Somerset country pub forced to throw away £700 worth of pints because of Covid lockdown

A country pub in Somerset is being forced to throw away £700 worth of pints as a result of the third lockdown in England.

England entered its third lockdown on January 5, although The Crown Inn in Catcott was forced to close its doors under tougher tier restrictions from Boxing Day.

This family pub, just off the A39 between Bridgwater and Glastonbury, is run by Daniel Kilduff, the son of Rowena Kingston, who ran it with her husband for 12 years.

Mrs Kingston said: "Although we guessed the lockdown may be coming, you don’t know for sure. You’ve still got to prepare as if it wasn’t coming.

"We’re having to throw away about £700 of pints. We ordered quite a lot as it was the Christmas period.

"Food-wise we’ll lose about £200. The protein you can put in the freezer but there is a lot of wastage, there’s only so much food you can eat.

"The vegetables, eggs, cheeses will all have to be thrown away, it’s not an ideal scenario.”

Mrs Kingston said it is a struggle for the pub with income simply not coming in and costs still coming out.

"What the government is paying isn’t enough to keep all the wheels in motion. It’s very difficult.

"The few places that have survived are lucky so far, but not a lot will not survive. The impact of it on all hospitality businesses is immense."

Since the new national lockdown began, The Crown Inn started offering takeaway service, but it isn’t quite the same.

“Takeaway service doesn’t replicate being able to fill a pub," Mrs Kingston said.

“Being a small out of the way country pub, we can’t deliver to the towns and food may not be hot enough to get there.”

“I’m quite prepared to see it going on until the end of March. I can’t see hospitality being able to open in the short term.

“It’s frustrating because the measures we’ve put in place gives us the safety measures that so many of the supermarkets and shops haven’t.

“I feel hospitality is getting so much of the blame for this, when really it is such a safe place to go now.

“Pubs are very much about people's mental health, not just about drinking and partying.

“For some people it’s the highlight of their day, and unfortunately now people can’t do that.”

same in Victoria, Australia:

12 Feb: news.com.au: Fury as Victoria enters five-day snap lockdown
Daniel Andrews’ announcement that Victoria will enter a third lockdown to avoid catastrophe has been met with outrage by businesses and residents alike.
by Natalie Brown
“I know it’s not the news that Victorians want to hear today. I know it’s not the place that we wanted to be in. However, we’ve all given so much, we’ve all done so much. We’ve built something precious, and we have to make difficult decisions, and do difficult things, in order to defend what we’ve built,” Mr Andrews said...

But many have been quick to criticise the decision, asking why “a small outbreak in Melbourne means everyone from Mallacoota to Mildura has to go into lockdown?”...
Ms Westacott said the lockdown will force small businesses to make “decisions about whether to lay-off staff or destroy inventory” and airlines to cancel “thousands of flights and shifts”...

#DictatorDan quickly began trending on Twitter in Australia, while one news.com.au reader asked, “Why do Victorians put up with this garbage?”...
https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/health/health-problems/fury-as-victoria-enters-fiveday-snap-lockdown/news-story/76afdc6d5e9524e36499bde468290e2a

12 Feb: Australian Financial Review: Victoria goes into five day snap lockdown
Victoria goes into five day snap lockdown
by Timothy Moore, Natasha Rudra and Tom Burton
Mr Andrews says regional Victoria is also being placed under lock down even though there are no cases there to prevent the highly infectious virus spreading from Melbourne...
Here’s what he had to say:
There are 13 cases linked to the outbreak
Three are returned travellers who are in hotel quarantine
Ten cases are locally acquired...
https://www.afr.com/politics/federal/victoria-goes-into-five-day-snap-lockdown-20210212-p571st

Australia has had only 909 alleged covid deaths in total; 820 allegedly in Victoria. only one other state has deaths in double figures. 655 of Victoria’s covid deaths were in aged care facilities (or 79 percent+)

covid is POLITICS.

A Spanish craft brewery had to empty out 1000 bottles of beer because the customer couldn't afford to pay for it after their bar was shut down due to Pandemic regulations. Whey he didn't try to resell it, even for 10 cents a bottle, they didn't explain.

We watch a series called A New Life in the Sun where Brits move to Spain, Portugal, France, Italy, etc. in search of better weather and a new life. If you rely on the program Covid is just a minor inconvenience on the road to riches and happiness. The craft brewery is one of this week's adventurers.

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