Blog Tracker
09-10-2012, 07:22
Visit The Pub Curmudgeon site (http://pubcurmudgeon.blogspot.com/2012/10/pubbiness.html)
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nU4hfuBA5Mc/UHPOwTcBerI/AAAAAAAABt4/WgF2W0mDDCI/s200/harp+interior.jpg (http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nU4hfuBA5Mc/UHPOwTcBerI/AAAAAAAABt4/WgF2W0mDDCI/s1600/harp+interior.jpg)
There has recently been a lively discussion on the CAMRA forum (http://camraforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=1653) (registration required, although viewable by non-members) about the merits and demerits of J. D. Wetherspoon. Now, while you can’t argue with Wetherspoons’ success, one charge that is often levelled against their establishments is that they’re not, well, very “pubby”.
Pubbiness is one of those things that you recognise when you come across it, but is impossible to define precisely. However, I offer the following as a few suggestions as to what might make somewhere “pubby”:
At least some bench-type seating
Some feeling of intimacy – broken up into distinct areas even if largely open-plan
Customers who regularly come in for a social drink, even if just once a week
Geezers standing or sitting at the bar
Hosts sports teams and social events
Real fires in winter
Pub pets – dogs and cats
Cards pinned up behind the bar with nuts and other snacks
Pictures and memorabilia unique to that pub
Pub games – darts, pool, bar billiards etc
Jukebox
Bar staff who don’t wear uniforms and some of whom are over 25A noticeboard advertising local businesses and events
If you have any other ideas, please mention them in the comments.
And two things that to my mind instantly make a pub feel unpubby are place-settings on tables and uniformed bar staff.
But of course the key point about “pubbiness” is that it’s something that develops naturally over time – you can’t install it ready-made from a checklist.
Many years ago I tried to define the characteristics of my ideal pub (http://www.pubcurmudgeon.org.uk/misc/idealpub.html), but, as I said there, “unfortunately, though, I suspect you'd find you did all these worthy things and no bugger would turn up!” And one, of course, is now illegal...
(incidentally, one point on the list above contradicts one on that webpage, but I don’t have to actually like everything that makes somewhere pubby)
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5623537812609722663-5960670868034213887?l=pubcurmudgeon.blogspot.com
More... (http://pubcurmudgeon.blogspot.com/2012/10/pubbiness.html)
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nU4hfuBA5Mc/UHPOwTcBerI/AAAAAAAABt4/WgF2W0mDDCI/s200/harp+interior.jpg (http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nU4hfuBA5Mc/UHPOwTcBerI/AAAAAAAABt4/WgF2W0mDDCI/s1600/harp+interior.jpg)
There has recently been a lively discussion on the CAMRA forum (http://camraforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=1653) (registration required, although viewable by non-members) about the merits and demerits of J. D. Wetherspoon. Now, while you can’t argue with Wetherspoons’ success, one charge that is often levelled against their establishments is that they’re not, well, very “pubby”.
Pubbiness is one of those things that you recognise when you come across it, but is impossible to define precisely. However, I offer the following as a few suggestions as to what might make somewhere “pubby”:
At least some bench-type seating
Some feeling of intimacy – broken up into distinct areas even if largely open-plan
Customers who regularly come in for a social drink, even if just once a week
Geezers standing or sitting at the bar
Hosts sports teams and social events
Real fires in winter
Pub pets – dogs and cats
Cards pinned up behind the bar with nuts and other snacks
Pictures and memorabilia unique to that pub
Pub games – darts, pool, bar billiards etc
Jukebox
Bar staff who don’t wear uniforms and some of whom are over 25A noticeboard advertising local businesses and events
If you have any other ideas, please mention them in the comments.
And two things that to my mind instantly make a pub feel unpubby are place-settings on tables and uniformed bar staff.
But of course the key point about “pubbiness” is that it’s something that develops naturally over time – you can’t install it ready-made from a checklist.
Many years ago I tried to define the characteristics of my ideal pub (http://www.pubcurmudgeon.org.uk/misc/idealpub.html), but, as I said there, “unfortunately, though, I suspect you'd find you did all these worthy things and no bugger would turn up!” And one, of course, is now illegal...
(incidentally, one point on the list above contradicts one on that webpage, but I don’t have to actually like everything that makes somewhere pubby)
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5623537812609722663-5960670868034213887?l=pubcurmudgeon.blogspot.com
More... (http://pubcurmudgeon.blogspot.com/2012/10/pubbiness.html)