We need to save pubs, not for a myth of roaring fires and the welcoming light across a dark street, not for a lie about the heart of the community, but because the pub is where the good beer is found
I don't disagree with the main thrust of your argument — English pubs are dying out — but, while this may be true in smaller towns, it's far from true in Bristol where I live and, in Central London, Westminster and all the fancy suburbs, there's a pub on every corner.
There are about 100 pubs within a mile of Bristol Harbour and most of them are busy, with no sign of closing anytime soon. Nearly all sell cask ales on a hand pump as well as fizzy lagers. Most have plenty of women punters — only a few pubs are male-oriented — and they are all very social. I can nearly always find someone to talk to.
This is in the city centre though. It's a different story out in the working-class suburbs. Pubs are closing all the time there. Going to the pub is a middle-class thing now.
Even up in Clifton Village — the poshest part of Bristol — the ten or twelve pubs are full of posh people drinking beer every night. I love it. I especially love the fancy Belgian beers. I can't vouch for every village but my sister's lovely little village in Kent has two pubs, full of beer drinkers every night.
In all, I'd say the death knell for the English pub is premature. If you are looking for a pub filled with beer drinkers, come to Bristol.
I love John Barleycorn and the story it tells. Did you know that versions of the song go back almost a thousand years? I wrote a little blog about it a little while ago. https://www.raggedclown.com/2009/09/11/john-barleycorn-must-die/
I don't disagree with the main thrust of your argument — English pubs are dying out — but, while this may be true in smaller towns, it's far from true in Bristol where I live and, in Central London, Westminster and all the fancy suburbs, there's a pub on every corner.
There are about 100 pubs within a mile of Bristol Harbour and most of them are busy, with no sign of closing anytime soon. Nearly all sell cask ales on a hand pump as well as fizzy lagers. Most have plenty of women punters — only a few pubs are male-oriented — and they are all very social. I can nearly always find someone to talk to.
This is in the city centre though. It's a different story out in the working-class suburbs. Pubs are closing all the time there. Going to the pub is a middle-class thing now.
Even up in Clifton Village — the poshest part of Bristol — the ten or twelve pubs are full of posh people drinking beer every night. I love it. I especially love the fancy Belgian beers. I can't vouch for every village but my sister's lovely little village in Kent has two pubs, full of beer drinkers every night.
In all, I'd say the death knell for the English pub is premature. If you are looking for a pub filled with beer drinkers, come to Bristol.