On the demise of the British pub

[Marco]

I completely stopped drinking (any alcohol) and driving when a friend's daughter was killed instantly by a drunken driver who mounted the pavement, leaving two young children without a mother.

It is very dangerous to assume that a given quantity of alcohol will dissipate in the bloodstream at a predictable rate or that the effects of a given quantity of alcohol on reaction time is predictable and constant.

Geoff

In essence, I agree, but I can assure you I'm not even remotely approaching drunk, on a pint and half of beer (often just one pint), with a stomach full of food. Bear in mind that I'm a big guy (6ft 2 and 15 stone).

And I always test myself with a personal breathalyser, which I keep in the car's glove compartment. If I was ever over the limit, or for some reason didn't feel capable of driving home, I'd leave the car in the pub car park and take a taxi home, as like you, I feel very strongly about drunk driving!

Marco.

[Marco]

would think you would be over or very near with 1 pint now, certainly in Scotland.

Yeah, if I still lived up there (where there's now a zero limit), I'd be strictly on orange juice!

Marco.

[Sherwood]

would think you would be over or very near with 1 pint now, certainly in Scotland.

One often overlooked fact is that heavy drinkers may develop a tolerance for alcohol, but their liver becomes less able to process alcohol. It is possible for such persons to be over the limit the morning after even moderate drinking.

Geoff

[Macca]

I am more of a dive person, posh pubs , nah. Good beer, clean glasses , a place where if you walk in wearing work clothes ( site ) no one would batter an eye.
As for a woman having to plough her way through groups of male smokers, all ganged up at the entrance to a pub, before she can enter the premises being unpleasant and intimidating. Unpleasant due to the smell, for many yes. What about at the bar if there are a few guys waiting to get served, maybe for some women that also intimidaing? blokes sat by the entrance to the ladies loo.. etc.. I think that person would be intimidated no matter what. All the women i know would not give two hoots, go to a pub on their own, talk to anybody, but thats them and i can understand not everyone's the same.
One lady i know , many years ago used to have a strip of red LED mini lights on the crotch of her black jeans if a bloke she liked walked passed her going to the bar she would open her legs and light up the strip, it would flash.
Food pubs and drinking pubs, i like drinking pubs.. There are Family pubs too, but i prefer the pubs parents would never take children to.
Back in the day, a cheese toastie, was seen as posh if served at the bar.. The only reason to eat was to carry on drinking.. the types of pubs where the door would open and a horse would come in , landlord would serve it a pint, a guy would drive his bike into the pub.. that was my local, full of characters , no one would tut ,tut, never any trouble.. mix of all sorts.
So many pubs local to me are now mini tesco's and the like. Still some great proper pubs around.

That's it man. That was what it was all about. Now everything's all going antiseptic. These big corporations take over, everything done by the manual, no matter how stupid. Decisions and policy are taken so high up a massively long food chain there's no hope of challenging them. No matter where you go, every place is the same bland mediocrity.


There used to be proper pubs and there used to be pubs where you might see a bloke wearing a jumper over his shoulders. The twain never mixed and everyone was happy.

[Sherwood]

In essence, I agree, but I can assure you I'm not even remotely approaching drunk, on a pint and half of beer (often just one pint), with a stomach full of food. Bear in mind that I'm a big guy (6ft 2 and 15 stone).

And I always test myself with a personal breathalyser, which I keep in the car's glove compartment. If I was ever over the limit, or for some reason didn't feel capable of driving home, I'd leave the car in the pub car park and take a taxi home, as like you, I feel very strongly about drunk driving!

Marco.

You might come unstuck there because once you get into the car, even to test your blood alcohol, you would be liable to a conviction if over the limit. Probably safer to bring the kit into the pub with you!

Geofff

[Marco]

As for a woman having to plough her way through groups of male smokers, all ganged up at the entrance to a pub, before she can enter the premises being unpleasant and intimidating. Unpleasant due to the smell, for many yes.

Not just the smell, but if you're only tiny, like my wife, who's 5ft 2, and a size 8, then you're likely to be intimidated by groups of (often burly) men, ganged up at the entrances to pubs, smoking or not. She's not used to that kind of thing. She isn't some brash, pint-swilling 'ladette'.

What about at the bar if there are a few guys waiting to get served, maybe for some women that also intimidaing? blokes sat by the entrance to the ladies loo.. etc..

In terms of the first bit, that never happens, as I go to the bar and bring the drinks over to her, or if there's waiter/waitress service available, it's a non-issue. As far as the latter (above) is concerned, if that happened I'd complain to the management, as men shouldn't be allowed anywhere near a ladies loo.

One lady i know , many years ago used to have a strip of red LED mini lights on the crotch of her black jeans if a bloke she liked walked passed her going to the bar she would open her legs and light up the strip, it would flash.

Haha, that's really funny! However, I'm not sure that the term "lady" is apt

Food pubs and drinking pubs, i like drinking pubs.. There are Family pubs too, but i prefer the pubs parents would never take children to.
Back in the day, a cheese toastie, was seen as posh if served at the bar.. The only reason to eat was to carry on drinking.. the types of pubs where the door would open and a horse would come in , landlord would serve it a pint, a guy would drive his bike into the pub.. that was my local, full of characters , no one would tut ,tut, never any trouble.. mix of all sorts.

Each to his or her own, I suppose, and I can see some attraction in that, simply for the entertainment value! However, ultimately I'm more interested in eating well, than drinking, so quality food in pubs, for me, is a must

Marco.

[Marco]

You might come unstuck there because once you get into the car, even to test your blood alcohol, you would be liable to a conviction if over the limit. Probably safer to bring the kit into the pub with you!

Fair point and easily rectified!

Marco.

[Marco]

That's it man. That was what it was all about. Now everything's all going antiseptic. These big corporations take over, everything done by the manual, no matter how stupid. Decisions and policy are taken so high up a massively long food chain there's no hope of challenging them. No matter where you go, every place is the same bland mediocrity.

Lol - an unusual turn of phrase! The point you're missing, however, is that there is a whole world of different pubs out there, in between "dives" and characterless corporate chains, and trust me, the best ones aren't "antiseptic"

If you had a wife or girlfriend, your tastes in pubs would change, unless you go for 'growlers'

Marco.

[Macca]

Never ever taken a girlfriend into a rough pub. Met a few in them though.

[jollyfix]

Never ever taken a girlfriend into a rough pub. Met a few in them though.