In the third instalment of our series looking back on the past 12 months, we hear from Blind Tiger Inns’ Chris Tulloch and his reflections on opening a pub on the day the UK entered its first nationwide lockdown. The Aigburth Arms in Aigburth, Liverpool, was the third new pub opening for Blind Tiger Inns in 2020, set for its grand opening on Friday 23 March. Following two previous openings this year in Burnley and Preston, this was the final opening planned of the year for the expanding pub company. The £100,000 refurbishment was complete, the teams were trained, and the bar was stocked and ready. As Andy Kelly, the general manager of the site told us: “We were all set and ready to go for our opening at 6pm, and the excitement from the locals to have their pub back open was phenomenal.