From Tiger Works fishbowls to beer gardens: Sheff students celebrate lockdown easing

With pubs given the all-clear to re-open, we decided to check up on Sheff students to see where they chose to enjoy their first blissful sip of non-shop-bought alcohol in three long months.

Amy Robinson, 20, a student at Hallam, opted for a return to the student haven that is West Street.

Speaking to The Tab, she said: “Me and 11 others went to Tiger Works. We booked it out from 5pm and had a table until whenever we wanted to leave, so we weren’t hurried.”

Amy admitted that the experience was “strange”, but the safety procedures put in place made her feel safe.

“Staff wore proper visors and we were given hand sanitiser when we arrived. It seemed like each member of staff had a different table for them to serve too.”

Although nobody could go up to the bar, the music was quieter than usual and the lights were on, Amy said that it felt quite normal by the time people had a few drinks: “By the time we left, everybody was dancing.”

For the student heading into her final year, the one downside to the experience was not being able to go to other bars along West Street – like the majority of the city’s students usually would on a night out.

Sarah Haslam, 22, has recently left Hallam, having had her final term cut short by the pandemic.

She had planned a trip to visit friends still living in Sheffield and rather than going to the rowdier city centre, she went to The Beer Engine, a small pub off London Road.

She said: “I’d never had that experience before, with having to write down our names, numbers and so on. It was definitely worth going though, as it was really quiet which meant that we could catch up whilst enjoying drinks in a beer garden.

“It was great having drinks brought to your table, but the drinks for all six of us were put on one tab so that made sorting who owed what quite a challenge.”

Whatever you’re doing as lockdown eases, we hope all students of Sheff stay safe!

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