At long last we have the news from No 10 that pubs will be able to open again on the 4th July. Of course, there are strings attached, some of which your committee have been able to anticipate. We have been working closely with the tenants to ensure they will be able to open safely on time.
The tenants have been working hard to maximise the asset of the large garden. New tables, parasols and seating on the lawn will enable social distancing for customers to enjoy their drinks and food in small social groups. Food will mainly be prepared on the new charcoal barbeque from a new summertime menu. Crockery and glasses will be disposable and customers will be encouraged to buy their own Chequer Inn glass to take home and bring back and use again.
We received a small grant (£520) to assist with marketing and promotion enabling the purchase of a new and solid A-Frame to display posters in front of the pub. We are concerned that not all local residents use social media for information and also we wish to capture the interest of casual visitors to the village.
We have been using ZOOM for Meet Up Mondays meetings and although not universally popular it has served a purpose for some of the community. We plan to relaunch Meet Up Mondays with specially prepared mugs for those attending when we can meet up again in the Pub garden.
At the time of writing we are waiting to hear about our application for a Power to Change grant that Plunkett Funded organisations (such as ours) were invited to bid for from a £12m Power to Change COVID-19 fund.