COMMENT How cruel a blow the postponement of the reopening of UK venues this weekend has been. Talk about pulling the carpet from under the feet of the beleagured sector now completely cut out of the picture.

The government does not really care about their interests as much as some as it guesses its way through the crisis and twists and turns as it reads the runes. Surely allowing people to freely mingle on beaches is more dangerous than customers sitting in properly regulated venues?

Worst of all this week was the shortness of notice just a day before the relaxation was to begin with many clubs already announcing programmes of concerts stretching weeks ahead. Will the new provisionally mooted date of reopening, 15 August in England, be honoured? You'd be a fool to bet on it given the current lack of certainty. 

One thing however is for sure is that the virus is not going away anywhere soon but given that how can live venues survive the longer the current crisis continues? Their overheads are horrendous and as furlough help reduces what then? Lay-offs, or just throw in the towel completely? Closures for good may well be on the cards.

The jazz scene without live performance has been destroyed and we're left with album releases seeming a little less relevant by the day. Something has got to give. But shifting the goal posts however backed by the science it is or more to the point politically convenient proves to be is not the solution.