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Pubs
The British pub is utterly unique. Some are gloriously and stubbornly old-fashioned: dark, cloistered palaces dedicated to the arcane art of drinking, where the snug has survived the attentions of those eminent Victorians who thought it a home to vice. These are the kind of pubs that thrive on tradition. A sense of continuity and history resonates from the pictures and prints that cover the walls. The best of these pubs is a bulwark against the froth and wash of modern life, without turning into a false and fraudulent celebration of the ‘good old days’. Thrive on tradition, yes, but acknowledge changing times.
Other pubs are fresh and bright, upbeat and eager with light pouring in; all the better to appreciate the sparkle of a golden beer in its glass. Expect cosy sofas, stripped pine furniture, beers from home and abroad, and food with an accent on the unusual. Whether old, middle-aged or new, a good pub is a comfort, a crossroads of social mobility, a centre of communications and a place where the reward of a great beer sustains during the long working day. There are town pubs, city pubs, suburban pubs, seaside pubs, village pubs, in the middle-of-nowhere pubs, pub pubs, and brewpubs where the beer is freshly brewed on the premises. Each will be quite different, each will have its own unique atmosphere. But one thing that binds all good pubs together is that they are the heartbeat of a community; as well as being a home of good beer.
The rural local brings people together. It’s the place where gossip is swapped, tall tales are told and there’s always the chance of bumping into someone you know. If you’re lucky, all this can be accompanied with several pints of a local beer brewed down the road. For the regular, the village pub is business, pleasure and social duty all rolled into one. For the visitor, a pint in the corner of a country pub is nirvana. It brings a chance for idle contemplation, people-watching or simply gazing out of the window and letting the world drift by. In a fast-moving society, we all need to slow down and stop what we are doing: slow drink, slow food, slow life. Pubs are the ideal one-stop shops where time and a good pint can be bought with a minimum of fuss. Village pubs are also public services. Some sell newspapers, especially on a Sunday, or act as a post-office. Others provide rooms for local groups of like-minded souls to meet. Hush, the cricket team has its AGM tonight, while tomorrow morning sees the Parish Council in action.
In cities and towns, the world outside the pub is more frenetic, but inside time stands reassuringly still. No one talks to you in a modern café where the chrome is more polished than the food, but visit most good city pubs and (should you wish) you’re bound to end up in conversation with one of the locals. Cities, unfriendly places? Not if you’re sitting in a pub with a pint. From London to Liverpool, from Sheffield to Stromness, all is grist to the mill of discussion, from the fortunes of favourite football clubs, to the quality of the beer, the duplicity of politicians and, of course, that great British obsession, the weather.
The first pub? Back in the Dark Ages, for sure. Certainly as soon as the Romans arrived they ordered wayside inns (or tabernae) to be built alongside their new straight roads. The Saxons and all the other folk from over the northern seas brought in toasts and enjoyed nothing better than a good night of wassailing. Come medieval times, the monks took over, running their own hostelries where weary travellers could stop for a bite and a pint and a quick look at an illustrated scroll. Taverns in the town acted as a home from home for anyone sick of looking at the four walls of their wattle and daub hovel. Coaching inns provided warmth and vittles for travellers when crossing countries and borders in comfort was unheard of. Victorian gin palaces made drinkers feel like royalty amid the opulence of engraved glass, polished brass and fluttering gas lamps, much to the dismay of temperance campaigners, while nowadays even royalty comes to the pub to pull a pint.
Two thousand years after the first pubs set up shop, drinkers are still being welcomed into their hallowed confines. Other countries may have the keller, birreria or bar. But the British have the pub and for that give thanks.
Taken from The Big Book of Beer, © CAMRA, published 2005, £14.99, £12.99 to CAMRA members — buy from CAMRA.
As Julie Andrews never said, these are some of my favourite pubs
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