Only just seen this thread as I've not been on the forums for a while.
In my defence, I don't think I launched a scathing attack on the establishment and even ended by saying that the beer menu looked promising and I would look forward to trying to visit again at some point.
As my experience may have been useful to someone else potentially planning a visit, I don't really see the issue in the review I left, my point being at the time that the venue had not made its opening hours easy to find, instead leaving people to rely on third party sites such as WhatPub or Google, and despite both being very useful resources are not always bang up to date. I usually find a venue's own Facebook page the most reliable source of information with regard to opening times, and still at the time of this post the opening hours are still absent from their Facebook page. As has been pointed out, there is now a web site listing the opening hours, which is something.
If ever I leave a review that just has information about opening hours I don't leave a rating out of 10 even if it has caused disappointing, as I feel a rating should reflect an actual successful visit, so it's not as if my review has trashed the venue's average rating on here or anything like that.
It seems we all have slightly differing views on what is a useful review and what is not, but so long as there is factual information that may help others (and not a full on abusive rant) then I don't see what harm has been done.
Petty reporting of reviews and the subsequent debates on the forums could leave some less thick skinned reviewers wondering why they bother, and I think sometimes show this site in a poorer light than the original review that is being complained about!
So, as stated in my review, I look forward to trying the place on another occasion and giving it a proper review!
Oh and I'm not sure what relevance "daft anti-vaxxers and tin-foil hat wearing loonies demonstrating about 5G" has to anything else being discussed here!
"Everybody's got to believe in something. I believe I'll have another beer."
-W.C.Fields
Have I blown my cover?!
I couldn't possibly reply to all the comments in this thread but I fully agree with what you say, all establishments (not just pubs) should make sure their social media is up to date and contains information such as opening hours that may be useful to people. Saying a business has better things to do just doesn't cut it, in this day and age business owners should be spending maybe just an hour a week responding to online reviews and promoting themselves, it's as much a part of running a business as doing the accounts and keeping on top of stock.
The Westminster Arms - a first-time visit yesterday, arriving at 21.40 to find the landlord in the process of finalising closing, which he must have started sometime earlier, despite the 23.00 stated closing time, on what should have been the busiest day of the week, being at the heart of Westminster's civil service. If I hadn't had four other successful visits to the area's pubs which were packed, I'd not have been pleased.