One of the consolations of lockdown in a hot summer was not having to wear socks. Gone was the morning ritual when, to prove that the flame still burned and that I could do it standing up, I would dance a one-legged Irish jig to the sound of splintering antique furniture or the tearing of curtains. All a bit embarrassing - particularly if you are staying somewhere.
Oddly, my recollections of the last five months are few. An initial period of navel gazing came to an end when I could no longer find it. Exercise was called for and I bought myself an expensive fold up bicycle to fight the flab. All went well initially as, hunched over the handlebars, I bowled about Hyde Park to the gentle strains of Led Zeppelin, only to find myself routinely overtaken by elderly ladies on sit-up-and-beg bicycles with one gear.
I read a great many unsuitable books and studiously avoided Dickens’ eye when passing the bookcase. I watched a great deal of television, although never before 6.30pm, having given up on the Six O’Clock News. The BBC seemed exclusively peopled by experts, probably keen to go on being experts for as long as possible, competing to deliver ever gloomier opinions while pointing at graphs. If you want four opinions ask three doctors.
And I went to Bellamy’s an awful lot to make sure that the old girl was sleeping comfortably and that everything was as it ought to be. I found a strange consolation sitting in the empty dining room, surrounded by the grey ghosts of diners past and imagining the colourful buzz of those still to come. In my last musings I asked whether some of you might consider buying discounted dining vouchers to enable us to furlough the staff and pay our accumulated bills, then and in the weeks to come. The result has been truly humbling. Three hundred and sixty of you responded with a generosity that has left me struggling to find words to express our gratitude.
So please accept a simple, and deeply heartfelt, thank you. Your extraordinary kindness has enabled us to live to fight another day which will come on Tuesday 1st September when we reopen our doors. That we are able to do so is entirely due to your support and we hope to welcome you back just as soon as you feel able to reappear. All necessary precautions for your safety will be observed, although we will try to do this as unobtrusively as possible so that you are not confronted with a waiting staff of Daleks.
With best wishes from all of us at Bellamy’s
Yours sincerely
