Puppet on a string?

As a preface to this post here are the lyrics to Puppet on a String ... well, after all, it has been Eurovision Song Contest time and by the time you've read what follows you'll understand... anyway, to battle! 

An interesting piece of opinion came my way from Neil Morgan, head of pubs at Christie+Co, estate agents to the pub trade, on the subject of Assets of Community Value (ACV) in respect of pubs. In his piece, published on various blogs and in various newsletters, he quite rightly points out that for all pubs threatened with closure the ACV route is, in many cases, a pipe dream for those who attempt to save their local from development into alternative use, such as "convenience retailing" or residential projects.

I take some issue, however, with some of his analysis of the unintended consequences he posits as "hampering the pace of economic recovery" as the process can put a "substantial block on the transactional process". 

Or to put it another way random redevelopment of parts of the national pub estate being delayed by six months to allow local communities to "jump on the 'save our pub' bandwagon" is going to be what? The final straw that breaks the British economy's back? Will the technocrats from the OECD, the IMF, and The World Bank be sweeping into Westminster to subjugate the democratic will of the people because a few greedy corporate types have had to put some demolitions or building work on hold?

I think not, after all many of these pubs have been systematically under-invested and over-rented in a cold-blooded policy of marginalisation to prepare them for sale for alternative use; a process, which, can in many cases take several years. So what's the sodding hurry now Neil? Instructions from clients a bit thin on the ground at the moment?

Christie+Co have conducted a survey with "convenience store operators and some tenanted pub companies" (which, by the way should have taken them all of about 3 hours - a couple of calls to Punch, Enterprise, Tesco, Sainsburys, Waitrose etc) to find out "what the major problems they face in terms of trading business" are. And get this, according to Morgan, in terms of trading businesses "by far the biggest concern to them were delays in planning, which listing all threatened pubs as ACVs will surely add to".

So let me get this right matey, the biggest concern to the likes of Tesco et al isn't fuel and food price inflation, it's not the mountains of red-tape that often constrain business in the UK (be it large or small) it’s the 300 pubs who Morgan reckons "CAMRA and their equally well-intentioned friends in Parliament" believe can be saved from closure or alternative use that are taxing the board, executives and shareholders of UK retail plc? Come off it you patronising dolt.

Whilst I will admit when the clarion call of 'save our pub' is heard it "masks the former disinterest of punters" as Morgan puts it in his ever-not so subtle put down of local communities and his hope they will become thriving businesses. (For those of you old enough to remember, you'll understand why I can hear the voice of Hughie Green "And I mean that most sincerely"). I have no issue with his point of view to a certain extent, it is his assertion pubs should not be considered as of greater 'community value' than a convenience store, as the latter bring jobs and affordable housing to communities where no such opportunities exist I have a problem with. (Still, I suppose for Chrisite+Co 'opportunity knocks'........... down pubs.)

Are we really to believe the likes of Tesco put more into the communities they serve than pubs? Lest we not forget their former chief executive, Sir Terry Leahy who believes the closure of corner shops and their replacement with his brand of convenience store is "part of progress". Drone strikes instead of (wo)manned bomber planes are also reckoned to be progress by some, doesn't mean they're right or moral.

The Institute for Public Policy Research paper "Pubs and places: The social value of community pubs" has this to say:

"At the same time, pubs are not just about beer, if everyone visited a pub to drink alcohol on their own, a definitive component of pub culture would be lost. The community pub at its heart is an institution for social drinking and it is from fulfilling that function that so many of its positive benefits flow."

… they also reckon community pubs put some £80,000 a year into their local economies.

The New EconomicsFoundation (NEF), an independent economic think tank based in London, compared what happens when people buy produce at a supermarket vs. a local farmer's market or community supported agriculture (CSA) program and found that twice the money stayed in the community when folks bought locally. "That means those purchases are twice as efficient in terms of keeping the local economy alive," says author and NEF researcher David Boyle. I would venture to say money spent in pubs is of similar value.

This self-serving crony (Morgan not Boyle) of property companies such as Punch/Enterprise and facilitator of cultural vandalism by the ever expanding supermarket chains even has the temerity to suggest his view, expounded in 1999, that the "UK pub sector was over-populated to the tune of 10,000 pubs" . His assertion "customers have decided with their feet that around 7,000 pubs are obsolete" since then, has really put my dander up.

I first read this promulgation on Friday (17th), it has taken me this much time to simmer down and not print something wholly libellous or at the very least utterly offensive. However, I still have to say to Morgan "WTF?" … your company has a vested interest in the sale of pubs to developers etc through the handsome fees you charge so of course suggesting (you will note from the implied arithmetic) a further 3,000 pubs have to go is going to be your mantra … it has been for some time.

We're also treated to the view that the market has spoken "as customers have decided with their feet that around 7,000 pubs are obsolete". But hang on Mr Morgan, surely it hasn't only been consumer choice to blame for record numbers of pub closures? Could the crippling level of duty imposed by this and previous administrations been partly to blame? Couldn't the need of some of your corporate clients to divest themselves of huge swathes of property to service the gargantuan levels of debt they have accumulated be partly to blame? Maybe, and I only say just maybe, perhaps the introduction of the smoking ban has had some effect? Here's another thought could it be the irresponsible alcohol sales policies of the major supermarkets have been a significant factor in the decimation of the national pub estate?

Your hatchet job on the thousands of hard-working publicans who have through no fault of their own, lost everything to the morally bankrupt business models of zombie pubcos such as Punch and Enterprise and the whims of misguided legislation is a wilful calumny of nose-stretching proportions. As for blaming communities, who have no say in the disposal of their social amenities, for not supporting the run-down 'bottom end' of the market after years of deliberate ruination of those very same amenities by some of your clients is, quite frankly, ridiculous.

Your belief so eloquently articulated as "natural shrinkage in pub numbers, leaving only the best and better-supported pubs", to mask yours and others' corporate strategy, implies the fault lies with operators and their customers; and, sorry but I just don't believe the loss of some 7,000 pubs is anywhere near natural shrinkage

I despair of your dystopian future there will be no room for the likes of Orwell's "Moon Under Water" or the 3,000 other pubs you consider to be less than "the best"… there will only be room for the homogenous offering of big-brand managed outlets… oh and ever more TescoExpress, MacDonalds' DriveThru, SainsburyLocal and housing only the few can afford.

Much as it pains me to praise our current bunch of politicians, it is to the credit of the coalition that the Localism Act and the introduction of ACVs for pubs, the scrapping of the infamous beer duty escalator and the proposed regulation of the pubcos goes somewhat to redress the damage done to our industry by the 'unintended consequences' of the original Beer Orders that have benefited both Christie+Co and their clients at the expense of a once sustainable industry.

You talk of the increasing "staying at home Sky+ effect" being to blame … I believe it is the "Christie+" effect… whereby another bunch of spivs try to squeeze  every last drop of value from a vulnerable industry and hang the social or long-term economic effects of what they do, who are more to blame.

As I said, I've taken Mr Morgan to task before for his somewhat cynical views regarding the pubco regulation consultation and the 'need' to reduce the national estate by a further 3,000 pubs and was accused of hiding behind the persona of Publican Sam. Anyone with even a modicum of investigative skill can work out who I am. I have invited him to respond publicly to my questions on here and elsewhere, he's chosen to hide behind the corporate wall of Chrisite+Co's public policy statements.

Anyway nursey has brought me my meds and a modicum of calm has descended on me again, good manners prevent me from fully articulating a message to Neil Morgan, suffice it to say if I were crass enough, it would be an exhortation involving leaving the vicinity, micturation and his status as a puppet for the pubcos. 

It's not often I'll admit to being a bit of a plonker, but having spoken with Neil at length I am happy to withdraw my remarks about Neil. He certainly has as much passion about pubs as I do and I pay tribute to the work he does outside his company with various bodies who endeavour to protect and nurture our industry. 

So... sorry Neil... I will definitely buy you that beer next time I'm free in London.

(BTW this end-piece has not been written under any kind of duress and is freely and genuinely offered up.)

Setec Astronomy ...

One of the planks of the Licensing Act 2003 was the public involvement or democratisation of the licensing process so it was somewhat worrying to learn that the government may withdraw its current requirement for alcohol licence notices to be published in local newspapers, warns the Newspaper Society (NS).

Worrying? Yes, on two fronts ... firstly do we as an industry want licensing decisions taking place in camera ... isn't this diametrically opposed to the government's stance on involving local communities in saving local pubs as community assets? If locals don't know, for instance, that yet another pub is to be turned into a Tesco Express of Sainsbury Local, the first that many will know about it are the notices in local newspapers. Whilst I am all for reducing red tape and the ever increasing costs of licensing surely this is disadvantageous to local communities who might wish to save their local pub?

It suggests scrapping the present requirement that those applying for new licences, or making full licence variations, must advertise their applications in a local paper or circular.

According to the home office's impact assessment, the likely annual cost to the regional press industry would be between £6.2m and £7.9m, which would be a welcome saving for pubs and other licensed premises.

The NS believes the proposals would lead to local licensing matters being decided in secret. In a statement opposing the plan, the NS says the proposal "must be rejected" and it has "nothing to do with the government's aims of cutting alcohol-fuelled crime and anti-social behaviour..." It continues:

"Enabling the whole community – not just the immediate 'neighbours' of a venue - to be as informed as possible about new licences and about applications for variations… is itself a vital tool in those aims by enabling the community to raise concerns directly relating to these issues. The role of statutory notices such as licensing applications is as valid today as when they were originally introduced: to ensure that important information which can have a real impact on community life is publicised as widely as possible."

A previous government proposal to suspend the requirement to publish planning notices in papers was rejected after publishers campaigned against it. And earlier this year, the Welsh Assembly rejected similar proposals in relation to traffic notices. The NS is to submit a response to the home office alcohol consultation before it closes on 6 February...

What is more worrying is the government shoe-horning this proposal into their consultation  on "Delivering the government's policies to cut alcohol fuelled crime and anti-social behaviour." Is this just another back-door way of continuing the assault on ordinary drinkers and the venues that serve them? I should think, that cost aside, most publicans have no problem justifying their licences and the way they administer them in the public arena so why does HMG want councils to reduce the conversation about licensing?

How much more disjointed or disingenuous can this current administration get?

(BTW ... Setec Astronomy is an anagram)

Shock Horror - Students Talk Sense!

Hope for us all?  (this one in Smithfield)

Hat's off and a resounding three cheers to the group of Kingston University architecture students who have submitted a proposal to UNESCO to grant World Heritage status for the London Public House as a "type".

"When you talk about a special pub and what's unique about it, it suddenly seems a bit futile to only protect the physical elements of the building, without thinking of who uses it and for what," says tutor David Knight, who oversaw an army of 435 students compiling a survey of 87 distinctive or typical London pubs, including one-minute Lumière-style films.

 "Hopefully our survey can start to describe more than just the physical things, or rather understand how they relate to occupation and the needs of the pub's community," he says.

"For example, it could be that the loss of an upstairs function room has a catastrophic effect on a pub which is used by community groups for meetings, wedding receptions, and so on. Accordingly, our research captures extraordinary examples but it also aims to try and describe the typical, or generic qualities of 'London pub-ness' which might influence policy."

The London pub, and I would venture a good many in the rest of the country are deeply embedded in this country's cultural identity and of immense social and economic value. What a shame that so many are still closing on a permanent basis to be replaced with convenience stores and residential developments.

To make it on to such an august list, the heritage subject must meet a range or criteria in the assessment of Outstanding Universal Value, which include "representing a masterpiece of human creative genius", "containing superlative natural phenomena", "exhibiting an important interchange of human values", and "bearing a unique or at least exceptional testimony to a cultural tradition".

There is no doubt that the great British pub, whether in the capital or not, is a work of genius, exhibits an invaluable medium for the "interchange of human values" and undoubtedly provides "exceptional testimony" to our rich "cultural tradition". The 350 page submission has been sent to the Department for Culture Media and Science and I sincerely hope it is taken up … maybe one government department at least will formally recognise what the rest of the country do, that pubs in all their guises and locations are an integral part of UK life, UK culture, UK plc … and then, just maybe, other departments such as the Treasury will take note and start giving our much benighted industry a break.

With thanks to Oliver Wainwright in the Guardian for bringing this to my attention, as he says " If Viennese coffee house culture has made the list, surely our humble London pub can too."

Breaking news ... London man set to lose job due to minimum pricing ...

"Re-shuffle, what re-shuffle?"

If there's one job loss that I shan't mourn brought on by this administration's disconnected, disjointed and misinformed Alcohol Strategy it will be that of the Health Secretary, Andrew Lansley.

As reported in the redoubtable Independent Lansley is said "to be furious that David Cameron has overruled his concerns over the legality, morality and effectiveness of the proposal designed to tackle Britain's binge-drinking culture. It left Mr Lansley looking isolated and sparked suggestions he will lose his job in the next reshuffle."


Let's just analyse some keywords in that report:

Legality ... I am sure that 'Europe' will have something to say about minimum pricing at some point ... good job the Treasury has all that above inflation alcohol duty escalator money to burn when they appoint a veritable army of high-paid lawyers to defend its decision when it is challenged in the courts.

Morality ... allowing (along with the previous administration) certain elements of the off-trade to continually flout the principle of "responsible retailing" and the four licensing objectives in the Licensing Act, then take it out on the majority of consumers who "drink responsibly" especially those on low incomes ... but let's face it the 'undeserving poor' don't deserve a pint at the end of a hard days graft.

Effectiveness ... unless the minimum unit price is set well above the currently mooted level of 40p it just won't work. Put it to something like £1.20 a unit and the disparity between off-trade pricing and on-trade pricing would all but disappear. There would be no incentive to drink at home when the price one pays in the supermarket is the same as in the pub ... the latter of which, of course, on the whole provides a safe controlled environment for social drinking. (Note to Georgie Porgie ... here's a bit of joined up thinking ... think of the increased corporation tax and VAT this would generate ... gotta pay for all those lawyers!)

Designed ... this implies some sort of intelligence and forethought, something that is clearly not evident in the Alcohol Strategy, unless it has been a carefully crafted 'knee-jerk reaction' to certain reports about the rise in liver disease or hospital admissions .

Isolated ... this will be the feeling a lot of publicans get when the staff and customers have all departed for the night and the long dark night of the soul is upon them. A little reported consequence of this administration's mismanagement of the alcohol has been to further diminish the sustainability of thousands of tied community pubs by steadfastly defying the 'will of parliament' over regulation of the pubcos. As more and more pubs go to the wall, less and less 'safe places' are available for 'responsible drinking' ... let alone the costs in terms of ruined lives and increased benefit costs. Isolated? That'll be the solitary ounce of common sense the Cabinet share between them.

So don't spare a thought for Lansley, it would seem the majority in the NHS won't, he'll be fine with a couple of well paid directorships in the health provision industry ... save your compassion for the ordinary folk of this country who are just trying to make a living and have a pint and a natter come knocking off time.

P.S. Note to picture editor of the Independent - how about using a bottle of wine or spirits next time you run a piece on alcohol and save the images of beer for beer related stories - you lazy git!

Reality TV ...

Father Jack about to let loose ...

It's a guilty pleasure for a non-driver, watching the BBC's flagship motoring show and for the life of me I really don’t know why I do it. But as I sat there glued to the latest pointless comparison of cars I could never afford let alone drive I had a bizarre thought - what about Top Beer?.

It could still go out on Sunday evenings, it could be set in a huge keg and cask store, feature three presenters, one a fusty old cask ale drinker complete with sandals and beard, one a feisty youngster with all the bounciness of a puppy on steroids and finally a rude old git who'd not really contribute to the show except for random outbursts of profanity and bile (I'm thinking the demented Father Jack from Father Ted here, "feck, girls, beer!").

Just as the motoring show has its nemesis in the form of the caravan, so could Top Beer and it could lampoon lout (I understand this is the vernacular for lager), it could feature a Star in a Reasonably Priced Bar, where a celebrity goes for a pint in a regular community pub and tries to last a whole evening without getting into grief with the locals (I'm thinking Alastair Campbell for the first show, after all he's already done the car thing); the Power Laps would be a different craft or real Yard of Ale and watching a Stig try to consume one with thick driving gloves and through a gap in the full face helmet would be a hoot.

And how about those whacky races the petrol-heads compete in? I know … a Wild Mild Trail where the old git tries to beat the other two from one side of Belgium to another - I can just see the old git abusing Trappist monks as the pupster and beardy sip away at the finest Flemish reds. Of course the old git would always win the race but only by a whisker. It would be real "car-crash" TV!

Beer (and other alcohol) is being demonised on a daily basis so in the spirit of balanced journalism I call on the BBC to commission my idea for Top Beer immediately … it would be as relevant to the world of the average British pub-goer as Top Gear is to the average British driver … I mean if you're going to stick to such a tired old format … or I could take it to Five … Fifth Beer … oh no, we'll be accused of binge drinking!

and on that bombshell …

That Was The Year That Was …

January saw England win the Ashes in Australia for the first time in 23 years. The Arab Spring starts in Tunisia. The Metropolitan Police re-opens its investigations into phone-hacking.

Pubs face up to the hefty increase in VAT to 20% as industry reports indicate that it could cost up to 8,000 jobs … over a thousand of you download my free VAT increase calculator … hope it helped!

February and Barclays Bank admits to only paying £113m in UK taxes on a £11.6bn profit … “you say to-mar-to, I say tom-a-to, you say evasion, I say avoidance”. Colin Firth bags an Oscar for the King’s Speech, whilst Gadaffi desperately clings to power.

SIBA (the independent brewers’ organisation) reports that indie-brewers are flourishing with over 40% reporting an increase of 8.8% in volumes despite a UK downturn in barrels brewed overall of 3.9%

March definitely came in like a lion with the earthquake off Japan’s coast, the ensuing tsunami and nuclear disaster at Fukushima. By the time we saw the Aides of March (15^th) it was only 500 days until the 2012 London Olympic Games and UK forces were actively engaged in attacking Gadaffi’s military at a reported cost of £1.75bn – good to see that HMG has that much to spare now other spending cuts have started to take effect! The euro-debt crisis deepens with a £21bn bailout for Ireland … and look another £7bn of "savings" get spent out!

RIP Elizabeth Taylor.

Pubs and brewers reel at the continued beer duty escalator as good old George imposes an eye-watering 7.5% increase in beer duty … way to go to stimulate the pub trade George!

April and we’re all asking “What the frack was that?” … or the residents of Blackpool were as minor earthquakes shake the area. Greece is set to get a 110bn-euros bailout, Wills and Kate get spliced and Charlie Sheen goes into melt-down live on stage.


Just when you think you’ve got enough red-tape to deal with whilst running a pub the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Bill gets its second reading in the Lords.

May, after 10 years of waiting and 40 minutes of gunfire it’s Bang Bang You’re Dead for Mr Bin Laden. It’s not the end of the world as predicted by Harold Camping – everyone knows that it ends in 2012 – come on! Love it or hate it (and the Danes hate it, it would appear) as the Danish government bans the importation of Marmite and shock-horror Queen doesn’t sup Guinness on visit to Dublin brewery!

Whilst she’s there the Irish government announces a reduction in VAT to 9% to help its ailing hospitality industry … how about it George?

June’s publication of an IPPR report shows that 2/3^rd of Britons think the pay gap between high and low earners is too wide – you think? “Happy Feet” – more like “Tired Feet” as an emperor penguin gets lost and turns up 2,000 miles away from Antarctica in New Zealand.

RIP Jeremy Allen the noted licensing solicitor. 


And if you hadn’t heard of BISC (the commons Business, Industry and Skills Committee) by now it announces the start of its follow-up inquiry into the pub trade.

July and The Guardian reports that the News of the World hacked Milly Dowler’s phone on the 4^th, by the 10^th that venerable (168 years in print) newspaper closes as Rupert Murdoch abandons his bid to control BSkyB. To paraphrase dear old Oscar: “To lose one tank may be regarded as misfortune; to lose £6.3bn of assets looks like carelessness” as the MOD admits it doesn’t know where all its highly expensive toys are.

The summer rapidly turns into the Summer of House Committees and Rupert Murdoch has a flantastic time in front of the Culture Committee, as we said goodbye to Amy Winehouse and hello to the world’s newest country – South Sudan.

BISC (remember them?) roundly criticises the British Institute of Innkeeping for not publishing online the level of beer discounts available against pubco rents.

August and it’s a return to the charts for “We Predict a Riot” as civil unrest spreads from London to cities as far apart as Birmingham and Manchester. Blackberry crumbles and Twitter calls to brooms the great clean-up brigade.

In the pub world Punch formally split in two (leased and managed businesses) and promptly  saw the share price for the leased company fall to an all-time low of 9.14p, some market analysts determine that Punch is now officially a zombie corporation.

Definition of a Zombie: “the body of a dead person given the semblance of life, but mute and will-less, by a supernatural force, usually for some evil purpose.” – does this apply to pubcos too?

September we remembered the Twin Towers ten years down the line and Manhattan was Occupied (as were cities across the globe in protest at the failure of capitalism). A big hit on the TV was “My Big Fat Gipsy Eviction” as Dale Farm was cleared at a cost of some £18m – I mean, I know bailiffs were well paid but this is ridiculous!

Meanwhile back at BISC and it’s report published this month calls for the government to introduce a Statutory Code Of Practice to curb the excesses of some pubcos.

October and Dr Fox just “doesn’t know him from Adam” (Wherritty that is) and promptly resigns. On the 5^th we saw the departure from this veil of tears of Steve Jobs, a passing that many mourned, unlike the passing of Muammar Gaddafi on the 20^th.

Hooray for the underdog as Karen Murphy wins an historic victory over BSkyB in the European Courts of Justice.

November saw the release of “Clueless” a movie starring James Murdoch set in the House of Commons and featuring the cast of the Commons Culture Select Committee in an everyday tale of media folk and parliamentarians. Murdoch declines to take on the role of the Godfather though!

Another landmark as long-term Youth Unemployment surpasses 1 million – well done the Coalition for a stunning 18 months in office!

RIP Gary Speed manager of the Welsh national football team.

Gee, thanks again to Mr Cameron for refusing to introduce a statutory code of practice for the pub industry as his response to the BISC report.

And so to December as Edinburgh welcomed its pandas and Cameron vetoed the Europe-wide treaty to save the euro (hands up anyone that thinks this will come to haunt him and us?) Some good news amongst the doom and gloom, though, as the Large Hadron Collidor at C.E.R.N. announced its first glimpse of the Higgs boson or sometime called god particle.

This reminds me of an old piece of graffito, which I will slightly adapt as “God is Dead” – Frederich Neitzche … “Christopher Hitchens is dead” – God. RIP Christopher - noted atheist and polemic. 


Let’s hope that 2012 is a better year, especially for the pub trade and that this time next year I don’t have to lead my review with "RIP – The Great British Pub".

If you do one thing this coming year make sure it’s that you support your local pub and your local brewer … remember if you don’t use it you lose it!

I’ll be supporting my local and many more I hope with this blog, the HOW TO RUN A PUB website  ... and with that I wish a ...

Happy New Year To You All

(P.S. my new year’s resolution is to stop using exclamation marks so much – cheers!)

Times gone by and times remembered ... The Licensed Victualler's Association

Back in the day when publicans were respected members of the community (you went to them for references, to get your passport photo endorsed etc) who had the active approval of magistrates and police (not the tacit approval of elected politicians under the 2003 licensing regime) and who were very much in touch with the communities they served things seemed a little surer and a lot more "civilised".


So news that the Federation Of Licensed Victuallers (even the name is redolent of a more pleasant era) has shown a recent resurgence is very welcome. This writer, at least, looks forward to their increased presence in the pub industry, they have the cultural and political heritage to go where some of the single issue groups purporting to represent this industry cannot venture.


The old associations, based locally with a national federation, did sterling work to represent their members' interests (both tied and free of tie) and their broad remit to see that all sectors of the pub industry worked together has been beyond groups such as Fair Pint, Justice For Licensees, Freedom To Choose. These latter day "campaigning" bodies have only succeeded in further fragmenting an already disjointed trade, who, once the Beer Orders disassembled the age old relationships between brewers and publicans, were left voiceless and leaderless.


As I have said here and elsewhere the trade needs a unified and cogent voice to lead us through these most difficult of times and the FLVA (although only 16 years old) and the local organisations it represents (going much longer) has the potential to fill that gaps.


visit their website for more information:  http://www.flva.co.uk/

Purity, the latest to announce expansion plans ...

In these days of gloom and doom, what a refreshing change to hear the latest news from Purity, the Warwickshire based brewery, that they are undertaking a major expansion, this along with Joules being resurrected, Castle Rock in Nottingham growing and many other micro breweries opening and increasing their output.

Whilst the big boys continue to pump millions of pints of homogenised ales into the market place these smaller craft brewers are fast becoming the saviours of the British brewing industry. Long may it continue.

Now is the time for the coalintionistas to take action to encourage and protect this growth sector of the economy and put in place measures that will reduce the tax burden and over-regulation of the brewing and pub industries.

210 M.P.s have signed an early day motion calling on the government to do just that for "well run community pubs" ... now if they'll do something to relax the smoking ban as well we might see a halt to the decline in beer volumes and pub closures ... not holding my breath for either.

If you want to support the call for the EDM email your MP via the CAMRA website :

http://campaign.publicaffairsbriefing.co.uk/home.aspx?cid=fcc18346-cc74-4b21-9db0-d448c50b884b

Destination pubs … or … just “destination pub!”

Amazing how surveys come up with their results isn’t it? A report in the Morning Advertiser on the 22^nd October, commissioned by the National Skills Academy Hospitality has shown that customer service is rated higher in destination pubs than community pubs.

Hardly surprising in some respects, when carried out by The Mystery Dining Company, when the sample only included some 18% of pubs and bars out of 1122 businesses in the hospitality sector.

I think it’s a shame that community pubs aren’t trumpeted about a little more … they provide friendly, welcoming oases in the desert that is Britain in the age of the Big Society. Places where you can meet your mates feel part of a “pub family” and just hang out for a moderate price, basking in the bonhomie of your host(s) and staff who know you on a continuous basis, rather than the hour or two one might spend in a destination venue.

With all the talk of having to train your staff in “flirting” as an upselling strategy and the Academy’s suggestions on staff knowledge and customer engagement it makes you wonder how “traditional” local’s pubs have survived this long without all this sage advice.

No shame in being a pub and “just a pub” and although only 15% of all pub goers would recommend venues to friends, I’d hazard a guess that a far greater number actually do support and recommend their local than that.

If you want to read more of their drivel see:

http://www.morningadvertiser.co.uk/news.ma/article/88694