First ever pint in a pub

[sheffield hatter]

... the Bank of England never got many ten-bob notes back after decimalisation (15th Feb 1971) because everyone kept them as souvenirs ...

I think maybe this was more because they were taken out of circulation before decimalisation, though I am sure many were kept back as you say. (I have one myself!). According to this Wikipedia article, "The ten shilling note was withdrawn on 20 November 1970 following the introduction on 14 October 1969 of the fifty pence coin."

My first drink in a pub was on the Friday before D-Day (that's D for Decimal - 1971 rather than the Normandy landings in 1944 ): a Double Diamond in the since-demolished Cupid in Hemel Hempstead, costing 2/11 (or 2s 11d, just shy of 15p). My first real ale was a pint of Boddingtons in Lancaster in 1973, which cost 12½p.

[Pangolin]

Sad to relate that the obscure back street pub that we used to slope off school to was a Grotney house. No wonder we were never found there. I cannot remember if it was the dire Special, but I do recollect it was 1/10 a pint, although I tended to go for Light and Bitter at 2/2. A few years later, a friend introduced me to 'proper' beer and I was amazed to discover how nice it was!

I enjoyed sub-20p pints well into the 80's, in the West Mids and Manchester area, but especially from the much-missed Burts on the Isle of Wight. Ah the Volunteer at Ventnor...

[arwkrite]

My first pint was Double Diamond at one of the pubs in Longden Coleham, Shrewsbury. Back in 1964 us Air Cadets would pile into one pub and have a pint and a packet of crisps. Beer was about 1/- and crisps 3d. No one gave a toss about our age but then I do not remember any bad behaviour either.

[AlanH]

Is anyone on line who bought beer in the '50's or before? (even if you were only 7! ).

[Mobyduck]

Is anyone on line who bought beer in the '50's or before? (even if you were only 7! ).

Before my time.

[Farway]

Before my time.

And mine, and I would have been only 7, so had to stick to glass of lemonade & packet of crisps outside The Crown Colham Green whilst my Grandad supped inside

I hope they have improved the vile outside toilets in the intervening 60 + years

[ETA]

this Wikipedia article, "The ten shilling note was withdrawn on 20 November 1970 following the introduction on 14 October 1969 of the fifty pence coin."

Were we really using 50p coins in 1969 - 3 years before we had new pence?

[Mobyduck]

Were we really using 50p coins in 1969 - 3 years before we had new pence?

Yes strange but true

[sheffield hatter]

Were we really using 50p coins in 1969 - 3 years before we had new pence?

The 50p coin was introduced October 1969 and the change over to decimal coinage was February 1971. That's 16 months, by my reckoning! Apart from that slight quibble, yes, I can remember the introduction of the seven-sided coin as being prior to the advent of "new pence".

One of the strange consequences of decimalisation was the way language changed too. Before, we had a penny, tuppence, thruppence, sixpence, etc. "Pence" in this context is clearly the plural of penny. However, if you were referring to more than one penny, the plural in normal usage was pennies. After D-Day this all changed, and we spoke of "three new pence" instead of "three pennies". This led to the use of "pence" as a general word for the new coinage, as in "have you got one pence?". So the old plural became the new singular. And now if I go to the post office for change and ask for a bag of tuppences, they don't know what I'm talking about. I have to say "two pence pieces".

[oldboots]

One of the strange consequences of decimalisation was the way language changed too. Before, we had a penny, tuppence, thruppence, sixpence, etc. "Pence" in this context is clearly the plural of penny. However, if you were referring to more than one penny, the plural in normal usage was pennies. After D-Day this all changed, and we spoke of "three new pence" instead of "three pennies". This led to the use of "pence" as a general word for the new coinage, as in "have you got one pence?". So the old plural became the new singular. And now if I go to the post office for change and ask for a bag of tuppences, they don't know what I'm talking about. I have to say "two pence pieces".

Round our way we always used pence never pennies as the suffix for values up to a shilling then either one and a number or one and x-pence. I think the new pence thing was due to people trying to stop confusion between the old and new money, some people talked about 3Dee and 3Pee and the Pee has remained with us. Another consequence was inflation, some items at, say, 4/7d became 47p overnight rather than 23p.

You could ask for "tuppenny bits" in the post office just to see what they say