As businesses welcomed back customers for the first time in over 100 days, here are five things that we spotted whilst out and about:
Want a haircut? You may need to wait a while...
If you are looking to get a trim in the next couple of weeks, you may be disappointed as many hairdressers in Westbourne revealed that they have backlogs of appoints stretching weeks, even months, into the future
Owner of Twilo Hairdressing in Westbourne, Diane Wilcox said: “We were open from 6.30 this morning doing clients’ hair.
“We are now booked up fully until September, it has been huge. We were expecting a surge in booking but that did surprise us."
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This was echoed by Mint in Westbourne, as Manager CJ Bell said: “We started taking bookings around two weeks ago and now we are almost fully booked for the next few weeks.
"We have two new guys who have started so that will help spread the load a little bit.
Queues for booze
If you are looking to enjoy a few pints with your mates at your local pub, be prepared to fall in line.
Camden and The Duck in Westbourne both had queues of small groups outside their doors and were forced to turn away large groups due to lack of space.
This was reflected in the town centre Wetherspoons across Bournemouth, including the Moon in the Square and The Mary Shelley both busy from early in the afternoon.
“The weather is on their side”
However, many businesses were thanking the poor weather for a stress-free reopening, as experienced by most.
A Westbourne resident said: “it seems as though most of the businesses opening today are doing pretty well, but it would have been a different story of the weather was like last week.
“Beer gardens would have been filled up in no time and customers would have started getting impatient, so I think the weather is one their side today.”
Highstreets almost back to normal
Whilst it was a slow start on Bournemouth and Westbourne highstreets in the morning, the afternoon soon brought a wave of people to both areas.
Bournemouth high street in particular looked busy, with pedestrians milling about in and orderly fashion.
However, security guards were seen on Bournemouth Square interacting with pedestrians and overseeing proceedings.
Community support has paramount
After three months out of action, most businesses were relieved to be able to open their doors, albeit under restricted conditions.
The feeling was reciprocated among customers, who were happy to see businesses reopening and their high street return more to normality.
Publican at The Porterhouse Dawn McLachlan said: “It is good to have the locals back in here to support us.
“During lockdown, we have been actively keeping in touch with them and they have been messaging us which has been nice.
"They have helped keep us going."
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