Photos of the First Night of Proper Pints in Four Months

After four long months, England’s pubs, bars and restaurants opened to outdoor guests on Monday. Understandably, given the fact it’s been an entire third of a year since you could last buy a beer in a glass, the pubs were very busy – some have reported already being fully booked until at least late May – with scientists urging people to continue social distancing.

In other COVID news, throughout the UK all over-50s and those in high-risk groups have now been offered the vaccine, and from today over-45s can get the jab. While it’s nice to hear some good news after months of absolutely nothing, virologist and medical oncologist Professor Lawrence Young reminded the BBC that it’s important to remain cautious.

“We can’t ignore what's going on in the rest of the world - every other day new variants are being reported and infection is rife,” he said.

Shops, hairdressers, zoos, theme parks and various other businesses also opened back up yesterday, but photos of children looking at geckos aren’t as fun as photos of people drinking – so here’s a gallery from Jake Lewis, who cycled between various London pubs to document the grand reopening.