do you go to pubs much?

Question

Almost 60 pubs shut down for good every month, according to figures released by the Campaign for Real Ale (Camra).
They say more than 1,300 pubs nationwide are currently under threat from closure.
The bulk of closures (80%) happen in urban areas where the premises are often converted into housing, restaurants, shops or offices.



I don't go very often, maybe once or twice a year. i used to go weekly but drinking in pubs is so expensive. £10+ for 3 pints is silly money.

Answer 1

Good question Lokidrew. All but one of the pubs in my tiny bit of working-class East London has closed. Personally I go to the pub once or twice a month, this is probably less than I did a few years ago. Price is not a major factor, I tend to drink in places like Wetherspoons where a decent pint of real ale can be found for under £2.00. However if your drinking lager in a city centre then £3.00+ is the norm. So the temptation to buy in a supermarket or out of the back of a white van is that much greater.

The accelerating pace of pub closures, has a lot to do with Landlords being unable to make a living, but also Pub companies being tempted by the potential profits of redevelopment into housing or other uses. However there are a couple of other factors.

Certainly in Tower Hamlets the majority of potential pub goers (18-35 age group) are actually Muslims and don't drink alchohol (or certainly not publically in a bar). So that means half the pubs are likely to close. Also recent immigrants from Eastern Europe don't seem to have got a grip on pub culture and (at least from the amount of Eastern European and Baltic beers I see in the Off Licence) prefer to socialise at home over a barbeque. Black people and others into the Urban music vibe are far more likely to drink in a wine-bar or Club than their local boozer.

So an important part of Britains cultural heritage, the centres of many working class communities and places where the isolated and lonely can reconnect with society are closing down at an accelerating rate. Perhaps we will only realise what we have lost when it has gone.

Answer 2

I used to go to the pub but since having children and settling down like you I only go a couple of times a year - I would rather spend my money on my children and treat myself to a bottle of wine at the weekend - the prices they charge are ridiculous and when I used to go out on a weekend I would blow £80 easily just in the pub

Answer 3

I don't go to the pub anywhere near as frequently as I used to, for the same reason that I seldom go to the cinema these days - the cost! It's cheaper to stay in with a few tins and a dvd.

Best wishes, J

Answer 4

not often.

No fun to go alone in my city anyway. Occasionally go with a friend to watch a hockey game.