View Full Version : Other than beer what should be in a pub?
Just some idle thought having slightly derailed the beer token thread, I was just wondering what people thought was good in a pub (or not), off the top of my head some things.
Dartboard - never played so quite indifferent.
Bar billiards - think I have only seen this a couple of times in a pub, would be interested to learn it though.
Table football - Damn it! Why does everyone just resort to spinning them :moremad:
Pool - used to play every week and a major reason for going to the pub when I was younger.
Pinball - I really enjoy pinball, and yet can't think of any pubs I know that still have a table, used to love playing it after a few lubricatory drinks. Would love to get a table if I ever end up with a house with enough space.
Jukebox - again, I quite enjoy a bit of music, but can't abide it when there is nowhere in the pub where you can be heard, should definitely be areas in any pub where you don't have to raise your voice.
Fruit machines - not really a fan, have been known to be briefly hypnotised by the flashing lights when drunk though.
Quiz machines - the actual quiz machines can be quite good fun with a good bunch of you crowded round proving how lacking in knowledge you are.
ROBCamra
20-05-2010, 12:10
Pinball - I really enjoy pinball, and yet can't think of any pubs I know that still have a table, used to love playing it after a few lubricatory drinks. Would love to get a table if I ever end up with a house with enough space.
Corbieres and TV21 in Manchester still have them.
Centurian in Newcastle still does as well.
Please can we have some more landlords? :pray:
Bit far for me to travel, good to know they still exist though.
And what is wrong with managers? ;)
Some customers would be a good start! :whistle:
I love a good jukebox - and imo, there are times when they are essential to me. My Saturday night visits to the Nags Head (Rochester) just wouldn't be the same without a healthy dose of Rolling Stones, Cream, Led Zep, The Clash and The Smiths.
aleandhearty
20-05-2010, 12:35
If I'm honest, I'm indifferent to most of them apart from quiz machines and juke boxes. Even then, I think the magic largely died with the passing of the vinyl playing behemoths. I remember that in the seventies a pub's reputation was greatly enhanced just by having a decent selection of music.
I am indifferent to all of them, plus the universal large screen TV showing mostly football. As I mentioned on another thread I was once a repairer of fruit machines & the like, I guess it is a bit like working in a chocolate factory, get sick of the product in the end
One thing I would add as required is food, now this could just be crisps or a 5* nosh.
On the food subject I noticed on my Cornwall trip that they all seem to have chocy bars. like Mars, Kit Kat etc for sale behind the bar, not something I have noticed round here. Is this common or I have just been asleep?
Crossste
20-05-2010, 16:24
A sit down Space Invaders machine.
Perhaps not.
ROBCamra
20-05-2010, 16:29
A sit down Space Invaders machine.
Perhaps not.
Lass O Gowrie in Manchester.
Centurian in Newcastle again.
Barrels in Berwick. :D
Oggwyn Trench
20-05-2010, 17:19
I dont mind a Jukebox as long as its at a decent volume so you can still talk , and has not been hijacked by the Landladys kids so it blasts out hardcore dance music in a traditional pub whos regulars think Daniel O`Donnell is a bit modern (i speak from experience)
I enjoy a game of darts and i like the odd game of Dominoes(getting old) , but the most important thing is Atmosphere , a good landlord and decent locals can make a pub worth a visit even if the beers crap
Andy Ven
20-05-2010, 19:06
Pork scratchings
Friendly, attentive bar staff
Carpet - I feel more at home in the lounge than the bar
Clean bogs - I'm put off by smelly bogs, wet floors, no running water or soap - it says a lot about the place
Somewhere for me to sit down - I drink too my beer quickly if I'm standing up, especially if I can't put my drink down
arwkrite
20-05-2010, 19:37
Music is a bit of a trap in a pub much like anywhere else. My one stepson plays music that really gives me deppression. If that was played in a pub I was in I would hit the scotch in no time at all. Rap also drives me nuts. Middle of the road stuff from 60s, 70s and 80s I can live with but may drive other customers balmy. So I say no music for everyones sanity.
Pub games are OK as long as the bar area is big enough but these days the mobile phone seems to have superceeded everything. Customers stare at these little magic boxes oblivious to their mates around them.Gossip is transferred electronically which is a real pain to eavesdroppers like me. My hearing is crap when someone next to me is talking but I can easily pick out a conversation across the room.
Clean toilets and comfortable chairs would be nice but I always live in hope. A smile from behind the bar can make up for any number of short comings.
A newspaper for customers to read is usually a good sign, and double points for the Morning Advertiser or The Publican. Better still, a supply of the local CAMRA branch newsletters.
Alesonly
20-05-2010, 20:20
Other than beer what should be in a pub?
I would like too see some proper Tables & Chairs NOT Sofas
A good carpet & Traditional Surroundings
Dart Board & Snooker Table If Room
Real Pint Dimple Jugs
Hot Pies & Toasted Sandwiches (No fancy crap)
(For Smokers A dedicated Smoking Room)
arwkrite
20-05-2010, 20:33
I really miss those hot pies from the 60s and 70s. Stuck in the hot glass case for hours ( DAYS ? ) on end. Pastry like cardboard and filling like nut brittle. What do we get offered now ?.....Pancettas and Wraps ! This was not the stuff that made Britain great.
I am a great fan of really good pies. My girth will testify to that. I would love to see a return to traditional snacks in pubs but without the health risks of the past.
Strongers
20-05-2010, 21:47
DARTBOARD with an oche and plenty of chalk
Crusty ham or cheese rolls for a pound
Contentious I know but - a flat screen TV with Sky Sports - granted it should be turned off when there is nothing on.
soap, hot water, hand drying implement, toilet seat, lock on the door, toilet paper, door on the cubicle - yes I have seen everyone of these lacking on my travels.
Proper bar stools (none of this heavy modern stuff) only found at the bar.
Govial Landlord with a general disregard for compulsery closing times when the need arises.
Covered area for smokers away from the door
Tins of snuff
Mini Cheddars
A veteran drinker who everyone respects but cannot understand
gillhalfpint
20-05-2010, 22:01
[QUOTE=Strongers;13067]DARTBOARD with an oche and plenty of chalk
soap, hot water, hand drying implement, toilet seat, lock on the door, toilet paper, door on the cubicle - yes I have seen everyone of these lacking on my travels.
I like this one. One Wetherspoons I went to there was a door missing off one, a loo seat off another, no light in one, no paper in most, no paper or holder in one, no locks on a few doors. I checked and found it is inspected every hour. They didn't seem to see why I queried the eyesight of the toilet checker - no sense of humour some folk.
arwkrite
21-05-2010, 08:59
With chain pubs I find a letter to the Customer Services can bring results .Tenanted pubs you quite often waste your breath or get marked as a trouble maker.
Pub Sofas ! Where do they get'em ? When they arrive the things are already worn out.Within what seems days the covering is split exposing parts of the chassis which grabs at clothing or flesh. They encourage horizontal drinking as you slide into that position because all support has gone. However some exibitionist customers do like to get down to it while the rest of us wonder where else to look.:sick: Being too low some of us find entry and exit to the things undignified. Like that other waste of space THE LOW STOOL things get uncomfortable if one has a weak bladder or enlarged prostrate.:eek:
Give me a nice club chair as long as the seat is wide enough to accommodate my broad posterior. I hate seats made using Economy Air Travel dimensions.
As to to crusty rolls. Down amongst the new apartment blocks of 1 and 2 bed flats in the Diglis Canal Basin Worcester is a solitary old fashioned pub , the name of which eludes me. It is well worth visiting for the bread rolls with simple fillings. Cheese, Onion, Ham and some salad or chutney. All at prices which will not empty your pocket. If you visit during the day day you will likely meet normal human beings discussing horses or football . Dread to think what the conversation is in the evening.Long may this little pub survive as it is but worry it may turn into a themed wine bar.
Bowl of water for the dog.
Coat hooks (especially when it's raining).
Prat Ejection System
Roast potatoes on the bar on Sundays
Chocolate to keep Mrs A quiet.
Lass O Gowrie in Manchester.
Centurian in Newcastle again.
Barrels in Berwick. :D
I'm going to have to note down all these Manchester pubs, will give me something to do when we next visit the in-laws. Did get taken out to a Sci-Fi bar there a few years ago which was brilliant fun, I don't remember any Real Ales (or even Romulan ones) though.
I'm surprised to see Dave hasn't joined in on the chocolate votes.
Definitely agree with Oggy in mentioning friendly staff as well, friendly bar staff will make me forget many sins.
On the food subject I noticed on my Cornwall trip that they all seem to have chocy bars. like Mars, Kit Kat etc for sale behind the bar, not something I have noticed round here. Is this common or I have just been asleep?
I'm surprised to see Dave hasn't joined in on the chocolate votes.
I really don't approve of chocolate behind the bar, and particularly if it is kept in the fridge. It is just far too tempting!!
I cant say I've particularly noticed it in Cornwall, obviously I'm not paying enough attention so I'll keep a closer eye out on my next trip.
I remember when you discovered that they had started doing it at The Sportsman, we were all shocked when you wondered back with a chocolate bar as well as beer with your round.
ROBCamra
21-05-2010, 12:09
I'm going to have to note down all these Manchester pubs, will give me something to do when we next visit the in-laws. Did get taken out to a Sci-Fi bar there a few years ago which was brilliant fun, I don't remember any Real Ales (or even Romulan ones) though.
I'm surprised to see Dave hasn't joined in on the chocolate votes.
Definitely agree with Oggy in mentioning friendly staff as well, friendly bar staff will make me forget many sins.
That would probably be FAB Cafe. Daleks, Thunderbirds, Star Trek etc.
TV21 is similar but hasn't been around as long.
Neither sell any good beer and both are a bit shabby now.
The Westminster (strangely enough in Westminster) used to be a Star Trek Theme bar. It was called Pages Bar in those days which is a bit of a waste of someone's imagination.
Grailhunter
21-05-2010, 12:44
I notice no one has mentioned a pool table. Is it just me or do these things detract from a good pub ?
The pub I was in last night was trying to run a quiz but the quiz master had to constantly keep asking the pool players to try and keep the noise down. I was there for an hour or so and during that time not one of the group of six playing pool bought a drink.
I just think they should be in clubs or games arcades.
Snooker tables are different though. Although very rare I do like to see snooker tables in pubs. Altogether much more civilised. I think the Lamb in Eccles had a snooker table when I last visited (or was it just that they had a snooker room ?).
I notice no one has mentioned a pool table.
Conrad metioned it in his opening address!
I personally don't like pool tables in the main body of a pub. If there has to be one it should be in a designated room away from everything else.
Conrad metioned it in his opening address!
I personally don't like pool tables in the main body of a pub. If there has to be one it should be in a designated room away from everything else.
Beat me to it Roger, I love pool tables, but agree with you that they need to be segregated in some way, and also preferably with a meter and a half between the table and nearest wall.
My normal pool haunt The Sportsman (http://www.pubsgalore.co.uk/pubs/651/) is basically a pool hall, but it does have areas away from all the pool tables where you can drink. And a second pub The Annexe (http://www.pubsgalore.co.uk/pubs/217/) next door where you can enjoy a beer.
Oggwyn Trench
21-05-2010, 13:12
The long gone Green Man in Wellington had a pool table in a a very small room , some shots had to be played holding the toilet door open with one foot so you could get a decent angle , it was much like the classic Steptoe and Son , Snooker table episode :D
Pangolin
21-05-2010, 13:39
Me!
The long gone Green Man in Wellington had a pool table in a a very small room , some shots had to be played holding the toilet door open with one foot so you could get a decent angle , it was much like the classic Steptoe and Son , Snooker table episode :D
Well this should keep people amused for half an hour then!...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tvvMqCrV1Y&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3oZIg0gDyHA&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nwCKwguJQ8Y&feature=related
ROBCamra
21-05-2010, 13:59
I think the Lamb in Eccles had a snooker table when I last visited (or was it just that they had a snooker room ?).
They still do and it's a full size table.
I have just returned from a few pints of HSB in the Spotted Cow, may I add 3D TV to the list?
They have just had it installed, mainly for the footy, I had a look using the glasses suppled, some blue people cartoon thing trial, but I was really amazed at how good it is. In my day it was cardboard green & blue [or was it red?] specs and a very odd picture, not on TV or cinema, I'm so old it was in a booklet showing Hawker Hunter & De Havilland Vampire aircraft
Something about having to wear glasses makes me less attracted to the idea, may change my mind once I have seen it though.
Also your timing is unfortunate as I just noticed this Not Safe For Work link (http://gizmodo.com/5544449/heres-the-first-3d-porn-movie-at-last) go by on a tech site I watch.
oldboots
21-05-2010, 18:37
I notice no one has mentioned a pool table. Is it just me or do these things detract from a good pub ?.
Do they still do round pool tables? I remember seeing one years ago in the Jolly Farmers in Cliddesden near Basingstoke.
The pub I was in last night was trying to run a quiz but the quiz master had to constantly keep asking the pool players to try and keep the noise down. I was there for an hour or so and during that time not one of the group of six playing pool bought a drink.
I used to go in a pub that had Super League Darts, you weren't even allowed to breathe loudly never mind buy a drink while someone was at the oche :eek:
Rex_Rattus
21-05-2010, 18:56
There are loads of things that shouldn't be in a pub. Top of the list is the juke box. I don't care how good the music is, there will be some people who don't want to hear it (possibly me) and I don't see why you should be allowed to foist your rubbish musical tastes on to any one else. If it's music you want get yourself a walkman, or better still buy yourself a gramaphone and stay at home and listen to it.
Next are the high stools that come with high tables. Fine if you're 6' 5", but if you're 5' 0" then it's the devil's own job to get up on them. Mrs R with one hand on the back of the stool, and the other on my shoulder, trying to lever herself up on to the bloody thing is not a pretty sight!
Sofas blighting the modern pub has already been covered - well done that man.
Mobile 'phones - I was in a pub recently when an oaf conducted a heated conversation with what I guess was someone in a call centre, bellowing into his 'phone for an hour, during which time he ordered drinks at the bar, and ate a meal without pausing in his tirade. Quite a performance actually, but I could have done without having to listen to it.
And I've seen rather too many people in pubs recently who clearly go there to enjoy themselves, indulging in loud laughter and the like. Where will it all end?
Obviously I don't go to the pub to enjoy myself. It's my duty to the licensed trade. That's why I enjoy going to the pub with Maldenman - he's an even more miserable sod than I am. We just sit there and moan and whinge about everybody and everything. We had a great evening last night in one of London's more gruesome high street Wetherspoons, where there were ample examples of the sort of people and activities on display to keep us whinging all evening!
Hoping not to drift too far off topic, has anyone else read Maurice Gorham's "Back to the Local"? Re-written in 1949, but drawing on his pre-war drinking experiences in London, he covers the sort of games and the like that could be found in pubs then. Bar billiards were "new-fangled"; shove-ha'penny had only become fashionable (in London anyway) during the previous ten years; dominoes were on the decline; and the newish fad of darts had threatened the very fundamentals of pub society itself, by encouraging toffs to migrate from their natural habitat of the saloon bar and invading the working man's holy environment of the public bar, because that's where the boards were located. So, what should and shouldn't be in a pub is a debate that has raged for the last century or so. But it's a debate that is well worth conducting.
aleandhearty
21-05-2010, 19:21
That's why I enjoy going to the pub with Maldenam - he's an even more miserable sod than I am. We just sit there and moan and whinge about everybody and everything.
:D Have either of you got any Yorkshire blood in you? Either way, you'd fit right in up here.
Rex_Rattus
21-05-2010, 20:23
:D Have either of you got any Yorkshire blood in you? .
Oh dear, I fear you may have offended MM more than I did when I called him a miserable sod! Something about wrong side of the Pennines? Me, I'm not fussed, I'm a Londoner born and bred, although I did visit Yorkshire once in the line of duty.
arwkrite
22-05-2010, 06:22
Moaning and Whinging.....nothing wrong with that. Us Brits have raised it to an art form for which we are known around the World. Not for us light hearted banter and false bonhommie, we leave that Jonny Frenchman. Jack Tar was probabley having a good moan about having to eat more salt pork while at the same time sinking the French ( and Spanish ) fleets at Trafalgar.
RR and MM are merely carrying on a proud tradition. I suppose they will eventually get round to sinking French cross channel ferries in their own time.
There is nothing like sitting in a pub with a friend of whatever gender and pulling fellow customers apart for their behaviour or dress. In hushed tones of course unless they happen to be wearing the colours of the oppositions football team. In which case it is useful to know where the rear exit is. Something every pub should have in the event of a raid by the coppers or more likely the DHSS agents or the Office of Fair Trading looking for DVD copies.
I will leave you to discuss the merits of Blackpool or Cardiff for the Premiership. Blackpool may have the edge in that it has more Lapdancing Clubs. There is more to this game than just football:)
Maldenman
25-05-2010, 23:05
Chuckling away to myself reading this, perhaps we should arrange a miserable buggers pub crawl or something?
We even seem to have managed to upset the guv in Woodies tonight, not too sure why as we were drinking up in normal legal time, perhaps he had other ideas for later on?
Firstl and foremost GREAT BEER, a few books/newspapers,good consevation/snacks,good seating and good lighting plus +more GREAT BEER who needs anything else. Pool/Tele/darts OK if in another room and not the bar area. Not wanted is loud music,screaming kids
Just some idle thought having slightly derailed the beer token thread, I was just wondering what people thought was good in a pub (or not), off the top of my head some things.
Dartboard - never played so quite indifferent.
Bar billiards - think I have only seen this a couple of times in a pub, would be interested to learn it though.
Table football - Damn it! Why does everyone just resort to spinning them :moremad:
Pool - used to play every week and a major reason for going to the pub when I was younger.
Pinball - I really enjoy pinball, and yet can't think of any pubs I know that still have a table, used to love playing it after a few lubricatory drinks. Would love to get a table if I ever end up with a house with enough space.
Jukebox - again, I quite enjoy a bit of music, but can't abide it when there is nowhere in the pub where you can be heard, should definitely be areas in any pub where you don't have to raise your voice.
Fruit machines - not really a fan, have been known to be briefly hypnotised by the flashing lights when drunk though.
Quiz machines - the actual quiz machines can be quite good fun with a good bunch of you crowded round proving how lacking in knowledge you are.
arwkrite
26-05-2010, 13:32
I must say Conrad after rereading your post as quoted by Bzylz your favourite pub does remind one of what the end of the pier at Weston super Mare was like before it got barbecued. Not a place for a restful beer. May be you did base it on the old pier, after all its not far from your neck of the woods.
I feel dirty now :eek:
Weston Super Mare, a mash up of a retirement home with go fast boys racing round the grounds ;). The only redeeming thing I have ever found about it was that there were air hockey tables that worked on the pier (and as you say now barbecued).
These days I probably prefer a nice quite pub that does good beer and a reasonable sandwich to soak it up, but back when I was frequenting more often and which solicited my description I guess The Sportsman (http://www.pubsgalore.co.uk/pubs/651/) was my favourite pub.
I guess The Sportsman (http://www.pubsgalore.co.uk/pubs/651/) was my favourite pub.
Can't be that good - John McGraw hasn't even bothered to take a photo of it.
arwkrite
26-05-2010, 14:33
Weston S Mare attracts the older people simply because it is on the level. Pushing a wheel chair uphill is knackering, I almost gave myself heart attack last year pushing one in Winchester.
Our favourite was the Old Colonial. It is sea front pub, next to a big car park and a nice long ramp to the side exit. When you have to make considerations other than simply what beer the pub serves you tend to visit a certain type of pub that fits your needs. I prefer Weston to Blackpool, which these days is short on northern charm, but recognise both places quite characterless places with a few good pubs and a lot of awful drinking places. If I was 40 years younger I would probably not notice the old folks , recalling what a horrid self centred little s**t I was then. But when you get old you seem to be surrounded by wheel chairs and walking frames. Young people only only become noticeable when overly noisy ( or when young girls walk passed in incredibly skimpy clothing and the blood pressure goes up ).
West S Mare serves a purpose for all ages and I miss the regular visits to it.
Can't be that good - John McGraw hasn't even bothered to take a photo of it.
Yeah but it apparently does chilled Twix's so that should mitigate ;). Last time I knew John was in Bristol he photographed a scary selection of pubs that I would think twice before entering.
Edit: Official website (http://www.the-barn.co.uk/thesportsman.htm) shows some interior shots giving away the fact it is just a pool hall.
I think characterless is pretty much the best description you could ever make of WSM (and Blackpool). Back when I used to like arcades I did quite enjoy my visits, then I got old enough to drive and visited it a couple of times and just found most of the pubs to be mini-discos, which even back then I didn't like.
The last couple of times I have been there it has been for birthday meals where the other invites all seemed to be workmates from an 80's version of The Office (either that or wannabee porn stars, something about the moustaches I guess). I should probably give it another chance, it has been a long time now.
How about a steal from Fullers, and others regarding "Loyalty cards". One stamp for every pint, free identical drink when 7 or so reached
I and two others went very grumpy in the Spotted Cow lunchtime today when we found out there was a Fullers loyalty card on the go since last week, but we were not invited, b@stards, utter utter b@stards
Shame as it is a nice pub
Right..
Most important of all... Darts board with blackboard. I am avid darts player and played in few pub leagues. Luckily my local The White Lion do have them so is Duke of York in Lichfield so I can tweak my throwing, aiming before actual games starts.
Newspapers.. I am massive fan of reading papers. I would sulk if I find there is none in pub.
Nuts in bowl.. I love eating nuts while sipping my pints.
Constant news on TV news.. I like to catch up the news or breaking news unfolding while sit back and drink my pints. Thats why I go to JDW.
Oggwyn Trench
30-05-2010, 08:34
Did a crawl round St Georges last night , a special mention for the jukebox in the Elephant and Castle , its like a giant ipod , every top 40 hit since 1952 , the locals had deicided it was the early 70s turn so wall to wall Slade , marvelous:notworthy:
a special mention for the jukebox in the Elephant and Castle , its like a giant ipod , every top 40 hit since 1952 , the locals had deicided it was the early 70s turn so wall to wall Slade , marvelous:notworthy:
The Spotted Cow, Cowplain has one of those, but it was wall to wall Doris Day "Whipcrack awaying" last week, I think put on by a womann fretting about her mum dying or something, I just ate my sausage sarnie & supped the HSB and studiuosly avoided it all
It is bloody everywhere in Tamworth.. even my local in town White lion have them and it is very popular.
arwkrite
30-05-2010, 18:08
Goes to show how far behind the times we are down in deepest Herefordshire. One landlord is still trying to train his terrier dog to wind up the gramophone and to stop chucking his bones down the horn speaker.
Alesonly
31-05-2010, 10:13
A barmaid with big jugs :whistle: The Dimpled Glass type I mean :glass:
arwkrite
31-05-2010, 12:27
Never knowingly dated one with Dimpled Jugs and I am sure I would have noticed.
Andy Ven
31-05-2010, 15:13
Has nobody said beermats yet?
I really don't like picking up a pint glass from off a wet table and it dripping on me. :(
Give me a nice collectable beer mat, preferably square so that I can put my glass smack in the centre of it
Still think that is a great marketing idea for PuG, suspect they are quite expensive though.
Maldenman
31-05-2010, 15:33
I see beermats much less frequently nowadays. I suppose there is the green issue as well as cost, but I remember my collecting days fondly. It really did irritate me though when you were in the company of a serial beermat ripper, why did they do that. An ashtray full of those was nearly as bad as one with melted ice and lemon slices.
Andy Ven
31-05-2010, 15:55
Still think that is a great marketing idea for PuG, suspect they are quite expensive though.
�500 ish for 10,000
http://www.beermatcompany.co.uk/beer-mat-prices.html
Surprisingly tempting. May have to go for that at some point, I can see the upcoming design a beer mat competition.
Alesonly
31-05-2010, 17:15
Surprisingly tempting. May have to go for that at some point, I can see the upcoming design a beer mat competition.
Maybe you could get one or more of the brewery's too sponsor it with a bit of persuasion too get there logo on them.
oldboots
31-05-2010, 17:26
I see beermats much less frequently nowadays. I suppose there is the green issue as well as cost...
I've noticed it's the places a bit up themselves that don't have beermats, perhaps they're a bit downmarket and too "pubby" for some frustrated restauranteurs.
Andy Ven
31-05-2010, 18:02
Maybe you could get one or more of the brewery's too sponsor it with a bit of persuasion too get there logo on them.
Small to medium sized independent breweries might be willing to enter into a joint venture?
If PG beer mats were targeted at free houses that offer an ever-changing range it would bring the site to the attention of beer tickers. It's in the nature of beer tickers to make notes and write reviews (hence the GBG) and tell their beer-ticker mates. They would then be asking why have beer in the evening when you can have it all day on Pubs Galore and before you know it PG will usurp Google and Facebook as the website of choice........ :)
BTW, (and speaking of small to medium sized breweries) are you drinking Highgate Black Pig?
Alesonly
31-05-2010, 18:27
BTW, (and speaking of small to medium sized breweries) are you drinking Highgate Black Pig?
Yes Highgate Black Pig In the Tally Ho North Finchley very good Pint after four its just Run out now it will have too be the Ruby Mild.:D
Andy Ven
31-05-2010, 18:47
Yes Highgate Black Pig In the Tally Ho North Finchley very good Pint after four its just Run out now it will have too be the Ruby Mild.:D
How fab. I didn't realise that Highgate was sent out so far. I was drinking it at the brewery in Walsall a few weeks ago and it was mighty fine. Anyway, a new thread on beermats has been spawned by Delboy
gillhalfpint
31-05-2010, 23:55
Always carry a couple of beermats with us now as I hate trying to write on a wet table.
arwkrite
01-06-2010, 00:32
One thing about a beermat you can put it on top of your pint should you leave it unattended in a local pub.I would not try it in a strange pub incase some nubile female took a fancy to my wallet and dropped a date rape tablet in it. I should be so lucky.
Andy Ven
01-06-2010, 08:35
This all links in nicely with the pub review tips that Conrad was asking for feedback on - were there beer mats in the pub or did your glass drip on you and the table? :)
Alesonly
01-06-2010, 09:36
Its strange how you never see Beer Mats in Wetherspoons its the one place I would have thought would have them in all There Pubs but I think Ive only seen them in One.
Yes I agree with most others its not good having a wet sticky table we need more Pubs too get Beer Mats. :moremad:
oldboots
01-06-2010, 09:47
This all links in nicely with the pub review tips that Conrad was asking for feedback on - were there beer mats in the pub or did your glass drip on you and the table? :)
Its strange how you never see Beer Mats in Wetherspoons
I quite often use "no beermats" as code for a place that's a bit poncified, similarly I will use something like "all the furniture matches". Obviously I hadn't noticed the JDW thing, but then I'm not an expert on them, perhaps that's just a cost thing?
arwkrite
01-06-2010, 10:11
When ever I visit a Wetherspoons there is usually a sort of paper table mat advertising Curry Night or Steak Night or perhaps Exotic Meat Burger Nights. I find these double as beer mats.
Nothing is worse than wearing light coloured trouser then finding the drips from the glass have fallen all over your lap. Poor old chap ..forgotten his incontinence pants again....they really should not let him out on his own.
gillhalfpint
01-06-2010, 10:14
Re beermats, a pub in Black Country has a compulsive obsessive type person in charge who likes all beermats to be just so on the tables, and locals wind him up by moving them and turning them over.
Pubsignman
01-06-2010, 10:45
Beer mats are also great for solving wonky table issues.
Andy Ven
01-06-2010, 11:15
Re beermats, a pub in Black Country has a compulsive obsessive type person in charge who likes all beermats to be just so on the tables, and locals wind him up by moving them and turning them over.
Go on, spill the beans. I could go in and empathise with him - although it would probably end up stressing me out.
The gaffer in my local (ex-army) had all of the salt cellars and ketchup and vinegar bottles lined up on one table when he had cleared up. I told him that it gave away too much about his personality - orderly and regimented. He just said, in a Sergeant Major kind of way, "YES SIR!"
Its strange how you never see Beer Mats in Wetherspoons its the one place I would have thought would have them in all There Pubs but I think Ive only seen them in One.
Yes I agree with most others its not good having a wet sticky table we need more Pubs too get Beer Mats. :moremad:
This set me thinking.. I remember The Bolebridge used to have Carling beermats in early days and it seemed to have stopped couple of years later. Only I can think why is cost.
Oggwyn Trench
01-06-2010, 11:34
Apparently beer mats are a buger to get hold of , the old breweries did`nt mind giving them out , but the pub co`s hate giving away anything for free
I have often felt that I didn't understand the things that CAMRA is campaigning for.
Maybe now is the time to start the Pubs Galore Campaign to Bring Back Beermats!
And before I end up making any new work for myself, I am just joking :eek:
Andy Ven
04-06-2010, 17:44
�500 ish for 10,000
http://www.beermatcompany.co.uk/beer-mat-prices.html
Cheaper still:
http://www.zyan.co.uk/beer-mats.html?vlsrc=GAW&gclid=CNfj_MD9hqICFYdh4wodr1bZUA
I've certainly never paid for a beer mat. Happily Breconshire Brewery have made some more, so I now have a mix, rather than a sea of Wye Valley ones. Nothing wrong with the WVB ones, I just get bored seeing the same ones each day.
I would like to see more bar towels though. All the big breweries now send out those anti-absorbent rubber 'bar runners'. I much prefer bar towels - and a bug bear is them being damp. Should be changed several times a day so nobody gets a damp elbow grrr....
gillhalfpint
04-06-2010, 20:51
I have loads of bar towels begged from various bars around the country. Use them on surfaces of the caravan as "table cloths" when 2 or 3 sewn together. Had seat covers of them too. Very useful and colourful. Must be around 20 - 30 in the van now, and loads at home to swap with. Wrap glasses etc in them when we move on too.
Beer towels do seem to be an endangered species, another thing I have had regular call to find.
I should probably warn you to hold your drinks if you are ever sat at a table with me, I am the one who will kick the table leg.
Oggwyn Trench
04-06-2010, 23:00
Bar Towels are definatley endangered , our lords and masters in europe believe them unhygeneic , the bar....s
Alesonly
05-06-2010, 08:47
I Went into the Wetherspoons Admiral Byng Potters Bar yesterday afternoon and found it perfect someone must have been reading this forum there were beermats on the tables & the tables were cleaned they even had Highgate Black Pig on tap. :cheers: ( Must update my review.)
I Went into the Wetherspoons Admiral Byng Potters Bar yesterday afternoon and found it perfect someone must have been reading this forum there were beermats on the tables & the tables were cleaned they even had Highgate Black Pig on tap. :cheers: ( Must update my review.)
I wonder who.... :whistle:
arwkrite
05-06-2010, 09:49
I should probably warn you to hold your drinks if you are ever sat at a table with me, I am the one who will kick the table leg...Conrad.
Your not the only one. With this lovely weather I decided to sit outside at those bench cum table things. Twice I caught my foot on the bench part and twice I spilled beer my down trouser leg. It is not doing my reputation much good.
ROBCamra
29-06-2010, 09:05
Pinball - I really enjoy pinball, and yet can't think of any pubs I know that still have a table, used to love playing it after a few lubricatory drinks. Would love to get a table if I ever end up with a house with enough space.
Called in The Dove And Rainbow in Sheffield last Friday. They have a row of three!! yes three, pinball tables. Goldeneye, Attack From Mars and another, I forget what. :notworthy:
Sadly Ms CAMRA vetoed the idea of having a few games. :(
Attack From Mars, a true classic. I dread to think how bad I would be now, but would love to find out :)
Andy Ven
18-03-2011, 20:22
Can I throw into this thread, what shouldn't be in a pub (besides twigs):
A full pub and someone occupying a whole table because they have plonked their laptop on it - social networking can be so anti-social. Go and sit in Cafe Rouge if that's what you want to do. :mad:
aleandhearty
18-03-2011, 20:50
A full pub and someone occupying a whole table because they have plonked their laptop on it
In which case, order a glass of water with your pint, deposit beer on your table, find excuse to walk past Mr Laptop whilst holding water and having mentally choreographed a spectacular trip, go for it. That should do it. :D
Andy Ven
18-03-2011, 21:31
Or maybe cough all over the crisp dust in your open packet, ensuring that a cloud of salt and crispy greasy potato spreads in the direction of the offending gadget
Lady Grey
18-03-2011, 22:23
What should be in a pub...
Clean tables with no used glasses/dishes/cuttlery ect if you are visiting an eating establishment.
A jukebox - so you may choose whether you want to listen to music or not - this is not an essential item, but I would prefer it to television screens showing sport.
Courteous bar staff
I agree with the people that are missing bear mats - this is part of the charm of the pub.
NickDavies
19-03-2011, 08:49
Proper crisps. Not half pound packs of McCoy's Kettle Pringle Doritos that cost £1.99. Proper greasy salty crisps that get you reported to the social services if found in your kids' lunchboxes.
Rex_Rattus
19-03-2011, 09:48
A jukebox - so you may choose whether you want to listen to music or not - this is not an essential item, but I would prefer it to television screens showing sport.
.
I would have these banned from pubs. The trouble is that nobody else in the pubs gets to choose whether or not to listen to your choice of music. It's OK if you want to listen to music, and you share the musical tastes of the person who has put the money in, but it's not usually the case in my opinion. I do find it annoying when I'm trying to watch and listen to the commentary of a football match and someone puts some "music" on the jukebox.
NickDavies
19-03-2011, 10:06
I would have these banned from pubs. The trouble is that nobody else in the pubs gets to choose whether or not to listen to your choice of music. It's OK if you want to listen to music, and you share the musical tastes of the person who has put the money in, but it's not usually the case in my opinion. I do find it annoying when I'm trying to watch and listen to the commentary of a football match and someone puts some "music" on the jukebox.
They would be fine if they had 4'33" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4%E2%80%B233%E2%80%B3) in them.
Have to admit I am a fan of the jukebox, with the proviso that there are areas you can talk in the pub. When all you can hear is the music (as you gradually go deaf) it does get on my nerves.
Have to admit I am a fan of the jukebox, with the proviso that there are areas you can talk in the pub. When all you can hear is the music (as you gradually go deaf) it does get on my nerves.
Just mark me down as grumpy old sod in the corner :(, hate jukebox, hate poxy sport TV, hate pool tables, hate fruit machines [despite having once having job servicing them]
So, just beer & crisps with maybe option of a cheese roll should I feel like it
Oggwyn Trench
19-03-2011, 20:41
An anorexic 70 year old flashing her tits :eek::sick: NO NO NO , knocked me pint back and went across the road
Sport on TV. If 20 of your mates want a game on, the TV gets switched and it's good when the remote control is handed to you to control volume etc. Best of all, multiple satellite receptions including dodgy feeds to get as much sport in the better.
Not just beer, but some decent strength beer (not just stout or "old ales") - one of my big bugbears of well known real ale house in Birmingham is that they can sometimes have 16 ales on and nothing above 5%. I want to get a bit merry without having to make numerous visits to the bog. Some offers on spirits for when you get a bit gassed up or drowned from all the liquid.
Busy enough to have atmosphere, but not too busy that there are no seats left.
A large area outdoors to take your pint on a sunny day, a bit of concrete is fine.
Some fruit machines, in good visibility of most of the pub, in order to shark naive punters who put a few quid in.
Some food, you just can't have a 3 hour + session in the same pub if it doesn't do food.
A nearby bookies
Pool table, with everything available (queues, white ball) without having to leave a deposit at the bar.
The nearest I've found to this is Shooters Sports Bar in Leeds, but it hardly ever has Brewdog or Thornbridge so tend to wind my way here for 3pm Saturday when there's loads of football on.
Sport on TV. If 20 of your mates want a game on, the TV gets switched and it's good when the remote control is handed to you to control volume etc. Best of all, multiple satellite receptions including dodgy feeds to get as much sport in the better.
Some fruit machines, in good visibility of most of the pub, in order to shark naive punters who put a few quid in.
A nearby bookies
Pool table, with everything available (queues, white ball) without having to leave a deposit at the bar.
The nearest I've found to this is Shooters Sports Bar in Leeds, but it hardly ever has Brewdog or Thornbridge so tend to wind my way here for 3pm Saturday when there's loads of football on.
I think this demonstrates why there is such a diversity of pubs, if a pub supplied the above it would not have me in the door [no offence meant Spinko], not that they would miss my meagre few quid with Spinko & his mates in there :D
aleandhearty
22-03-2011, 14:06
...The nearest I've found to this is Shooters Sports Bar in Leeds, but it hardly ever has Brewdog or Thornbridge so tend to wind my way here for 3pm Saturday when there's loads of football on.
Suddenly, I've got this mental image of you dashing backwards and forwards, up and down The Headrow, between Shooters and Mr Foley's. :D
Suddenly, I've got this mental image of you dashing backwards and forwards, up and down The Headrow, between Shooters and Mr Foley's. :D
Not far off, I do like to start in Veritas with a sup and a read of their papers, nip via Victoria, then a quick one in Foleys, then William Hills on the way to Shooters sounds like a good start to Saturday! :D Shooters do now have Brewdog in bottles..
trainman
25-03-2011, 08:09
Hooks at (under) the bar, for jacket, bag etc.
Don't know why these are relatively rare, they can be so handy.
Hooks at (under) the bar, for jacket, bag etc.
Don't know why these are relatively rare, they can be so handy.
Seems fairly common in the pubs I use, but maybe that is a reflection on where I choose to drink. I do use the hooks, which as you say are very handy to hang coat on
arwkrite
30-03-2011, 13:25
Hooks at (under) the bar, for jacket, bag etc.
Don't know why these are relatively rare, they can be so handy.
They use those hooks around my way for parking terriers on. Must be a sign of the economic times, you dont see many big dogs in the pubs I go to.Just the odd Lab. or Retriever, the rest being ankle snappers of various types.
Andy Ven
03-07-2012, 10:19
According to the Publican's Morning Advertiser's (http://www.morningadvertiser.co.uk/General-News/26-Things-You-Don-t-See-in-the-Pub-Anymore) former features editor, Matthew Moggridge:
The list is as follows:
1. Mammoth-like Alsatians barking on the roof
2. Foil ashtrays
3. Punched-in toilet doors
4. Toilet chains without a handle
5. Public bars charging less per pint than in the saloon bar
6. Sawdust on the floor
7. Formica-topped tables
8. Bar billiards
9. Missing locks on toilet cubicle doors
10. Light and bitter
11. ‘Character’ landlords
12. Cribbage
13. Men in gravy-stained suits nursing a pint, a whisky chaser and the Racing Post
14. Seafood salesmen
15. Solitary crusty liver sausage roll on the bar under a plastic lid
16. ‘Saucy’ toilet doors — a nut on the ladies’ loos and a screw on the gents
17. Gambling, normally three-card brag
18. People who resemble either pirates or those old illustrations of Guido Fawkes
19. Celebrity lookalikes — Matt’s local had Fred Astaire (as he looked in the disaster movies) John Wayne and Malcolm Allison
20. Off-licences attached to pubs
21. Banned customers arguing with the landlord, presumably with a view to being reinstated
22. ‘Pavement pizza’ in the pub ‘garden’
23. Being asked, ‘straight glass or a jug?’
24. Hearing somebody else ask the barman: “B&M, 20 Dilly and a box of logs” (or, in English, brown and mild, 20 Piccadilly and a box
of matches).
25. Beer mats and people ‘flicking’ them off the table and catching them
26. A building brick on the bar with a pile of Swan Vestas on top.
Grailhunter
03-07-2012, 11:28
Hmmm. This list is very interesting and generally quite true. Having said that the pub I was in last night had numbers 12 and 25 present. This could start a quite interesting exercise to try and find the pub with the most items from the list still there. Any advance on 2 anyone ??
Alesonly
03-07-2012, 12:18
Yes Two pubs I was in the weekend had the following as mentioned in other thread.
Pub one
3 & 4 & 13 & 17
Pub Two
3 & 9 & 14 & 21 & 22
Must be the rough old boozers I tend to go in. :D
Strongers
03-07-2012, 12:43
Yes Two pubs I was in the weekend had the following as mentioned in other thread.
Pub one
3 & 4 & 13 & 17
Pub Two
3 & 9 & 14 & 21 & 22
Must be the rough old boozers I tend to go in. :D
You must stop punching-in them toilet doors! ;)
The Sir Loin Of Beef (http://www.pubsgalore.co.uk/pubs/14029/) for number 16. But they are really works of art in themselves
NickDavies
03-07-2012, 13:45
Things you do see in pubs now but shouldn't:
1: Children.
2: Tables laid up for eating.
3: Sofas you can't get up out of and position you with someone's crotch in your direct eye line.
4: Panini at twice the price a normal sandwich was.
5: Cocktail lists, especially when the bar staff are clueless how to make them
6: Bar staff clueless about everything including intelligible English.
7: Vastly expensive packets of "gourmet" crisps in place of proper greasy salty ones.
8: Bottles of Mexican beer with bits of lime it.
9: London Pride, if it's the only real ale and we're outside the M25.
10: Machines dispensing vast mugs hot milk with just a vague flavour of coffee.
11: A selection of near identical summer (or winter) ales to the exclusion of anything else.
12: A selection of pissed-up old blokes drinking £1.49 GK IPA and annoying everyone else.
any more....
Al 10000
03-07-2012, 14:24
13: Ask for a bag of salted peanuts then get a large glass with enough nuts in to feed the Five Thousand.
gillhalfpint
03-07-2012, 14:26
14. Table and chairs where you need a ladder to get to the chair.
15. Fancy loo roll holders but all loo rolls running loose.
ROBCamra
03-07-2012, 14:27
Large jugs of pink / orange / green / blue concoctions being drunk by girlies from the jug!!! :sick:
Welcome to "The Toon" on Friday night. :evilgrin:
Drunk Girlies with large pink jugs being sick:
Welcome to "The Toon" on Friday night. :evilgrin:
Rob,
I corrected that for you.
According to the Publican's Morning Advertiser's (http://www.morningadvertiser.co.uk/General-News/26-Things-You-Don-t-See-in-the-Pub-Anymore) former features editor, Matthew Moggridge:
The list is as follows:
1. Mammoth-like Alsatians barking on the roof................
. .....................................
26. A building brick on the bar with a pile of Swan Vestas on top.
27. Ladies sat politely drinking a coke or a bitter lemon whilst the men get drunk!
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