The Quarant Inn. More like a real pub each week

The Quarant Inn has now served as our pub for four consecutive Fridays. In fact Robbie is even designing us Quarant Inn T-shirts as we speak. 

The idea was originally a bit of a gimmick, something to unite the three of us in the absence of a trip to a real pub. But our makeshift hostelry has now become an important part of our lockdown life.

The ritual begins on Friday afternoons when Robbie tidies his room, clearing away the weights and setting up a table and chairs in the same formation as the previous week.

We then set up drinks on the “bar” – wine for me, beer for the others - and fetch crisps and peanuts from the kitchen.

Robbie turns on the music and we take our favourite seats. And the pub session begins, with Houseparty on in the background so that friends and family can “drop in” if they want to. 

It doesn’t half lift the spirits. As someone who works from home on a daily basis I understand the value of a change of scene to ward off boredom and gloominess. In fact one only has to watch one’s pet dog or cat in action to see how this works.

Pets have very little in life to divert them (no jobs, can’t talk, can’t read – it must be awful). So they’re forced to spend much of their day lying around in different parts of the house. And they choose the cosiest spot depending on the time of day or year, moving to a sunny nook by the window in summer and curling up by the fire in winter. 

These little changes provide solace and comfort while helping to break the monotony of the day. And this is what the Quarant Inn delivers for us. It marks that transition from workaday afternoon to Friday evening with all the anticipation that brings. 

So we’ll continue to visit our “pub” every week of the lockdown. And we’ll only start to worry if we start chasing our own tails or coughing up fur balls.