tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post5104160141733772646..comments2024-03-29T08:01:51.705+00:00Comments on The Pub Curmudgeon: Looking for a roleCurmudgeonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02558747878308766840noreply@blogger.comBlogger22125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-63681787059653974162018-06-20T12:51:03.894+01:002018-06-20T12:51:03.894+01:00As I said to Pete Brown the other night, I can’t c...As I said to Pete Brown the other night, I can’t control which pubs stay open or which ones wither on the vine. But the ones I choose to frequent can’t just ignore me when I walk up to the bar, pull a pint like a girl, serve it in a shitty glass and let me sit down at a table with dozens of spent glasses and empty crisp wrappers on it.<br /><br />I want badges glasses - tulip, preferably.<br /><br />I want civil staff.<br /><br />I either want tasteful music, or none at all.<br /><br />And I don’t give a monkey’s chuff what the beer decides to call itself. Taste is all.John Meddhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10547777949324509522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-13001748257945168052018-06-20T08:41:26.561+01:002018-06-20T08:41:26.561+01:00It's also confusing as I have another regular ...It's also confusing as I have another regular commenter called Matthew whose tone of voice is quite different from yours.Curmudgeonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02558747878308766840noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-33779980351757651192018-06-20T08:08:20.920+01:002018-06-20T08:08:20.920+01:00Sorry about that, but as you know Blogger have dis...Sorry about that, but as you know Blogger have discontinued the OpenID feature, which allowed you to comment using your Wordpress account, and for the time being I've turned off unregistered posting in an attempt to deter my very persistent troll.Curmudgeonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02558747878308766840noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-70380167070393259772018-06-20T00:04:48.691+01:002018-06-20T00:04:48.691+01:00I can't post on your blog under my own account...I can't post on your blog under my own account, possibly because I don't know my own password. Think of it as my alias ! Martin<br /><br /> Matthewhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08104772948340037150noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-39367084577644879892018-06-20T00:02:48.107+01:002018-06-20T00:02:48.107+01:00He's right, again. Four people in a micro, fou...He's right, again. Four people in a micro, four handpumps = happy CAMRA, loads of press. Four basic keg boozers closed - no-one cares.Matthewhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08104772948340037150noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-28232553245743996572018-06-16T08:08:17.058+01:002018-06-16T08:08:17.058+01:00Yes, those who spend most of their drinking life i...Yes, those who spend most of their drinking life inside the "beer bubble" really don't appreciate (or choose to turn a blind eye to) just how much the wider pub trade has been hollowed out.<br /><br />You're confusing me now by pretending to be your son ;-)Curmudgeonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02558747878308766840noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-80549538633350239502018-06-15T23:38:46.134+01:002018-06-15T23:38:46.134+01:00Re:Peterborough, I really noticed how quiet the to...Re:Peterborough, I really noticed how quiet the town centre pubs were at 8pm while I've dropped my wife at the station over last few months. As you note, Bumbles and Puzzles, as well as the Oakham Tap have been quietish after a short burst of post-office activity. And of course, the old estate pubs are dying fast. Any trade more likely to be taken up by casual dining places than new pubs. Yes, that is pessimistic. Martin Matthewhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08104772948340037150noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-35830783976177517822018-06-13T16:09:57.821+01:002018-06-13T16:09:57.821+01:00So, just as I thought, your experience is narrow a...So, just as I thought, your experience is narrow and unrepresentative of the wider picture.<br /><br />Anyway, your final sentence reveals you for who - and what - you are. Good bit of trolling, but goodbye pal!Curmudgeonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02558747878308766840noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-45154535194437236132018-06-13T14:56:48.101+01:002018-06-13T14:56:48.101+01:00I'm pretty sure the modern temperance brigade ...I'm pretty sure the modern temperance brigade think that it is bad in all circumstances but they moderate their language to let them keep chipping away at each aspect of drinking alcohol.electricpicshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09144970068645280352noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-4356954412829132252018-06-13T13:50:09.511+01:002018-06-13T13:50:09.511+01:00Generally I go to pubs in the fine cities of Brita...Generally I go to pubs in the fine cities of Britain, or in the comfortable parts of the countryside. I don't use many in small provincial towns or in the suburbs, and I accept that these are the more likely to be struggling. <br /><br />One thing seems clear to me though. That is, that as our ties with the Continent diminish, the UK will become ever more influenced by that land over the pond, famous for Prohibition and for bullying employees, rather than by say, the French, the Belgians, and the Italians, with their lunchtime culture, and with less draconian terms and conditions for employment.Hattersnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-53320025460693401992018-06-13T13:24:51.828+01:002018-06-13T13:24:51.828+01:00But very many pubs have reported a significant fal...But very many pubs have reported a significant fall in their after-work trade. So where is "where I go"?Curmudgeonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02558747878308766840noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-5459682477095032112018-06-13T12:44:16.883+01:002018-06-13T12:44:16.883+01:00If you're going to talk about "denormalis...If you're going to talk about "denormalisation", then that has to relate to what people at large consider to be normal. I see no evidence that they (here in the UK) now think that having a beer is abnormal, it's just that they are often now forced to obey Americanised employment contracts. The 1730 rush to the pub seems to have increased if anything in recent years where I go, arguably as a result. The Septics were always a bit low church in these matters anyway.Hattersnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-25215213700293131122018-06-13T12:28:25.749+01:002018-06-13T12:28:25.749+01:00When I used to go to the USA on business, having c...When I used to go to the USA on business, having conducted said business in the office, I would often be taken to lunch. Oh, the looks of disapproval I got for having a couple of beers or glasses of wine with the meal. Especially in California. And back then you could smoke so after the meal I would light up a smallish cigar. That would not only offend my lunch companions but several tables nearby too. It was perfectly legal back then. I just played the ignorant foreigner card and won them over with my wonderful British accent. I have never fought shy of drinking at lunchtime. But there again in the afternoons I wasn't taking any business decisions so never a problem. You get this nonsense over in the UK now. Fortunately as my own boss and as I'm usually in a pub it is no matter but I do not drink water in a pub. However, I am always mindful of the laws regarding driving. So I get my business partner to drive the delivery van! Simples. Mines another pint. Dr Evilhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00176521760477086914noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-22912132350074116772018-06-13T11:45:14.857+01:002018-06-13T11:45:14.857+01:00Even if you agree with it, it's still denormal...Even if you agree with it, it's still denormalisation as it narrows the range of opportunities when people will consider an alcoholic drink in a pub, and thus reduces their trade. And if you believe that a pint or two will make you "mildly fuddled" all afternoon you are following the line of the anti-drink lobby that any consumption of alcohol has to be strictly ring-fenced from all responsible activity.<br /><br />It always seems distinctly hypocritical for people to bewail the decline of pubs while at the same time cheering on many of the factors that have made it happen.Curmudgeonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02558747878308766840noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-6042880861051994452018-06-13T10:16:06.490+01:002018-06-13T10:16:06.490+01:00That's not "denormalisation", Mudge,...That's not "denormalisation", Mudge, it is "Americanisation", of work contracts, which, like in the good ol' US of A, now generally forbid drinking during the working day.<br /><br />It happened at my last firm, which previously had enjoyed quite a jolly beer culture. (It folded shortly after the ban too.)Hattersnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-86401595996990750462018-06-13T09:54:03.884+01:002018-06-13T09:54:03.884+01:00One could, with equal justification, call it "...One could, with equal justification, call it "normalisation" or "re-normalisation". One doesn't have to be a priggish health journalist to argue that there is nothing normal or desirable about the entire staff of an office being mildly fuddled and thus inefficient for half the day.<br /><br />The change may be bad for the pub trade but that doesn't make it bad in the greater scheme of things. The introduction of the motor car a century ago was very bad news for farriers, livery stables, hay merchants and cab drivers but overall it was a good thing.dcbwhaleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02585310584555592882noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-10339380908974754742018-06-13T07:58:12.854+01:002018-06-13T07:58:12.854+01:00You must lead a very narrow and sheltered life, th...You must lead a very narrow and sheltered life, then. <br /><br />Look at any office. How often do the workers go out to the pub for lunch? And, when they do, what proportion of them have an alcoholic drink? Now compare that with thirty years ago. That's denormalisation for you.Curmudgeonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02558747878308766840noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-83548545145874732082018-06-12T22:54:16.820+01:002018-06-12T22:54:16.820+01:00"Denormalisation"? By whom, and amongst ..."Denormalisation"? By whom, and amongst whom?<br /><br />I haven't seen any serious evidence of it amidst the generations of our family and friends.<br /><br />Sure, some priggish health journos write as if it were so, but that's not quite the same.Hattersnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-45154061718621366172018-06-12T14:29:39.234+01:002018-06-12T14:29:39.234+01:00The ship has sailed. It is what it is. Things ain&...The ship has sailed. It is what it is. Things ain't going back. You can always convert a chippy or boopkies into a pokey microbar for the 3 or 4 that still wanna pub it.Cooking Lagerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02830924433230427226noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-91437165606028343182018-06-12T13:06:54.931+01:002018-06-12T13:06:54.931+01:00I think the two are distinctly different concepts....I think the two are distinctly different concepts. "Demonising" implies that it is bad in all circumstances, whereas "denormalisation" means that it is still grudgingly accepted, but not regarded as part of normal day-to-day activities.Curmudgeonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02558747878308766840noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-20808879153272463382018-06-12T12:37:54.052+01:002018-06-12T12:37:54.052+01:00"The “denormalisation” of drinking alcohol&qu..."The “denormalisation” of drinking alcohol"<br /><br />Demonising, surely? electricpicshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09144970068645280352noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-87895523403647215532018-06-11T14:57:08.768+01:002018-06-11T14:57:08.768+01:00There are a few micropubs in Peterborough that are...There are a few micropubs in Peterborough that are really trendy with the pre prandial, post office young crowd, happy to buy beers, lagers and ciders at London or London plus prices. But they are only there for a couple of hours then drift off home. Do they go out later locally? Can't say, but I do know a few young farmers and they are adopting the roles of the older farmers and patronising their locals or adopted local pubs regularly not just end of the week. I have a mate who runs a rural pub. He is very busy Friday and Sunday nights and all Sunday afternoon with food and drinks. Saturday evening isn't quiet but not roaring. I tend to like the early evening before dinner as oposed to the 20.00-22.00 slot but it varies. I find myself going into loads of new pubs (to me) because of the brewing, the beer festivals, the time of year and the like. A good pub, with good beer and good choice and pleasant landlord/landlady and also bar staff can get along just fine it seems. They still have pull to get the drinkers in especially if complimented by good food that isn't too pricey. I was in Washington DC. Found a great bar near the hotel and kept going back there. Why? It served draught Blue Bass. Hadn't seen this in the UK for years but here it was. Just like it used to be. I voted with my feet. Always partial to Blue Bass. Dr Evilhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00176521760477086914noreply@blogger.com