It May Be A Déjá Vu Christmas All Over Again!

The Hungry Diner located along Long Lane in Hillingdon, England

Sarah Pickering, 35, is concerned that a looming lockdown could put her out of a job she got one week ago.

‘The Hungry Diner’ in Northern Hillingdon, where Pickering works, was one of the thousands of eateries in the country which had to close down for more than 6 months last year when the first lockdown was announced in March.

Now, with more than 10,000 cases of the omricon variant being recorded in the U.K on a daily basis, the waitress is working extra hours to make more money to cushion her incase the government decides to put a full lockdown in January.

“I am very concerned about the possibility of yet another lockdown” says Sarah, “I have 4 children who depend on me for their upkeep and if I lose this job, I’m not quite sure how I will fend for my family.”

But despite her concerns, the U.K Prime Minister Boris Johnson dismissed the possibility of locking down. In a televised address to the nation on Saturday, Mr Johnson said: “I am certain that this Christmas will be considerably better than last Christmas,” as he revealed new safety measures which will see 6 Southern African countries join the U.K’s red list. Sarah Pickering takes a meal order

Among the directives is a mandatory 10-day quarantine for travelers from (or who have passed through) South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, Eswatini, Zimbabwe and Namibia.

Signage at the entrance of The Hungry Diner

At the height of the pandemic in 2020 restaurants like, The Hungry Diner, witnessed more than 163% jump in redundancies according to data by the Centre for Retail Research (CRR) which shows that 29,684 jobs were lost in the hospitality sector. The eatery never fully recovered and the huge losses led the initial owner of the place to sell out the diner to a new investor.

Andy Gorman, 55, has been an avid customer at the diner for over 20 years. His family spends most of their Christmas at the place. “It’s a family tradition to come here every year; now we are concerned about the looming lockdown with this new variant” Gorman says.

“Omicron spreads very rapidly and even those double vaccinated are not safe” cautioned Mr Johnson during his address, “we need to take targeted measures now.”

Andy Gorman sips tea at The Hungry Diner

The statement worries Gorman and Pickering, Hillingdon residents, who once again may be facing a dull ‘Christ-Mask’.

(All images featured in this article were taken by: Timothy Otieno)