THIS week, our surprisingly optimistic First Minister Nicola Sturgeon assured the nation there were “brighter days ahead” and that may well be true for some of Scotland’s desperate tourism and hospitality operators, who, suffering from an odd form of Stockholm syndrome, rushed out the traps and gleefully welcomed these very restricted and heavily caveated terms of reopening.

For others, especially the greater majority of publicans not blessed with beer gardens, the events sector, live music venues, and nightclubs, which is my industry, it was all depressingly familiar. We were again being ignored and left in the dark, and the only way things were going to get brighter for us over the coming months was if we carried a maglite and powered up our light gantries.

Exactly a year ago tomorrow, on the 20th of March 2020, a very worried Scottish Government ordered all cafes, pubs, and restaurants in Scotland to close. This of course included my iconic and very popular Glasgow club venues The Garage and Cathouse Rock Club. Sick with worry as I was about my business and staff, I had no hesitation in complying with the orders. Covid-19 had now arrived on these shores and was making its lethal presence felt.

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Within three days, Boris Johnson was finally forced to act, announcing a nationwide “Stay at Home” order. The freedom of movement restrictions and harmful business lockdown measures were, except in the time of war, almost unheard of in this country, but they were deemed necessary to curtail the spread of this new virus and were wholly complied with, and given overwhelming support, especially by nervous businesses and a very anxious public. It was a collective effort to protect the NHS, save lives, and, as bouncing BoJo would later trumpet, beat the virus.

Well, the virus hasn’t been beaten yet, but with the discovery and roll-out of the vaccine, the end of this deadly and depressing year, filled with daily Doomcasts, R-numbers and rolling restrictions, mask wearing, and a plethora of dystopian social distancing and infection control measures, is now in sight and coming to an end, but not it seems for Scotland’s hospitality, events, night-time economy and licence-trade sectors. It seems they are a long way from ever getting the green light to go, and I fear, despite protestations to the contrary from the First Minister that she’s not unfairly treating these sectors and that they have her overwhelming sympathy, normality may never ever return.

Paul Waterson, spokesman for the SLTA, worries as well. “The only positive in this week’s announcement,” he said, “is that we now have some dates to work towards regarding the opening of the licensed premises. That is all. Being told we can open outdoors from 26th April will be welcome by the few with large viable outdoor areas, who will be praying for good weather, but to “open” our pubs and bars indoors on that date till 8pm, and not allow us to sell alcohol is frankly ludicrous. Most premises are unviable under this restriction.”

As for the multibillion-pound night-time economy and events sector, one of Scotland’s major employers, well, this week’s announcement had nothing of substance in it for them. We got a mention, but that was all we got, a mention. There were no indicative reopening dates and no extra financial support packages offered to those businesses unable to open throughout the summer.

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This wasn’t a credible and inspiring roadmap to recovery; it was a vague and nebulous Join The Dots with a blunt pencil – as uplifting as a burst balloon, but sadly something we’ve now come to expect from our saturnine First Minister and dour risk-adverse government. Along the way, while managing the country competently through this crisis, regrettably they have forgotten how to celebrate, what it means to enjoy yourself and more importantly they have forgotten those Scottish businesses and industries who breathe life into the economy and spirit into its people.

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