Some pubs in Tier 2 locations across the UK have identified a loophole that lets punters drink without a “substantial meal” by offering live music tickets.
The loophole – which is seeing venues across the country now taking to social media to lure customers as they try to save their businesses after the second national lockdown – means alcohol can still be served in the COVID-secure venues.
This is provided that punters have a ticket for the live music event, and they drink it at their seat.
Under the UK government’s new regional three tiered system, the “substantial meal” clause does not apply “where alcohol is being provided to a customer at a cinema, theatre, concert hall or sportsground.”
But the loophole adds that alcohol needs to be “ordered by, and served to, a customer who has a ticket for an exhibition of a film, a performance or an event of training or competition at the venue, to consume in the area where the audience is seated to watch the exhibition, performance or event.”
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Making the most of the loophole, The Horns – a popular pub in Watford – wrote on Facebook: “We will be ticketing Friday, Saturday, Sunday live music events for £3. This also means we CAN SERVE YOU ALCOHOL WITHOUT FOOD at any of our weekends gigs.
“Tickets will be sold on the door on a first come first serve basis.”
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The Cavern Freehouse in South London also took to social media to say it would be offering music as “it’s backs against the wall time now and we are struggling to survive”.
The pub wrote: “We will be selling tickets to get in on the door on the night. Doors open at 5pm, bands start at 8pm and bar closes at 10pm. No food is now required. I would suggest people get here early as it will get full very quickly as I’m limited to 50 people.
“No bookings, it’s a first come basis.
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“If you are someone that nurses half a lager all night then I would please ask you not to come as I’m trying to survive here and that place could be taken by someone that understands that”.
While the guidelines originally stated that alcohol could only be served as part of a “substantial meal”, the Music Venue Trust argued that 92% of grassroots music venues do not have the ability to provide that, thus now welcoming this revised decision to allow alcohol sales through the purchase of a ticket as equivalent to the purchase of a meal.
Mark Davyd – CEO of Music Venue Trust – said he was “delighted” with the outcome.
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For the latest information, guidance and support during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in the UK, please do refer to official sources at gov.uk/coronavirus.
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Drinks prices revealed as Manchester Airport’s first-ever Wetherspoons pub opens inside T2
Emily Sergeant
It’s official… Manchester Airport’s first-ever JD Wetherspoon pub has officially opened its doors inside Terminal 2.
The 300-seater pub – which welcomed its first customers earlier this week – is named The Belle Vue after Manchester’s historic showground.
Throughout the pub, you’ll spot design features that nod to the city’s sporting heritage – including vintage event posters and memorabilia, a ‘locker wall’ hosting trophies and other sporting exhibits, and a cricket-themed design in the carpets and bar panels.
Creating around 150 jobs in the process, The Belle Vue is the final planned new eatery to open in the airport’s redeveloped Terminal 2, marking one of the final steps in the super-terminal’s decade-long, £1.5bn transformation.
Manchester Airport’s first-ever Wetherspoons pub has opened inside Terminal 2 / Credit: Supplied
According to the MEN, pints are priced from £6.20 for Carling and Coors lager, £6.45 for Budweiser, £6.60 for Guinness, and £6.70 for Poretti and 1664 Biere.
Prosecco is £9.20 for 175ml glass and £37.10 for the full bottle, while spirts and mixers are £6.80 for singles and £10.20 for doubles.
There’s also the classic Wetherspoons tea and coffee machines, where you can refill as many times as you like for just £3.60.
“It’s a proud moment to see the final new retail unit opening in our new-look Terminal 2,” commented Richard Jackson, who is the Retail Director at Manchester Airport.
“To be rounding off this 10-year programme by adding such an iconic name as Wetherspoon to the terminal is particularly special and we know that it will prove extremely popular with passengers. We think they’ll love the nods to Manchester’s heritage in the décor and design – and of course the name.”
The Belle Vue will be open from the first flight to the final flight each day, and food will be served from opening until 10pm.
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Iconic Manc movie 24 Hour Party People is set to return to cinemas for its anniversary
Emily Sergeant
One of Manchester’s most iconic movies is set to return to the big screen next month.
Remastered in 4K and returning to UK cinemas to mark 24 years since its original release, Michael Winterbottom’s 2002 biographical comedy drama film, 24 Hour Party People, tells the story of Manchester‘s popular music community from 1976 to 1992 – specifically about Factory Records‘ founder Tony Wilson.
The film begins with the punk rock era of the late 1970s, before moving through the 1980s into the rave and DJ culture, and of course, the ‘Madchester‘ scene of the late 1980s and early 1990s.
The narrative largely follows the career of Tony Wilson, played by Middleton-born actor Steve Coogan, while also covering the careers of the major Factory Records artists – especially Joy Division and New Order, as well as A Certain Ratio, The Durutti Column, and Happy Mondays.
If you haven’t seen 24 Hour Party People before, it’s a dramatisation based on a combination of real events, rumours, and urban legends, as the film is sure to make clear.
Coogan is joined by a cast by a mixture of big names and, at the time, rising stars like Paddy Considine, Shirley Henderson, Lennie James, John Simm, Ralf Little, Andy Serkis, Sean Harris, John Thomson, and even Peter Kay, alongside cameos from other figures connected to the Manchester music scene.
Before it returns to cinemas, the film will first open music and media festival/conference, Beyond The Music, at MediaCity in Salford on 6 October.
The screening at the festival will also be followed by a Q&A with Coogan, Winterbottom, and producer Andrew Eaton.
24 Hour Party People will then be re-released in UK cinemas from 9 October, and you can check your local cinema for screening times and book tickets online now.
The Manc -
8th December 2020 
