"This café culture perhaps isn’t a function of those 2003 licencing reforms ... but rather are a reflection of ... an ageing population ... We, on average, go to bed about half an hour earlier than we did in the 1970s and wake up about 15 minutes later."
There may be a relationship, there. Then again, working hours have also been trending downwards.
Have you seen the price of a pint recently? Small glass of wine? So, got 30/45 minutes spare, cup of tea or coffee, about three quid, slice of cake, probably about the same. Total cost would be just south or the same of the alcoholic beverage of choice, with no cake, nor small dish of peanuts.
Alternatively, three pints last night cost me seventeen quid; four tins or a bottle of wine, from the shop directly over the road - about one third of that. Although that's a (only slightly) different issue that has been brewing and fermenting for quite a while now.
As far as Da Yoof go; I don't believe the cost is the only driver here. Multiple things going on. That said, they did become rarer and effectively vanished by around, umm, 2013? 2015? And, obviously, the remaining clientele got older anyway.
But, anecdata alert, they do seem to be drifting back post-lockdown. Not sure why.
Gen Z aren't drinking, they're taking drugs now as are the people who used to be winos. If you think that's an improvement and more feminine friendly just look at the number of young girls lured by the rape gangs and then passed around as prostitutes.
"The English have not replaced going to the pub with staying at home"
Rubbish, go to any town or city centre and compared to the 1980s and early 1990s it is totally dead. People certainly aren't in cafes because they are mostly closed after 6pm. Cinema attendence has dropped by 25% since 2001. Add to that the obvious rise in the home delivery of takeaways and it is clear people are staying home in record numbers.
Come to think of it, given my initial comment almost 18 months ago;
The apparent oddity between longer sleeping plus shorter working hours could possibly be explained by a change in commuting patterns.
A shift away from trains, where you can zone out, have a bit of a snooze, to cars, where, ah, that's not a good idea.
One implication here is that those economic centres well served by the existing railway network, are seeing (or creating) a lower demand for jobs; the jobs are shifting to those towns in the hinterlands.
Approximately, down in the south east, the railways and major road routes run into London. So, north/south. The shift would be away from north/south to east/west commuting, where there are very limited rail routes, and, frankly, the roads are a bit shit.
So, everyone's a bit knackered from driving all the time.
"This café culture perhaps isn’t a function of those 2003 licencing reforms ... but rather are a reflection of ... an ageing population ... We, on average, go to bed about half an hour earlier than we did in the 1970s and wake up about 15 minutes later."
There may be a relationship, there. Then again, working hours have also been trending downwards.
I think younger people prefer cafés. My kids would never dream of going to a pub on their own but I see older friends there all the time.
Have you seen the price of a pint recently? Small glass of wine? So, got 30/45 minutes spare, cup of tea or coffee, about three quid, slice of cake, probably about the same. Total cost would be just south or the same of the alcoholic beverage of choice, with no cake, nor small dish of peanuts.
Alternatively, three pints last night cost me seventeen quid; four tins or a bottle of wine, from the shop directly over the road - about one third of that. Although that's a (only slightly) different issue that has been brewing and fermenting for quite a while now.
As far as Da Yoof go; I don't believe the cost is the only driver here. Multiple things going on. That said, they did become rarer and effectively vanished by around, umm, 2013? 2015? And, obviously, the remaining clientele got older anyway.
But, anecdata alert, they do seem to be drifting back post-lockdown. Not sure why.
My daughter took me out for coffee this afternoon but I had a half of IPA instead. My beer was about £1 less than her coffee.
Gen Z aren't drinking, they're taking drugs now as are the people who used to be winos. If you think that's an improvement and more feminine friendly just look at the number of young girls lured by the rape gangs and then passed around as prostitutes.
"The English have not replaced going to the pub with staying at home"
Rubbish, go to any town or city centre and compared to the 1980s and early 1990s it is totally dead. People certainly aren't in cafes because they are mostly closed after 6pm. Cinema attendence has dropped by 25% since 2001. Add to that the obvious rise in the home delivery of takeaways and it is clear people are staying home in record numbers.
To give him a bit of credit. It was the EU that banned smoking in pubs/restaurant. His govt was of course part of it. The older ones might remember
It was a UK initiative. Smoking in bars still persists in plenty of European countries.
Not in the Europe I know, but hej
Come to think of it, given my initial comment almost 18 months ago;
The apparent oddity between longer sleeping plus shorter working hours could possibly be explained by a change in commuting patterns.
A shift away from trains, where you can zone out, have a bit of a snooze, to cars, where, ah, that's not a good idea.
One implication here is that those economic centres well served by the existing railway network, are seeing (or creating) a lower demand for jobs; the jobs are shifting to those towns in the hinterlands.
Approximately, down in the south east, the railways and major road routes run into London. So, north/south. The shift would be away from north/south to east/west commuting, where there are very limited rail routes, and, frankly, the roads are a bit shit.
So, everyone's a bit knackered from driving all the time.