Well, to be honest, the pause part isn’t a problem, as the entire hospitality sector (bar a few pubs in the Scilly Isles) are shut down indefinitely, so time certainly isn’t something we’re lacking.

Last year was a total and unmitigated disaster for our sector, and it would appear the decisions, lockdowns and restrictions on our sector were for naught, as we watch a new mutant strain of the virus continue to run riot across the country, lockdowns or not.

But rather than wail and gnash our teeth about the travesty of the year that has just been, we need to focus forward, and continue to fight and push for support and help, and continue to find ways to keep the embers of our sector alight.

I’m not going to bore you with platitudes of how 2021 will be our year, and all that fresh start nonsense. Let’s face it, we’re pretty much looking at a continuation of the horror-show that was 2020 for the next few months.

We do have bright spots on the horizon with the approval of a second vaccine, but I would expect restrictions to remain in place until the spring, particularly from a Government that doesn’t seem set to take its foot off the throat of our industry anytime soon.

We need to continue to work together to call for support and we need to continue to remind the communities around us that we’re still here, we’re still important, and that we have a role to play.

This Sunday, I helped out with one of my locals, which had set up its kitchen to make free Sunday lunches for elderly and vulnerable members of the community. Helping to deliver those meals, and seeing the reactions of the grateful recipients was a wonderful thing to be part of, and it helps to reinforce the fact that pubs are more than our government seems to think.