Sign of the Times?

Farway's observation in http://forums.pubsgalore.co.uk/showt...ews-of-the-day #84 reminds me of an observation I was going to make after walking around Gosport last week.

Every town I visit (and I travel a fair bit) seems to be losing pubs, yet the number of tattoo parlours, nail bars and shops selling "exotic" (alright: cheap, foreign-looking, impractical clothing) seems to be increasing at a greater rate than pub loss. What does this tell us about the shift in culture in UK? Why, when people are generally strapped for cash, is there an increase in spending on people's appearance while there is a corresponding decrease in community-based drinking? What has caused this significant shift in how we spend our money and our leisure time?

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Originally Posted by ETA

What has caused this significant shift in how we spend our money and our leisure time?

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If I knew the answer to that, ETA, I'd be a multi-millionaire.

Wait a minute, I am a multi-millionaire

Amongst all the nail bars, amusement arcades, chicken shops and tattoo parlours there'll be somewhere selling a dozen tins of Wifebeater for a tenner. The same amount of beer over a pub counter would cost around £35 quid. Then you can spend all that money saved on nail bars, fruit machines, tattoos, fried chicken....

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Originally Posted by ETA

Farway's observation in http://forums.pubsgalore.co.uk/showt...ews-of-the-day #84 reminds me of an observation I was going to make after walking around Gosport last week.

Every town I visit (and I travel a fair bit) seems to be losing pubs, yet the number of tattoo parlours, nail bars and shops selling "exotic" (alright: cheap, foreign-looking, impractical clothing) seems to be increasing at a greater rate than pub loss.

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Gosport [AKA Turktown], is even worse than Portsmouth, if that is just about possible

On the Waterlooville front, yet another charity shop has opened [replaced a bookies], and another bl00dy mobile phone shop [that makes 3 now] and a shoe shop has closed, so I expect yet another greasy burger chain or charity shop to pop up :mad:

Think I will have to drown my sorrows in the new JDW once it opens

Oakengates is full of charity shops theses days , though the pubs are not doing to badly , only 3 pubs up the main drag having closed in the last few years leaving 5(well down on the 20 up the main street in the 60s), theres only 1 bank left in town(used to be 5/6) and where there were 2 chippies there are now 4 curry houses , 3 kebab shops , 2 pizza , a couple of chippies and a couple of burger joints plus the usual Greggs and Subway . Problem around here is they built a massive out of town shopping centre and then went and called it The Town Centre killing off the three small market towns in the area .

I think a lot of it is down too the massive influx of immigrants most of which don't want too integrate with other people or society & most don't drink if they do its at home.
Add that too the fact that most other working people are so skint they cant afford too go in a Pub except may be once a week.

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Originally Posted by Alesonly

I think a lot of it is down too the massive influx of immigrants most of which don't want too integrate with other people or society & most don't drink if they do its at home.

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If you go down your local Tesco or Asda, I don't think you'll find it's immigrants who are piling the massive discounted boxes of Carling and Stella and the cheap Chardonnay and spirits into their trolleys.

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Originally Posted by Alesonly

Add that too the fact that most other working people are so skint they cant afford too go in a Pub except may be once a week.

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I did a back of a fag packet calculation this afternoon-OK, I failed maths O level countless times-but when I started work in the mid 70's, an hour's work before deductions could have bought me the best part of five pints in the pub:now I'd struggle to see 2 and a half. Admittedly, my career didn't follow the heady paths promised by the Kent County Council Administrative Trainee Scheme!

I cannot pluck up the courage to go in a nail bar, so I stand outside nervously chewing the ends of my fingers. Just spent a few days in Cardiff city centre and was saddened to see some pubs previously visited had closed.