Another one bites the dust
A record 2,000 British pubs have closed with the loss of 20,000 jobs since the chancellor, Alistair Darling, increased beer tax in the 2008 budget, new figures published by the British Beer and Pub Association revealed today.In London the situation is particularly severe because pubs occupy prime corner locations and have extensive basements. Quite a few pubs listed in ‘The Victoria Vanishes’ have already gone, and several more are under threat from property ‘developers’.
The loss of London pubs ia appalling. I miss The Intrepid Fox in Soho a lot! The landlord used to make businessmen take off their ties before he’d serve them -nice touch!
Three basic things happened. Smoking was banned which, regardless of one’s personal preference, greatly reduced the number of customers. Wine, formerly a “limp-wristed” choice, was offered as a primary beverage. Tea & coffee are offered as a non-alcoholic drink. All three added up to the ruination of the old traditional, no-nonsense local.
That is not to say that I regret the disappearance of some of the pubs in west London such as Finch’s that used to cater to the professional drinker with great Guiness on tap, helpfully absorbing sawdust on the floor and splendid graffiti on the walls of the facilities down a vertiginous flight of slippery stairs with such observations as “You don’t buy beer … You only rent it”.