The Sunday Reflection #95 - Pubs, Pubs, Pubs - and what you can learn from visiting nine of them in one night!

 Last night, I visited nine pubs and had a drink in each one. We were on one of my best friends sons stag night. A group of fifteen of us dressed up as characters from the Super Mario game and went on a pub crawl organised by his other son. You may think that this is a strange topic for a Sunday Reflection, but I learned quite a lot and I really wanted to share it. We were on Brighton. We emerged from our Airbnb at 7pm and headed to the first of the pubs. We were on a tight schedule. The first pub we passed was not on our itinery. It was the Golden Cannon. It's in the heart of LGBTQ+ district, but is a proper old style pun , which wouldn't seem out of place in Burnt Oak. The locals saw us and and rushed out and invited us in, amused by our outfits. Given the warm welcome, we had to oblige. The scheduled beer for the first stop was a pint of Guinness. As I rather like Guinness, this went well. A local put One Step Beyond by Madness on and we all did the conga around the pub and down the road. The guvnor then gave us a round of Baby Guinness shots. It was a brilliant start. We then moved on. As we made our way down the street, people were stopping us to have their picture taken with a group of fourteen blokes, all dressed as in silly attire.

Now I am not going to bore you with the details of the other pubs and drinks, but I will share a few things.  Three of the venues we visited were not on the list we had planned. They saw us and invited us in because the saw we were good natured and having fun. We went in and I guess we spent £200 in each. We also had a great crack with all of the locals. All of these pubs were independent. We went in one pub, which we didn't feel especially welcome in. It wasn't a party atmosphere and I guess if you want a quiet pub, you don't want 14 blokes being silly. They did serve us, but it wasn't the vibe for either us or them. O'Neils refused to let us come in. It was pretty clear that they had decided that we were 'too large a group' to let in, despite the fact that it was clear that we were good natured and having a laugh. The other large chain we went to was Wetherspoons. Although they let us in, there was a scowling member of security standing by us for the entire duration of our visit. I found it quite antagonising really. I rarely drink on Wetherspoons, and it sort of confirmed my prejudices that Wetherspoons lacks atmosphere and is not really much fun. 

Another one of the highlights was an impromptu stop at The Little Havana bar for some impromptu Karaoke. As the night was warm and dry and we were having a good crack, quite a few revellers joined in. The bar owner got into the vibe as well. 

It was a brilliant night. I go to a lot of pubs and clubs, not usually so many on one night and I don't normally drink as much in one sitting, but such occasions are to be savoured. It confirmed my views of the large pub chains, which are run by people who don't drink in them. Soulless and dull. I also love quirky pubs, community pubs and best of all, bars with a bit of music on. I get that students etc, on a low budget, love a 'spoons' but to me they are horrible. 

What I found interesting was the different attitudes of the door staff. The big chains had aggressive door staff that were keen to assert their authority. The smaller pubs had doormen who saw we were up for a crack and got into the spirit with us. I get that the big chains have 'policies' but anyone who has spent any time around pubs at all can see straight away who is going to be a problem and who isn't. I believe that a visit to the pub should be good for the soul. If all it does is suck the energy out of you, then it is a bit self defeating. 

The bottom line for me was that we stopped by for drinks in nine different places and seven of them were a great crack. Perhaps the most interesting thing is that all had their own vibe. All were unique, apart from the 'Spoons' which just felt like you were in a 'Spoons', which is great if you like that sort of pub. I don't. I realised that I don't actually go to the pub to drink. I go to the pub to have a crack. Pubs that don't really want people having fun are not really for me. 

The traditional English pub is dead!

Of all the titles of blogs I've written, this is the hardest to write. But the sad truth is that it's true. I drink in a lot of pubs and have done for the last 50 years. I could write a million pages on my life in pubs. But the sad truth is that the traditional English pub is dead. You may well say "Ah, but my local is thriving". It may well be, but my guess is that it is not what we would identify as a traditional English pub, where people came to drink beer and chat to their mates. The only person who seems to be doing OK doing this is the Wetherspoons chain and to me, they are not traditional English pubs. That is not a criticism, it is an observation. They do not have darts teams, they don't exist at the end of high streets in sleepy villages. 

The sort of pubs that have survived in villages, tend to do food or have some other unique charm. I doubt any survive just on beer sales (what is traditionally called a wet pub). There are busy city centre pubs that make this model work, but they are ones blessed with a location that provides a brisk trade. Areas in London like Camden and Kings Cross have a few. There are quite a few high street bars, converted from shops that simply sell beer, we have one in Mill Hill, The Bridge Tavern, but I don't think anyone would describe The Bridge as a typical English pub.

One of the things I wouldn't have predicted is that in Barnet, pubs in the more upmarket areas have survived where the more working class areas, such as Burnt Oak have seen their once thriving pub scene completely disappear. Last Saturday, we went to The Three Wishes in Edgware to watch my good mate Alan Warner's band. When I was in my Twenties, we'd go to Edgware most weekends, when we didn't g to gigs. We'd do a pub crawl, having a pint in the Railway. The White Hart, The White Lion, The Masons and we'd end up in the Beehive (it was full of pretty girls). Not one of those pubs remain. Oddly, The Three Wishes is a new pub. It seems to do OK and puts on a lot of music, which is good. 

Burnt Oak has seen a similar devastation. When you read about the decline of the pub industry in the UK, there are many factors. Margaret Thatcher passed laws banning breweries from owning large chains. This broke the link between making beer and selling beer. The new pubco's that formed, realised that they could make more money selling the pubs than beer. Then Tony Blair banned smoking in pubs. Many punters simply couldn't be bothered with the hassle and sit at home drinking cans and smoking. Then Brexit removed the source of cheap, hard working labour. This occurred at the same time that Covid got us all out of the habit of going to the pub. 

I think it is no exaggeration to say Covid brought twenty years of social change in six months. I had thought the traditional pub model was saveable. I've changed my mind. Young people do not find the traditional English pub enticing and older people have got out of the habit of going for a drink with friends. What is the answer? I don't know, I wish I did. I like pubs that have character, that are not homogenous brands, that have staff who work their because they like doing it. That know the regulars and the regulars know them. Where they sell beers because they like beers and they know what the beers are like. There are still a few pubs that, to me at least are proper English boozers. My favourite at the moment is The Southampton Arms in Kentish Town. But it seems ever harder to find good pubs, selling proper beer, that have an atmosphere where you want to stay and have another pint, when you should be going home.

Anyway, I'll end with this. Back in 1984, The False Dots had a residency at The Bald Faced Stag in Burnt Oak. It was a pub where everyone knew each other. It had a bit of a reputation for trouble, but I knew many of the regulars, a fair few had worked for my Dad at MacMetals. This sort of working class pub in council estate areas seems to have disappeared from London.  Here is a video of the band playing there. Enjoy and have a pint on me to start the weekend. I miss such places

The Sunday Reflection #32 - Londons pubs, cafe's and Indian restaurants, past, present and future?

 What is London to you? Yesterday I went to watch Hadley FC play Oxford City in the FA Trophy. I spent much of the journey chatting with Alan, a fellow Hadley fan. We discussed football, music, the joys of parenthood and pies. I won't share most of this, but the conversation about pies was wonderful. I can honestly say that Oxford City FC sell the best pies I've had for years anywhere. Proper chunks of steak, no gristle and proper suet pastry. Absolutely delicious. Alan told me that there is a Pie and Mash appreciation society page on Facebook. I won't bore you with the details of our chat, but it got me thinking. For many of us of a certain age, Pie and Mash is indicative of a London that is disappearing before our eyes. 

I had always dreamed of writing a book about the great cafe's in London. My idea was to spend a year where three days a week, I'd visit a different greasy spoon cafe or pie and mash shop. Maybe even ten years ago that was still my ambition. Now? I am not sure that there are enough to actually do it. The days when eating in a cafe was cheap, seems a thing of the past. I still have a favourites. The Cafe Anglais in Colindale is one. The Little Portland Cafe is another, a guilty pleasure for me when I was having my cancer discussions at UCL. But the whole culture of cafe's for the workmen of London is a dying culture. Pubs are another victim. The industry is almost unrecognisable from when I started going to pubs in the 1970's. Then beer was cheap, pub hours were limited and everyone smoked like chimneys. Food in pubs was a  bag of nuts. But that is a lost London.

The present? There are still great pubs, but they are different. Some outliers hold on. I love the Southampton Arms in Kentish Town, it has many of the best features of 1970's pubs, but it has a far better range of beers than most pubs then. If I eat out, it tends to be curries, but this is another sector that is under pressure. I like old school curries. The owners who set up shop in the 1970's are dying and retiring. Enjoy it whilst you can.

And the future? What will London's pubs, cafe's and Indian restaurants be like in the year 2044. I'll be 82, if I'm still here. What is the pub of the future like? I look at my kids and what they like. They'll be in their 40's then. They don't really seem interested in beer. They like places that have a vibe. Will there still be real ale pubs, or will that culture die, when my generation pass? I hope not, but my kids aren't interested. They like curries, but like the cheap and cheerful sort. I suspect the sector will survive but become more London. The old Bangladeshi generation's food traditions will pass. The food will either be cheap and copious, or expensive and fussy. And the cafe's? It seems to me that healthy eating ideas will do for the little family run cafes I love. I hope I'm wrong, but it's hard work running a cafe and there's no margin on egg and chips. 

And finally, going back to my conversation with Alan. Will the pie and mash shop survive. None of my kids have my love of pies. I don't see too many of their generation with our obsession. I do hope they do, but London is constantly changing. I do wonder what I'll be eating when I eat out in London in 2044, maybe it will change for the better. When my Grandad was my age, having a curry wasn't an option and he'd probably have hated it. My Grandma wouldn't go in pubs. She thought they were for men. So it does change and evolve. 

The Saturday List #435 - My top ten favourite London pubs in 2024

 I've done a few lists featuring pubs over the yearsb but I've never done a list of my favourite pubs right now. This is an ever changing list as pubs shut, change management, rebrand, etc. If I'd done this list ten years ago, it would be rather different. Of course as it's a personal list, it features pubs that I've been to. I have tried to feature different pubs that offer a different and unique feel. Being a musician, clearly that weighs heavy on some of my choices. I am also a  lover of decent real ales, so a good real ale is a big plus. I am not a massive fan of bland chain pubs, however some chain pubs are pretty good. So what you'll get here is a good mix of pubs which anyone who is looking for a decent pint and a nice evening etc should find something. 

1. The Southamton Arms, Kentish Town. This is currently my favourite pub in London if I want a decent pint and a chat with mates in a relaxing atmosphere. It is not posh, I would describe it as shabby chic. It has a wonderful selection of well kept real ales and ciders and some tasty meaty snacks. For me, the fact that it is five minutes walk from the Thameslink station is a massive plus. 

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2. The Dublin Castle, Camden. This is most definitely London's best music pub. I love it so much that the band wrote a song about it! Not a pub for the real ale lovers, but deffo one for a great night out. My band, The False Dots will be playing there on Friday 26th April, with the legendary Brummie Ska band Skaface. 

If you've not been  to The DC, this would be an excellent time to start. Tickets available here. It is worth a trip in to see the memorabilia from Madness, Amy Winehouse, etc. There is also a decent jukebox. Without pubs like the Dublin Castle, London wouldn't have a music scene. I'd advocate supporting all of London's pubs, but especially the music pubs.

Here's the track and video we made in homage 

3. The Gun, Docklands. So you want a great Sunday lunch? I can think of nowhere better. With the opening of The Elizabeth Line, this has become very accessible for those of us who live elsewhere. There are great views of the river, in the Summer the patio is wonderful. Best of all though is the Sunday Roast. To me, a good roast is the food of Kings. It has become our go to lunch venue if we want a long, boozy lunch and I thoroughly recommend it. 

4. The Rake, Borough Market. This used to be my local when I worked in Park Street. I thoroughly recommend a trip to the market, get some street food and wash it down with a few pints in The Rake, It has a massive selection of real ales. A proper pub for beer lovers and a great stop off, if you are visiting the South Bank. 

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5. The Hop and Vine, Ruislip. One of the great things about being a football fan is that you find all manner of great pubs in places you'd normally not go. Before Wrexham became a global phenomenum, I was a part time fan, going to games in and around London with my North Welsh mates. They were in the Conference and it was always a good laugh. Now they are in League two and you can't get tickets. One gem I found was the Hop and Vine in Ruislip. It was the pub of choice before a match at Wealdstone. Luckily for me, the 114 bus goes from Mill Hill, so it is dead easy to get to. Ruislip is a great little place. It even has a Wimpy, which I really miss from Mill Hill. The pub has a wonderful selection of real ales and a brilliant little garden as well. It is also a good place to refresh yourself after  avisit to Ruislip Lido.

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6. The Spreadeagle, Camden Town. I have to include this pub, as it has my favourite chair in any pub in London. I love sitting in this seat, with a pint of Youngs, just watching the world go by. Camden is a busy, frenetic hive of activity, but the Spreadeagle is a lot more relaxed and chilled out. It is my pub of choice for meeting people in Camden, if I don't go to the Dublin Castle

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7. The Doric Arch, Euston. I do rather like pubs that serve as watering holes for London's stations, The Doric Arch is my favourite of these. It is located upstairs by the Bus station. It is a Fullers pub and has a good selection of beers and a fine display of railway memorabilia. If you are catching a train from Euston and have half an hour to spare, it is a wonderful way to waste some time. I enjoy it so much that I go there even if I don't have a train to catch. There are some great Indian Restaurants in the locality.

8. The Bohemia, North Finchley. I love the Bohemia so much that I even had my 60th Birthday party there. It is a microbrewery, with the beer brewed on site. The food is great as well. They have live Jazz on a Sunday evening, organised by the rather wonderful Ed Bentley, a true giant of the North London Jazz scene. 

9. The Boogaloo, Highgate. A great little bar if you want a bit of fun. The Gospel Lunches are brilliant, usually featuring live music from the Americana genre. They have quiz nights and all manner of other stuff. Never a dull moment. 

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10. Ye Olde Mitre, Barnet. Last but by no means least. The Mitre is a proper pub, good beer and a historic setting. It is dead handy if you are going to The Bull Theatre, which is more or less next door. I will be nipping in myself next week, as The False Dots are playing with The Silencerz at the Bull. We always go for a beer there after. There are several decent pubs in Barnet, so you can do a decent pub crawl, but the Mitre is my favourite.

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What are your favourite pubs and why? Please leave a comment as I'm always up for finding new pubs. 

The death of the pub industry

 How many pubs have we lost in London and the Borough of Barnet over the last few years? I was having a chat with some friends at the Mill Hill Services club last night and we were reminiscing about night in various pubs. In Edgware, we've lost the White Hart, The White Lion, The Beehive and The Railway, alomg with the Edge of Town. The only pub left is the Three Wishes which wasn't a pub when I used to consider Edgware a place for a night out. In Burnt Oak, the Bald Faced Stag, The Prince of Wales and The Broadway have gone. In Mill Hill, we've lost The Mill and the Railway/Royal Engineer as well as The Bell that opened and closed on The Broadway. 

What is interesting is that when I talk to people who are not really 'pub people', they say that this is because the traditional pub model is outdated and that to 'survive' you have to become a trendy Gastropub. As far as a I am concerned, the term Gastropub is a misnomer. The places are restaurants. For me, you can only really call a pub a pub if its primary business is the selling of ales, wines and spirits. There are plenty of pubs operating to this model that do very well thank you. I'm not a fan, but Wetherspoons have made millions from concentrating on selling beer and not being trendy. Then there are the local, niche pubs that do a fine job and sell decent, real ales that you simply can't get at the supermarket and provide a pleasant environment to consume it in. 

The biggest myth of all is that people go to the pub to drink alcohol and 'get pissed'. If this was the target, the cheapest way to do it is to get a bottle of vodka and drink it at home. People go to the pub because the human race are sociable beings. We like the company of other people and when we have a few drinks, we become less inhibited. If we are chatting to our mates, we get into deeper conversations than we would when we are sober. When we are in the company of the opposite sex, we drop our guard and help to ensure the ongoing future of the human race. 

But someone, presumably a bean counter, decided a few decades ago that providing a warm, friendly environment for people to talk b@ll@cks and drink beer was not the way to make money. If you server up some vaguely edible food, you can make more money. The idea was that there would be a whole new, different market that would fill up your pub estate and you'd make far more money. Then they realised that ordinary boozers, who were the core market, put off these new, mythical customers. So why not put the prices up? That way the new customers would spend even more and the old customers would bugger off elsewhere. 

It was also expensive to keep real ales properly and you needed people who knew what they were doing. Why not just sell dull, keg and bottled beers that need no great knowledge and care and employ teenagers on minimum wages. They then realised that there were all manner of 'fiddles' for want of a better word, that Landlords were running, that ensured that they made a decent bit of money on the side. Why should staff, not shareholders get this cash. So they brought in computerised tills and stock control systems. The switch to payment cards meant that it was almost impossible for Landlords to do any 'cash sidelines'. This meant that for best and smartest Landlords, who knew how to fill pubs and make a few quid, there was little or no incentive to work in the industry. 

So now, we have a situation where these clone pubs, selling beers that are marketed by brand gimmicks, rather than taste proliferate. They are operated by bean counting pub co's, most of whom have no real interest in the industry they are in. They are staffed by the cheapest staff, who have little or no interest in their job and see it as something to do for a few moths/years, whilst they are waiting for something else.

It is no wonder that most are struggling. Worst still, the pubco's know they can make more money selling pubs for development rather than deveeleoping profitable pubs, which sadly requires hard work and investment. 

There are still some wonderful pubs in London. I was out in Clerkenwell last Thursday and was delighted to see that the pubs we visited on our pub and curry crawl were packed and many of the punters were young adults. They served decent beer and people were enjoying the ambience. The beer was not extortionately expensive in the pubs we visited, in fact you'd spend more on a pint in some pubs in Mill Hill than these central London watering holes. It doesn't seem to occur to any one in the 'hospitality' industry that if you price your customers out of the market, they don't come. The pub model works when pubs are busy and local people can turn up, knowing that there will be a few mates to have a chat with. Pubs used to have pool, dartboards and all manner of other things, that have disappeared from most. I've no idea who came up with the idea that soggy fish and chips would make pubs more enticing than decent beer and a chat with your mates, but they have a lot to answer for. 

Of course some pubs still do what they do exceptionally well, which is why I love playing with my band at The Dublin Castle in Camden. Why not come down on 23rd December and see how you can run a decent music pub, pack it out and do alright. Tickets here   

http://wegottickets.com/event/598026/

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