Why should we save the local pub?

I oppose the recent campaigns to save the local public house. I despise the drinking culture. I see school friends (not even 18) drink at parties, plus the main topic of my cricket club is usually over a pint. Plus, my uncle seems to think the pub is point 00*00*00 in the world.

But I don't get it... I hate being in pubs. They are ugly thing, filled with a stench of people who have been drinking since 12pm watching the footy. Why does alcohol count as a form of socializing? Perhaps I'm all on my own here, but I have no intention of spending any of my future in a pub, as I can't think of a worse place to be,.

So, if it was up to me, I'd happily see the fall of the pub (not entirely, as I know for many, it is a part of life) as it is the centre point of my village and community for the wrong reasons...

Am I on my own here? Do I need to grow up?

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Reply 1

DJKL

Where else do people meet in your village? How do people in your village get to know others apart from their immediate neighbours?

I think pubs in the cities need culled/ numbers reduced, a large number have closed/ been converted to other uses already as habits are changing. But where a small community only has one pub, saving it to me appears sensible to help with long term integration within the community.

Remember from Cheers, "Where everybody knows your name" Whilst I barely go to pubs these days I spent eight great years working in a bar which mainly served a local area (not city centre but in a district in a city) The sense of community, walking around the streets always meeting people you knew, is something I now miss (Married, moved away) I also got invited to some great parties and had a fantastic social life during that time- whilst pubs have changed they still can help in creating a feeling of belonging.

Reply 2

Drewski

If a pub has enough business, it won't need saving.

If it doesn't, it doesn't deserve saving.

Reply 3

Joinedup

They do smell of BO and toilet a lot more after the smoking ban... all the pious anti smokers who thought the smell of tobacco would be replaced by air smelling like a dew covered alpine meadow must have got a shock.

Reply 4

Joinedup

Original post by Drewski

If a pub has enough business, it won't need saving.

If it doesn't, it doesn't deserve saving.

They're getting screwed by high alcohol tax and supermarkets running loss leaders on booze.

I used to like going to the pub for a few beers but my salary has been basically flat for 6 years, but in that time a pub pint has gone up from £2.50 to £3.50 which is insane.

Reply 5

Infan2a

Original post by rtlloyd98

You're 16 so you're not even old enough to enjoy a pub for what it is...a nice chilled out place where you can have a pint or three whilst talking with your mates

No one's forcing you into a pub

Reply 6

DiddyDec01

You need to grow up.

I love going to the pub, you can sit and talk to friends in a warm and friendly environment.

Also you can't get draught beer at home which is a real problem.

Nothing beats a cold pint after a hard day at work.

Get over yourself, from what I can tell you aren't even old enough to drink in a pub. You might understand later in life when you have matured.

Reply 7

username1177050

pubs have been ruined enough already. now i am not condoning smoking ina public building, but pre 2007, can anyone realistically challenge me in saying that the pub was thriving and a great location to head to when you dont want to return home from work to be nagged? they were packed with people, beer was cheaper a few smokes and games of pool and peanuts/crisps. most pubs are dead empty these days and its a great shame.

Reply 8

username1177050

agreed beers from cans are not the same as a draft. pub atmosphere nothing beats it much better than these clubs everyone hypes about.

Reply 9

DiddyDec01

Original post by neal95

agreed beers from cans are not the same as a draft. pub atmosphere nothing beats it much better than these clubs everyone hypes about.

A club has a time and a place. A pub is for your everyday drink.

Reply 10

username1177050

Original post by DiddyDec

A club has a time and a place. A pub is for your everyday drink.

yeah exactly but give me a choice i would pick a pub especially as you age and go through life. the pub has a place for everyone where as the clubs really target a certain demographic

Reply 11

DiddyDec01

Original post by neal95

yeah exactly but give me a choice i would pick a pub especially as you age and go through life. the pub has a place for everyone where as the clubs really target a certain demographic

I completely agree. I could go without clubs for the rest of my life. I would be very sad indeed if I could never go to the pub.

Reply 12

Rakas21

I actually really like the pub and hate that taxation among other things is killing the local pub. I think the smoking ban is blamed too much, people forget that we had a recession and falling real wages pretty much since.

Personally I think tax on beverages sold in pubs should be abolished and increased on supermarket alcohol instead.

Reply 13

IcEmAn911

I don't really do pubs, would much rather go to a club filled with trance DJs with my friends and making new friends along the way! But then again, we usually meet in pubs for a few drinks before heading to the club...

Reply 14

thunder_chunky

Original post by rtlloyd98

Am I on my own here? Do I need to grow up?

Yes, to both of those questions.

Reply 15

Captain Haddock

Original post by neal95

Nah it was pretty much the same apart from the smoking.

Reply 16

the bear

Original post by rtlloyd98

No you are not alone. The pub is on the way out. Over priced beer and suspicious locals do not float my boat. Occasionally a quiz provides some entertainment but make sure the regulars win.

Reply 17

L i b

Original post by rtlloyd98

Why does alcohol count as a form of socializing?

Er, it doesn't. People often drink and socialise at the same time though. I can see how that could be potentially confusing, assuming you have a mind the size of a garden pea.

Reply 18

InnerTemple

Original post by rtlloyd98

Am I on my own here? Do I need to grow up?

Maybe - and I don't mean that in a harsh way.

Pubs are wondrous places. Sure you get bad ones - the rough one or the one frequented by dodgy folk. But most of the time, nothing beats catching up with friends down at the local.

According to your profile, you are 16. When I was your age I didn't really see the point in drinking and sitting in a pub either. At that time, it was all about the college canteen and the McDonalds 'Drive Thru'.

When you visit a club, you realise how awful they are and how much better pubs are.

Reply 19

nulli tertius

Pubs have existed for at least two millennia. They aren't going to disappear anytime soon.

However pubs have always evolved. Many of the pubs we see today are the result of the enormous expansion in places to drink beer in the 1830s, the rebuilding of those pubs between 1870 and 1910 and the building of the roadhouses in the 1920s and 1930s.

People are moving away from "all age" beer dispensaries with a minimal food offer. These were the product of working class industrial England and that world has gone.

Whenever you go into a pub that is a quaint survival you must remember that there would once have been thousands of pubs like that. They disappeared leaving a few behind. The same will happen with the pubs that are now vanishing. In 20-30 years you will find references in guide books to pubs such as the ones that bore you and Japanese tourists will take photos of them whilst drinking a pint of Ye Olde Carling Black Label.

There are apparently only 10 pubs in England without a bar but Shakespeare or Defoe wouldn't have known what a bar was or what you would do with it.

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