You are currently browsing the daily archive for June 26, 2020.
Over the past two weeks, retail shops were allowed to open in England and in Wales.
Shops in Wales opened a week later than in England’s because of the devolved government. Scotland and Northern Ireland are also operating their own reopening timetables for the same reason.
England
The government encouraged shops to remove as much risk from COVID-19 as possible. Certificates are available for shops that do so.
On Monday, June 15, a number of retail shops reopened.
Primark was the biggest draw.
These were the scenes in Birmingham:
It was the same in Liverpool …
… and Bristol …
… and Hull:
These are Primark’s in-store guidelines:
If you need a laugh, this is a great video about Primark’s guidelines:
Oxford Street in London was the same. There is obviously something about Primark, as can be seen from this photo of Berlin:
Here’s a shop in Oxford Circus. Also note that some secondary schools reopened and that face masks became compulsory on public transport in England:
Oxford Street was busy in places:
These were Selfridge’s first shoppers on that beautiful Monday morning:
More waited in the queue outside:
For some, social distancing was so last month:
Grandparents still cannot hug their grandchildren, but there was a workaround for that. I believe this was outside the Nike Store:
Apparently, not everyone was happy with non-essential retail shops opening for the first time since March:
How true:
Mandatory face masks on public transport have been causing concern for some:
Transport for London trusts passengers who say they cannot wear face coverings:
Public transport was a mixed bag with regard to masks:
Things were more relaxed in Bristol:
I had to wear a mask indoors today for a while. I walked home in it just to see what would happen. While the mask was comfortable, I was getting short of breath after my five-minute walk home. Was it hypoxia? I would not recommend walking the streets with a mask for that reason:
We have more reopenings to look forward to on Saturday, July 4, which will be an Independence Day of sorts for us, too.
Wales
Shops in Wales reopened on Monday, June 22.
Everything was much quieter there.
Wales Online reported that shops had made a lot of adjustments.
Cardiff has redesignated thoroughfares in the main shopping area:
Some shops did not reopen until Friday, June 26. Here’s Primark in Cardiff:
Schools in Wales can reopen next week, with social distancing measures in place:
We had a splendid week of warm and sunny weather. Unfortunately, it brought out the worst in some people:
Even the First Minister Mark Drakeford remarked on unauthorised mass gatherings and the lack of social distancing:
In brighter news, an online #IAmOpen campaign kicked off today:
Just another step forward to normality:
More reopening updates will follow in the weeks ahead.
Churchmouse Campanologist 