Our world is becoming smaller. We can no longer travel, we’re being discouraged from communal activities - and last night it was announced that pubs and clubs were to close. Indefinitely.
So, how to cheer ourselves up during these long, dark days of COVID-19?
Well as it turns out, our son’s bedroom is more like a pub than the real thing. The results of a lifetime of collecting (he’s only 25, but he started young) are highly apparent in his over-sized room which accommodates four display cabinets, assorted bones, stuffed birds, ancient maps, old books, war memorabilia and countless fossils.
It used to be painted bright red and white to reflect the Arsenal affiliations of Robbie’s older brother, who initially shared the room with him. But Robbie is a lover of old stuff and when Ben moved to the spare room, Robbie began turning his space into a museum.
When we finally agreed to redecorate to replace those despised Arsenal colours, Robbie talked us into using cheap laminate to “wood panel” the bottom half of his walls to give the room the ambiance of an old library. Or even a pub?
Robbie has now chosen to self-isolate with us instead of staying in his shared house in London. And since Friday night is “pub night”, what else was there to do but to turn his room into a makeshift pub?
The Quarant Inn was as good as any pub. We sat on antique chairs around one of Robbie’s many side tables. We gazed at wood-panelled surroundings and at the plethora of weird stuff on the walls. We also had music playing and took turns to go to the “bar” (or “chest of drawers” as we usually call it).
Ironically there’s a full-sized table football table in the room which would have been a great addition to the pub-like ambiance. But naturally, this has long been covered up and used to display yet more junk.
Not sure how this story will play out. Maybe we’ll start a trend and more of us will turn our houses into pubs in the coming weeks or months? We can then use our screens to stage virtual meet-ups where we can drink together and even hold quizzes. Then come the summer, we can turn our gardens into beaches or play parks….in other words, self-isolation holds endless possibilities. Now, let’s get back to that pub.
Love the idea of your Quarant Inn Ann. Really enjoying reading your blogs - you certainly do have a way with words, but then it is your profession! Carry on, we need some light relief. X
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment! We've been to the Quadrant Inn every Friday during Lockdown - it does help to change things up a bit!
Delete