it is just after 5:00pm. this is the bank of england, the city of london. and what used to be called the rush hour. this was a rush hour on london bridge in 2018. this is what friday rush hour now looks like. the big property companies now accept there s a new pattern to the week in big city centre offices. what we see is tuesdays, wednesdays, thursdays, incredibly busy. mondays, 50 to 60% of those days. friday is almost like another weekend day. do you think it will ever go back to what it was before in 2018, 2019? we certainly believe that there are going to be fewer people in offices for the longer term, and we re planning accordingly. city centres will have to change. but back in devon here at ottery st mary s volunteer inn, the lunchtime trade has really ta ken off.
and i think most people would agree that that s a good thing. indeed, who really misses doing this every day? and there is also an upside. i think local residential neighbourhoods is one area where you really can see both the permanent shift and where we re reverting back, because the pandemic has been a great catalyst for you to discover if you have a fantastic neighbourhood restaurant. places like the volunteer inn here in 0ttery st mary back in devon. the lunch trade has been doing very well recently. so compare 2019 with now. there is no comparison, i don t think. we re so much busier. yeah. massively busy. thank god. there are winners and losers. but for many of us a bit more time where we live, a bit less commuting, things could be worse. david sillito, bbc news, devon.
With Monday’s game at Wigan being shown live on TV in the UK and abroad, Town fans across the country and around the globe will be meeting up in pubs and bars to cheer the Blues on to victory (Sky Sports 1/HD1, from 7.30pm, KO 7.45pm).