Pints And Primark: Britons Mark Lockdown Easing With A Sup And A Shop By Anna MALPAS, Charlotte DURAND 04/12/21 AT 8:49 AM Britons on Monday toasted a significant easing of coronavirus restrictions, with early morning pints -- and much-needed haircuts -- as the country took a tentative step towards the resumption of normal life. Some pubs, now allowed to serve outside, wasted no time and opened on the stroke of midnight. Others opened later -- but still much earlier than normal, and just in time for breakfast. "I work the night shifts in the hospital," said Richard Newman, a 32-year-old doctor at the Royal London Hospital, as he waited with friends outside the Half Moon pub in east London at 9:00 am (0800 GMT).