Month: July 2020

Cinema · Coronavirus

Going to the cinema (during lockdown)

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Corona virus lockdown restrictions were eased on 4th July to allow restaurants, cafes, parks, pubs and one of my favourite things to do: the cinema, to open. On 4th July Odeon opened up again for the first time since March. Cineworld has announced that they will not be opening until 27th July.

I could not wait to go, so on Sunday I took myself down to our local Odeon at the Stadium MK (Milton Keynes) to see the movie “Dark Water”.

Tickets

Odeon recommends that you purchase your tickets online (the ticket will be sent to your email for printing or (easier) show them the barcode on your phone, which they will scan. You can purchase tickets in the cinema but they do not take cash, card only.

On arrival I noticed a one-way system and hand-sanitiser, plus they had screens around the tills AND the server wore a face-mask. All very reassuring. However, it was difficult to hear the guy under the mask, plus I kept moving my face toward the edge of the plastic screen – what is that? Must be a psychological barrier in my mind or something.

I did wonder how they would manage social distancing in the cinema, how would they assign seating, how could you go to the toilet and brush past someone in your row? This article on the BBC news site explains how.

The usher showed everyone to their seats (I remember when they used to do that all the time). There were only six other people in the screen, but strangly two of them were in my row, which considering how empty it was, I was surprised. I actually had to stand up and move into the aisle so that they could sit down, luckily they didn’t use the toilets lots of times (or any actually), because that would have been annoying. Aside from that the seating was fine.

Food

The food is limited but not eliminated – phew. I do love a snack in the cinema. The menu compared to usual is massively reduced (like restaurants too I guess). Odeon had the biggest range of snacks I had ever seen (vastly more than Cineworld); everything from fried chicken to waffle fries. However, they have slimmed it down to the essentials such as nachos, popcorn, drinks, bags of chocolates and sweets (though no pick n mix) and no icecream counter (though some packets like Magnums an Cornetto’s in a freezer). You are allowed to bring in your own food (not sure if that is a Covid only change to the rules?), but not hot or smelly food. Wow, I remember when I was a kid, smuggling in food at the bottom of my bag or under my coat (ooops sorry Odeon/Cineworld)…ahhhh a simpler time.

Films

I saw “Dark Water” – which I would describe Mark Ruffalo (leading man) as the male Erin Brockovich. The movie was fascinating actually, about how the company who makes Teflon (DuPont) has been poisoning everyone in the world (though mostly Americans) with its products because if the chemical (PFOA) that makes up Teflon gets in your body, it can never be removed; and in large doses can lead to all sorts of cancers. Very sad, capitalism at its worst! I will not say what happens to the people in the small town, or the company, as I have decided no spoilers in this article. It was worth seeing – if only to see Anne Hathaway’s 80s hair (love her) and if you enjoy legal battles.

As well as the upcoming blockbusters, most of which I have never heard of such as Tenet (shrugs) but I have heard of: A Quiet Place II (cannot wait for that one!), Odeon are also showing some classic movies such as The Empire Strikes Back, The Dark Knight Trilogy, Interstellar ooh and I just noticed that Bohemian Rhapsody is back next week – whooop!

I was worried by how empty is was, so I guess if you feel happy with the measures they are taking to try to protect us, best you support your local cinema, otherwise… (sad face).

Coronavirus · Days Out

ZSL Whipsnade Zoo (during lockdown)

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About a month ago the Zoos were told that they were allowed to open – yipee, something we can do, no more staring at these four walls!

Savannah hasn’t been to the zoo since she was a baby and therefore technically this is her first zoo visit. Nate has been many times and enjoys Whipsnade.

Tickets

We tried to book tickets the day that they were released but the site crashed – of course. Then they introduced an online queuing system…there were 6,000 people in front of me in the queue – gulp! That is long even by British standards.

We got a ticket for a morning slot; you must buy a ticket if you wish to visit Whipsnade (currently), you cannot purchase tickets on the door. It also states on their Facebook page that they are not accepting vouchers from third-party vendors such as Tesco Clubcard vouchers (currently). Additionally, if you want to visit all day you must choose a morning slot; you can arrive at 10am and stay all day. An afternoon slot will limit you to 2pm-6pm (though you can see a lot of the zoo in that time). Parking is easy, it is a 1 minute walk, right next to the zoo, and I have never found it full.

We went at the end of June and was worried that it would be packed with people; but because they limit the numbers who can buy tickets, I need not have worried, it was fine. It was not even as busy as it normally is on a weekend and we were there on a Sunday.

Safety Measures

If you arrive early or exactly on time you will have to queue, but they had socially distance space markers on the ground. They have a one-way system through the entrance and around the shop, and toilets are one in one out (but at least they are open). They had hand sanitisers at the entrance and water.

Animals

We let our little one choose her favourite animal and set off to find it – the Giraffes. The Giraffes are in the middle, so on the way we saw Monkeys (she found them funny, and I loved the look of awe on her face – her first time to see wild animals in real life – she looked like “wow are those real”.

The giraffe platform was closed at the time, but re-opened on 4th July, we were able to see the baby giraffes outside – the parents were hiding though, I guess they didn’t like the rain!

We also saw hippos (my favourite), flamingos, tigers, elephants and lions (you have to join a socially distanced queue to get into the lion viewing area. I like the signage though as it kept the kids entertaind whilst we were queuing (for all of 5 minutes). A lot of animals were hiding.

Whipsnade is huge (for those who have never been), so if you have tiny people with little legs I recommend a buggy, scooter, micro trikes etc. You are also able to pay extra to take your car into the site. Whipsnade is actually the UK’s largest zoo, set in 600 acres of land – no wonder we have never managed it even over a full day.

Food

There were no food outlets open, except one icecream van and there were limited snacks in the gift shop (bottle of drinks and chocolate bars mostly). The restaurants were not open, so it says on their website to bring your own lunch to eat in their picnic areas; which we dutifully did. However, since it was raining all day, we could not sit down at the picnic benches to eat, so we left early to eat in our car. We did however find a small covered area to sit and have a snack, the only time I sat down in 4 hours (ouch).

Closed

During our visit in June the following areas were closed or not running for our safety:

  • Aquarium (now open)
  • Butterfly house (now open)
  • Sealion show (such a shame as it is our favourite!)
  • Bird show and other talks
  • Farm
  • Outdoor play area
  • Indoor play area (Hullabazoo)
  • Indoor food areas
  • Train ride

It was a shame that so much of it was closed, it is no longer a whole day out, but this is a zoo, and the animals are the main attraction, so on a non-rainy day it is probably much more fun and we look forward to taking Savannah back there when she can enjoy the sealion show, and play in the park and soft play, go on the train and we can all stop for a lunch to rest our feet about half way round, as we used to do. However, the most important thing is that zoos are still open, and we need to support them so that our kids and grandkids will have zoos in the future to enjoy.

In terms of expectations, take your own food, be prepared for a lack of seating if it rains all day, and not everything will be open right now, but if you check out their facebook page, they update that regularly. However, it is a big open space, so definitely a perfect place for social distancing.

I’ll leave with this funny pic…

Eating out

Eating out at Harvester (during lockdown)

katchambers1 Comment

Are you thinking about going out for a meal, but not sure what to expect? Then read on my dear friends.

On Saturday night, the family and my parents were excited to enjoy a bit of normalcy – we had our first meal out in 102 days! Harvester is a family favourite so that was our choice and we were excited.

But what should you expect now that lockdown is being eased – what has changed, will it be safe? Those were our initial thoughts, so below was our experience…

Booking

I booked a table online – but actually no, stop there.

I wanted a meal out with my kids but also with my mum and dad who are not within our social bubble (because neither one of them is single). So how do you eat out with someone not within your bubble? Well you have to keep 2 metres distance (or 1m plus a facemask or other measures), that appears to be the same answer to all Covid questions – always maintain social distancing.

However, when booking on the Harvester website, there is no way to request that. It asks how many people are at your table, but it does not have a facility to book more than one table in one booking, so I had to make two separate bookings and put a note in the system imploring that we are sat on tables next to each other – but not at the same table – my what a headache just to book.

Not a Harvester problem as such, but more about the complexities of “the rules”.

Next we looked forward to our meal, and even arranged to meet early in the bar for a drink, to prolong and really enjoy our first eating-out experience in many months. But alas, a few days later I received an email confirming our booking and letting us know the rules, one of which was that you are not allowed to arrive more than 5 minutes early, due to the lack of a waiting area.

Arrival

On arrival there were clearly marked entrances and exits, and Harvester were firm about you using the correct ones. There were markings on the floor denoting where you had to queue (though there was no waiting for us at 5pm) and then you were greeted by the host.

I was surprised that they did not have a screen (to protect us and them) at the hosts station and neither did they have any screens around the bar (though they are probably not required as you are not allowed to approach the bar to order). The staff were not wearing any facemasks or visors, also a surprise.

The great thing though was that they completely understood my notes in my booking and we had our own alcove within the restaurant, so it was easy for us to sit together but 2 metres apart – I really appreciated that.

Food and Drink

The waitress took our drinks orders at the table (you cannot go up to the bar); and refillable drinks were refilled by the waitress.

My dad requested his favourite ale of choice, but they had very very little choice in that area – I think only Guiness, Fosters etc. the usual bar detritus. He was not pleased, but of course they did warn us when we booked that some drinks and food may be out of stock due to supply issues – to be expected.

Salad bar – the unlimited salad bar is still there, though your waitress has to choose the items for you and place them in your bowl – yes that was strange – but what can you do? Harvester are doing their best to limit contact.

Dinner – I ordered exactly the same item I ordered the last time we were here (in January I believe), which was the Beef Rib with chips. The January visit I was surprised and delighted by how delicious the food was – it actually tasted elevated, like they had a new chef or menu, it was absolutely delicious, the chips were impeccable, I remember commenting as such.

Beef brisket back in January

However, this time, it was not as good. Neither the rib of beef or the chips were up to their usual standard; and I have to put that down to either:

  1. It was the first day they had been open in 4 months
  2. New staff/chef
  3. Lack of their usual supply of food

I hope our experience is not how the food will be in the long-term; I hope that a loss in income will not result in lower quality food, because one of the main reasons one goes to a restaurant is to enjoy superior food; not something as good as one can cook at home (though not me, my food has all of the taste of and nutritional value of a hostel mattress).

That being said the service was very good, as I always find it there; and I really love Harvester so I truly hope it survives the economic crisis.

Overall, it was lovely to get out of the the house; to feel less inprisoned and to get a taste of normal life pre-lockdown. Let’s hope that we can all continue with these little delights and get back to a little of what we had before; and dare I say it – no more lockdown. One day… soon?

I would say be prepared that it might feel a bit strange, and it might not be the same as it was before, just like everything else in this almost post-apocolyptic world that is the year 2020.

A little about Harvester…they opened their first restaurant back in 1983 and have over 220 locations around the UK (we have 2 in Milton Keynes). They are owned by the Mitchell and Butlers group.

Today Rishi Sunak announced that people will be given £10 off their food and soft drinks bill (per person) if they eat out in August (only Mondays to Wednesdays). I don’t know if Harvester will sign up for this scheme, but I hope if they do it will help them and other restaurants and cafes stay in business.

*I was not paid to review Harvester and all of the above our my own honest thoughts and feelings.