celebrated passing the warfarin test with purchase of white pudding, dry cured streaky bacon and some ox-tail. On which last I shall be reporting in due course.

PS: Mr. Wetherspoon was very big for Brexit, which seemed curious at the time given the large numbers of foreigners of one sort or another that he employs. If our fat leader - a description which, as it happens, would not be that wide of the mark for Mr. Wetherspoon - does indeed get Brexit done, as he said he would, we will see how long it takes for the Wetherspoon story to change.

Reference 1: psmv4: A first outing.