The Social Distancing Bar

Hi All- the Global restart, last night after I closed the bar I sat and read through a lot of the posts, you see as the barman I don’t always get the chance to stop and smell the Ros’e as we like to put it, in just over 2 weeks we have grown to almost 20000 people and with that comes a lot of work, glasses to clean people to meet recycling to put out, now with that many people we also have a lot of posts comments and reactions 400000 so far, so what does it mean, I don’t know? It means that there are 20000 people with a similar sense of humor to me, But what does it really mean?

Yesterday one of our members Kim Walker asked What good can and will come out of this? And this got me to thinking, how as a community can we make sure that good does come from this, so I read the posts and saved the thread so I can look back and be reminded, some of the responses that really stood out are basic, I hope the world learns simplicity, kindness and caring for each other, More connection with locals, family and realisation that our fast pace was unsustainable. And also unnecessary and we could change everything to aid other things bigger than ourselves (the environment). Understanding of our fragility and need for village connections.
And looking for answers from each other rather than one..  We’ve proved our ability to work remotely and still be productive – companies will reduce office space and wealthier countries will hire us to work from here. 

And I read the one that got me the most …… Will the Bar Close? And the answer to that is NO, the bar may change, the focus may vary but this bar is here because of a truly terrible situation but it has opened my eyes to the real need for a place just like this, a Bar you can wear your pjs to, a place where you can meet friends, we don’t all want to go out to a bar but we do all want the Bar Banter, I will endeavour to keep this bar open With no door charge for as long as I can, the hours might change, I might have to do more real work, I might even go to bar tending school and learn to pour a drink (other than rum Buckets Because I am an expert) then you might get good answers when you ask for a wine match, I don’t know, I know this bar is great for my mental health and being selfish I would keep it running for that alone.

Be safe stay home Make Marginal choices

Hi All- its funny when the inspiration for these hit, somedays they come easy and somedays they don’t, but they do all ways arrive, so todays inspiration actually came after I had finished the long post, so now nobody but me knows what this is about, you see there have been a lot of posts about what happens after this and it got me to thinking again,

What if we all forget how to smile, we all know that a smile is more infectious than this virus that has stuck us all in lock down, (well most of us) you see today the barman was having a down day, he misses people in his family that are really important to him, he got on line this morning and checked on the bar, he talked on line to a few friends but all he was in that moment was a keyboard stroke at the other end of an email, and you know we are all more than that, he spoke on the phone and then he was just a voice at the other end and yes when you go from a text to a Voice it makes all the difernce and your barman thought that’s really cool, then a friend sent a photo, a blue swandri and a yellow pair of earmuffs, and a smile to light up the world, and then that was it, the barman caught that smile,and everyone in his bubble now has it, he even said Alice could have a drink before work Hell he is in such a great mood who knows whats going to happen tonight,

So what it really got me thinking was, when this is all over we need to get out into our world and our community’s and smile, if you have to go out to the supermarket or chemist or even the doctors Remember to smile, Remember to smile, they can tell under your mask and we will all catch it. It’s what I want every one to catch to day.

Be Safe Stay Home  and “make Marginal Choices”

Hi All- Well what a Day, the first day of me being in my 4^th Decade. I have spent the not hungover but certainly a little slow, it got me to thinking about what its going to be like out there, when we come out of our bubbles, when we can go out side and meet people real people for the first time, what’s it going to be like, what’s going to have changed, this morning I wanted a Eggs Benedict for my post Birthday Celebration (and Poached is one way I cant cook eggs) so that was off the cards and I wanted a Dirty Chai (what kind of barman doesn’t drink coffee) but what’s it going to be like when we leave our bubbles, are we going to rush out and overwhelm the stores as they try to rebuild, I don’t think we are, I think we are going to slowly move away from our bubbles, we are going to visit friends and families, we are going to meet the people we haven’t meet due to lockdown. We are going to ask the questions about how and where we work. And we are going to need to be Kind, and help the little business,

 And I know we are going restart our economy, tomorrow there will be an announcement about        t-shirts, and hopefully Glasses, but its taking a little longer than planned, because to me we need to shop local, lets have another drink, Be Safe, Stay Home and “make Marginal Choices”

Hi All – I got up early this morning, I had a really good night sleep last night, so I decided as it was so hot in the middle of the day I would ride my wind trainer early. You know, get it out of the way. I have tables to wipe, glasses to clean and ice to make, but while I was sitting on the bike I got to thinking, who are my Bartenders? So today’s long post is To The Bartenders who have gone before me. We have all had them, someone that we look up to, someone that stands and listens, taking in all the information and waits, waits till you’re ready and gives you their answer. You might not always think they’re right, but normally after a while they are.

This is where we pick up those little pearls of wisdom along the way: I would rather be struggling on my bike than lying in the cemetery, how sometimes when you are given a serve it’s not because you’ve let someone else down but they are worried you are letting yourself down, and how sometimes you need to put it all on the line to be able to make it to where you want to be. There are those people who teach us it is ok to have a day off, from everything and everyone, even ourselves. And it’s ok to berate ourselves, but not all the time and only the same amount as we congratulate ourselves on our journey. We have friends and colleagues who put their trust and belief in us, which leads us to be able to have trust and belief in ourselves, sometimes by not saying anything, but allowing us to talk.

This situation we have found ourselves in recently has shown it doesn’t matter what sort of car you have (you can’t drive it anyway), how lovely your clothes are (confession time, how many of us are still getting dressed everyday?) and what is truly important when things come down to the bottom line. People are what we need, those who are putting themselves on the line to allow the rest of us to stay home, but also those who are staying home with us and keeping us sane (and getting all those overdue jobs done). These are the bartenders of the moment, and after this worldwide reset they will still be there to listen, give advice and help us along on our journey. Because not all superheros wear capes, but quite often as they push the glass across the bar to you, you notice a twinkle in their eye that says they are ready to listen, and they are willing to help you to shine.

Be safe Stay Home “Make Marginal Choices”

This is Co-written not all me

Something doesn’t feel right. I can’t quite put my hand on it, but it’s not right. Now I know I had a bender last night, and as a barman I should be immune to hang overs, but I’m not this morning. I feel like I drank half a case of Ros’e and 2 bottles of SD Rum, and I might have. You see I’ve been struggling to balance the stock sheets since Alice arrived. And there’s the strangest thing about today. Alice was in the bar when I got here but she didn’t look like the Alice I had employed. For starters the 4inch heels were gone, she was wearing a pair of flats. The Mini Belt she normally wore as a skirt was replaced with a below the Knee A-line Skirt, a blouse on (I cant tell if she has the Singlet on under it that was there last night but my feeling is no). Her hair is washed and pinned down, and she’s wiping the tables in her pinny . I had to hide in my office and have two cups of tea (its lady tea, Herbal don’t judge me). When Alice had wiped the tables down, emptied the ash trays, swept the floor and emptied the trash, I heard her take the recycling out. She then came to the office to see what else she could do to help before opening. I was totally blown away by what was going on here, so in a hurry I asked her to check the ice machine. So off she went, I can’t work out why she’s like this, I guess she’s got her reasons but I don’t want to know. It took me a half hour to come out of the office and wander into the bar. The place was shining, I mean shining, the bar top was so shiny that I had to wear sunglasses just to walk past it, and there was Alice sitting at the end of the bar. No cigarette, no Ros’e, but a cup of earl Grey Tea with not quite enough milk. And I was scared, but hey I am the barman, and I needed to find out what was going on here. I hoped she wasn’t leaving, because where would she go? So I walked down the inside of the bar, I was in my happy place, where I could always give the advice that was needed, so I grabbed my favourite glass polishing rag and one of the long stemmed wine glasses and said to Alice, ARE You OK? What’s on your mind? And she turned to me and said Richard, I met someone last night, I think I’m in love. Now here’s me thinking the bouncers are going to be pissed when I tell them this, how could our Alice that we have only met 2 or 3 days ago have fallen in love already? I could understand if she had fallen in love with the bar. (haven’t we all.) For the first time in Barman history, I was hung over and speechless. I had to ask more, Alice who is this person that you have met (I didn’t want to say man just in case)? She looks up at me and says Richard, I have found Jesus. He was under one of the bar tables when I was cleaning up last night and after a long chat with him I have decided the rules around here need changing. Let’s open our arms to politics and religion. Don’t worry about the crocs rule though, I’m going for the strappy sandals he was wearing. Happy April Fools everyone, I have a bar to clean and ice to make and hopefully Alice will make it in today.

Hi All – Where did today go, we are having happy hour at 6 because today i’m having a news free day i even turned the herald off on my phone. the only news i have had is England thinks we are doing well, my email update for the software im waiting on told me that. so i have wandered around the bar to get my news and its lovely to see everybody’s ideas and what there doing, how some people have only just meet there neighbors and now there having a beer over the fence, i have seen how hard it is for the Essential workers who pop in here to brighten up there day, i see that there are essential workers out there doing there best with limited resources. i feel blessed because i know my friend Michelle is home from Aussie and safe in isolation, she also comes to the bar, and i cant wait to have a gin on her boat. you see this bar has become a place of happy news a place where we are all in isolation but come together, look after your friends, check on your neighbors and stay home.

Lets enjoy the banter, be kind to each other, stay safe Stay Home and “Make Marginal choices”

Hi All – First Day Back at work. As we all try and get back in to a semblance of routine, is now a time to think about how we work as a nation, I have heard from others in the bar that IT departments scrambled to get ready for the lock down, lap tops were broken out phones were charged, we mobilised a nation to work and teach from home, I know a few teachers and I saw the hours they put in to get ready, not only teachers but support staff and principles ETC. these are the silent Essential workers (and also essential when we are not in lockdown) the ones we don’t hear about, and I think we actually need to thank them as well, there are people every where who helped get us ready so we could be safe. So tonight, we raise a glass to them. I’m starting with a tea (lady tea, I drink herbal don’t judge me) and then Teachers, support staff, IT and any others the first wines on the house.

Be Safe Stay Home and “Make Marginal Choices”

HI All – A little late on this today, I try to get my long post out at Happy hour, today has been a day of the realization of what this really means, you see as the barman i’m quite lucky, I live rural, on a small lifestyle block (not mine im A Barman) and i have a large group of friends, and that was before I meet you lot. Now somehow I have over 12000 Patrons at the bar, that’s pretty cool, so I can call my self lucky. i can call my friends and have a chat I can face time them and see them I can have a glass of wine with a stranger who I’ve never meet. I have the ability to get out and go for a walk ride my wind trainer some people aren’t that lucky.

Remember we need to check in on our friends, one of the people I spoke with today lives in an apartment she has to run up and down 5 flights of steps a day, so she can have her Tacos for tea.

I guess what im trying to say is lets not all be keyboard warriors all day, lets talk to our mates lets meet strangers, lets look after each other Stay Safe, stay Home And “Make Some Marginal Choices”

Important Announcement!!

So I have read all the CV’s and look, I got a few, so its taken a while. I looked at a few things and well, the main things I really needed to know were have they made bad life choices? You know bad life choices- do we want a Barlady that’s done a stretch? do we want a bar lady with tattoo’s or even a Barlady that swears like a sous chef? And I thought, you know what, she might raise the tone of this place. And then I found Alice, I know what you guys are saying “Who the F@#$ is Alice” and I’m thinking well, my first ever girl friend was called Alice. (its not her) That Alice tore my heart out. That was the longest 2 days of my life and I bought her a chocolate heart for Valentines day. I digress I’m sorry.

Now Alice is a Bartender, possibly the best. She grew up in a small town in the middle of the South Island just out of Timaru. It’s said she was there when the Timaru Hell Riders pulled off their greatest ever stunt. She was pouring 12 handles a minute. And she saw it, and that was her flash, she packed her bags that night and went to Bar school. Now, she has trained at the best bar schools in the world and even did a stint in in Jamaica under Brian Flanagan, learning all the tricks of the trade and something called ”Coughlins Law”. I’m not sure how old Alice is but when I asked at the interview, she said you’re not allowed to ask that. But my demographic on tinder is a lot younger than you. I didn’t think I was old, but now I’m pouring another drink. When she returned home to New Zealand 2 weeks ago, from working in Milan, she changed her name by deed pole to Alice Barlady, in a hope to get around the isolation rule. Unfortunately it hasn’t worked and now she is prepared to work for free. Just to get out the door, look I said no, work for drinks and you can have 40% of your tips.

She sounds really good, so I hope she didn’t lie in her CV. Otherwise I hope she works like a sailor and Partys like a Pirate. Say hi when you see her around. Meet Alice.

Hi All- Wasn’t really a day of firsts today, a day of seconds, as we all settle in to what is going to be happening for the next 4 weeks, I’m not going to count days down to me that will feel like I’m letting it take over my day, I got up I went to Work (lucky I can work from home) (any one wants a lesson in Health and safety I can do it) I rode my bike on the wind trainer, this might actually be good for me. I caught up with friends on the phone. I learnt a new skill (who knows how to build a web site I’m learning). And I thought we are all lucky to be here, so lets not let cabin fever get us down. Im meeting new people all the time its great, lets have a chat if you want, I am on the other end of the computer, I won’t bite I promise. Hell, if there is someone else you’ve meet in the bar talk to them too. Lets be that community.

Richard