Pubs closing or closed down

[bamber 128]

went in the nags head yesterday dinner [mansfield road nottingham] great pint but i was the only one in.

Well I had heard that it and the Hole in the Wall had been part of the Hardy "business" empire until the boys received an invite to stay full board at Her Maj's pleasure.

I counted twenty plus pubs that have closed on the east side of Nottingham in the past few years. Not all of them will be missed - unless you want to buy your half-inched sat nav back.

[Ashley 288]

Insha'Allah, I put that on back of my van but got stopped by police twice in a month, (previous time was 26 years before)

[firbeck 859]

However unpleasant you may think it is, the banning of smoking in pubs has had an effect on trade, it's a stated fact amongst the landlords around here, there are no cosy outdoor 'warm, hurricane proof shelters', it's a myth, I see crowds of people shivering outside the local pubs, having a quick fag under basic, open shelters which is all the law allows. Drinking in pubs and smoking have always gone hand in hand I'm afraid, I don't know how my old man would have coped with it, he died before the regs came in ( an accident ), I doubt whether he could have enjoyed a pint without a pipe full of Digger Flake.

Then there's the question of the pub and brewery take overs by Greene King. More or less every pub in Braintree is now owned by GK, I don't want to drink their beer, particularly at the price they charge, having such a monopoly would make you think that they can afford to attract people by reducing the price, but the greedy gits don't, why should they, they have no competition. Unfortunately they are everywhere, if I go to the West Country or Nottingham, I don't want to drink what is basically made at my local 'brewery', I want the local stuff, but these barstewards are smothering all rivals.

It's interesting, I can go into Sainsburies and buy Badger Beer at discount prices, but GK, never, what would you prefer, really, Badger Gold at £1:37 or industrially produced GK p1$$ at £1:79, no contest, but unfortunately Joe Public tend to be comfortable with what they know and thats what they see on their local pub sign, GK's stranglehold subsequently gets more intense.

To sum up, I don't have a lot of money, if I go to any of my local pubs, I have to shell out £3:00 for a pint of beer made by a brewery that I despise, if I want a roll up I have to go and shiver outside, I'd sooner buy some decent beer from the local supermarket and suit myself at home, sad really, you miss out on the social interaction, but that seems a bit strained these days, things just aren't the same in pubs anymore, it's all too manipulated, thats why they are closing down, it ain't no fun anymore.

[Fynger 841]

And soon they dont want you to smoke in your house or your car....nuts innit...

Drove past The White Cow in Ilkeston the other day...Yep its a Tesco Express.

[radfordred 6,284]

However unpleasant you may think it is, the banning of smoking in pubs has had an effect on trade

The thing i miss the most about the smoking ban there's never a fag nub in the urinal , used to love trying to get it from one end to the other , if you had a right belly full you could even blast it down the trap. The kids of today are never going to experience this fine art.

Come on you've all done it ? And miss it.

[mick2me 3,033]

Theres still the chewing gum Nick?

Regarding smoking in pubs, there used to be smoke rooms when I was a lad.

Unfortunately you cant rely on the public to adhere to that rule. Hence the total ban.

[poohbear 1,360]

Theres still the chewing gum Nick?

Regarding smoking in pubs, there used to be smoke rooms when I was a lad.

Unfortunately you cant rely on the public to adhere to that rule. Hence the total ban.

You mean the tight fisted breweries wouldn't spend their money on proper air conditioning and tried to make do with a £10 expelair that didn't do bu99er all....They did nothing to avoid this mess they're in and brought it on themselves...so much for accountants running pubs.

[mick2me 3,033]

There may have been good cause to issue a number of pubs with a smoking licence,

given as you say provision of adequate ventilation.

That would allow the smokers pubs where they could light up,

and non smokers smoke free pubs.

Then we would really see if the smoking ban was the real reason for pubs closing down.

[Limey 242]

To me, it is the price of beer! It used to be that a pint in the local was cheaper than buying a bottle at the supermarket - but no more. So why bother going out to pay more than staying at home. The threat od the DUI doesn't help the situation either.

Take the tax off beer sold in pubs and add it to the bottles sold in Tesco and I bet the situation will change in short order!

[Beefsteak 305]

I shopped in Tescos in Middlewich yesterday (£10 off if you spent £30 , no brainer really ,) and came home with 12 cans of Tetleys for £6, and a 3 litre bottle of Cider for £2.43p, another no brainer.

[Brian36 0]

For me it’s the company I go out for not so much the beer.

On the odd occasion I don’t go out there’s always a stock of beer in shed.

The nights I do stay in I wonder why I have cause there’s nought on box.

Maybe different for married couples but staying in every night would drive me to drink or worst still suicide.

36.

[firbeck 859]

The thing i miss the most about the smoking ban there's never a fag nub in the urinal , used to love trying to get it from one end to the other

Quite agree with that one, it was more fun if it was a plain fag like a Woody or Park Drive, you could try to disintigrate them, filters tended to get stuck in the waste grille, but as for chewing gum, well, it doesn't float the same, boring.

Ian, am I missing something here, I seem to have noted yesterday a previous posting refering to your liking for a pint of Abbot, did you remove it out of courtesy expecting a blast.

When I first moved down here, Greene King were a local brewery that I'd never heard of before, Abbot was legendary and supplied in wooden barrels. It truly was a great pint, however, when the brewery started to expand, yours truly designed the pipeline supplying the new bottling plant from the main brewhouse. A very complicated affair that wasn't supposed to exceed 100 degrees of fall, until we got to the canopy, and I cheated so they didn't have to take it down, I doubt whether it's been the same since, oh so guilty.

But thats not the point, I don't want to go into a pub in Devon, Somerset, Cumbria, Notts or wherever and find Abbot beer pumps staring me in the face all the time, it's not right, it's stifling the local brewery industry, just as Whitbread and Greenall Whitley tried to do before, but these people have really got their claws in with a vengeance, however, if like me, you refuse to drink it on principle, they'll go down the pan, which in a way is sad because when they were just a local brewery, albeit a big one, their stuff was fine, pity they can't see it that way, a classic case of directors getting greedy for money as usual and taking every opportunity to make more at other peoples expense ie Hardy Hansons.

Poohbear, you're right, tightfisted breweries like Greene King don't give a s~~t about their clientelle, smoking rooms, no way, why should we invest in that, we sell enough beer as people have no choice anymore, f- em, we think they like it, so what, what do we care.

[Beefsteak 305]

I can't remember where I posted it Pete but I certainly haven't removed it !!

I USED TO LOVE A PINT OF GREEN KING ABBOT ALE

and I'm not afraid to shout it either............. taxi!!!!!

[denshaw 2,871]

Posted in Australia day. #12

[firbeck 859]

Nice one!!

To Brian 36

When we lived in Finchingfield, we used to regularly go down to the Red Lion for pint, lovely old pub, great landlord and Ridleys beers. When Greene King took over and shut down Ridleys brewery, the landlord told them that the reason why he was so succesful was because the other two pubs in the village were tied to GK and he would like to sell something different. Not a chance, he had to sell GK or their 'Guest' beers, all brewed by them. In the end he packed the pub trade up and quit the Red Lion, so the village now has 3 pubs all tied to GK and selling the same stuff, presumably they'll start shutting them down to save money shortly, but so what, there's no choice in what you drink around here and I believe strongly that there should be. Someone has to have principles and stand up to these people, if everyone did it for just a few weeks, they'd soon find themselves in the sh1t.

My brother went to the Derby beer festival last weekend and noted that GK were banned, they are around here at the beer festivals, says it all really, the brewing industry hates them, it's about time the public supported their local breweries before it's too late and the GK vultures destroy the entire choice of beers in this country.

[denshaw 2,871]

I had a pint of Ginger Tosser by Skinners the other night in City hospital leisure centre. It beat 50 other beers to win the Darlington beer festival. I didn't rate it that much, nice name though.

[firbeck 859]

Would Skinners have owt to do with Skinner and Rook, a name from the past that I recall used to run various offies around the city.

As I'm in pub/brewery/smoking ban rant mood, here's a good one for you.

A bloke opened up a bar just down the road from here, sounds ominous, but he refused to sell Greene King, only local beers such as Maldon or Nethergate, lovely stuff that you can't find locally anywhere due to the GK stranglehold on pubs and supermarkets. He introduced local bands, opportunities for local people to play accoustically live once a week and to encourage the old boys, he opened up his own back living room as a smoking lounge. No chance, he was jumped on and fined, despite his argument that if people wanted to take their pints into his house and have a fag, cigar or pipe, whats the problem, non of your business. No, this continued, in the end under the threat of a jail sentence, he had to sell up, so what happens now, as there's no room out back for a smoking area, everyone congregates outside on a narrow pavement on a busy road, what a waste of a good landlord, they probably only sell GK smooth puke now, we won't consider going in anymore.

[Brian36 0]

There are several pubs local to me, five of which are in ten minute walking distance all sell a GK branded beer, so what am I to do? It’s either drink GK brew or stay in and drink supermarket cheep bottle beer such likes of Budweiser or Becks to name only two. I refuse to drink pop, which is the same price as beer, besides a full sized pool table wouldn’t fit in my two down and two up..

30.

[firbeck 859]

There you go matey, they have you by the balls, thats what they want to do, have a total monopoly, it makes me weep to think that these pubs in your area, no doubt including the Broad Oak, have been taken over by these manipulative, evil scum from Bury St Edmunds.

It's happened to all the local, succesful breweries, Mansfield, Shippoes, Home Ales and finally Hardy Hansons, all taken over by conglomerates, putting people out of work in order to make profits for their directors, knowing that people have no choice but to drink their replacement p1$$, stick to Guiness, thats what I do. Don't drink their filth and put them out of business, and there's more to life in supermarkets than buying Bud or GK, just look whats on offer for Gods sake and please ignore GK's con brands such as Morlands and Ruddles, they destroyed them years ago.

[denshaw 2,871]

The Nottingham Arms, Dulwich rd Radford is up for sale. Price guide £75,00 +

WWW.heb.co.uk Seems cheap.

Sold for £95k

[Fynger 841]

Wonder if they'll sell this.

[denshaw 2,871]

Eastenders in Calais used to sell a wine called Dogs B*ll*cks. £1 a bottle.

[Beefsteak 305]

Just found this

http://www.thisisnottingham.co.uk/news/Nottingham-pubs-Past-present/article-783564-detail/article.html

[firbeck 859]

The closure of Nottingham pubs is clearly at an end, obviously the hand that taketh, is now the hand that giveth away and is the salvation of all that is good in the brewing industry:

http://www.greenekingpubs.co.uk/nottinghamshire/run-a-pub-in-nottinghamshire.php

As long as you serve our p1$$ though.

[Ashley 288]

Weren't Skinner and Rook something to do with the old Nottingham Brewery that stood somewhere near Victoria Station? My dad served with a Flt Lt Rook of that family at Hucknall, Known as Lucky Rook after he walked away from crashing a Hawker Horsley? in Bulwell Hall Wood whilst trying a low loop as part of a fellow officers wedding celebration, I think he was later killed in Russia doing sea escort patrol