Pubs

[Plainstone]

Interesting piece on the "Great British Pub" on the Grauniad website the other day. Thought it was worthy of a thread in itself, rather than adding it to the online articles thread.

A lot of it could just as equally apply to the Jazz Kissa/ Jazz Bar phenomenon here. Particularly the attentions of avaricious developers.

So ... Pub memories? Worst/best? Pub-related shenanigans to share?
Bonus points for not posting Mrs Mills LP covers

[someblokecalledfuz]

Interesting read - thanks.

How have we got to a stage where for the "right" thing to happen we need to fight tooth and nail for it. Is it because the carpet baggers work faster than than laws to prevent them? After all is said and done and having caused untold misery and stress, he's finally stopped from doing what he wants - he doubles his money in 3 years and walks away? Even in London thats got to be a tidy profit.

I am no expert on this sort of thing, but i do wonder that if they have no proof of the pub being offered for sale for six months at least - even discretely, then they've broken some sort of law?

I find it hard to digest that there isn't some sort of law that insists the business is offered to the people that have run it for all those years first. But it would seem that we do need to legislate for common decency and sense these days.

[babycart]

I thought I´d miss pubs when I moved to Spain, but I didn´t at all. I think they´re a very northern European phenomenon, warm social places where you huddle up out of the weather and drink fermented barley products.

Weirdest one I went to was in the Lake District. It was tiny and literally a public house - basically someones living room. You sat on the sofa in front of the TV and a lady brought you beer.

Best pubs ever was Yates Wine Lodge in Nottingham. In the early 1980s they still had a resident pianist and a fiddler upstairs which had a tatty palm-lounge feel. You looked down at the milling pissheads necking cheap South African sherry on the bare wooden floor downstairs. There might even have been sawdust. There was definitely a masculine-looking barmaid known by everyone as A Boy Named Sue.

Proudest moment: Getting all the way round the beer garden in the Free Trade Inn in Newcastle without touching the floor. This, at one point, involved "swimming" through a hedge.

[Ian Townsend]

Well worthy of its own thread. My stomach was knotting as the story unfolded. Naked avarice laid bare in a detailed examination of how non-listed landmarks are deviously acquired and destroyed.

I'd say 'shocking' but in this day and age it's not really is it?

[babycart]

I'd say 'shocking' but in this day and age it's not really is it?

No mate, you´re bang on. It´s a disgrace.

You know bumble bees, right? They technically can´t fly.

No, it´s not bollocks. Hitler´s scientists proved it in 1942,

Are you double- jointed? I´m double -jointed, too - look.

Are you going to the jukebox? Here´s 50p, will you put Message To You Rudy on? It´s number 46A

Love that song.

[Ian Townsend]

Jj

No mate, you´re bang on. It´s a disgrace.

You know bumble bees, right? They technically can´t fly.

No, it´s not bollocks. Hitler´s scientists proved it in 1942,

Are you double- jointed? I´m double -jointed, too - look.

Are you going to the jukebox? Here´s 50p, will you put Message To You Rudy on? It´s number 46A

Love that song.

�� I'm presently wearing my 'old man yells at cloud' T-shirt.

And I don't care.

It's still naked, $$$-eyed greed by someone exploiting a legal loophole without a care for aesthetics, other people, the place or the community.

[amidar]

Not been in a pub for years apart from the odd meal or maybe see a band as I've not drank for years but its sad whats happened to the industry. A family member was a publican for a while and could barely make it pay despite working 24/7.

Its not just the old pubs they are turning into flats, there was a lovely old 'liberal club' near me that successive councils had been trying to get their hands on for years (they had a stupidly long lease as long as it stayed open as a club), they finally got their way when it had to shut and knocked it down and sold the land to developers (to build houses made of dry ash with brick surrounds, don't think the Lib Dems or Club members saw any money but I bet some council members did!), a beautiful building. Its all funny hand shakes and backhanders if you ask me.

EDIT: Just to add I get to know about these things because my father used to work with a lot of clubs and pubs until recently. I'm really surprised there are any working mens clubs left! I think they live off renting themselves out for do's and doing 'club nights' of a weekend in some cases. I know I've just had cause to book one for an 18th Birthday party. I once worked in a warehouse in the 90's for a summer and they had a disused working mans club in the center next to the canteen with a cabaret stage, the works, used to sneak in for a ganders as it was like going back in time to 1973. Funny thinking people actually went back to work to drink after going home for the day!

They've just turned a lovely pub around the corner from me into luxury flats, sad really, lots of beautiful buildings made by proper craftsmen either being knocked down or filtered off to the more well to do, times have changed.

If anyone is familiar with Warrington and 'Mr Smith's' nightclub which was an old cinema, stupendous art-deco building which was empty, they were going to donate it to youth organisations in the area to use it as an art space, brilliant idea. Surprisingly it mysteriously burnt down (sarcasm).

[babycart]

When I was about 10 I was babysitting my little brothers while my parents were round the pub, and mu youngest brother started feeling ill.

So I walked round to the local to fetch my folks. I knocked, but no one answered, so I ventured in.

I was expecting buxom barmaids laughing and serving frothing pints while my mum, sitting on my dad´s knee, would be singing Oom Pah Pah accompanied by a winking pianist. There´d probably be a cheerful game of dominos, a dog walking on its hind legs for peanuts, a lively darts game, maybe even an amusing fight between drunkards.

I´ve never been so disappointed in my life.

[babycart]

If anyone is familiar with Warrington and 'Mr Smith's' nightclub .

[amidar]

Yep you know the score, my wife is a few years older than me she was actually at 'Smiths' at 18 on a night those two were there although she cannot remember whether the 'London Boys' were present but there must have been some 'hit factory' dirge being promoted that night. I also used to work with a guy who told anyone who wanted to listen that he used to be a podium dancer for 'HM&H'. Thing was, he was a notorious liar and he told this bullshit story like it was something to be proud of, he even knew the names of the other dancers.

On a related note the wife once waitressed at Pete Waterman's wedding after party, she said he was sound enough but his wife was a right bitch.

Yay, I got my Pete Waterman anecdotes on to the board! My dads a train buff and despises him, don't know why, jealousy I expect

[relkeel]

Pub Tales #248

So it's a sunny Saturday afternoon circa 1981 and we are merrily lubricated sat round a table heavily laden with empty glasses and overflowing ashtrays outside the 'top 'ol' when Eddie turns into the car park on an old style Honda 50 (he's been drinking in the 'bottom 'ol' all afternoon and is rushing to get last orders in (3pm closing time remember?) but he's so pissed he doesn't stop and ploughs straight into our table. Minor injuries and broken glass much cheering and hilarity.
Obviously he was universally referred to as Reckless Eric after that.
He used to drink with Electric Eddie who had a permanent scorch mark across his forehead - rumour was that he was up an electricity pylon trying to nick some bird eggs when it happened....but he worked at the pit, so it was probably a n industrial injury.

[treeboy]

It's not just pubs we're losing. The one and only dedicated music venue in my town is shutting its doors at the end of the year. Seems like its not alone unfortunately.
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-en...-a6700336.html
I haven't read the report yet, but for anyone interested, here's a link
https://www.london.gov.uk/sites/defa...ber%202015.pdf

[Saint Jude]

Interesting article.

Nothing is going to halt the decline of pubs I suppose, but property developers are still c*nts to a man.

Seems this is what Antony Stark and Gavin Sherman are up to now:
http://www.kinsmanhousing.co.uk/our-...580335236.html

http://www.lineahomes.co.uk/about-us/

Most of Linea Homes previous projects seem to be have previously been pubs:
http://www.lineahomes.co.uk/previous-projects/

http://www.starkinvest.co.uk/our-people/

Their twitter account lists a few pubs they've bought in the last year or so:
https://twitter.com/StarkInvest

Antony Stark is also a Director here:
http://www.starkpartners.co.uk/about.php

Plus 50+ other companies over the years, most still active:
http://www.endole.co.uk/profile/8271...ny-david-stark

Twitter here:
https://twitter.com/starkads

[relkeel]

Neville and Giggs?

Why has Gavin Sherman got a radioactive head. Enemy of Putin?

[eine]

I visit the pub alone every week and enjoy reading or working there. My latest 'local' is the Bow Bells, which has a picture of a pearly king on its sign. The last time I visited there were a couple of quite senior men discussing paedophilia at the bar. One was getting quite animated on the theme of ‘if you have sex with a very developed, very advanced 15 year old girl, the law will always find you a paedophile, nomatter how advanced she was.’ This almost riled me enough to state the rather obvious legal reasons for such, but I managed to hold my tongue.

If anyone likes British pubs, and likes British humour from the 1960s, then I implore them to get a copy of this book:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0000CLJXK

The London aspect is by the by. It really is hilarious.