The Isle of Wight’s much-loved Classic Buses, Beer and Walks Weekend, due to be held in October, has been cancelled.
The current pandemic is having a profound effect in many areas of life, including adversely affecting the intensive planning for this hugely popular weekend event.
Under normal circumstances, the Beer and Buses weekend takes several months to plan and co-ordinate. Even if the current lockdown is lifted in May, organisers say that there are numerous concerns about the viability of the event including uncertainty around requirements for social distancing in the Autumn, or if large public events will even be feasible.
Last year’s event was the biggest yet with some 18,000 visitors taking part with over 100 classic buses and 120 licensed venues.
Ben Bartram, the principal organiser for the IW Bus Museum, says the decision was not an easy one to make:
“There are simply too many unknowns at present. Too many factors that make forecasting even a few months ahead difficult. There are logistical issues around vehicle preparation, both those from the IW Bus Museum and the large number of visiting vehicles. We also recognise that some vehicle owners may be suffering financial hardship because of the national lockdown.”
Another major factor is how long the current enforced closure of pubs and other licensed venues will last.
Tim Marshall of CAMRA has said:
“We cannot assume that pubs, clubs, hotels and other accommodation providers will be open at that time. Naturally, we wish all of them every success in re-opening when it is possible to do so safely. CAMRA will be offering support wherever possible, so we hope that they will consider joining in with the event again in future. We certainly intend to be back next year.”
Worst news of lock down yet one of the highlights of the year
Sadly many pubs will never survive this. So there will be far fewer left when or if this does resume. Some still imagine that all will return to near normal rapidly. It can’t, social distancing will remain for months maybe years, people will fear going out to eat, drink, sit on buses for ‘fun’.
Unemployment will soar as people who worked in most walks of life will never again be needed on the same scale as pre CV.
Poverty will creep in and as people did only a few short years ago, meals out will be confined for many as special treats for birthdays etc, hitting all but the low end eating places hard.
The young have not known such times, and the old are used to the way of life they have had for a couple of decades and so many imagine it won’t change. Imo it will and how.
You paint a scene from Mad Max
I appreciate you are being realistic but perhaps just a tiny bit over the top. I feel sure that if there’s money to be made there will be plenty of ‘outlets’ trying to cash in on it, just perhaps not the originals.
Another part of your life you use to enjoy, gone! It will be back next year! Maybe,but will be just a ride on a bus, why? All the pubs will be bankrupt that’s why! Pubs not opening till Xmas, then they are finished. Well done everyone.
I really think that once the lock down is lifted that if regulars want their small independent pubs back that we should crowd fund to help landlords clear rent arrears, restock and pay utility bills otherwise you’ll be fighting for space in Witherspoons!
Nice thought kev,but sorry buddy Witherspoon is all that will be left. What business can survive 9 months without an income? I’m afraid, on the bus for a ride and a lemonade ( because you are not allowed to drink alcohol on buses are we!)
Horrible thought if nothing else except Wetherspoons is left, you can’t walk past the place without being smoked out on a normal day from all the smokers standing outside. to think it used to be that lovely upmarket shop with a nice tearoom upstairs, talk about one extreme to the other.
Though I agreed with you on your thoughts about the so called virus pandemic, dont think you get what the event is all about.sorry. But dont worry clare,it seems everyone is willing to give up their old life,for a crappy new one!
Judging by my negative votes, pollution doesn’t matter if you travel to the pub in a filthy polluting old bus.
Shame on you irresponsible pro polluting fans.
Sad for Vectis, but I never went on the beer and buses thing as not interested in beer or boozing and that side of it is what put me off. But I always wanted to go on the Christmas lights tour but never got around to it, don’t suppose this will happen now either.
I would like to find a cafe or restaurant, that could open with a lot of spaces between the tables as another thing that put me off was not being able to get far enough away from other people when eating out, i recall a lovely old fashioned and quaint tearoom that used to be in Brading, very dark inside and usually empty, and like going back in time to Victorian days, i discovered it, went a couple of times, loved it, then it sadly shut down. i think it was run by a couple of old ladies, it was so perfect, I could have happily lived there, having tea there in that dark little cosy room was bliss, there is nothing like it now. There was more than one room you could sit in I think, also Newchurch post office used to have a cosy room at the back, where you could take tea of an afternoon, also gone now, it was already being ‘modernised’ when i went years ago and not as nice as it would have been if left alone, sadly the ‘mod-ern’ people don’t seem to like anything genteel and nice.
After all this, even places like Starbucks and Costa might struggle, they will certainly have to have the tables spaced out more, so that will mean less customers, or bigger premises.
What depressing times we live in now, at least there is the internet, that’s about the only improvement on life in the last few years.
I wonder if, somehow, as a result of this virus stopping a lot of activities that were indulged in by the more raucous people, we will ever get back to a more gentle way of life once all this is over? I doubt it somehow.