Are you ready for scenes like this again? York nightclub photographer says ‘It’s a little worrying as the virus is still out there’
Nightclubs will reopen again, without masks and social distancing, under so-called ‘freedom day’ plans revealed by the Prime Minister.
Most restrictions will go, probably on 19 July, Boris Johnson said yesterday.
But one person heavily invested in York’s nighttime economy has admitted he has very mixed feelings about the prospect.
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Edward Matthews is a nightlife photographer. You can see more of his amazing work on his Emris Media website.
York clubs hire him to take photos of nights and then share albums to social media the following day.
But that work has all but dried up over the last 16 months. “I can probably count on two hands the amount of actual photography jobs I did on nights throughout the pandemic,” he told David Dunning on YorkMix Radio.
“I had a lucky break during some of the student events last October. But other than that, it’s been completely dry, there’s been nothing. I’ve had to get by with other work in the meantime.”
Desperate to be back
Edward says he’s had some conversations with nightclub owners, but is still in the dark about the reopening.
He’s looking forward to returning to the night work – but still has concerns.
He said: “People say that a job that you love doesn’t feel like a job and, and in that environment, you’ve got music, you’ve got friends, you’ve got DJs – you’ve just got a really lovely mix of people. Just the whole atmosphere is amazing.
“The fact that places are opening and there’s gonna be no social distancing and masks is the little bit worrying because the virus is still out there.
“Some people are still not vaccinated, it can still spread and you can still catch Covid even if you’ve had a vaccine.
“But there does come a point where we have to kind of open up and and just learn to live with it. So I’ve been double vaccinated. I might even wear a mask at work, I don’t know yet. It depends how I feel and what the Covid rates are.
“But I’m just desperate to get back to the job I love.”