Evening Standard Comment: Raise a glass to first weekend of lockdown freedom | A Spurs whitewash?

Did you manage to book a table? London’s hospitality sector is set for a bumper few days as the capital gets ready to celebrate the first weekend of outdoor freedom in months. Demand has been even better than expected.

Reservations are far higher even than on so-called “Super Saturday” last July when the ban on eating out after the first lockdown was lifted.

Revellers are expected to spend £300million over the weekend, a much-needed boost for a hospitality sector battered by Covid. And with the forecast set for sunny skies, we can once again look forward to Soho streets filled not with cars, but by people.

The confidence is spreading beyond this weekend. People are booking further in advance, with the most popular dates being in May.

As ever, these newly regained freedoms are all the more reason to stick to the rules, from mask-wearing indoors to the rule of six. And finally, let’s raise a glass to our health and social care staff.

The saying goes thus: each day on Twitter there is one main character. The goal is to never be it.

Dulux paint fell foul of this social media maxim yesterday. On the morning it announced its partnership as Tottenham Hotspur’s official paint supplier (your team doesn’t have one?), it sent a series of tweets mocking the club, including posting a picture of its bare trophy cabinet.

The company later apologised. Fans must hope Mourinho’s famously defensive football will at least be more enjoyable than watching paint dry.