tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post171117783807613842..comments2024-03-29T15:44:32.514+00:00Comments on The Pub Curmudgeon: A taxing issueCurmudgeonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02558747878308766840noreply@blogger.comBlogger53125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-44698916164119768092018-08-23T14:48:42.969+01:002018-08-23T14:48:42.969+01:00Spoons for you from now on then David, yes?Spoons for you from now on then David, yes?Arsenal Fan 36s Greatest Tribute Actnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-28656453697386433522018-08-11T17:14:43.950+01:002018-08-11T17:14:43.950+01:00Spoons venues are generally fairly well-appointed,...Spoons venues are generally fairly well-appointed, whatever the tooth-count among its trade. Innit?Timbonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-37995320268726582182018-08-11T09:20:15.496+01:002018-08-11T09:20:15.496+01:00Timbo,
But some of us might live in houses as shab...Timbo,<br />But some of us might live in houses as shabby as a Wetherspoons venue. The Stafford Mudgienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-28515659336291781862018-08-10T17:06:06.873+01:002018-08-10T17:06:06.873+01:00Aye, but there are plenty of pubs as you describe....Aye, but there are plenty of pubs as you describe. Chuck in the other bits we've discussed, and some people ask why others would rather stay at home and have their mates round with a few carry-oots?Timbonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-25858008706153613782018-08-10T09:53:58.601+01:002018-08-10T09:53:58.601+01:00Timbo,
"don't stink" - but what abou...Timbo,<br />"don't stink" - but what about sweaty building workers quenching their thirst during this hot summer with a couple of lunchtime pints in the Public Bar ?<br />And it's recently been in the news that Jenny Rimmer, a compassionate 45-year-old in Cornwall, spotted two men in their early 20s sleeping rough and offered them a hot meal. When they walked into the Truro Wetherspoons staff told them there was a ban on homeless people and anyone “who is smelly".The Stafford Mudgienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-49260784521162842722018-08-10T09:44:33.151+01:002018-08-10T09:44:33.151+01:00Bill,
Yes, boil in the bag won't be much bette...Bill,<br />Yes, boil in the bag won't be much better than microwaved.<br />I bake my cod in the oven or get it battered and deep fried from a proper chip shop.The Stafford Mudgienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-16390613002415423562018-08-10T00:10:44.476+01:002018-08-10T00:10:44.476+01:00Nay lad. I just mean one where the customers don&#...Nay lad. I just mean one where the customers don't stink, as you said they often do where you go Staffs. I'm with you on the juke boxes tho. Handy things.Timbonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-31966406452265609272018-08-09T20:01:47.623+01:002018-08-09T20:01:47.623+01:00I don't know what hay baking would add to a ca...I don't know what hay baking would add to a carrot and "sous vide" basically means posh boil in the bag so yes I'm with you here.<br />Billhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04476287146196533881noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-49124456371507807912018-08-09T14:30:32.630+01:002018-08-09T14:30:32.630+01:00Timbo,
But I’m not sure how you would define “bett...Timbo,<br />But I’m not sure how you would define “better pubs” – maybe like one I’ve just read about with “Hay Baked Carrot” and “Sous Vide Cod“ on the menu and Trip Advisor reviews including phrases like “to die for“ and “divine”. No thanks.The Stafford Mudgienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-68437412634791382252018-08-06T20:53:41.326+01:002018-08-06T20:53:41.326+01:00Sounds like you might try better pubs, Staffs me o...Sounds like you might try better pubs, Staffs me ol' mukka.Timbonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-8192086902588617002018-08-06T17:11:47.031+01:002018-08-06T17:11:47.031+01:00Timbo,
Most of the reeking, damp, old, long-haired...Timbo,<br />Most of the reeking, damp, old, long-haired, mucky creatures in the pubs that I use are two legged.<br />"Music enjoyed by a majority of the customers" is what we had with juke boxes but they've all but disappeared. Customers, not licensees, know what customers want to hear or know if customers want a bit of peace and quiet.The Stafford Mudgienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-54710476264460098602018-08-05T20:15:20.603+01:002018-08-05T20:15:20.603+01:00I've seen you cross the road to get to a pub ,...I've seen you cross the road to get to a pub , you lead a charmed life.Citrahttps://thepubexplorer.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-12266716873341596252018-08-05T11:10:03.923+01:002018-08-05T11:10:03.923+01:00The best thing we could do about pets in this coun...The best thing we could do about pets in this country would be to remove our irrational view of them. Treat pets as you would livestock. With care, appreciate they are living creatures and ought not suffer at our hands, but ultimately be happy to eat them.<br /><br />The same people that treat cats like they are humans are happy to eat industrial farmed animals that have lived and died in suffering. In would be more humane for people and pubs to keep cats, treat them well and also put them on the menu as an ethically raised and slaughtered meat.Cooking Lagerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02830924433230427226noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-55487976014269408842018-08-04T19:10:04.698+01:002018-08-04T19:10:04.698+01:00What a load of Staw Men, Staffs. It's not usua...What a load of Staw Men, Staffs. It's not usually about suffering ill health. It's about positively enjoying a meal (or a pint), without the reek of a damp, old, long-haired, mucky animal making you want to bring up your last one, and having your glad rags besmeared with canine mucus, among the other things in the list. And what's wrong with music enjoyed by a majority of the customers rather than just about tolerated? We are talking about making pub experiences actually pleasant here. Mere survivability isn't really a pull for normal yoomans, unless your house falls a very long way short on building regs.Timbonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-29561201524506931252018-08-04T14:01:28.187+01:002018-08-04T14:01:28.187+01:00Maybe we need to put things in perspective.
I don&...Maybe we need to put things in perspective.<br />I don't know anyone who has suffered ill health from eating in a room where there's a dog and I don't know anyone who has suffered ill health from 'passive smoking' in a pub before the smoking ban.<br />I do know that pedestrians have been killed by motorists but that doesn't stop me crossing the road to get to a pub.<br />As for 'music' I drape my coat over the speaker if it's winter and take ear plugs in the summer. The Stafford Mudgienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-15743580056076110442018-08-03T23:02:53.631+01:002018-08-03T23:02:53.631+01:00OK, maybe we've done dogs and kids. Now what a...OK, maybe we've done dogs and kids. Now what about music? I've just been subjected to a load of millennial, dreary, mawkish wailing, at the behest of the young bar staff, in a pub where the customer, as well as the locality's demographic and culture would have been far, far more attuned to Oscar Peterson or to Stan Getz, say. It really did get under my skin, and to the point where I said to the solemn young lady serving, that unless it changed, then I'd have to make this pint my last, so as to hurry home to slash my wrists. To her credit she changed it, albeit to jolly millennial chirping.<br /><br />Yes, we sadly live in an age where one class of person finds empathising with any other near impossible it seems, but we're talking about money and business success here. So maybe some people should try harder?Timbonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-39041241053184819882018-08-03T20:00:13.046+01:002018-08-03T20:00:13.046+01:00Yes I must be very unlucky. None of the dogs that...Yes I must be very unlucky. None of the dogs that bit me had ever bitten anyone, or shown the slightest hint of aggression, in the previous decade<br /><br />The thing I hate most in pubs is people sitting at the bar on posing stools eating food. It is quite nauseating to have to look at, an small, a plateful of abandoned chips and ketchup, while choosing your drink.dcbwhaleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02585310584555592882noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-39714323569694223362018-08-03T19:26:06.751+01:002018-08-03T19:26:06.751+01:00Timbo,
I never heard a dog owner say "I'v...Timbo,<br />I never heard a dog owner say "I've paid my 7/6d, so now I'll let it crap wherever it wants" and very rarely now, even without dog licenses, do I see dog crap on pavements. Much worse is when we’ve done some gardening and the neighbour’s cats see the weeded flowerbed and think “ooh, what a lovely new litter tray” but I blame owners Clive and Diana not their cats.<br />Yes, Springer Spaniels are manic.<br />Very rarely have I had to step over a dog to get to the bar. Much worse are those selfish drinkers sat on posing stools at the bar as if they own the pub and all but denying anyone even sight of the handpumps.<br /><br />David,<br />You must have been very unlucky.<br />I was a rural postman for ten years and never had any trouble with the many dogs. The Stafford Mudgienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-43670997884388815012018-08-03T16:18:10.603+01:002018-08-03T16:18:10.603+01:00Peter: I am not a cynophobe. Cynophobia is the i...Peter: I am not a cynophobe. Cynophobia is the irrational fear or hatred of dogs. Having being bitten several times by digs, my wife being hospitalised by a dog bite, and mt#y daughter having had her pet guinea pigs killed by a passing dog I think thaqt my hatred of dogs is perfectly rational. Though, on consideration, it might be more effective to shoot the owners of unlicensed dogs rather than the dogs.dcbwhaleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02585310584555592882noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-88522486796841297962018-08-03T16:12:32.470+01:002018-08-03T16:12:32.470+01:00Tombo: It was on the Today Program that moderate ...Tombo: It was on the Today Program that moderate drinkers had reduced risk of dementia compared to teetotallers. But the spokes-women for health-busy-bodies-are-us stressed that if you were TT you shouldn't start drinking in order to reduce your risk of dementia.dcbwhaleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02585310584555592882noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-11556911260887077372018-08-03T16:09:53.891+01:002018-08-03T16:09:53.891+01:00Staffie: I don't doubt that owning a dog can ...Staffie: I don't doubt that owning a dog can reduce the owners stress level somewhat but it vastly increases the mental strain for the people it attacks. So I doubt if there is any overall saving to the NHS.<br />dcbwhaleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02585310584555592882noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-8534515015036268042018-08-03T13:00:18.430+01:002018-08-03T13:00:18.430+01:00Ey up. Let's show some understanding to poor o...Ey up. Let's show some understanding to poor old David. My Mrs. probably loved her manic Springer Spaniel more than she does me, but that does not mean that she wants other people's animals all over her when we go to the pub, and *absolutely not* when we are eating (as Jabez described). It would also be nice to be able to get to the bar without stepping over them. As I say, why should parents of small humans restrict their freedom to less than managements allow to dogs too? If you want well-behaved kids in pubs, then you have to fix dogs, or rather, their owners, first.Timbonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-5641458174412646192018-08-03T07:41:02.089+01:002018-08-03T07:41:02.089+01:00Oh dear, David, you're a bit of a cynophobe, a...Oh dear, David, you're a bit of a cynophobe, aren't you? Maybe they could also introduce licences allowing people to breed, and allow unlicensed children to be shot on sight too!Curmudgeonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02558747878308766840noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-40058770557550472622018-08-03T03:05:42.016+01:002018-08-03T03:05:42.016+01:00JC,
Yes, SOME dog owners and parents are incapable...JC,<br />Yes, SOME dog owners and parents are incapable of recognising that not everyone loves their little bundles of fur/joy but my experience is that most dogs in pubs aren't a problem and the only children running riot are those of parents who don't realise that every pub isn't a Wacky Warehouse.<br />The Saracens Head at Weston three miles from me profits from dog owners with their 'Yappy Meals' at £9.95. That's more my wife and I pay for ourselves to eat at the nearby Woolpack. <br />The Stafford Mudgienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-9789440603550869952018-08-02T21:59:05.920+01:002018-08-02T21:59:05.920+01:00The trouble with the dog licence was, that it was ...The trouble with the dog licence was, that it was often justified on the grounds of covering the cost of clearing up dog muck (it went nowhere near it in truth). The effect of that was, that owners said "I've paid my 7/6d, so now I'll let it crap wherever it wants". The streets are much better since it was abolished, though not just thanks to that perhaps. Since TTers apparently suffer more dementia than topers (yep, it's even on today's Guardian website and all), beer on the NHS might be better.Timbonoreply@blogger.com