Do you use your local pub?

[s.varty]

Quite simply if we dont use our village pub , it will close. Village pubs have been up against it since the late 60s, drink driving, loss of jobs i.e farming, council house sales,cheap supermarket booze,better television and high rent.

[MattyF]

I'm looking forward to my pub lunch!!

Edited October 9, 2011 by MattyF

[s.varty]

The village pubs are going is because the class of people who now can afford to live in a village, going to the pub is not really the done thing ya!!

 

SPOT ON! I moved into my council house in 1990,bought it in 1994, everyone near me had a gun or ferret,and used the pubs, out of 20 house down my lane i am the only person to go to the pub and own a shotgun. This dosnt make them bad people obviously, just not country people. They dont use the local shops because theres always sainsburys vans etc delivering their shopping.

[Andy Collins]

Where do I start!!! A few months back a few may remember me bemoaning the sure demise of my local. It didnt happen, but it may have well done, Its been turned into a soulless food bar, it is full of cheap tacky chintzy paraphenalia that make it look like a whores boudoir. I asked last Saturday why (at 9pm) the bar was dead, and the reply is that Saturdays are always quiet (never used to be) that they'd been busy every single day. The chef then came out asking what my problem was. I suggested maybe that they had the problem ie empty bar/Saturday night, and his retort was if I wished to drink I should try elsewhere, as they specialised in being a food pub (and he was a lot ruder than this). That answered my question and I took my leave. I assume this stance has driven everyone else away too.

Now the problem, its my local of 25 or so years, which I've supported through thick and thin, I loved the old pub (not the new version), its within walking distance, but I simply no longer like it. A pint of Guinness is now 3.50 in there, truly expensive, but I wouldnt mind if I felt the atmoshere were worth it.

I've spoken to others about the way I feel about the pub, with mixed reactions, the well-heeled "elders"of the village feel its got rid of the less desirable element (the youngsters, the poor, the tradesmen), others feel that under the present management they will not be going back,

[Mark Bolam]

I drink in my local probably 3 times a week, and also drink at home to make sure my local supermarket won't close down!

 

Some of the incomers to the villages don't seem to realise that pubs will close unless we support them.

 

As said, they will be the first to whinge if that happens, even though they only ever go there on New Years day to show off their new Christmas jumpers, whilst hogging the bar and talking loudly about golf.

 

Golden rule -

 

Fit barmaid = busy pub

[Old Mill Tree Care]

I dont ever drink as my body is a temple, except for last night when i had a steak then got hammered. And two weeks ago I got wrecked at a party! And a few weeks before that......

 

Anyway, I live in Surrey so it's all gastro pubs and you get a life time ban if you attempt to get drunk.

 

The only places you can have a good drink up are cocktail/champagne bars (where I went last night) but it costs a million pounds so that sours the evening a tiny bit.

[MattyF]

Mark your Christmas jumper and golf comment is absolutely spot on...

Some land lords don't get all that men are equal in the bar, I drink with millionaires county court judges and the like to the poor and us trades men, we all get on well and have a laugh, but pretty sure we all really come in really to see the fit barmaid though.

[eggsarascal]

I use my local a few times a week, we haven't got a pub or shop in our village, but i can walk to the local in the next village in ten minutes.

 

Four or so years ago a cockney took it over, the first night he was in there he said he was going to turn this little country pub in to a "proper" pub. That drove the locals away from the place, within 12 months he was skint and on his way back to London.

 

The pub was about to close down when a young lad took it over he asn't looked back since and the locals slowly came back. Its a cracking little pub, which i'm off to now for a few pints before my Sunday roast

[Matthew Arnold]

I've got 10 local pubs for me to choose from. 2 of them i won't go into as normally full of trouble makers, 2 i go into if i'm out with friends and the rest i go in with my work colleagues. Nice little selection of pubs ranging from old coaching inns to local brewery pubs.

[likeitorlumpit]

Not that many pubs round here I'd recommend though a long walk gets me to some good ones- fortunately it's the crap ones that have closed

But theres a cracking micro brewery kentbrewery.com up round gollums way

£1.50 a pint for 4% pale that keeps for about 4 days and doesn't need settling. Worth dropping into if you're ever near Rochester/Maidstone

Comes in 18pint casks which at £27 is good value I think

Tastes fantastic and doesn't leave you feeling hung over.

Didn't see any barmaids though:thumbdown: