Yesterday marked a big day in our journey out of lockdown as across the country many shops and businesses opened their doors to customers after a long period shut.
In Irvine, people flocked to beer gardens for the first cold one from a pub this year.
There were queues outside Primark and generally more people milling about and it all felt a bit more back-to-normal.
We headed down to the town to see what the atmosphere was like. All the hospitality staff we spoke to were glad to be back and the punters even more so.
Richard Bartsch, operations manager at Si! said that they were hoping for better weather to maximise their new outdoor seating area but he was still upbeat, saying: “It’s been a solid month setting up. It’s fantastic to get bums on seats again.”
Here are some snaps we took on our visit to Si! Bar and Restaurant and the R & A Sports Bar just after midday yesterday to observe the return of pints in pubs. All photos by Charlie Gilmour:
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