Blog Tracker
18-04-2022, 21:57
Visit the Paul Bailey's Beer Blog site (https://baileysbeerblog.blogspot.com/2022/04/rhapsody-in-blue.html)
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIwJygfCnxPYHNAImCxs871T6si3m_l4C3wwHedv9xBX tnUei0IriI3o7GGBGYU179znz7_Wca2N0SppztVLm2401k9oiq oEx30frVkTqVyPyfodIYtub-bVWKYpRyv2ROhtXBtHjZXJKjwLFmAsovxH5ToewE9eY4aRRZjy E73_9aQ5byzZ0LUj_p/w400-h229/Vauxhall%20hound.jpg (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIwJygfCnxPYHNAImCxs871T6si3m_l4C3wwHedv9xBX tnUei0IriI3o7GGBGYU179znz7_Wca2N0SppztVLm2401k9oiq oEx30frVkTqVyPyfodIYtub-bVWKYpRyv2ROhtXBtHjZXJKjwLFmAsovxH5ToewE9eY4aRRZjy E73_9aQ5byzZ0LUj_p/s3526/Vauxhall%20hound.jpg)
Back in August last year, veteran and prolific bloggers, Boak & Bailey (no relation), published a post titled, “Why are all the pubs going grey?” (https://boakandbailey.com/2021/08/why-are-all-the-pubs-going-grey/)It was a valid question, and one which several other commentators had also noticed. Some, such as Pub Curmudgeon, Sheffield Hatter, and my good self, responded with our own thoughts and observations, but the question as to why so many pub owners (chains, or individuals), had chosen to splash what is surely the dullest of colours, all over the exteriors of their properties.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5S1cozGcl17rSLeH5XDbfWEah7TcbLouQgAJVNvLW3h dhCId9uTf0h8CyqSOGUE05SeN9cI3Wgke7KxgYPx7NZKaoELiL loCvgwRaF14npOCul5lGSWK3FDjVE-EXROZnr4zw_KNX3-iwRUJ1lYQSvrbKk-0rB2I2xs4ygG3_EGXdAzdHDlAK9KDu/w400-h225/Half%20Moon%20bar.jpg (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5S1cozGcl17rSLeH5XDbfWEah7TcbLouQgAJVNvLW3h dhCId9uTf0h8CyqSOGUE05SeN9cI3Wgke7KxgYPx7NZKaoELiL loCvgwRaF14npOCul5lGSWK3FDjVE-EXROZnr4zw_KNX3-iwRUJ1lYQSvrbKk-0rB2I2xs4ygG3_EGXdAzdHDlAK9KDu/s4000/Half%20Moon%20bar.jpg)
B&B thought that maybe pub owners were “trying to attract a newer, more aspirational crowd – or at least, not put them off,” claiming that grey is the equivalent of “classy neutralness,” whatever that means. I don’t follow this argument though, particularly as I can remember (just), how drab, dreary and undeniably grimy, post-war Britain was in the first two decades following the end of the Second World War.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRoArkf5EJtZooXa-Ug7hpeE3BTcxVvMYt8Kb68BVDoTIrrAxTbC6CAYVzWSBlJlVT6 kgO_90VfEjE4rFzPoTcTc5LzKC27XOf1zN_HcHty4UVMxo9QNm 7L0vs3hZShhXEHZBWlXIjdaDi90OUkvuZpQTZhqhiwZDBNuEGT KGfde1Gc3q5WmBfim_L/w400-h225/Garland%20bar%20internal.jpg (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRoArkf5EJtZooXa-Ug7hpeE3BTcxVvMYt8Kb68BVDoTIrrAxTbC6CAYVzWSBlJlVT6 kgO_90VfEjE4rFzPoTcTc5LzKC27XOf1zN_HcHty4UVMxo9QNm 7L0vs3hZShhXEHZBWlXIjdaDi90OUkvuZpQTZhqhiwZDBNuEGT KGfde1Gc3q5WmBfim_L/s3881/Garland%20bar%20internal.jpg)
The pair did recognise this fact, with the claim that even between the wars, suburban pubs were designed to blend into the local surroundings, rather than making a statement with garish paintwork and intrusive advertising signs, but why this recent obsession with what has been described as a “plague of grey?”
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGtXlu36VIPqORyCyXoFJoJDQjV2Hb4lbJxoYAzNJv51 DVfDzHP3ySr4TJCiq89BQ1p3ctfgMfUE1MKqi2Jwm1l-jUw4vds-43fYS81YglIO9fQXhfsAn-pNsFH8FjuhCDTaz0liwmhGGdeAfZSz4W0-4dOGy7ooBgvtiBgzQJkSWsgaDtSGwniclO/w400-h225/Barman%20Poet.jpg (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGtXlu36VIPqORyCyXoFJoJDQjV2Hb4lbJxoYAzNJv51 DVfDzHP3ySr4TJCiq89BQ1p3ctfgMfUE1MKqi2Jwm1l-jUw4vds-43fYS81YglIO9fQXhfsAn-pNsFH8FjuhCDTaz0liwmhGGdeAfZSz4W0-4dOGy7ooBgvtiBgzQJkSWsgaDtSGwniclO/s3862/Barman%20Poet.jpg)
Pub Curmudgeon described the situation best, with the comment. “I really don’t get the rationale behind painting somewhere that is supposed to be welcoming in cold colours,” and he also mentioned that the obsession with grey, often extended to pub interiors as well. Whilst I would agree with that observation I have, particularly over the course of pub visits during the past six months, noticed a rather different obsessional colour creeping into pub interiors, and one which, everywhere you look, seems to be rearing its ugly head.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQGaosMRmyLNnfobGyT2QMFALmNlMG3D9ycc0HsPuHd7 qgWm-HrCEfxg3rIrNI5tcxzZ--v3drSEkgEvDMzob0RLZs44j5GBUpQ8GOXwNpxUnsCl_fV5KddZ aN1hkbpiheAhqZJSCJmCXu5TuDLfRhQuqwMr_G2y921-4lWslx7ZVWkI1FO1iLJW2X/w400-h225/IMG_20220325_160518.jpg (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQGaosMRmyLNnfobGyT2QMFALmNlMG3D9ycc0HsPuHd7 qgWm-HrCEfxg3rIrNI5tcxzZ--v3drSEkgEvDMzob0RLZs44j5GBUpQ8GOXwNpxUnsCl_fV5KddZ aN1hkbpiheAhqZJSCJmCXu5TuDLfRhQuqwMr_G2y921-4lWslx7ZVWkI1FO1iLJW2X/s4000/IMG_20220325_160518.jpg)
The colour I am talking here is blue, but rather than a delicate pastel shade of pale sky blue, or subtle floral blue, I mean full-on, in your face, intense cobalt or ultramarine blue. Blue that is designed to make a statement and demand your attention, rather than a restful sea or forget-me-not blue, a vivid blue that is not easy of the eye, and the areas of the pub where these intense shades of blue seem to be splashed the most, are bar counters and bar fittings.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRNULm5mE4PhVUOpd4cTgoSm0zAnzWRqSI7AIuBYhSr8 YxDRmqT0sPRHJeVXbfZ4etsgX0lcfhimt9FmR5TSG35S3FzhUY HMtatr6OSlEE9VBaRNHUXLcS9e9NHPixThlgdnQJ0RaFw26fS1 ZjzCRqUuFhZvSZ3v4xpDEmzMwKiYdTEv44ORYbh2-p/w400-h216/Swan%20Int.jpg (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRNULm5mE4PhVUOpd4cTgoSm0zAnzWRqSI7AIuBYhSr8 YxDRmqT0sPRHJeVXbfZ4etsgX0lcfhimt9FmR5TSG35S3FzhUY HMtatr6OSlEE9VBaRNHUXLcS9e9NHPixThlgdnQJ0RaFw26fS1 ZjzCRqUuFhZvSZ3v4xpDEmzMwKiYdTEv44ORYbh2-p/s3740/Swan%20Int.jpg)
In his classic book, Beer & Skittles, pioneering beer writer Richard Boston, described the colours of a traditional public bar as a symphony in brown. He was referring to the wood from which the bar counters, floors, and often panelled wall coverings, are constructed, and with wood ranging in colour from pale pine to rich, dark mahogany, it is easy to understand where Bostonwas coming from. Now, with the exception perhaps of the floors, bright vivid blue seems to dominate, everywhere that one casts ones’ eyes.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVwOi0GHyOjJbyvy-HcDPFIxq-xgIMleNDERY9sWntVaHjuWJ_ogEZWGBODfPVfRd6eYDA-Vehmz2lk3u7Svx7bbSYQunr4bkTdtUJGDi0NXHQjvr9x7Cimhm GLdq8DJiUygHMvrKc5zKJGCggn85zPR3mih0Yak59HS-4SqaQ3hHCfXMAzsYW6l-R/w400-h300/Brighton%20bar.jpg (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVwOi0GHyOjJbyvy-HcDPFIxq-xgIMleNDERY9sWntVaHjuWJ_ogEZWGBODfPVfRd6eYDA-Vehmz2lk3u7Svx7bbSYQunr4bkTdtUJGDi0NXHQjvr9x7Cimhm GLdq8DJiUygHMvrKc5zKJGCggn85zPR3mih0Yak59HS-4SqaQ3hHCfXMAzsYW6l-R/s3826/Brighton%20bar.jpg)
I have listed, below, some of the “blue bars” I have visited since acquiring my bus pass last year – an asset that has enabled me to reconnect with many rural pubs that would, otherwise, be impossible to reach without getting behind the wheel of a car. There aren’t quite as many as I first thought, but given this is a relatively new trend, there is still plenty of time for this new “plague” to spread.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi__2ZBbg9EF1Fb1T-HAopV3EMNoA0d3l-4Xzk87dK_2z9wWUKCD2QIe2-KcoMCfwgKwaprtv3J6dU8FZdWr_VCZ6U81ndwJDHEdArvHeQdY _Cdk-qA6ah2esPPfxJpfoSUY17yqAONQL8tEjmDqVsVxXOlXjaFMaxQ BOn-7tyB1HMLBQBkvCdanlRk/w400-h300/20190606_142806.jpg (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi__2ZBbg9EF1Fb1T-HAopV3EMNoA0d3l-4Xzk87dK_2z9wWUKCD2QIe2-KcoMCfwgKwaprtv3J6dU8FZdWr_VCZ6U81ndwJDHEdArvHeQdY _Cdk-qA6ah2esPPfxJpfoSUY17yqAONQL8tEjmDqVsVxXOlXjaFMaxQ BOn-7tyB1HMLBQBkvCdanlRk/s4128/20190606_142806.jpg)
On final point, whilst blue, in the main, is a restful colour, it is also a cold colour, and like grey, not particularly welcoming. Also, unless the shade applied is a very pale shade of blue, it is nowhere near as unobtrusive as grey. So, unless this is just a passing fad, will blue become the “new grey," as far as pub interiors are concerned?Poet - Matfield, Half Moon - Hildenborough, Garland - Redhill, Ivy House - Tonbridge, Vauxhall - Tonbridge, Anchor - Sevenoaks (more of a pastel blue).
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More... (https://baileysbeerblog.blogspot.com/2022/04/rhapsody-in-blue.html)
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIwJygfCnxPYHNAImCxs871T6si3m_l4C3wwHedv9xBX tnUei0IriI3o7GGBGYU179znz7_Wca2N0SppztVLm2401k9oiq oEx30frVkTqVyPyfodIYtub-bVWKYpRyv2ROhtXBtHjZXJKjwLFmAsovxH5ToewE9eY4aRRZjy E73_9aQ5byzZ0LUj_p/w400-h229/Vauxhall%20hound.jpg (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIwJygfCnxPYHNAImCxs871T6si3m_l4C3wwHedv9xBX tnUei0IriI3o7GGBGYU179znz7_Wca2N0SppztVLm2401k9oiq oEx30frVkTqVyPyfodIYtub-bVWKYpRyv2ROhtXBtHjZXJKjwLFmAsovxH5ToewE9eY4aRRZjy E73_9aQ5byzZ0LUj_p/s3526/Vauxhall%20hound.jpg)
Back in August last year, veteran and prolific bloggers, Boak & Bailey (no relation), published a post titled, “Why are all the pubs going grey?” (https://boakandbailey.com/2021/08/why-are-all-the-pubs-going-grey/)It was a valid question, and one which several other commentators had also noticed. Some, such as Pub Curmudgeon, Sheffield Hatter, and my good self, responded with our own thoughts and observations, but the question as to why so many pub owners (chains, or individuals), had chosen to splash what is surely the dullest of colours, all over the exteriors of their properties.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5S1cozGcl17rSLeH5XDbfWEah7TcbLouQgAJVNvLW3h dhCId9uTf0h8CyqSOGUE05SeN9cI3Wgke7KxgYPx7NZKaoELiL loCvgwRaF14npOCul5lGSWK3FDjVE-EXROZnr4zw_KNX3-iwRUJ1lYQSvrbKk-0rB2I2xs4ygG3_EGXdAzdHDlAK9KDu/w400-h225/Half%20Moon%20bar.jpg (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5S1cozGcl17rSLeH5XDbfWEah7TcbLouQgAJVNvLW3h dhCId9uTf0h8CyqSOGUE05SeN9cI3Wgke7KxgYPx7NZKaoELiL loCvgwRaF14npOCul5lGSWK3FDjVE-EXROZnr4zw_KNX3-iwRUJ1lYQSvrbKk-0rB2I2xs4ygG3_EGXdAzdHDlAK9KDu/s4000/Half%20Moon%20bar.jpg)
B&B thought that maybe pub owners were “trying to attract a newer, more aspirational crowd – or at least, not put them off,” claiming that grey is the equivalent of “classy neutralness,” whatever that means. I don’t follow this argument though, particularly as I can remember (just), how drab, dreary and undeniably grimy, post-war Britain was in the first two decades following the end of the Second World War.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRoArkf5EJtZooXa-Ug7hpeE3BTcxVvMYt8Kb68BVDoTIrrAxTbC6CAYVzWSBlJlVT6 kgO_90VfEjE4rFzPoTcTc5LzKC27XOf1zN_HcHty4UVMxo9QNm 7L0vs3hZShhXEHZBWlXIjdaDi90OUkvuZpQTZhqhiwZDBNuEGT KGfde1Gc3q5WmBfim_L/w400-h225/Garland%20bar%20internal.jpg (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRoArkf5EJtZooXa-Ug7hpeE3BTcxVvMYt8Kb68BVDoTIrrAxTbC6CAYVzWSBlJlVT6 kgO_90VfEjE4rFzPoTcTc5LzKC27XOf1zN_HcHty4UVMxo9QNm 7L0vs3hZShhXEHZBWlXIjdaDi90OUkvuZpQTZhqhiwZDBNuEGT KGfde1Gc3q5WmBfim_L/s3881/Garland%20bar%20internal.jpg)
The pair did recognise this fact, with the claim that even between the wars, suburban pubs were designed to blend into the local surroundings, rather than making a statement with garish paintwork and intrusive advertising signs, but why this recent obsession with what has been described as a “plague of grey?”
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGtXlu36VIPqORyCyXoFJoJDQjV2Hb4lbJxoYAzNJv51 DVfDzHP3ySr4TJCiq89BQ1p3ctfgMfUE1MKqi2Jwm1l-jUw4vds-43fYS81YglIO9fQXhfsAn-pNsFH8FjuhCDTaz0liwmhGGdeAfZSz4W0-4dOGy7ooBgvtiBgzQJkSWsgaDtSGwniclO/w400-h225/Barman%20Poet.jpg (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGtXlu36VIPqORyCyXoFJoJDQjV2Hb4lbJxoYAzNJv51 DVfDzHP3ySr4TJCiq89BQ1p3ctfgMfUE1MKqi2Jwm1l-jUw4vds-43fYS81YglIO9fQXhfsAn-pNsFH8FjuhCDTaz0liwmhGGdeAfZSz4W0-4dOGy7ooBgvtiBgzQJkSWsgaDtSGwniclO/s3862/Barman%20Poet.jpg)
Pub Curmudgeon described the situation best, with the comment. “I really don’t get the rationale behind painting somewhere that is supposed to be welcoming in cold colours,” and he also mentioned that the obsession with grey, often extended to pub interiors as well. Whilst I would agree with that observation I have, particularly over the course of pub visits during the past six months, noticed a rather different obsessional colour creeping into pub interiors, and one which, everywhere you look, seems to be rearing its ugly head.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQGaosMRmyLNnfobGyT2QMFALmNlMG3D9ycc0HsPuHd7 qgWm-HrCEfxg3rIrNI5tcxzZ--v3drSEkgEvDMzob0RLZs44j5GBUpQ8GOXwNpxUnsCl_fV5KddZ aN1hkbpiheAhqZJSCJmCXu5TuDLfRhQuqwMr_G2y921-4lWslx7ZVWkI1FO1iLJW2X/w400-h225/IMG_20220325_160518.jpg (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQGaosMRmyLNnfobGyT2QMFALmNlMG3D9ycc0HsPuHd7 qgWm-HrCEfxg3rIrNI5tcxzZ--v3drSEkgEvDMzob0RLZs44j5GBUpQ8GOXwNpxUnsCl_fV5KddZ aN1hkbpiheAhqZJSCJmCXu5TuDLfRhQuqwMr_G2y921-4lWslx7ZVWkI1FO1iLJW2X/s4000/IMG_20220325_160518.jpg)
The colour I am talking here is blue, but rather than a delicate pastel shade of pale sky blue, or subtle floral blue, I mean full-on, in your face, intense cobalt or ultramarine blue. Blue that is designed to make a statement and demand your attention, rather than a restful sea or forget-me-not blue, a vivid blue that is not easy of the eye, and the areas of the pub where these intense shades of blue seem to be splashed the most, are bar counters and bar fittings.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRNULm5mE4PhVUOpd4cTgoSm0zAnzWRqSI7AIuBYhSr8 YxDRmqT0sPRHJeVXbfZ4etsgX0lcfhimt9FmR5TSG35S3FzhUY HMtatr6OSlEE9VBaRNHUXLcS9e9NHPixThlgdnQJ0RaFw26fS1 ZjzCRqUuFhZvSZ3v4xpDEmzMwKiYdTEv44ORYbh2-p/w400-h216/Swan%20Int.jpg (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRNULm5mE4PhVUOpd4cTgoSm0zAnzWRqSI7AIuBYhSr8 YxDRmqT0sPRHJeVXbfZ4etsgX0lcfhimt9FmR5TSG35S3FzhUY HMtatr6OSlEE9VBaRNHUXLcS9e9NHPixThlgdnQJ0RaFw26fS1 ZjzCRqUuFhZvSZ3v4xpDEmzMwKiYdTEv44ORYbh2-p/s3740/Swan%20Int.jpg)
In his classic book, Beer & Skittles, pioneering beer writer Richard Boston, described the colours of a traditional public bar as a symphony in brown. He was referring to the wood from which the bar counters, floors, and often panelled wall coverings, are constructed, and with wood ranging in colour from pale pine to rich, dark mahogany, it is easy to understand where Bostonwas coming from. Now, with the exception perhaps of the floors, bright vivid blue seems to dominate, everywhere that one casts ones’ eyes.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVwOi0GHyOjJbyvy-HcDPFIxq-xgIMleNDERY9sWntVaHjuWJ_ogEZWGBODfPVfRd6eYDA-Vehmz2lk3u7Svx7bbSYQunr4bkTdtUJGDi0NXHQjvr9x7Cimhm GLdq8DJiUygHMvrKc5zKJGCggn85zPR3mih0Yak59HS-4SqaQ3hHCfXMAzsYW6l-R/w400-h300/Brighton%20bar.jpg (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVwOi0GHyOjJbyvy-HcDPFIxq-xgIMleNDERY9sWntVaHjuWJ_ogEZWGBODfPVfRd6eYDA-Vehmz2lk3u7Svx7bbSYQunr4bkTdtUJGDi0NXHQjvr9x7Cimhm GLdq8DJiUygHMvrKc5zKJGCggn85zPR3mih0Yak59HS-4SqaQ3hHCfXMAzsYW6l-R/s3826/Brighton%20bar.jpg)
I have listed, below, some of the “blue bars” I have visited since acquiring my bus pass last year – an asset that has enabled me to reconnect with many rural pubs that would, otherwise, be impossible to reach without getting behind the wheel of a car. There aren’t quite as many as I first thought, but given this is a relatively new trend, there is still plenty of time for this new “plague” to spread.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi__2ZBbg9EF1Fb1T-HAopV3EMNoA0d3l-4Xzk87dK_2z9wWUKCD2QIe2-KcoMCfwgKwaprtv3J6dU8FZdWr_VCZ6U81ndwJDHEdArvHeQdY _Cdk-qA6ah2esPPfxJpfoSUY17yqAONQL8tEjmDqVsVxXOlXjaFMaxQ BOn-7tyB1HMLBQBkvCdanlRk/w400-h300/20190606_142806.jpg (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi__2ZBbg9EF1Fb1T-HAopV3EMNoA0d3l-4Xzk87dK_2z9wWUKCD2QIe2-KcoMCfwgKwaprtv3J6dU8FZdWr_VCZ6U81ndwJDHEdArvHeQdY _Cdk-qA6ah2esPPfxJpfoSUY17yqAONQL8tEjmDqVsVxXOlXjaFMaxQ BOn-7tyB1HMLBQBkvCdanlRk/s4128/20190606_142806.jpg)
On final point, whilst blue, in the main, is a restful colour, it is also a cold colour, and like grey, not particularly welcoming. Also, unless the shade applied is a very pale shade of blue, it is nowhere near as unobtrusive as grey. So, unless this is just a passing fad, will blue become the “new grey," as far as pub interiors are concerned?Poet - Matfield, Half Moon - Hildenborough, Garland - Redhill, Ivy House - Tonbridge, Vauxhall - Tonbridge, Anchor - Sevenoaks (more of a pastel blue).
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More... (https://baileysbeerblog.blogspot.com/2022/04/rhapsody-in-blue.html)