Getting recreation and leisure up and running again.

It's also not the same thing, Eat Out to Help Out was essentially a subsidy for the consumer to encourage them to eat out. It made sense for restaurants to use the slogan as it was advertising cheap meals and getting people through the door. They mostly used the slogan but not much else.

Given the government has spent the last 8 months handing over billions to companies run by mates and donors with very little scrutiny or transparency why is it that the arts suddenly get lumbered with extra conditions.

Technically people shouldn’t have been booking pairs/groups of seats with those outside their household/bubble anyway so shouldn’t make any difference.

Just received email from Newbury Corn Exchange (in error as it turns out as I don't currently have a booking with them!) but I was impressed with the steps they're taking to safely maximise their capacity on re-opening:

"We have been working hard to find the most financially viable ways to present shows this autumn and consequently we are rebuilding our auditorium so we can increase capacity whilst still adhering to all social distancing measures. Our new seating layout will have more space between rows, the new seats will have individual arm rests, and, instead of seats being left between each booking, household groups will be kept separate using dividing Perspex screens"

The only other venue I'm aware of using the perspex screens approach is Southwark Playhouse, which is very much smaller. Presumably they've done the maths and the investment is justified by the potential returns, which gives me more hope for other similar venues.

The question is - do theatres check couples' addresses, or what?  Is it done on a trust basis?  Will they check if the woman I'm with is my wife or my sister or a friend?  What is happening at the moment?

Why does it really matter? It's a small additional ask in exchange for quite a lot of money. I really don't see that in the current climate it is worth making any fuss about it whatsoever.

I don't think the rules on childcare bubbles specifically say they must take place in the home, so you may be permitted if the toddler fell into that category.

Very mature.

But if you don't have an answer to a genuine question then I suppose that is all you can do.

I didn't respond because I'm not a member of the government and have no idea why they have taken this approach or why billions have been frittered away elsewhere.

The choice to make a fuss about it was yours, so presumably you have a reason for doing so and therefore can answer my question...

I have been quite happy to get out and about doing things again, when venues have been allowed to reopen safely, and up until now I haven't been overly concerned. (I accept that not everyone will hold this view, and that it's everyone's own choice what they are happy to take part in.)

I was surprised yesterday to find myself in a situation I found quite concerning. My local bowling alley reopened this month after being refurbished during the lockdown. I booked earlier in the week to go yesterday, and on the booking screen alternate lanes were blocked out, which seemed sensible to me. I was looking forward to not having to fight over the balls with the group in next lane (COVID aside, this always used to annoy me).

So I was very surprised that not long after we started, a father and son appeared on the adjacent lane to us. The screen was programmed for them, so they were in the right place. When we arrived, we'd been told we could take our masks off while we were at our lane, which I was happy to do at the time as I classed it as a form of exercise. But this then meant we were at times within one metre of the other group, all of us without masks, with them seemingly quite happy to pick up any bowling ball from the joint rack. It got to the stage where I retrieved the one I was using straight away, and sat holding it until it was my turn again! There was plenty of hand sanistiser available, but I didn't fancy applying it 40 times over the two games we played! I didn't feel as though I played as well as I could have, if the other group hadn't been there.

The bowling alley is in a tier 2 location, and we'd travelled from tier 1, which was a bit concerning. They also didn't have any screens or anything like that in the restaurant, although it was reasonably quiet.

I don't really know why I'm so bothered about this, but it annoys me that we're not allowed to sit in a theatre with masks, yet we're allowed to bowl in close quarters. I understand it's very hard for small businesses to get by on reduced numbers, and they wouldn't want to turn people away when they had lanes empty, but it's what cinemas and other places have to do. And after everything that's been drummed into us over the past seven months, it just felt like it suddenly didn't really matter any more.

Out of interest, I looked up the procedures at my next nearest bowling alley, which is part of a chain. They confirm that all the balls are sanitised between each group, and each group uses their own balls. This reassures me more, so I think I might give them a go in a few weeks' time. I don't have any desire to go back to yesterday's place, at least not while they remain in tier 2.

You should be concerned about  close contact without mask. Do you know how well the ventilation system works? We know now that in most cases aerosols are responsibele for transmission. Wearing masks can reduce them and you need a good ventilation system with fresh air exchange (and with suitable filters), distancing helps too. In a good ventilated theatre, with people wearing masks and with a bit of a distance there is safety. But I don't think most of the old theatres have them. Also running them full capacity would not be safe.