Don Your Way column: Have you ventured back inside Doncaster's pubs yet?

It was dubbed Super Saturday by some elements of the media, the day when the country’s pubs finally re-opened their doors in the biggest easing of coronavirus lockdown restrictions since March.

According to some estimates, ‘thirsty Brits swigged 15 million pints,’ although quite how that figure is worked out or established is anyone’s guess.

I was working on Saturday – and one of my tasks was to see how Doncaster’s town centre pubs were faring and how drinkers were coping with their return.

And so it was I found myself on Saturday afternoon, heading into town and wandering the streets to see whether people were ‘behaving responsibly’ as Prime Minister Boris Johnson had called for.

Apart from a gaggle of girls noisily shouting their way through the Market Place, the streets and pubs seemed pretty quiet.

Outside seating areas were largely empty and door staff, ready and on hand to explain entry requirements and hand sanitising routines, hardly seemed to be rushed off their feet with an influx of customers.

Many pubs have yet to bounce back – and many other shops in the town centre are still closed, giving the town a very ghostly and eerily quiet feel at the moment.

Later in the evening, I was able to check out an out of town pub for quick bite to eat in its new socially distanced surroundings.

We were greeted at the door and given the drill and had to clean our hands before we were allowed to sit at our table, well away from any others.

Arrows on the floor pointed the way around the bar – and we chose our food from disposable menus, with food orders being taken from the bar worker from behind a protective plastic screen.

Naturally, it was all a bit weird and takes some getting used to but whether we like it or not, we ARE going to have to get used to it.

I’m pleased to say Doncaster seems to have stayed sensible early on.

Whether that remains in the coming days and months of course remains to be seen. Please stay safe and stay sensible.