TRYING to find somewhere for a coffee and the morning editorial chat was a challenge near the office in Palma. I don’t think the full implications of this latest Tier 4 lockdown had really sunk in as people headed for their local bar only to met by a barricade of tables and chairs preventing them from entering the premises, not even to pay.
Fortunately the weather helped and it was possible to sit outside, but for the bar and café owners it was minimal service and just a trickle of income. It was the same at lunchtime. While the terraces were busy, the interior of most restaurants were in the dark with tables and chairs stacked up.
And to add to the misery, those who were allowed to sit inside were hotel guests, and in the few hotels I passed, there were not too many.
It certainly was a wake up call with regards to what we are facing over the next few weeks, or even longer until the Covid case numbers start to flatten and return to ‘acceptable’ figures. With barriers erected outside stores and spotters controlling numbers, it’s all got very surreal and everyone is having to reshuffle their festive plans to comply with the new restrictions.
The only slim ray of light at the end of this tunnel is the vaccine but how long will it take until we’ve all had the shot?
Let’s just hope next year we can party twice as hard with plenty to celebrate.