whats happened to the pubs

[John Pruden]

so many pubs closing down although i don't drink it's a shame so many closing.jp

[alf corbyn]

camerons mob are taxing the drink from both ends so the pubs cannot survive without having other business, ie resturants.

[Captain Kong]

More that 50% of pubs have closed where I am,
******s do not drink alcohol. so No customers.
Es Salaam u-alakum.
Brian.

[John Pruden]

at one time they were the same as community clubs people don't mix any more they should stop booze from supermarkets.jp

[robpage]

In my local area when I moved here thirty years ago there were five local pubs . One on the large Estate next to me was burned down by a few disgruntled locals and never rebuilt the area was eventually redeveloped . The disgruntled locals who get up around noon walk to the off licence for the three litre of cider get into the pub for a pint and play pool with their mates , that pint lasts all afternoon , with the all day opening , now with big single bars there is no segregation , and decent people don't want to drink in the pub with the unwashed in their Army Greatcoats and their Staffordshire Bull Terriers who fill the smoking area with aromatic tobaccos . The good local trade stopped going in there , and well it was time for redevelopment into a supermarket . The next pub this lot frequented was sold and converted by Tesco's within months , one pub became a Gastro pub , and the other has all teh remaining customers . This decline in the pub trade started when . The "Supply of Beer " Act passed in 1989 radically altered the trade . With returns lowering and housing prices increasing , pubs with large car parks became a good sell from the Pub Chain to the developer and yet more pubs closed , the Brewing industry slowly by take over and closures divorced itself from the retail side , The major international brands dominated by a handful of major players . Belgium-based Anheuser-Busch , InBev, London-listed SAB-Miller , Heineken, and Denmark's Carlsberg have over 50% of the worlds beer trade .. These supply cheap beer to the Supermarket , they have no interest in the local bar at all . It is easier to supply a load with forty four tonnes of canned lager to a single drop off than deliver a tonne of beer to each of forty pubs . As much as I would like to blame successive idiots in Westminster , this is International trade . The all day opening where pubs opened for a 24 hour day did not help the licencing act of 2003 herelded another blow for all , except for busy inner city pubs , a man has so much money for leisure activity doubling the time he has to spend it in does not double teh spend , it doubles the overheads , and slashes the profits , then there goes another pub to development , so the Beer Act , all day opening , and finally the 2006 Smoking Ban where the smokers stood in the cold and wet killed the trade totally .

[leratty]

It is a tragedy that the original old UK 'local'pub is dying many are historic too. As John says "they were the same as community clubs" where you met your friends the locals etc. Though must say when we are in UK usually London a couple of times a year we are more than horrified each time at the price of a drink, let alone a meal in a pub. Could that be why they are losing customers? I do miss a good beer in a UK pub. Will say from our short experience of living in France the local is alive & well here with some truly wonderful bars/bistros, wine even 'house' is of generally good quality Belgian beer usually 4 euros. This Sunday we went for a drink along with bite to eat at one of our locals, there are three within five minute walk of apartment. We had five red wines & three beers (One of each shouted us by owner) for 27 euros. A chicken with fresh mushroom sauce & rice as well as for me superb lambs kidneys with green pepper sauce & fresh green beans main course + a sweet for 13 euros each or 53 euro total. In our preferred local there are people of means, workers, along with pensioners all making for a delightful friendly atmosphere. Richard

[Jim Brady]

Years ago people did'nt move far away from the family home after being married so you would have three generations of the family living within close proximity.You had aunties,uncles and cousins alll living in the same area the place to meet up was the local,they were very close knit neighbourhoods.Now young couples get married and move far from home,they dont have the same attitude as years ago,in days gone by when people moved to an area the first thing they checked out was the local the younger generation dont.People now live in a road for years and dont know the name of their neighbours dont even say good morning.Years ago the only time people would have drink in their homes would be Christmas when they would have to seek out an off licence.When I go for my paper on the morning of our recycling day the tin and glass box is full of cans and bottles many wine bottle also this is in the main outside the homes of young couples.Since the all day drinking there is far less drunkeness about,it's quite a number of years since I have seen a drunken person.Years ago when the pub closed at 3pm there was lots of places where you could go for a "stay behind",when the docks were in full swing the amount of drunkeness down there amongst the dockers was unbelievable.
Regards.
Jim.B.

[alf corbyn]

the other thing that has killed the pubs is telivision. you might have a pub with three bars. each one has a gigantic screen, all showing sport and in front of eah is a crowd of half drunk idiots cheering a load of mainly foreign footballers. who wants to stay in a pub like that.

[Keith Tindell]

We still have a few pubs here with the old atmosphere, and the thing that draws us old fellas, peace and quiet, a good log fire, good pint of beer , game of crib etc, but they are becoming rare. We managed to find one of those for a xmas stay in Dorset this year, (i dislike xmas and prefer to stay away from home ), log fires good food, the boxing day hunt from the pub, (before the flack starts, i dont like fox hunting). All in all an enjoyable stay. KT

[Ivan Cloherty]

Years ago people did'nt move far away from the family home ....

I think moving away from your locality was/is inevitable Jim, people had/have to go where the jobs where/are. I would have preferred to stay in Hull when I first came ashore, (so many moons ago!) but my job was based in London, so London it had to be or back to sea and due to get married two months after coming ashore going back to sea was not an option or desirable. Although many a time I wished I was back at sea, not because of my marriage, but because of the ignorance (or perception there-of) of land lubbers and that was in the 60's. Luckily my job involved ships and travel so that was a bonus, although it didn't seem like it at times. Looking back I wouldn't have changed a thing, some things were beyond my control, like the early demise of my beautiful wife, life has to kick you in the goolies now and again.