Stella has had takeaway sandwiches from her local cafe and eaten them sat in a car with a carer or family member in the car park by her local beach. But she hasn't properly been out for a sit down meal.
For a long time we couldn't. The pubs and restaurant and cafes were closed for dining in.
But now they are open, to a limited extent. They can have up to 20 people in each "space" provided that people are seated at a table and that the appropriate physical distancing is observed.
The Dava in Mount Martha has re-opened and is allowed to have up to 40 people, in two spaces. Matthew tried to book last weekend but missed out. I heard about this and booked a table last Tuesday. And on Sunday, Stella, Jim and I turned up for our first proper Sunday lunch out since March.
They had Welcome signs up on the walls, plus the required Physical Distancing posters. They had hand sanitiser bottles dotted around and instead of salt and pepper shakers there were sachets in little bowls. They had far fewer staff - but also far fewer patrons. There were 17 people in the bistro. I don't know how many there were in the cafe but they also had the bar in play, which doesn't usually serve meals. Mind you, at this stage you can't buy alcohol unless you are having a sit down meal, so they might as well use it for meals. The casino and the deck upstairs were closed.
They also have a reduced menu. This was no bad thing. You don't really need a menu the size of a book. A few things done well is more than satisfactory.
We had a lovely time and a lovely meal. It was good to be able to dine out again
I have never really noticed the carpet at the Dava before. And if I had, I wouldn't have thought anything much about it. But I noticed immediately we walked in on Sunday that they have hundreds of Corona viruses scattered all over their floor. I have to admit that, until the new corona virus emerged in December or January, I had never heard of them. Or I didn't remember having heard about them. I don't usually pay much attention to viruses. I didn't even know that they aren't properly alive. But when they started showing images of various corona viruses I thought that they were quite pretty. Not that I wish to make the acquaintance of them up close, you understand. But the images are quite pretty. And so is the carpet at the Dava. In an ironic sort of a way
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