tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post1122965504479093434..comments2024-03-28T16:30:25.456+00:00Comments on The Pub Curmudgeon: A question of more or lessCurmudgeonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02558747878308766840noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-75497991055342482032020-01-18T09:42:33.860+00:002020-01-18T09:42:33.860+00:00you'll have to go in the food hall for a rip o...you'll have to go in the food hall for a rip off craft beer, fella.Cooking Lagerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02830924433230427226noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-28984982983779340542020-01-15T21:10:06.629+00:002020-01-15T21:10:06.629+00:00Vinabod, the Viking-themed tapas bar in Stockport,...Vinabod, the Viking-themed tapas bar in Stockport, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/837419143265484/posts/1098785650462164/" rel="nofollow">has now closed</a>. Mind you, charging £4 a pint - twice the price of the nearby Boar's Head - it's perhaps not entirely surprising.Curmudgeonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02558747878308766840noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-91678095519283477792020-01-15T19:30:34.194+00:002020-01-15T19:30:34.194+00:00What is clearly needed is a tight specific definit...What is clearly needed is a tight specific definition you can't ever change. Like the one for real ale.Cooking Lagerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02830924433230427226noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-6896663318870772132020-01-13T13:01:48.175+00:002020-01-13T13:01:48.175+00:00I am over 70 and whilst I have no difficulty in re...I am over 70 and whilst I have no difficulty in recognizing what is a obviously a pub, I find it much harder to decide what isn't a pub.<br />For example the micro pub in my home town, despite having unisex toilets, has all the characteristics of a pub being crowded with locals. Whereas the big Robinson's house which meets all 'Mudges criteria for a pub is more like a large empty barn with very few regulars.<br />And both pubs in the next town are primarily restaurants but have a set of regulars who have annexed a corner of the bar. dcbwhaleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02585310584555592882noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-42383854832531584442020-01-13T02:09:30.657+00:002020-01-13T02:09:30.657+00:00Ah, it's that oh-so-hard to define question. ...Ah, it's that oh-so-hard to define question. Oh crumbs, at a guess, I’d say that anyone over, let’s say, 40 (although younger readers on here may illustrate that this age is an inaccurate guess, which I accept it may well be), if blindfolded and taken into an establishment and then the blindfold removed, would be able to tell within a micro-second whether the place was a pub, a bar or a club. How? Dunno. It’s instinctive – that “engraved on the heart” thing that the Guardian mentioned in their article (but clearly didn’t quite understand themselves). But there IS a difference between the three, and anyone over a certain age will be able to discern it, whereas I would posit that anybody under that “certain age” won’t. It certainly doesn’t depend on the age of the establishment. There were some very ropey pubs built back in the 1970s alongside big new housing estates, which had not a jot of tradition about them but which were undoubtedly pubs. Similarly, many of the old establishments, if they’re still standing, have long ago been converted into something else – hotels, public amenity spaces, museums, flats, etc – but are quite obviously not pubs any more. Equally, the very new ones now opening – micro-pubs and gastro-pubs – may well be a welcome addition to the market, but they nevertheless they still aren’t pubs. That’s why the Guardian's article was plain wrong – it shouldn’t have been about signs of improvements in the “pub trade” but should have been about signs of improvement in the “licenced trade.” Don’t get me wrong – I think that these improvements are a hopeful sign and I hope they continue, but for those of us for whom the British pub IS “engraved on their hearts” that’s what grates about rosy-cheeked little articles like that one. I suspect that most of the writers at the Guardian simply fall under the necessary "certain age" (whatever age that is!), and that's why they can't make the distinction between pubs and "anywhere else that sells booze for on-premises consumption." What a shame it is that there is a whole generation of work-age adults out there who can't tell the difference. That, it seems, is one of the biggest losses from our unique British culture - not just pubs themselves, but the awareness of what a pub actually is that goes along with their very existence.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-74012711996760488062020-01-11T15:31:40.612+00:002020-01-11T15:31:40.612+00:00I'm not sure there would be a failure of commu...I'm not sure there would be a failure of communication, just that premises licences for alcohol retailers don't distinguish between the classification of premises and licensing departments don't check the class of the premises. As an example, a home-based Amazon seller of rare whisky would need a premises licence, and they'd get it as long as there was no conflict with local licensing objectives.electricpicshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09144970068645280352noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-57135817311320216742020-01-11T14:04:23.541+00:002020-01-11T14:04:23.541+00:00The point was made on Twitter that there may be a ...The point was made on Twitter that there may be a failure of communication between councils' licensing and planning departments, so that independent premises describing themselves as "restaurant and bar" may actually be trading under use class A3 "Food and drink" rather than A4 "Drinking establishments". <br /><br />I spotted one this morning on my local shopping parade that describes itself as "Ristorante and Cocktail Bar". I wonder what its planning permission says. But it certainly isn't a pub.Curmudgeonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02558747878308766840noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-80697277933868884482020-01-11T13:25:47.053+00:002020-01-11T13:25:47.053+00:00The latest of several new 'pubs' to open n...The latest of several new 'pubs' to open near me is a small surf clothing shop called Longsands Apres Cafe Bar that has a new full on-licence. When I say small, it's definitely a contender for smallest licence premises in the UK. Places like this are certainly skewing the figures.electricpicshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09144970068645280352noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-77874687684254802002020-01-11T09:38:05.421+00:002020-01-11T09:38:05.421+00:00I meant to add "sadly" to the last sente...I meant to add "sadly" to the last sentence.Citrahttps://thepubexplorer.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-123197108818675492020-01-11T09:34:13.997+00:002020-01-11T09:34:13.997+00:00I imagine the article covers all conceivable drink...I imagine the article covers all conceivable drinking establishments, there has been a notable and rapid increase in micropubs, craft bars and brewery taps in the last couple of years or so, I don't personally mind this, I would say the "traditional pub" is still very much on the decline. Citrahttps://thepubexplorer.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.com