Making up for lost time: UK goes ‘out out’ after two-year break

theguardian.com:

On any given Friday, Saturday or Sunday night, it’s likely Aly Meghani will be relishing in a night out in central London, where the clubs, pubs and bars have returned to their spirited state.

The 25-year-old content manager from Ealing has been going out more than usual since lockdown restrictions were lifted in February. The reason? Making up for lost time, said Meghani, and the fear of missing out.

“Obviously everything is so packed nowadays, you’ve got to make the most of what you can. Even if it’s just if you’re outside, you’ve got to be doing something,” said Meghani, flanked by a group of friends in Soho.

It’s the return of “out out” a distinction popularised by the comedian Micky Flanagan, who differentiated between a regular night out, and “out out”, which is staying out later, longer, and clearing your schedule the following day.

In London’s Soho, the streets were thrumming on Wednesday evening, with the sound of people returning to venues in an attempt to make up for lost time. While some took part in birthday celebrations, others couldn’t help but note the sense of normality that has returned.

The optimism has been observed elsewhere. The club owner Rekom has found evidence that Britons who came of age during the pandemic are not only turning up earlier on nights out but spending more on drinks in clubs and bars than in March 2020.

It’s a significant recovery that has allowed the group to open at least 10 more bars this year. After buying 42 of the former Deltic Group’s UK clubs and bars out of administration in January 2021, the Copenhagen-based Rekom now has 48 UK outlets, taking back some of its former sites and adding new ones.

Yet Rekom’s gains come as the economy shrinks. As the inflation rate reached the