Freedom Day In Chester

It’s been such a long time since my last post I had to brush the cobwebs off my keyboard. This rather late post entitled Freedom Day In Chester is a quick post after I observed a bit of Chester city centre after lockdown restrictions were lifted at the start of this week. But before I get into that, I had my own Freedom Day the day before on Sunday, which explains my keyboard absence. Feeling a bit dodgy for some time, I started to develop the dreaded Covid symptoms and sure enough, the test I had (down at the Little Roodee) turned out to be positive. My self isolation ended on Saturday. Still not feeling 100% but at least I’m well on the mend. Anyway, enough about my wobbles.

I did cycle into town for a bit of fresh air for half an hour or so on Monday. And, to take the opportunity to see Chester on the so called Freedom Day. So what was Freedom Day In Chester like? Any glaring differences to any other days?

Freedom Day In Chester

Monday was a lovely day weather wise so the weather wouldn’t be the reason to keep people away from the city centre. But the first thing that struck me was that it was very quiet. Maybe that’s not a surprise. To be honest, I wasn’t sure what to expect, but one thing I did think was that I thought the streets and shops would have been busier. But no, it was all very quiet. Maybe those still at home took the opportunity to get in some serious sun bathing at home.

Another thing to strike me was the number of people wearing masks. Not only in the shops but out in the streets as well. In the main, wearing masks is now very a voluntary thing, very much so out in the fresh air. And there were plenty of people wearing them walking about doing their business.

I popped into a couple of shops as well and I would say the majority of people were mask wearers. In this particular situation we are very much into the realms of “each to their own” and it would seem, most people are going to continue with their masks. At least for now. Public transport is different though as some transport service providers are still implementing a mask wearing policy.

The point to be aware of here is, like when we were first hit with the pandemic, it will take a while for things to adapt and settle down.

One disappointing thing of note though was to see another shop gone from the Precinct. This time it’s the Disney Store. Some big decisions to be made about the Precinct methinks. But that point is not for this particular post.

Freedom Day In Chester – Karaoke Anyone?

At least one establishment was looking to get back as near as normal as possible though. I wandered past the Oddfellows pub in Frodsham Street and what did I hear? Yes, you’ve got it, someone absolutely crucifying Abba’s “Dancing Queen” much to the huge entertainment of passers by. I stood outside listening intently. One reason being, I reckoned that they must hit one note correctly. But no, whoever was singing, they were consistent throughout and battered every note.

But the great thing is, the quality of the singer wasn’t the issue. It was great to look in and see people mingling and actually enjoying themselves. It seemed strange to a certain degree. As I said above, it will take a while for things to get back to normal. But I must admit, seeing things ‘back to normal’ brought a smile to my face. Also, if I was feeling anywhere near 100% then, who knows, I may have had a warble myself. That would have been different.

Will a Monday afternoon karaoke be a regular feature in the Oddies? Who knows? Looking at the people enjoying themselves then why not? If you’re in town next Monday and fancy hearing “Dancing Queen” getting ripped apart then why not pop in? And maybe have a go yourself?

Getting Back To Normal

Let’s see how things develop in the next few weeks hey and let’s hope lockdowns are a thing of the past. But we all need to do our bit though don’t we. It does get confusing though. In my own case when Test and Trace rang me last Friday to announce my isolation was to end on Saturday (it turned out to be 13 days and not 10 by the way – not sure why?), I asked if I needed another test. The answer of “no” was explained away by way of, as I’ve had both jabs and had Covid, then my body will have built up its own immunity as well, so I was now in the safest position now to get things back on track.

So, back to normal……ish it has been then.

It was great to pop into town though for half an hour. And great to see people doing normal things. Long may it continue. Stay safe folks.

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