• Changes in Licencing laws
• Pubs and food
• Other useful things to know about pubs

CHANGES IN THE LICENSING LAWS

Due to the change in the licensing laws for public houses several years ago, and the tied house law it is now much easier to obtain a meal in Britain than it used to be.

The law now allows public houses to open at more or less whatever hours they wish to, this means that you don’t get thrown out at 1pm when the pub shuts. (laws would vary from town to town so it was never clear what time they were open). Now they can stay open when they wish.

Additional changes in the tied house law changed things even more. In the past almost every pub in the country was owned by a brewery and the publican was a tenant holder. The pub would sport a sign stating to which brewery it belonged. If you have been there in the past you will have probably seen such signs. The pub would have one sign saying ‘The Green Man’ with a picture of a green man, This is the name of the pub. On the same sign underneath or on a separate sign it would say ‘Brains, or Eldridge Pope, or Devenish, etc., This is the name of the brewery that owned the pub. The pub would then sell the draft beer of that pub only, with additional drafts of things that the brewery did not sell, like Guinness and draft cider which are not brewery owned. They pub was not allowed to sell draft beer from another brewery and had to purchase all its spirits and soft drinks through said brewery. This meant they could not get the best price for what they wanted but had a monopoly and had to pay what the brewery demanded.

Several years ago the law changed stating that a brewery could only own a certain number of public houses in one area. If they had more than that they either had to exchange them for pubs in other areas with another brewery or to sell them. This was the delight of the publican who for to the first time had the ability to buy out the pub which he was running and own it. He could then run it the way he wanted, and sell what beer he wanted. Now the majority of pubs have no brewery sign and sell a variety of different beers and can buy their supplies where they want to so get a better price for things.

The bad side was that most breweries have short life beer, it’s fresh brewed stuff not like the beer available in America. (American beer is actually lager beer, most do say so on the can). British beer is rather like milk,’ if its not used in a certain time it spoils and goes off. Many don’t travel that well either so breweries only had pubs within a certain radius of their brewing plant as that was the limit of the beers’ traveling capacity. This meant that unless there was another local brewery with which they could exchange pubs they could not take advantage of the ‘swap’ law, as the other pubs were outside their beers travel range. This meant they had a lot of pubs and no one to swap them with. Property prices are at present very low in Britain and quite a few breweries did not want to sell the public houses at low prices so they simply evicted the landlord and boarded up the property to await a better price offering.

This is why when you travel the country you will often see boarded up pubs. Some villages lost the only pub they had which is a blow to the social life of the community as it’s the local gathering spot. It does not mean however that the British have no money and don’t want to drink out any more like a lot of strange reports I have heard from ill informed individuals. (This information comes from several old friends in the pub trade. - Thanks guys!).

PUBS AND FOOD.

For the publicans that were able to purchase their properties it was a gift from heaven, what most publicans have always dreamed off, and it revolutionized the pub trade.

Large restaurant areas have been created and a huge variety of food is now available for both lunch and dinner. Most pubs only serve food between certain hours they are not fast food joints. If you arrive for lunch at 2.30pm you will probably find yourself out of luck, they might be able to give you a sandwich if you are lucky but not much else. However the blossoming of food available is a boon for the British people who like to go to the pub for lunch, whole offices will come en mase to the pub and enjoy a drink and some interesting food. Alcohol is not seen as the terror it is here and a drink at lunch time is not considered taboo, in fact it may even be encouraged as a way for colleagues to bond./P>

Very good and inexpensive meals can be obtained in pubs. The variety is large which is to many people a great boon. There are some pubs that serve only sandwiches and burgers but these are not that many as the burger is not the universal food there as it seems to be here. People like variety in what they eat. If you want to sample some of the traditional British dishes the pub is the best place to look. Different areas of the country will serve different things, most often dishes that are popular in that region. Quite often in smaller pubs the cooking is done by the publican’s wife in the kitchen while he runs the bar so you can’t get closer to home cooked traditional meals than that. Since prices are reasonable many British people will eat here too.

OTHER THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT PUBS.

Pubs are considered the social center of British life for a large proportion of the population. If you want to find anyone or know about the local area, find the local pub and ask the occupants, someone there will surely know. Alcohol is not considered the evil force in Europe that it is in America so it is perfectly acceptable to have a couple of pints with your friends or new ones that you have met in the pub then go home. Be aware however that a large proportion of the occupants of the pub will WALK there. Drunk driving is considered just as serious there as here, but there people take responsibility for their own actions. There is no “well the publican should not have served me” or such blame throwing, if you drank it it’s your fault, you pay for it. Since such social etiquette is in place people act far more responsibly and there is little of the silliness and irresponsibility that is seen here. Young people are taught to understand alcohol and do not abuse it as the youth of America seems to, and if they do they pay for it, no sympathy anywhere and no blame throwing.

Therefore pubs are seen as places you gather to be with your friends and talk. That a few drinks are there to is often immaterial and you don’t have to drink alcohol to be part of the group. They are often the center of village life and it is not uncommon to see notes pinned to shop doors saying ‘Closed: But if you are desperate I’m in the pub’.

Although pubs are social gathering spots their friendliness is not universal. Some areas of the country are far more social than others. If you are in the North of England and walk into a pub and someone does not talk to you in the first 10 minutes it probably means the pub is empty. In the south of England people are more reserved and the south west can be very cliquish. There if you are an outsider no one will talk to you and you feel as if you are invading some sacred turf just being there.

Women alone or even in small groups can be a problem. At lunchtime this is not considered anything as women will often go there for lunch alone or with a group. In the evening however it’s different. The male population still consider women alone as ‘looking for something’ and will not leave you alone. Even if you settle in the corner with a book it is unlikely you will be left alone, (unless you are older then its usually not a problem, but young women may find this difficult). Even pairs may find it hard, but larger groups are usually left alone.

Since pubs are social places people of all walks of life rub shoulders and talk to anyone, this means that there is no turf staking. If the pub is busy and you are a couple sitting at a table, if there are chairs on the other side people will sit there. There will probably be no ‘can I sit here?’ You are in a pub, and if there are seats people can sit there. This will apply even if you are eating. They will plunk down their food opposite and eat right along with you. You might not even talk. Just because you were at the table first does not mean that it’s yours. Don’t be alarmed or offended it’s the way things are.