Bar–Room Bawl
The British Pub
As our high streets and villages increasingly bear witness to the demise of our beloved British Pub with boarded up windows and 'lease for sale' signs, it begs the question – do we still need or want our local pub?
There are many reasons for the decline of the local – the explosion of home entertainment, availability of cheap 'tinnies' and plonk from the Supermarket, changing habits, reduction in disposable income, plus circumstances forced on the trade – poorly judged legislation such as the smoking ban, red tape and increasing overheads, Add to this the uncompromising Breweries and Pub Companies (who rent out a third of our pubs to tenants) and who have become desperate to service their toxic debts –which in turn almost bankrupted the Banks, (who were then bailed out by the taxpayer), who take more and more income from their dwindling properties, bankrupting their own tenants in the process.
So how many Daily Post readers count themselves as pub regulars? Why don't the 'stay at homes' go out more regularly? I can think of a few good reasons – the £3 a pint is upon us, money is tight, and a night out is a large chunk of the weekly bills. What can I do to entice you for a pint or a glass of wine? Not a lot on price I'm afraid! Because of the inflated prices I am charged for my 'tied' beers by my landlord, Admiral Taverns, I cannot offer Wetherspoon prices. But what the Peal O' Bells and hopefully YOUR local can offer is a warm, friendly welcome, comfortable surroundings and the opportunity to chat and enjoy a bit of banter. Following years of difficult trading our business is now booming – bucking the national trend, through a combination of design and a bit of luck in the closure one of our local pubs. The village's loss has been our gain. We have also reversed the modern fashion for pubs to provide food – we finished with meals 18months ago, and gone against the advice from our outmoded BDM – a sort of in–house business advisor but with the acumen Del boy. Our locally sourced ingredients of quality drinks, real ale and fine wines, a healthy scattering of old sages and young sprouts, mixed together in a convivial atmosphere makes an even better recipe than our much missed steak and ale pie.
However, the future is a worry. Past and present Governments have targeted our trade as the source of all evil, taxing and legislating to oblivion and the 'do–gooders' from the health lobby continue to bend everyone's ear about the evil of drink. I would suggest that the Government is destroying pubs with what will be deemed friendly fire, when it should be targeting the likes of the Supermarkets for selling below cost alcohol, which is more to blame for the 'binge drinking' culture scandalised by the tabloids. Justification for these financial penalties levied on our Pubs come from statistics of increasing alcohol addiction and cost of treatment, but pub sales are declining at an alarming rate whilst alcohol sales in supermarkets are booming, and they are not held responsible, nor supervise the drinking of it, and their contribution to the Vat levy is disproportionate.
And then there's the drugs problem. I know alcohol is a drug, but it is administrated by my fellow publicans with some restraint, and with a duty of care. That is not the case with drugs from the dealers, who do their business then scarper before they get noticed. Yes drugs are a prevalent even in the smallest village. Yet the Government are as complacent in dealing with the problem as the Police, who spend £millions on underage 'stings', when dealers are selling a line of coke to 15 year olds without challenge. Where is the sense in that?
Let me play Devils advocate. How about the Government legalising these so called recreational drugs? Then at least the Treasury would gain a valuable income stream that they getting none of at present, because drugs are confined to the underground – sustaining a vibrant black economy. And for that matter, why not allow me to dole out these drugs, after all I am responsible for administering the alcoholic drug – and at least my Pub Company couldn't take its 50% mark up! So what does the general public, the Government, police and health lobbies want? Socially responsible landlords selling fairly innocuous drink under supervised control in a safe environment, or dodgy dealers passing on uncontrolled and impure substances in public places to 15 year olds , doing nothing for the economy or environment except lining their own pockets, and doing untold harm to these youngsters?
I'll leave it to the readers to answer. The pub has always been the hub of the community, please let's keep it that way.