Recap updates as lockdown was eased again in Portsmouth

Jan Spendlove (left) with daughter Vicky Ellis (middle) and friend Chris Ewing.

Southsea resident Chris Ewing,68, said: ‘Hugging is a good thing, I’ve missed it. I hugged my grandson today which was really nice. He was not impressed though.

‘It’s nice to cuddle my grandchildren. With the weather being bad we haven’t been able to see them as much.’

Chris’ friend Jan Spendlove, 64, of Old Portsmouth, said: ‘I’ve bumped into friends and have been doing the elbow greeting. I’ll probably carry on doing it for a while as we still need to be careful.’

Some residents have been outright against hugging.

Eileen Bray, 69, of Southsea, said: ‘I’m not hugging people. It’s too soon for that.

‘I think we are rushing into everything. It doesn’t help that we are told we can do this and that but are told to be careful. I don’t think a lot of people listen and can do that.’

Eileen’s friend Rosemary Edwards, 80, of Southsea, added: ‘I’m quite happy not to hug people.

‘People need to be careful, not just younger people but older people too.’

Lizzy and Nigel Turner were in Portsmouth for a funeral with the former’s mum Patricia Adams after travelling from Worcestershire. ‘I will hug people I know at the funeral, Lizzy said.

‘It’s not a concern for me. I’ve been vaccinated.’

Patricia said: ‘Not a lot has changed, you don’t hug strangers. Old friends maybe. It’s marvellous we can meet up and talk.’

Claire White, 35, owner of Sweet Peas Play Cafe in Fareham said it was 'brilliant' to be back.

'Everyone's been really nice and understanding.

'It feels like we've been shut forever, we were only open seven weeks last year.

'We're full booked for this first week which is great but there's still the uncertainty of how long it'll all last.'

Friends Sarah-Jayne Aspland and Cindy Hatton were pleased to return to the Garden Shed Cafe, which reopened today.

Sarah, 56, said: 'It's lovely to be back. We've been waiting a long time to come here.'

Cindy, 59, added: 'We've just been for a walk before coming here today, it's been ideal.'

Dominic Jones, CEO of the Mary Rose Trust, says it is ‘fantastic’ to welcome back guests to the Historic Dockyard - with thousands of guests booked to visit over the coming three weeks.

The attraction head said: ‘The forecast of sales is good. We have taken thousands of booking over the next three week. We get £2.4 million a year from paying visitors - it costs £2.4 million a year to keep the ship and artefacts safe.’

With tickets making up 84 per cent of the revenue for the trust, last year saw the combined attractions at the Dockyard launch a new ‘Ultimate’ visitor ticket allowing unlimited visits to the site. Dominic said: ‘It’s now our most popular ticket.’

Ron Challiss, 67, landlord of the Fareham Pub said: 'This is our first day back. It's been a good morning, people have come in for food or just drinks. Our regulars will be back this afternoon.

'We are looking forward to opening up properly, we have live music booked for June 26. It just depends on what happens. It's in the hands of the gods. We're just hoping there's not another lockdown.'