(old gimmer alert) to miss going to the Pub?

[Mintyy]

Obvs when the dc came along my social life was very much curtailed. But in the 12 years since I had my first child, ordinary run-of-the-mill nightlife has really changed SO much. And now when I go out in the evenings its all a bit bewildering. For starters, a glass of wine is at least £5!

I like pubs. Pubs that were on the corners of ordinary London streets with juke boxes, lounge bars and saloon bars, nothing to eat except packets of crisps and peanuts, locals, cigarette machines, ashtrays, a chucking out time of 11.30 except if you were mates with the landlords and got a lock-in.

Oh nostalgic sigh.

God yeah! And you went out with £20 and that got you the bus into town, shedload of drinks at at least 5 different pubs, nightclub entrance, more drinks, kebab at 2am and then the taxi home...And you had change in your pocket.

When i was single I used to come home very drunk, fed and more money in my purse then before i went out

I was never allowed in a pub. I've never felt comfortable in them, I keep expecting my dad to pop up and yell 'unladylike' at me.

Went to a proper pub this weekend - knackered old carpets, real fires, no music at all nor any fruit machines. It was great. But in the daytime... Would love a local like that

I think the smoking ban killed a lot of pubs. The only ones left seem to be the big chains selling Blue Wkd and doing awful 2-for-1 meals.

I used to love the pub. Both the getting all dolled up and going out drinking and dancing and the thrill of "will I meet someone" when I was young, free and single, and also the having "My stool" at the bar and being able to say "The usual please Dave" to the barman, or arriving after a hard double shift and hearing the landord say "can you move down a bit please mate, that's

Friends of mine run 2 pubs. They say the smoking ban killed a lot of trade as BOF said. They have had to resort to doing 'eats' and rely a lot on the daytime, lunch trade.

Also pubs with no, none, zero, zilch, nada, children allowed in them, including babes in arms.

There are still pubs like that Up North! I like them too but it's rare I get to go in one now.

I think the last time DH and I actually went "out out" as that annoying comedian bloke says, was the night before the smoking ban came into force. And even though I've since packed in, it still isn't the same. Sitting at a pub table with a drink, my fingers twitch and my lips purse and the Urge for a ciggy is indescribable. That definitely was a major factor in why we stopped going out to pubs at night. It was just too hard to resist and spoiled all my enjoyment and I didn't see the point anymore

I had a stool at the bar which I frequently fell off enjoyed the lock-ins you mention, good old sing song, overflowing ashtrays

We have a good local now, not as good as my nostalgia one, but not too shabby either.

The lock-ins were definitely part of the enjoyment.

Where's the fun in staying out all night if it's allowed?

The landlord used to bolt the door then somebody would nip out for takeaway and knock on the window to be let back in.

Happy days!

Actually, I went in one such pub a couple of weeks ago.

Was on bus on my way home from a do in town and got stuck in awful traffic. It soon became apparent that I had to pee or pee myself on bus, so got off and legged it into this pub. If the smoking ban hadn't been in place I swear I wouldn't have been able to see the bar. I asked the lady serving if I could buy an unopened bottle of coke or something and use the loo and she told me to "Go on and use the bog fgs!"

Did we mention the proper fire?

And putting whole Black Sabbath albums on the jukebox?

I went in a pub that was holding a crib tournament not so long ago

Having a local and recognising people. Although I have always lived in London and people think it is a place to be lonely, infact people are just the same as anywhere else and like to be part of a smaller community. So in our pubs of yore we would often see the same people from one week to the next and get to know them. Tis really not the same any more, don't care if I am showing me age!

This makes me want to start one! :) Though of course being American I've never been to a proper one.

Have you really not Yank?

Still some like that round here (tis a brewery town, mind you).

at LifeofPo 'If you find a pub like that it is probably being ironic.'

This thread reminds me of selling naff wine from a chilled cabinet thing on the wall that was either sweet, medium or dry. Absolutely minging.

No! :( Never been out of North America in my life.

We have bars and things, and some of them around here (small town Minnesota) are like what you describe. But what I'd think of as a proper pub, no. We don't really have those. :)

oh, the accidental pint on the way home from work...

I used to go to my local on a Sunday lunchtime and they would produce paracetamol and a glass of orange before my ordered G&T.

Good ol days.