“Freedom Day”

From Monday 19th July

NEW RULES AND CHANGES!
Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak, if you’re reading obviously this doesn’t apply to you, but to everyone who didn’t have the foresight to join the Bullingdon club, here’s the new rules from today.
NO MORE LIMITS ON TABLE SIZE other than how many friends you have and how many chairs we have. You don’t have to be less than 6 people inside, you don’t have to all be from the same household
TABLE SERVICE ONLY FOR FOOD, AND MAYBE FOR DRINKS We really like table service. We think its great for you, you sit there and we bring nice things to you, and it’s a really efficient system for us at the bar and kitchen so we will keep that going. Some may feel safer not queuing at the bar too. So all food service will be table service. But,
YOU CAN NOW ORDER DRINKS AT THE BAR. We will have waiters walking around taking orders the whole time but if you’d prefer to come to the bar to order you can do that now but,
PLEASE DO NOT STAND AND DRINK AT THE BAR, while we know people will like to do this, it also blocks off space in walkways and means prolonged close contact with staff, we’re eager to avoid anyone getting ill or pinged and us having to isolate and shut for 10 days.
NO MORE ONE WAY SYSTEMS OR ONE-IN-ONE-OUT TOILETS
NO MORE TRACK AND TRACE CHECK IN REQUIRED BUT OPTIONAL The QR code will be displayed in the entrance and we can bring one over to you if requested. It means you’ll get pinged if you are in the pub when someone who later tests positive for Covid is so you may want to do it, and some workplaces are asking people to do it, but it’s no longer something you need to do
MASKS NO LONGER REQUIRED BUT OPTIONAL This is entirely up to you now. All we ask is that you respect other people’s choices in the matter. If you see people wearing masks but you do not, please allow them their space. If people are not wearing masks but you are, just respect their decision and keep away from them.
The team will continue to wear masks for the immediate future to protect ourselves and others as we come into contact with a lot of people in the day. After the immediate future we will still carry masks and no team member will complain if you ask us to put one on.
Booking is not essential but a good idea because we may get busy.
A lot of the rules are being replaced by personal choice, so our biggest rule is RESPECT THE CHOICES OF OTHERS
Please feel free to drop any questions into the comments below, we’re happy to clarify

The Great Indoors

From Monday 17th April

You can now come in from the rain! Hopefully nearly the end of it now, but there’s just some rules still to bear in mind.

Rule of 6: It’s still the rules that groups of up to six people can meet inside, or two different households, any group larger must sit outside (again, we will not be booking “two tables of four next to each other” as with the best of intentions people do mingle between tables)

Up to 30 people outside: 30 is the top limit on tables sat outside. So if you’re more than six people you can still book but you will just need to wrap up warm

Table Service: You are allowed inside but you’re still not allowed to come up to the bar, we’ll show you to a seat and bring everything you need over to you.

Facemasks: Facemasks must be worn whenever you are not sat at your table

Track and Trace: You must give details for every adult in your party either through the NHS App or to a member of staff. This is a legal requirement now so we have to get details from every single person.

All New Beer Garden

Opens Monday 12th April

Does anybody remember pubs? They were a place you could go in the olden days and you could have proper beer from pumps, proper lager and cider on taps which is cold even if you haven’t remembered to put it in the fridge (home drinking sucks!), as well as a whole ton of gins and wines, and someone else would do the cooking and washing up for you while you had a good old chinwag with your friends.

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Well we’re coming back! The government’s roadmap out of Coronavirus lockdown promised “data not dates,” so here are the dates they gave us…(McMullen’s brewery get in with Matt Hancock quickly, they’ll be looking for somewhere to organise a piss up soon)

From April 12th we can reopen, but only for outside seating.

So we’re going to spend the next month revamping our outside space. Our grey car park will be turned into a green and pleasant land full of tables and benches (all suitably distanced) for drinks and dinner in the garden. We’ll be setting up a proper garden space out there with tills and everything out there too, and full table service so you only need to venture inside to make room in the bladder for another round.

But obviously this will be less capacity than we would normally have, so we do recommend early booking, especially on those weekend days. You can book online here or send a text or Whatsapp to 07311 774277 (but please don’t phone, we’re all on furlough and not in the pub regularly enough to pick up the phone. Also give us a little time to respond to email, thanks).

Please note: there’s a limited number of tables under shelter and beside heaters so these tables will be allocated to the people who book first, tables with parasols will be the next to be booked out. And if your plans change and you can’t join us, we’d appreciate a call to cancel so we can give the table away.

During this time we’ll also be doing takeaway orders but be aware that our dine “in” tables will take priority.

We know the rules imposed by the government have been annoying and constantly changing of course, but we do think they are sensible to stop the spread of the virus so we’re going to quickly outline the rules as they currently stand, but it’s worth checking back here for changes before your visit:

Rule of Six – No groups more than six people (unless it’s one household or bubble). While this rule still applies we don’t want to get into discussions about “two tables of four next to each other” or anything like that. We’re not interested in locking down again so let’s just keep out gatherings sensible for now.

1m+ – Please keep 2m distance from other guests and never come within 1m of them. Let people pass at a distance and remember others may be less confident or more worried about coming out than you are so give people their space

One Way System – We have a one way system in place inside the building for the toilets, please follow signs to avoid bumping into people coming the other way

Facemasks – We ask that you wear facemasks any time you stand up and move away from your table. While it is safer outside, having more people in a tight space brings risks with it and some may not be confident coming out yet, so this is a small way just to make it safer and everyone more comfortable.

Table-Service – We’ll be doing table service for everything in this time, so please don’t come up to the till and do not come inside to the bar for service, please grab a team members attention and let us come over to you.

10pm closing time – This one isn’t a government rule, but while we are an outside only business please respect our neighbours by leaving quietly at 10pm.

May 17th. Pubs Can Reopen Inside

We’ll update you nearer the time as to the rules of this one. It looks like we’ll be required to enforce rule of six and facemasks again, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves for now.

Outdoors Only

Updated 27th Feb

From April 12th we can reopen, but only for outside seating.

So we’re going to spend the next month revamping our outside space. Our grey car park will be turned into a green and pleasant land full of tables and benches (all suitably distanced) for drinks and dinner in the garden. We’ll be setting up a proper garden space out there with tills and everything out there too, and full table service so you only need to venture inside to make room in the bladder for another round.

But obviously this will be less capacity than we would normally have, so we do recommend early booking, especially on those weekend days. You can book online here or send a text or Whatsapp to 07311 774277 (but please don’t phone, we’re all on furlough and not in the pub regularly enough to pick up the phone. Also give us a little time to respond to email, thanks).

Please note: there’s a limited number of tables under shelter and beside heaters so these tables will be allocated to the people who book first, tables with parasols will be the next to be booked out. And if your plans change and you can’t join us, we’d appreciate a call to cancel so we can give the table away.

During this time we’ll also be doing takeaway orders but be aware that our dine “in” tables will take priority.

We know the rules imposed by the government have been annoying and constantly changing of course, but we do think they are sensible to stop the spread of the virus so we’re going to quickly outline the rules as they currently stand, but it’s worth checking back here for changes before your visit:

Rule of Six – No groups more than six people (unless it’s one household or bubble). While this rule still applies we don’t want to get into discussions about “two tables of four next to each other” or anything like that. We’re not interested in locking down again so let’s just keep out gatherings sensible for now.

1m+ – Please keep 2m distance from other guests and never come within 1m of them. Let people pass at a distance and remember others may be less confident or more worried about coming out than you are so give people their space

One Way System – We have a one way system in place inside the building for the toilets, please follow signs to avoid bumping into people coming the other way

Facemasks – We ask that you wear facemasks any time you stand up and move away from your table. While it is safer outside, having more people in a tight space brings risks with it and some may not be confident coming out yet, so this is a small way just to make it safer and everyone more comfortable.

Table-Service – We’ll be doing table service for everything in this time, so please don’t come up to the till and do not come inside to the bar for service, please grab a team members attention and let us come over to you.

10pm closing time – This one isn’t a government rule, but while we are an outside only business please respect our neighbours by leaving quietly at 10pm.

May 17th. Pubs Can Reopen Inside

We’ll update you nearer the time as to the rules of this one. It looks like we’ll be required to enforce rule of six and facemasks again, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves for now.

See you soon.

The Post-Christmas Time Plan

Updated 24th December

It’s with Sad Tidings that I’m announcing a change in plan. From Boxing Day we will not be doing takeaways. (This does not affect Christmas Day, and all those of you who have preordered and paid for Christmas Day are fine!)

There’s a lot of things to consider. Like the government we’re balancing health and economic concerns. January is usually a quieter period and there’s a new strain of the virus that spreads quicker out there. If we serve too few takeaways we don’t make any money and make more of a loss than being closed, but serve too many takeaways and lots of people come to the pub and touch the same door handles, the same card machines and interact with the same people. As much as we sanitise all that stuff, there’s only one way to eliminate the risk.

With government advice changing all the time and new strains on the loose, we want to give things time to settle down before we start takeaway operations again.

No one is sadder about this news than us (except maybe my wife because I will be at home every day), but we think its the right thing to do from both a business and a safety perspective.

We’ll have a look in 3 weeks time and decide whether to start takeaways again or stay closed. (and that’s not one of those Matt Hancock “3 weeks” where you can expect an announcement of a change before tea time!)

Thanks to everyone who has, or would have, supported our takeaway business. Have a very merry Christmas.

Tier 4: “And a Happy New Tier”?

Updated 19th December

Well here we are in tier 4. We were in tier 3 so briefly that I didn’t get a chance to update you on that.

Well for us as a pub this is no different to a full lockdown. We will be closed for the foreseeable future. Takeaways will be available at limited times. But importantly as this has happened to us just a week before Christmas, Christmas Day takeaways will be available.

For other takeaway details please check out the pages of our website and the Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages for the latest news.

Thank you for your continued support and kindness. Have a happy Christmas and New Year.

Tier 2: What it means for us

Updated: 26th November.

From our reopening after the second lockdown Hertfordshire finds it’s in Tier 2.

All of the rules outlined below and in previous government advice still applies unless directly contradicted here.

Pubs can only serve alcohol so long as it is an accompaniment to a main meal. You will not be able to come to the Cowper Arms just for a drink during this time. The definition of a ‘substantial meal’ will be any item from the Main Course section of our menu or a tapas bundle when eaten by one person.

We’ll allocate a table to each booking for a window of two and a half hours, allowing you to have a drink before and after a meal while ensuring safe operating within the spirit of the law.

Pubs no longer have to close at 10pm. We can stay open until 11pm but only serving alcohol until 10pm. We will keep 10pm as our closing time, as to remain open an hour without being able to sell our products does not make financial sense at this time, but guests will not be rushed out allowing them time to drink their final drinks and finish their conversations without being rushed.

In the spirit of the law and public safety, as well as to ensure our own safety and that of all of our customers, we will not allow “stacking” drinks, ie. ordering a lot of drinks at once before 10pm so you can continue drinking until 11pm. Last orders will consist of one drink per customer in order to safely ensure the rules are followed. As all meals will have been finished by this point anyway and as the rules have been bought in to prevent drunkenness which leads to social distancing being difficult to maintain, we feel this is a sensible policy.

You can read the big long document of rules sent to me by the police here if you can’t sleep, for the avoidance of any doubt on the issues

New Law Changes

Updated: 22nd September following the Prime Minister’s speech in the House of Commons

Yes, it’s another post with new rules. The virus is getting more serious, the government is getting more serious and so must we. We can all have a good time and a lovely relaxed pub dinner safely if we follow these new rules, so here’s the update:
From now on closing time will be at 10pm (except Sundays when it’s 8pm). To be clear, this is closing time. Last orders will be called at 9:40 and all guests must finish their drinks and leave by 10pm. As this is dictated by law we will be enforcing the 10pm finish strictly.
Last orders for food will be at 8:30 Friday and Saturday to allow an hour to eat before last orders. Monday – Thursday this will be 8pm and Sundays remain unchanged at 6pm.
Table Service only is now a legal requirement. Please remain seated at all times and let us come to you to take an order. We will be vigilant. Please do not come up to the bar, unless a member of staff guides you to (it is sometime necessary to process a payment). Please continue to wait at the door to be seated or if you need our attention on an outside table. People have been very good at this so far so thank you for your help, but a quick reminder as it is now law.
The Rule of Six continues to apply. I know I already did a long post on this subject the other day and wrote it on our website, but then today a group of 20 turned up and asked for a seat! Yes, really! I know Richard Osman’s House of Games is on the same time as the news, but it is important to keep up with these things! Just to be doubly clear therefore, we will not take bookings for groups of more than Six people. We will turn away groups larger than six people. We will not do “two tables of four next to each other” (Or 4 tables of 5!!). These are not our rules. These are the laws. However safe you may feel about ignoring that limit, we have a busy pub with lots of loyal customers to look after and we need to look after everyone’s health, safety and confidence in our business.
The Prime Minister also announced that these rules would likely be in place for six months, so we will now be applying the rule of six to our Christmas season bookings in December. We know some of you have already booked in for larger groups. We will get in touch with you in the next couple of days if we have to cancel your booking, any deposits paid can be wholly refunded.
I’m sorry for another long old boring rule post, but we do have to be vigilant and strict so that everyone can come to the pub safely and have a good time, good food and relax in these troubling times. Thank you to everyone for being understanding and thank you to everyone who is sensibly following these procedures.

Rule of Six

Update: 14th September

From today it is against the law for groups of more than six to meet socially and anyone who does so faces a potential fine of £100 for a first offence and then an escalating scale.

The Cowper Arms will from this day be taking bookings for no groups larger than six people. However if your household is larger than six we are able to acomodate you if you call ahead first.

We have been asked if we could take larger bookings on separate tables, eg. two tables of four, but we will not be doing this. The rules state that mingling between different groups in the pub is illegal and while separate tables always starts with the best will in the world, if you come to the pub with other people you will socialise with them. That’s what we’re for! And we are not prepared to risk the safety of our customers or our business. Thank you for your understanding.

As things are still uncertain looking to the future, we will take Christmas bookings for larger groups, then if we get closer to the time and we can’t make a booking work, we will fully refund a deposit or work with you to make something we can do within the rules.

We are now open 7 days a week again, but closing at 10pm Monday – Thursday and 8pm on Sunday.

Update: 10th July

Well we’ve been back for a week and we’d like to thank everyone who visited for their kind words and support as we work to reopen for business. But we have taken the decision to close the pub four days of the week Monday – Wednesday we’ll be closed, Thursday-Sunday we’ll be open as normal and serving food right through the day. While it’s been great to get back to it, social distancing and the still very present threat of Covid have led to many understandably being cautious and staying at home. So we will limit our opening times to just four days. This is how we intend to operate for the rest of July, we’ll then resume normal opening times in August, in time for you to split the bill with Rishi Sunak! In the meantime we’ll still be taking bookings for the weekends and the rest of the year via the website, and we’ll keep updates coming through the Facebook page. This first week has been a successful dry run to test out the new social distancing measures, our table service only approach, one way system and all the other changes, so you can be confident it all works and everyone will be safe come August. But while that has been a success, we have seen the numbers of customers drop due to a perfect storm of covid concerns, people working from home leading to less passing trade at the station, and groups from offices and big tables that made up our weekday trade aren’t possible. For those who have joined us we thank you for your support. We hope to see you again next month or at a weekend or when we’re back to 7 days a week in August. Obviously we hate to deprive you of your local for any longer, but in just a few more short weeks we can reopen properly every day, and in the mean time we’ll have weekends together.

Updated 29th June

The Cowper Arms Covid Statement

As we prepare to reopen the Cowper Arms for business, we will be making changes to our procedures and implementing new practices while doubling or tripling all of our usual safety procedures to ensure that we can reopen smoothly and safely on Saturday 4^th July.

As well as everything outlined below we have completed a comprehensive risk assessment, new staff training and new instructions for staff and guests. We will include details of all of that on this page too, in the interests of transparency, clarity on the rules and to help all our staff and guests feel safe returning to the Cowper.

We appreciate that everyone’s experience with lockdown will be different. Many will emerge from a welcome break. Many will feel they cannot wait to get back to the pubs, others may feel a little anxious and nervous about returning. Please be patient with each other and our team as we slowly return, in baby steps, to get things back to normal. At the Cowper Arms we will be respectful of everyone’s experience throughout these unprecedented times and hope that our brilliant guests will respect each other’s different experiences.

Covid Actions – What’s new?

We have followed PHE and government advice and implemented the following changes to our service to mitigate the risks to our guests, our workers and our suppliers.

• A full risk assessment has been carried out and will be available to read on this website
• We have considered safe capacity numbers, entrances, exits, the flow and direction of people through the building and the points at which crowds may develop, and implemented policy to mediate the risks posed here
• Every member of our team will complete training in the new rules and procedures implemented by the company to ensure a safe working environment for us and a safe visit for our guests
• Every member of the team has completed a return to work questionnaire to assess their health and readiness to return to work (detailed in our risk assessment how different answers are assessed to reach our conclusion.)
• Every member of the team will complete a fit to work health tracker before each shift
• We will constantly revise and update all training in response to the latest information form PHE (Public Health England)
• We will use PPE in accordance with government guidelines
• The effectiveness of facemasks is disputed and gloves are shown to often be worse. These will be optional to all team members and guests. Please respect each individual choice when it comes to PPE
• We will deliver further handwashing and cleaning regimes and monitoring
• All of our team have been given a long list of events after which they must wash their hands, and if none of those events have occurred in the last 20 minutes they must wash their hands every 20 minutes anyway. The full list is detailed in our risk assessment further down the page.
• Hand gen sanitizer will be provided for all of our guests. New fixed point sanitizer dispensers have been fitted at key places in the pub – by the front door, the back door, the restaurant entrance and the toilets.
• We have briefed the team on how to maintain social distancing and the changes required to our service to assist with that. The team will try to maintain a 2m distance at all times that it is possible or a minimum 1m distance if it is not. We will work at a distance or pass back to back when it is not possible.
• We have implemented a one way system in the pub, with set entrances and exits, to mitigate the chances of passing in close proximity of other guests
• We will not be resuming our live music or pub quiz nights for the immediate future until government guidance says it is safe to do so and we feel we can manage the capacity of such events safely
• Contactless payments are encouraged
• We will operate a table service policy and guests should not go to the bar.
• Guest numbers will be controlled
• We have reduced capacity and taken some tables out of use to maintain the levels of distance required of us.
• Guests must wait at the door to be shown to a table by our host
• We will operate a bookings only policy so that we can control the number of people in the pub at any given moment
• We will use test and trace forms to collect information in accordance with the government’s requests. This information will be kept for 21 days. Information entered on our booking system will be kept for longer in accordance with GDPR
• Signs will be places around the pub to remind and encourage you to follow the rules. These must be obeyed for everyone’s safety
• We will continue to monitor this ever changing situation and train team members, and update the documents on this webpage constantly to keep everyone informed of the latest guidance.
• We will work to promote both physical and mental health of our team and guests. Help from the licensed trade charity will be available to our team should they require it.

Distance

We are following the latest government advice regarding social distancing to make visiting the Cowper Arms safe and stress free. We are arranging our seating plans and pub flow (the route you take through the premises) so that you can enjoy your space safely.

Everyone appreciates their own space, during your visit to the pub please be mindful of your fellow guests at all times, and be sure to allow space for others to enjoy, and be respectful of those who may be more cautious than yourself.

Contact Times

At all times during your visit contact time must be reduced to a minimum. We will take all orders at the table and ask you not to come to the bar. Food and drink will be delivered to you at the table.

Payments will be taken at the table where possible. Due to technology restrictions you may need to go closer to the bar at times, and screens will protect the bar staff and our guests during these transactions.

We will be using single use menus which will be recycled after use.

Hygiene

Our hygiene standards in this industry are already very rigorous but they will be enhanced with extra cleaning schedules detailed below.

If you spot something you think we’ve missed or a cleaning schedule displayed that hasn’t been signed please alert a member of the team or duty manager.

Health Tracker

Our teams will complete a daily health tracker before coming to work to ensure they are healthy and able to work safely with members of the public.

We have also undertaken extra training with all of our team.

We will continue to follow government advice in the event of illness.

We will continue to track the information of our guests in line with the government’s test and trace policy.

Thank you in advance for your understanding, patience and custom.

Dan, Franko and the Cowper Arms Team.

View our full risk assessment here

23rd June

Boris Johnson announced today that the pub and restaurant industry will reopen on Saturday 4th of July. This is obviously very exciting news, but we must remember that while lockdown is being eased, this is not the end of Covid19. We’ve been working, throughout the last month of lockdown, on completing our risk assessments and formulating new plans and policies for how we will reopen. We will be posting those updates here on this page and on our social media over the next couple of weeks so that when we reopen all the new rules are followed for the safety of all of our guests.

One thing we know is there will be some level of social distancing still, and we will be limiting the numbers of people who can visit the pub at any one time. We will be asking people to queue at the door and be shown to a table by a member of staff. If we get very busy then we will have no choice but to turn people away at the door. We recommend that everyone who wishes to come to the pub books in advance. Currently with the team still furloughed the phones are unmanned, though someone will be able to answer from next week, but you can book via the website now. Just click here to go to the booking page.

Thank you for your understanding and helping us to follow the rules so everyone can remain safe at the Cowper Arms. We will be giving more updates soon, and below are some of our previous posts, so you can see how seriously we treated the situation before. We hope that constant communication will help to ensure everyone can feel confident venturing back into their local after a long absence.

Best of health to you all,
Franko, Dan and the Cowper Team

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19th March

As I’m sure you’ve seen by now, from tomorrow pubs have been asked to close. Its obviously heartbreaking but the right thing for these unprecedented times.
We want to thank all of our loyal guests who have supported us through this time and since forever. Its always been a pleasure to be a part of this community.
But rest assured, we will be back. And we’re gonna have such a good time with you when we are.
Watch this space for more news on what happens next.
And follow Useless Pub Quiz where I’m working on something a bit fun to cheer us all up.
Stay safe. Thank you for your custom and kindness. See you soon.
Cowper Team

19th March

We wanted to reassure all of you that we’re paying close attention to all of the measures suggested by Public Health England and the World Health Organisation in these ever changing times.The good news is that we have always taken food hygiene and safety very seriously and already had strict rules for that kind of thing, this has been intensified in the current crisis, with enhanced hygiene and deep cleaning procedures. We’re also implementing social distancing where we can. This means that we’ll try to seat people a little bit apart from each other for some increased breathing space and will limit the amount of people we allow to be in the same area of the pub if things get busy. All of our cutlery, crockery, and glass washing devices operate at above 85 degrees and we have had no difficulty getting the cleaning chemicals we need.We ask all of our guests to please be mindful of healthy practices and follow any health advice issued to protect themselves, our team and our other guests, especially those who may be more vulnerable.Thank you for your cooperation and support.

16th March

A quick message about todays (16th March) Corona Update. The government has told people to avoid pubs but not told pubs to close. As such we have taken the decision to cancel upcoming events The Cowper Arms Open Mic Night and Useless Pub Quiz until it is safe to draw large crowds to meet in one place again. We will report back here when these events are back. We know both have a loyal group of followers and thank you for your understanding.
The pub will remain open for the time being and the situation reviewed daily to make sure we can provide a safe environment for our guests and staff. We ask for your help to follow any advice from the government and advice from our team to make sure everything is as safe as it can be at this time. We will keep you informed about any changes as they happen. Thank you for your support and understanding.