Good evening,

Ask many folk the thing they have missed more than anything in the last few months and that will be the simple pleasure of a meal out.

In some cases this may be because they are desperate for someone else to do the cooking and washing up, but actually it is much more than that.

Meals out, a drink in a pub and a weekend away are among the pleasures which make life worth living and that is why we have missed them so much.

From the point of view of those who own and run our local restaurants, those months in lockdown have been even more desperate.

They’ve had to furlough staff, throw away stock and watch their savings disappear as they paid bills with no money coming in.

Now we all have the chance to help them and thanks to the Government’s £10 off scheme, we get the bonus of a cheaper meal out.

The Eat Out to Help Out scheme kicks in from Monday and could well provide the vital kick-start our hospitality businesses need.

But that will only happen if we use it. Stay safe but take the opportunity to help.

Drop me a line at gillian.parkinson@jpimedia.co.uk

Stay safe.

Gillian

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