 |
| The Crown Pub Today ( the extension on the left which is now the pub kitchens used to be the village Blacksmith's) |
 |
| A rare old photo of the Crown which was given to me by the powerhouse local character Audrey Jones |
Our only Pub, The Crown is hanging on......just.........of course the village had several pubs at one time....The politically incorrect Black Boy and The Mostyn Arms have long since gone , so I personally feel that all of the village has a kind of responsibility to keep the place going.
Now I am not really a Pub goer.......I love a pint, that much is true (althoughI must admit that my alcohol intake in recent times has been drastically cut to boost weight loss!) but I have never really been one to prop up a bar so to speak.
The Crown used to have several small room with roaring fires and a somewhat old fashioned feel to it ( I remember it well as a teen when we used to come up in my austin 1300) but alas it went through an open plan conversion in the intervening years and has lost some of the original charm it once had,
The pub does have a restaurant though, and we have recently found that the new manager has updated the somewhat 1970s menu to a standard acceptable to two fussy old queens that were used to city eating .
This weekend and last we made the effort and popped up to the Crown for an early dinner and glass of Shiraz and I must say that it was all very acceptable indeed.
My message for today, is therefore, "Keep your local alive!" go down to your pub! Buy a meal or treat yourself to a rum and black...........perhaps we can all help these historic British traditions going just a little bit longer?
I hope so
Yes! That is an important message. We are already feeling the crunch here. At one time (decades ago) Yass had lots of pubs. It was an important stopover town on the journey that connected the west of the state with the mainland. Today we are down to three pubs. Our oldest, The Commercial, closed three years ago. Two others, The Royal and The Australian are in severe financial problems - for exactly the same reasons that you mentioned - the fourth, The Clubhouse is trading viably but struggling to keep its dining area open and trading and, unfortunately, is the haunt for our under-aged drinkers. Two of our three clubs, the bowling club and the golf club are surviving on council loans. The Soldiers Club has a strong ex-service patronage and is in no problem.
ReplyDeleteYour message is a good message - support your local pub (or whatever type of 'watering hole' it may be, 'cos if you don't, you'll lose it and be reduced to drinking alone at home on supermarket liqour!
The breweries are themselves conspiring to kill the British pub which is a unique institution that no other country can match. We must fight to keep them open and as you say the best way to achieve the objective is to use the local pub. Too many have died and once a pub is gone it is never going to be resurrected. UP THE PUB! UP THE BRITISH LOCAL!
ReplyDeleteooh....rum & black, do they still serve this? xxx
ReplyDeleteIf the pubs disappear; England (and Wales) will die.
ReplyDeleteIt must be the same the world over. Most of our homey old establishments have disappeared, to be replaced by classless dives that are here today and gone tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteQuote:
ReplyDelete"... Gorges Smythe said...
It must be the same the world over. Most of our homey old establishments have disappeared, to be replaced by classless dives that are here today and gone tomorrow. ..."
Yeah - plasticised Irish look-alikes!
I know this is a sad thing to admit, but the hour or two I spend in my (town) local every night constitutes what passes for my social life. They are even more important in rural areas, as are post-offices, which are also falling one by one.
ReplyDeleteI get the impression that for most of the 19th century in Wales, rural pubs fought an on-going and successful battle with all the Methodist chapels, which have now been stripped of the pews and converted into homes for the English. Sad then, that they are being destroyed by stupid government policy.
The only way that most independent pubs can survive down here is to become gastro-joints with car-parks big enough to accommodate outsiders. I don't want to spend £50 on food each time I go for a pint, though.
Hopefully the restaurant will help to keep the pub alive.
ReplyDeleteI didn't realize that you were no smoking over there, too.
Happy Sunday to you all John!
I hate the demise of any old, local places. I try to support our area by visiting and making my purchases there. Hope the pub makes it in your area.
ReplyDeleteConnie
My house in Wales is next door to an old pub; our house Cartref, used to be the living accommodation for the landlord.
ReplyDeleteAnd I have a old photo too of my neighbour's aunt and her fourteen children, standing outside my house when they all lived in its four rooms. Her husband is sitting milking the cow.
The Sloughhouse Inn has been shuttered for 5 years. It was the gathering point for our local community, a ratty old place most of its life. Then it was turned into an upscale restaurant, a lot of outsiders took it over, and the locals lost interest. Pubs (the U.S. version of them) are mostly popular with the 20-30 crowd now, and seem to do a good business with them. It's a changing world. I think the biggest loss is community. People don't participate in it very much these days.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I can't tolerate the smell of smoke anymore, I just can't imagine the local bar being closed. There is a law here in my state, that if food in served - no smoking - I am happy with that for my sake. In years gone by, some of a lot of our fun, used to be drinking and playing pool and chatting at a local bar. Seems to be less and less of the little bars now, kind of a shame. My DH likes to tip a bottle once in a while and visit with his friends at the one bar left in our area, if that goes - well, he wouldn't be happy.
ReplyDeleteOur world is changing and not always to the good......
I can't imagine a modern day British movie, without a pub!
Good for you making the extra effort to go to your local for a meal and drinks.
ReplyDeletejust to let everyone know the RED LION is only closing for refurbishmet! duh!
ReplyDeleteNo worries John, it was still a great post. Never had any place like that where I grew up or lived. Perhaps I over romanticized what I read in James Herriot books, but the pubs always sounded so wonderful. I hate the idea of the UK losing them.
ReplyDeleteI love a good burger! They just don't taste the same made at home.