My wife and I were due to lunch at Brasserie Zédel with her brother and his wife who’d booked to come over from Dublin, but Covid-19 struck and they had to cancel. I therefore sympathise with restaurateur Jeremy King’s plight (“To save London, we have to stop moaning… and tell our leaders to get a grip”, 28 Augus t).
But people will not return to restaurants like his in the numbers he needs until they feel confident that they run little or no risk making the trip to London using public transport. And it is nonsense to imply that the Mayor can affect that, because it is entirely the Johnson Government’s mishandling of the pandemic that has left people lacking the necessary confidence.
Editor's reply
Dear David
What’s needed for people to return to restaurants en masse is not just confident leadership from the top, but a shift of perspective. As we argued in our leader yesterday, Covid may be better seen as something to be managed, not eradicated. This would mean that the mindset of lockdown must change. You’re right that direction from the top can help, but politics and politicians can only do so much.
If we want the old normal back, our attitudes too may have to shift.
Robbie Smith, Columnist
Mind the morons
I am not surprised many of us are still nervous about using public transport. When I have had to use it, I was astonished by the number of people not wearing any face coverings. I don’t suffer fools gladly, and I’ve been tempted to say something, only being stopped by the realisation that these morons would most likely initiate some “public transport rage”, which would endanger me and others.
Lucy Rigo