The landlord of The Bell Inn close to Frome still isn't sure he and his wife have made the right decision to re-open - when they can - because so much is still uncertain.

When Nub News interviewed them earlier this month it seemed that they may even be able to open next week - today (June 22) it seems more likely it will be in early July.

So all the questions for this popular village pub remain.

When the coronavirus pandemic first struck they had already seen the takers for their hugely popular Sunday lunches fall from 50 or 60 before lockdown, to making a meal for just three customers. People were already beginning to stay away - in pub parlance, punters were scared.

Then when Boris Johnson told everyone to stay at home, Nick Taylor and Karen, who have been running The Bell Inn since July 2013, told themselves: " Well that's it... let's just shut up shop. We are down the swanny without a paddle, there is no way we can continue."

And for the past few weeks they did just that.

With the slimmest of margins anyway, running a pub, no matter how well established, and this one has been serving the locals since the 1700's, is a tough business.

But when Nub News banged on the door of this cosy and friendly pub, the only one in the picturesque village of Buckland Dinham, the welcoming landlord announced that they then changed their mind.

So the Bell Inn WILL re-open he told Nub News - probably just for beer and pizza - but apart from that nothing is decided not even opening hours.

He said: " People think running a pub is easy - I won't swear but it is incredibly hard work. Running a pub you don't have huge sums of money in your back pocket. You work in the summer to pay for the winter, the peaks and troughs of the trade.

" We were just ticking along, never making huge money and when the announcement came that pubs were going to close, because of coronavirus it was like ... oh my God ...there is no way we can continue."

The pub is leased for 25 years to Enterprise Inns, and the couple are still playing £620 a week in rent.

" We have had our ten grand grant and obviously that has helped, but if we pay rent we can't pay any other bills. That has helped us to survive but we are coming up to nine weeks and no money.

"The first four weeks we just thought - jeez we are just going to give up and that's what we did. We did nothing, then about three weeks ago we thought we have to do something, we can't just give up."

Enterprise Inns, now owned by Stonegate, who run around five and half thousand pubs across the UK, were already working on view to re-opening their pubs on July 4 - so the timetable has just been accelerated.

Nick said: " But it also comes down to the rules.. what are the rules? Are people allowed in the bar to order or is it just outside?

" We do have a beer garden and paddock but what are the rules? If two groups of people come together for a beer, that is 12 or 16 people is it our responsibility to tell them to stop? How do we do this? Going to the loos it is a narrow passageway so how will that work ? So there are lots of ifs and buts."

The couple are well connected in the pub trade and Nick said he knows of "literally hundreds of pubs across the UK" who will never re-open.

" I totally understand why they are making that decision, we were thinking that we let some of our friendly locals know that we were closing. We were sure we would not survive."

The locals were encouraged to look at making the pub an Asset of Community Value - which would be a way of protecting the Inn which could otherwise be turned into housing.

Thankfully - for the time being at least - that isn't necessary.

But there are still big doubts: "There is no guarantee people are going to come out. In a destination pub like this what would help ? I have no idea. Pubs in the town centre - they will probably be okay. But for us nothing is certain. We are going to give it six months, we will give it to Christmas and see what happens."

Enterprise are certainly supportive, they have given the pub a £4,500 credit line for the beer to try and keep the pubs afloat.

When we told Nick he was courageous to be re-opening he corrected us: " No the word is foolish - but we are so important here in the village, there is no school, there is no post office, there is just us."