I'm happy pubs are dying out

[Raymondsam]

In my town at least.

Maybe decades ago the argument could be made that they're social hubs for people to unwind, meet and have a good time on a weekend.

Nowadays they're just hovels where mostly retired old boys go to binge drink in the daytime and cost the NHS billions in the various cancers strokes and host of other comorbidities that crop up.

The three biggest ones in my town are the typical chain owned leasehold places. Big companies that own hundreds of pubs all over the country. They treat the leaseholders like crap, if they start to turn a decent profit they up the rent.

And they'll continue to be as they're easy targets, as seen from this thread people just can't see past their narrow view.

Pubs have been around for 100s of years. One near me still had the rings for tying your horse to. Others have priest holes and underground tunnels, some are said to be haunted. The stories go back centuries. The buildings and pubs have been there longer than the town (when it was just fields and villages with hunting lodges and taverns), you can see old photos on the walls and see how much it has changed.

The local pubs also do things like offer those that have no one at Christmas a chance to get out and have a meal on Christmas day sat around a table with people.

To see them go would be a travesty and would be a loss of not just a social place but part of the history of a town.

Wtf is a traditional ' gentleman' from the US south..lol pubs are generally British.

I know the kind of pubs you mean. I worked in one in my teens, absolute soulless dives. But I do love a good pub. The ones near us are lovely, cosy, warm fires, good food, board games, music nights, some are more family orientated, some are more up market, some are community hub type places. I actually love pub culture in the right pubs. I just don't get to go them much anymore.

I like east London gastro-pub type places and local micro-brewery pubs. But they are deffo not "traditional" in any sense of the word.

No, because pubs move with the times as do other businesses but being glad pubs are dying means these go too……..
As has previously been said Pubs are not a homogenous group, just like cafes, restaurants or holidays aren’t.

Regulars = monotony and no new faces, people with interests so narrow I could predict everything they would say
drag acts = someone called "vanilla rimmer" is not something I can ever take seriously or enjoy as entertainment
piss beer = ale is boring, where is IPA or prosecco??
my ex = whole other story, none of yer beeswax
being "dragged" to the pub = have you read my post? I stopped going when I had enough

Pubs were not a problem but I disliked them hence my message in support of not feeling sorry of them disappearing. I get its part of the heritage and cultural tradition but so as workhouses, caning in schools and hatred of Irish. Some traditions are best gone.

With all the shit going on in the world right now, this is a strange thing for you to be fixated on! You also don’t make any sense because one minute you are complaining about the clientele and their burden on the NHS, and the next minute it’s the big corporations taking over that’s the problem. There’s clearly more to your post than you are telling us.

I’m teetotal and very rarely set foot in a pub unless it’s for a Sunday roast but even I think you’re being a miseryguts.

Yes you're so right, the pub in my village dates from the 13th century, there's so much history attached to it,..

Apparently, the UK pub industry supports around 1040,000 jobs.
If pubs died out tomorrow, where would all these people go?

That I agree is a shitter. But as most pubs are losing money anyway I would suspect those jobs are precarious at best.

I hope that most places can re-brand/ diversify into something different and keep the staff.

You are so very wrong.

Regulars = monotony and no new faces, people with interests so narrow I could predict everything they would say

or friends. People with a shared history and community. You can always choose not to talk to them, I’m sure they’d be okay with that.

drag acts = someone called "vanilla rimmer" is not something I can ever take seriously or enjoy as entertainment

Don’t go when they’re performing. It’s not difficult.

piss beer = ale is boring, where is IPA or prosecco??
Are you saying the only served beer? Cos every pub I’ve been to in the last 5 years serves Prosecco.

Pubs were not a problem but I disliked them hence my message in support of not feeling sorry of them disappearing. I get its part of the heritage and cultural tradition but so as workhouses, caning in schools and hatred of Irish. Some traditions are best gone.

This comment is beyond insulting and just makes you sound ridiculous. Comparing a whole section of the hospitality industry to the days when Irish people (and people of colour) were banned from even entering pubs is beyond crass.

Nobody is forcing you to go into a pub so stop being so ridiculous.

But what? We are saturated with coffee shops and restaurants are struggling.

Not everyone wants to spend a fortune on an overpriced fancy burger with chips in a small colander or some trendy beer in a gastro pub.

There's nothing better than proper pub grub and a pint of real ale or a cold beer. It's why Wetherspoons are so popular, they sell proper ale and food people like at prices people can afford. I can get a round for 6 quid and food for two for £15.

We should be saving pubs not killing them off.

Those pubs sound like shit anyway, and drag acts generally don't entertain at rural vilage pubs, more like busy city/town centres

But your experience is just yours OP. The rest of the UK isn't the same as your bit.

Our village pub is the centre of our village. It hosts the May Fayre, darts, billiards, assorted Christmas stuff. They do the lunch catering for the primary school.

They serve the best fish & chips, make big vats of veggie soup & crusty bread for fireworks night. Big children's area in the garden. Most of the village goes in there at some time in the week.

Why would we want to lose that?

Meadowfinch that sounds great, just as a pub should be.

Exactly. One of the pubs in our village has has a monthly ‘world tapas’ night with the proceeds going to local community groups and charities. They host a Santa’s grotto, an Easter egg hunt and were the only pub for miles to make a big deal
out of the women’s football and rugby.
When we had no kitchen due to major renovations the landlord would send us home with leftovers.

It’s right of passage for the village kids to work there (or one of the other pubs) at some point progressing from glass washer to bar staff before heading to uni.

During the summer people head to the beer garden after the school run and the landlord throws a party for the year 6 kids on their last day of primary school.

Our pub industry should be protected not shut down.

Pubs dying out is not going to save the NHS one penny- human beings are perfectly capable of finding behaviours and vices to replace pubs.
Chain pubs can have a less than conducive atmosphere- but I don't really understand your bitterness towards them- no one is forcing you to use them, and there are plenty of very bad landlords who don't own pubs.

You are quite wrong

When the local pubs closed during COVID the old boys had nowhere to congregate during the day, to read over the horses and wind each other up. They stayed in their individual homes instead, lonely, and isolated. One of them died and no one found him for days, because he didn’t have any family locally. His family were the day drinkers in the pub he frequented.

YABU.

Never had any round my way, I'm in in the vicinity of 4 rural pubs in the South Downs national park and not ONE of them has ever had a drag act, it would probably go down like a lead balloon.

Where on earth do you live?The pubs around me are lovely and serve delicious food.
You sound like you are describing victorian pubs!!!
Dont go if you dont like them.
You sound a bit of a kill joy.

Never had any round my area either and we have 25 pubs across the town,so you'd think there would have been. We've had Comedy shows, band nights, local musicians, wreath making workshops, craft fairs, family fun days. Very rarely have trouble either.

What pub doesn't serve any other beers than ale?! (And ale's certainly less boring than prosecco anyway!)