Last call: The decline in English pubs

Roxana Saberi reports on how changing social habits are threatening a cherished British institution: the neighborhood pub. She talks with food writer Peter Brown about the tradition of pubs in England, and looks at how the patrons of one pub facing closure fought back, and won.
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[@seangreene64]

Do not let this tradition die.

[@zoperxplex]

jack bran They served liquor at Auschwitz? Where do I sign up for the S.S.?

[@zoperxplex]

Why not?

[@theotryhard8651]

Its friday night, you going to the quite pub full of old men and mums or nightclub?

[@seangreene64]

I would still visit the pubs. Night clubs are not what they use to be.

[@publife4902]

@@theotryhard8651 it depends which pub do you visit

[@SM-Flyers]

The pub that was next to my house closed down a decade ago. It was the only pub in the little village. The heart of the place died and then the village did. A few years later housing estates started moving in and now it is just like a suburb, heartless, souless and not even friendly anymore.

[@ericwright2936]

Sorry to hear that.

[@MrLynch-ei4dc]

Sounds like the USA

[@markportch]

SFM I totally agree with you there.

[@TacticalFemboy]

Sounds like my home town in Missouri, you sadly have nothing to look forward too your country is already on its decline just like us.

[@IkeOkerekeNews]

SFM Same on you for centering your community around one measly building.

[@steamgent4592]

Good social conversation never starts with a salad!!

[@steamgent4592]

Kris Tofer this is true!

[@Joe-gu6oe]

LOL True yet, my most important education came in elementary school.

[@mikeboyd3236]

You don't win friends with salad! You don't win friends with salad! You don't win friends with salad!

[@Quincycle]

The demolished pub at 1:01 is the Carlton Tavern in Kilburn, North West London. The owner of the building (a property developer) bulldozed it without warning anyone in an effort to build flats. He was ordered to rebuild the pub brick by brick. It's now reopened and it's thriving. A good story in a sea of bad ones.

[@phtevlin]

In the US, we've had the same problem with the "neighborhood bars". Young people simply aren't going to them anymore.

[@MYacono]

that's true in my neighborhood 3 have closed in the past 18 years

[@AmandaFromWisconsin]

I don't think it's an issue here in Wisconsin; we're, like, the drunkest state in the country. In my hometown, I swear there's a bar every 50 feet.

[@Dominickudo]

phtevlin Young people rather smoke weed then drink beer at least that's what I'm noticing.

[@limeyosu2000]

we have a small bar here in town that is doing so well because it is very pub like everyone super friendly, and the food is good! being from the Uk originally, it breaks my heart to see the pubs going away! but that village that fought back was superb!

[@markdavids2511]

dominick smith weed is more healthy& doesn’t lead to the extreme violence we have every weekend in the UK

[@carsonkundolf3448]

Something I always wanted to do is to go to an English pub, I’m young now but I pray That the pubs stay, I can see they are an important part of life in England and I would be honored to drink there (it’s small dream but one now I have to complete)

[@magnusbruce4051]

Being too young doesn't really stop you drinking in a pub. I had my first pint in a pub when I was 16. It's not legal, but it still happened. The drinking age is much lower here than in the USA, too. Make no mistake, pubs are not going to suddenly disappear despite what people in this comment section are suggesting. They are indeed an important part of life, but the increasing price of beer and stagnating wages means that it's not viable for people to have a couple of pints in their local each and every night. Plus, with changing attitudes to health, drinking every night is also generally looked down upon. Plus, supermarkets are selling a good range of drinks for a fraction of the price. Those are the main reasons why pubs are making less money and then shutting down when they don't turn a profit.

[@anthonyberry1314]

5 years on, have ya got to have a proper pint yet?😂😂😂

[@dinerouk]

''When you have lost the last of your inns, then you should drown your empty selves, for you have lost the best of England” - Hilaire Belloc. April 21, 2009

[@Thomas-do4tb]

Support all your local pubs! Weekly! Spread the word too. Invite your family and friends. Don’t let the culture die.

[@darrowdapper9659]

I don’t drink alcohol what else do pubs serve?

[@Thomas-do4tb]

@@darrowdapper9659 food and non alcoholic drinks…often music on too like local gigs so they’re fun to go to or a pub quiz or Karaoke. Many good reasons for a pub

[@Kudu1987]

A social life. They serve a social life

[@ANTHONYBOOTH]

me? I used to, but got sick of not being able to smoke at the bar, but had to stand at the door and blow my smoke back inside the whole place.... I got with a group of people one day about 6 years ago, - my mistake was to start enjoying myself like any normal person, - clearly the rules for Me are Different and a bit of a kid 4 years my junior has the power to decide whether I have had enough or not....

[@Sagittarius-A-Star]

When on vacation in the UK - mainly Wales - we every now and then popped into a random pub. It always was a very cosy experience, the interior and everything ... Glad to see that some can be saved from investors ( the biggest pest currently ).

[@jamesoakley4570]

In my town we had 8 pubs, 3 shut down. The town next to us use to have 14 pubs, it now has 9. Yes theres a decline, but there still freaking everywhere

[@lyndoncmp5751]

Yup. There were just too many before. There's about the right amount now.

[@LivingWalks]

Interesting to hear. We've just returned from Cork, Ireland where they have over 1,000 pubs and they all seemed to be thriving. Perhaps high heating bills will create a revival, I hope so.

[@pamelawing626]

I really noticed a lack of pubs when I was in London , Oct. last year. There were still some around but not nearly as many as my last trip quite some years ago. It's a shame I think.

[@floridaarmyvet3613]

Pamela Wing..Islam doesn't approve of alcohol consumption!

[@Rhaspun]

There are many changes. Look at how eCommerce has changed the retail business. People relax in different ways now a days. Having a local pub can give a neighborhood character.

[@fedupenglishman4029]

islam is the main reason,but when they ruled that pubs can no longer have smokers that was the death of that trade simple

[@Wasserkaktus]

sillious sodious I doubt Islam is the main reason, as a pretty good number of Muslims actually do drink. It has more to do with the smoking ban like you said, plus a possibility that the market is saturated with them while demand for the decreases ever so slightly.

[@fedupenglishman4029]

then george its clear you know nothing of what our politicians are doing to our way of life our freedoms and our speech all to please an ideology of conquest and hate of all things not of islam,why because of saudi influence and money

[@Kristina-gz2wu]

I would have loved that assignment! Cheers!

[@lazyjesus6573]

Pubs have always been places where the people can get together, to socialise and share information. Information on many subjects, including how the law and “system” works, and how those who rule over us all without permission may or may not be oppressing us etc etc etc. When all the pubs have been shut down where will we go to do these important social events and discussions.

[@CaptainLongDongsilver]

Smoking ban killed the pub trade ..keep having to go outside for a smoke became a pain in the arse.

[@masterknife8423]

No it didn't. It's called being considerate of other people. No one wants to drink round smokers anymore because it's not nice

[@Glenn1967ful]

There used to be seven pubs where I live, now there are two. You can buy beer at less than half the price in a supermarket and drink it when you want. Also many pubs deter people such as non football fans by having football on large sreens.

[@strangelee4400]

The smoking ban killed the great British pub.

[@curtiscurt]

One of my earliest childhood memories, second hand smoke ,can of coke and a packet of cheese and onion crisps. thanks dad

[@theItalianshamrock]

Sophistafunk im American and my childhood was the same 😂 a few quarters to play pool and a bag of peanuts to snack on haha

[@TimeLimey]

It did 100% I was there when it happened to my local. People literally stopped going the day after the ban and the pub closed a year later.

[@joechamberlain8618]

The Licensing Act 2003 dealt a blow to the pub trade as well. There are many factors at play here. 24 pubs are closing down every week across the UK.

[@Miquelalalaa]

strange lee No most people don’t smoke anymore anyway

[@padistedor]

I must visit a British pub some day. Looks like a good time.

[@tallthinkev]

I could take you to just three pubs and you can pick from over 30 beers just on pump. Mind you, you are paying.

[@readman010]

British pubs are the best, forget nightclubs or American bars, just to be able to sit down with a pint of non American beer that doesn't taste like beer flavoured water, don't be surprised if you get drank under the table though! Us Brits can pound em down

[@bigmack2262]

Nobody really ever struck up a conservation with us when I visited. This was in London. In Liverpool we met some great guys out drinking but it turned out they were South African.

[@theotryhard8651]

+big Mac No one wants to talk to Americans.

[@y-callos3970]

Can be can also be terrible as down in England they tend to be a bit funny with foreigners. Most of the establishs will not even accept Scottish or irish money even though its the same legal tender as English notes.

[@ggff3761]

The smoking ban was ridiculous it gutted pubs

[@brianmorecombe2726]

@GgFf Smoking ban was the beginning of the end of pubs.To protect staff from second hand smoke and some non smokers,some landlords before the ban started banning smokers at the bar and introducing no smoking rooms or no smoking areas,that was becoming more widespread.It should have just been that.

[@simon5005]

Everything social seems to be going away, Thanks, Internet & Greed!

[@ekop6543]

FAST FOOD AND INTERNET SHOPPIGN TOO

[@JourneyToTheTruthandTR]

American bars and pubs suffered to with all the smoking bans. One bar in my town still allows smoking so do the American Legions. But what really killed the atmosphere were smart phones. I remember Lindsey, the first regular at our bar to get a smart phone. She would stare at it and play on it the entire time and this was a person who was very sociable. But not after she got that phone. Soon more smart phones popped up, same symptoms, same results. That was 2009 I think. After that the bar became boring, Anti social and I simply got tired of going. Both bars added food to the menu to provide another outlet for income but it just wasn't the same any longer.

[@rewind12354]

Yeah, the entire bar or pub are just scrolling through their phones it’s sad what we have become.

[@bobboo1319]

The UK Government didn't want the working men getting together talking politics... So they go out of there way to close them.

[@rgsxyz1105]

The coffee shop has placated the pub.

[@gavinreid8351]

City centres. Too many pubs can't decide if they are pubs or restaurants. If, when I walk through the door I see lots of people eating I decide it is a restaurant,and walk out.

[@MarcusLeepapi]

Very nice..Thank you..

[@johnbaldock6353]

When it Became Illegal to smoke indoors in the U.K, SO Many Pubs/Snooker/Pool halls closed! Great for health But Terrible for Businesses.I heard over 50 pubs closed a Month!!

[@thomasmichael559]

john Baldock I doubt it people just smoke outside, or even at home. Just can’t do it socially indoors

[@heftyalan1152]

john Baldock True

[@dsandeman]

Not great for health if you were a business owner who is no longer employed or if there is less options for people to socialize

[@jakebolger6248]

If that statistic is true then thats pretty sad, but I think it is fair enough. I'm a smoker and smoking indoors is honestly pretty gross, can't even imagine how grim it is for a non-smoker, plus the smoking area social scene has never been more alive.

[@danbee6103]

I love how that bar owner could open the window for fresh air.

[@jasonbean5981]

The public house will never die!:)

[@jimmy7434]

When I was 21 all the pubs in Leeds used to be rammed. 13 years later they’re half empty. People just stay in these days. Boring.

[@zorrodp]

Taxation (an archaic local property tax which is set nationally) is certainly a part of it, plus also the mega-brewers have pushed pricing right up ..... but it is complex, and a significant factor in pubs failing - the tenanted sector at least - is the beer tie and an asymmetric relationship between pub owning companies, brewers with their own estates, and the tenants. Interestingly, the Perseverance in Marylebone London which features briefly in this was recently reported to us (CAMRA West London) as having re-opened. We thought it lost for good with the upper floors illegally converted to residential flats / apartments and then given retrospective permission, and a planning application in to convert the surviving ground floor pub and cellar ......

[@BorrieBeats]

Got to say something here. 20something British Londoner here who does frequent a 'local' sometimes. 1. The price of drinks are hilarious. Especially London pubs. That pub in Kensington. Is a tourist pub that's it's clientele. There is a reason it's called the Winston Churchill. It's like a Disney bar calling it the Ulysses s. grant or the general Washington. But yeah prices. You buying a round. Better get a payday loan before going up to the bar. These is Princess Di park down the road. Go to a shop and you can buy the same drink for 1/5 Of the price. So why would anyone young want to go to the a pub Then? 2.that pub also is just a 3 minute walk from Portobello road and Notting hill arts club. Where you can drink for longer, cheaper and a more 'fun' environment. 3. A lot of these pubs are down paid by the brewerys i.e. fullers, youngs, green king etc. Which the landlords are basically just tennent/managers and have no choice on what they can sell or do. In a bid to drive down competition and buy up any 'free house' who will struggle. 4.because pubs have and will always be passing trade. The way of getting people to stay longer is to become a gastro-pub. Serve food that is not as good as an actual restaurant on tables and stools that have no right to have food on them. To which you might as well not be there. Especially when fish and chips comes to £12+ And a beer comes to £4-5+. It's neither 'fish nor fowl' (If I do hypothetically get a pub that's going to be it's name) 5. Now....look this isn't exactly what the video was about but these comments... multiculturalism. You go to any pub in the u.k. and they will be a bar girl/boy from Ireland or South America,Italy, France just getting some extra money and learning the language. Go to the clientele (especially in my ends) and it will be 'everyone'. There will be some old boys from all over the world with a Newspaper, a flat cap waiting for the results on the horses/football etc. I would make the argument that some of these places would of closed down had it not been from 'multiculteralism' i.e. anyone who isn't middle england. I.e. fulham. Also, Muslims drink. Honest. Depends who you talk to but all my muslim friends drink. Some justify it by saying they sent damaging their body. But if anything that's an example of 'multicultralism' on the flip side. To conclude. They are old beasts who will not adapt to time. They are relics of a bygone era. And instead of breaking new ground and make it a community thing they are just a chair and a drink on the way home from work. And thus the cycle of life continues. P.s. Brentford fc to get promoted next year. COYB!!!

[@Miquelalalaa]

BorrieBeats They are not Muslims if they drink. You have a really warped perception of what a Muslims is. Alcohol consumption in haraam

[@Miquelalalaa]

BorrieBeats BorrieBeats Anyway you’re a Londoner you will never truly understand what it means, London is becoming more and more devoid of British culture. You will never understand the atmosphere of a true pub.

[@heftyalan1152]

BorrieBeats I go out with friends and between 3 115 notes for pub parking, main meal only and 3 drinks each so almost 40 notes each. London was much cheaper as many bars in the same area pull prices down a little but when you are the only pub in an exclusive village then they can charge 25 notes for a steak as no competition though they do a nice steak.

[@toprightchannel3080]

I agree. These comments attributing the decline to Islam are absurd...it's a small factor. When I first started drinking close to 10 years ago a £4 pint was up-market, now it's becoming the standard.

[@Gos1234567]

Matthew Eyre that’s called inflation,you expect everything to stay the same price?

[@CherylCold]

When I was a kid I bought my mate a packet of 'grow your on pub seeds'. It didn't work. I'm now building my own pub in the garden :) I can smoke in there too....

[@mylesweston36]

Makes me proud to be British 🥰

[@rewind12354]

3 in my village have been demolished it’s sad to see.

[@oodoodanoo2346]

Man, that seems like a nice place to hang out.

[@bazzatheblue]

In my hometown that had over 50 pubs ,it's now been reduced to around 20 and more will go.Business rates,smoke bans,other assorted reasons have done for them.You can buy a pub ,run it down and sell it for housing ,that's happend a lot.People just don't drink that much anymore either.

[@tezzingtonsir28]

My local The Prince Albert on coldharbour lane in Brixton London ain't going nowhere. Love it!!

[@Quincycle]

Bit rough that place. At least it was 4 or 5 years ago.

[@SoulEternalPeaceWarrior77]

Are there any parts of London that are still old school with pubs & local restaurants? NYC has been having this battle for years now, the burroughs giving way to rising costs, food chains & tourism

[@Quincycle]

There are. You just gotta know where to look. Mass immigration means the city has lost a lot of its Englishness, but the pubs are the last bastion of traditional English culture in the city.

[@jacksugden8190]

Closed due to Covid-19 and may never reopen.

[@jasonwoodruff3620]

Wishing that tradition was here in north Texas. Looks nice.

[@chrish2359]

I can’t see them going anytime soon. Pub crawls are still hugely popular with young lads.

[@Jafmanz]

there is one pub here nearest after that is 5 miles, ours just closed.... going to be turned into houses. the pub 5 miles away almost died and its now re-opened but might die too. then its 9 miles. either way im not walking 10 miles for a pint.

[@danielv4180]

I think it's just there are alot of bars and restaurants that serve drinks, you can buy them at the supermarket. People don't drink and drive anymore (thank god). People like to go to busy places so some pubs that weren't filled to the brim are struggling and closing down.

[@yogihaughton]

The only bars that are affordable these days are Wetherspoons. Clubs, bars, all being squeezed, two pints £10.00, most folk can't earn that in an hour.

[@SuperLeica1]

Are the Minerva, Plymouth, and the Horseshoe, Dover, the oldest active pubs in England today? I tried to google, but there was a real mess of answers. Anybody who knows?

[@philabrahams383]

The smoking ban killed the pub 😤

[@daveogarf]

SAY IT ISN'T SO! This is completely unacceptable! KEEP THE PUBS!

[@gollick]

Unfortunately it was when they opened up to families (women and kids) that started the death. Removed the ‘rooms’, opened the space up and turned them in to restaurants effectively.

[@Quincycle]

Definitely a downside, but the main reason is prices, cost of living and white flight in places like London.

[@rockyracoon3233]

@@Quincycle . Yes, nobody wants to bring up "changing demographics."

[@lucasdeyton8842]

87 years ago??? Jesus Christ he looks incredibly good to be pushing 90. I thought he might be in his early 70s.

[@grandpahickory613]

People are dying off, the old timers are departing, and closing pubs down, and the younger generations can now purchase their beer at local wine stores, and enjoy them in privacy.. They don't have to pay pub prices anymore......Now I purchase Samuel smiths imperial stout , and enjoy it by myself instead of drinking pints in a pub.....Things have changed since the lockdowns of the pandemic...People are counting the cost of a lot of things.....CHEERS TO ALL !!!

[@IzunaDestruction]

Heartbreaking

[@SRPC21]

I love a good pub but maybe it’s a good thing that we’re not drinking as much as we used to and coffee shops are now a genuine alternative? I went on a stag do to Czech Republic and during the day all the group wanted to do was go to the pub and watch football when we were in an amazing, historic city for the first time! I also couldn’t understand why in the summer daytimes the pubs got absolutely packed; If I had a day off and it was sunny I would take my bike to the park/have a trip to the seaside/go rollerblading/swimming, not sit in a room and drink all day (a picnic on the beach with a few bottles of beers is much better). Hospitality in general has thrived in the UK so the pubs that are succeeding are ones which offer great food and bedrooms. They need to adapt

[@lyndoncmp5751]

Which men meet up in coffee shops though? That's strictly for the ladies.

[@JonnyInfinite]

1750? Phht. The Man & Scythe in Bolton dates from the 13th century

[@martinmcdonald4207]

Phht. My local in Dublin, The Brazen Head first opened its doors in the 11 hundreds. Could do with a refurb at this stage after it`s first 1,000 years trading!

[@HAL-yq5nf]

My house is a farm and was built in 1207 and is crazy haunted

[@Mr3jj3]

Supermarkets killed the beer industry by selling beer for cheaper .

[@Mrmidknight-yx9pg]

But wouldn't making beer cheaper and more accessible help the beer industry?

[@samsadeniz]

drinking at home with friends is much better and cheaper...

[@underneonloneliness2]

It’s not though! At the pub you get to meet new people. Plus you can play pool and darts.

[@danielwarren3138]

Churchill arms! Great pub, last time I was there me and my mate were standing outside the pub drinking canned beer from the off licence on the other side of the road out of the pub's pint glasses 🤣🤣🤣

[@pyeltd.5457]

So you are under 18 ?

[@Quincycle]

Nice work not supporting the pub 👏

[@Pasan34]

The purchasing the pub back for 500K pounds across ~500 shareholders makes a lot of sense. It's like a club house for the community. In the US, the buy-in fee for some country clubs can be exorbitant. Couple of my friends had paid 250K USD / family for their membership in one club. Which sounded like absolute lunacy to me.

[@josephberam117]

What do you expect when you can't smoke in the bar and it closes at 11

[@SoloTravelerOffTheBeatenPath]

England is on the decline as a country.. Sad state of affairs.

[@DeepVerma728]

Sad whats happening in England.

[@davidmckenna5751]

Got some good drinking pubs here in Brightlingsea Essex English folk music in a couple

[@bohdisatva4345]

SAVE THE PUB!!

[@CherylCold]

With everything going on now in the world this becoming more common. Building, my own pub in the back garden.

[@kingofkroon]

My mate did just that.Not a big customer base though.Just me and him.

[@pakkmann]

Cheers to community!

[@jazzx251]

The decline of the pub is a combination of Victorian economics*, taxes, and the fact that you can effectively buy a quality pint in a supermarket for one third of the price that it is in a pub. * Victorian economics is when most of the population are poor and have little disposable income ... but the cost of going to a pub is not viable for their survival

[@lyndoncmp5751]

Most of the best pubs are still open and flourishing. Most of the bad pubs closed. None of the nice pubs I know in Surrey and London have closed. There is a moral there. Don't be a crappy pub.

[@hugolindum7728]

Big breweries being allowed to dominate pubs - destroyed the pubs - keeps prices high, and managers who are not part of the community. The big breweries see selling alcohol simply as exploiting the most most from poor quality beer. Make it illegal for any organisation to control more than 10 pubs and quality would improve.

[@SparklingSilverCurls]

So very true! The big beer producers in the US have a monopoly over most bars/clubs, which I think is why there's been such an upswing in local microbreweries. However, in places like Cleveland, Ohio (where I live), some of those microbreweries are now so big, they're squeezing out the smaller competition, which has just created another monopoly...

[@hugolindum7728]

Sparkling Silver Curls If they made it that nobody can own more than a few pubs - the result would be competition between breweries which would drive out rubbish cheap beer in favour of quality product, while keeping the breweries honest on price.

[@richardsuggs8108]

I love a good Pub.

[@countpicula]

Not if future Britain’s don’t drink cause it’s not part of their religion or social life. Ironically here in the US we are seeing people move away from noisy sports bars and closer to traditional pubs. Irony.

[@cgavin1]

Too expensive. No live music. No open fire. Full of screaming kids ..

[@saltysoysauce954]

Open fire is a great idea!

[@pyeltd.5457]

Some have live music and open fires.

[@barnbersonol]

Even when people do go in pubs they only talk to the people they went with.

[@jamadesh7767]

Are you Swedish?

[@swordofdamocles5733]

Ah the Churchill arms, great place to take a load off and have a nice cold beer :) Same with everywhere else that are fun places to be: taxes are not making it profitable enough.

[@brickie59]

The pubs are closing down at a very fast rate, it’s mainly because they have out prised themselves. They are charging ridiculously for a pint and in return offer nothing.

[@SpaghettiToaster]

Who would've thought that people don't like to be thrown out of their bar in the evening?

[@cadnewham]

Maybe something to do with the horses of migrants who either don’t drink due to religious reasons or don’t use pubs

[@thedivineenergy]

*Cheers!🍻* *You don't have to go home,* *but you can't stay here.🍺*

[@bohdisatva4345]

divineenergy Especially if your homeless.

[@francisco4benites]

idk why they are closing but I can tell you why Americans bars are closing cuz they up the price for each drink when it cost 12 dollars and more for 1 drink it's kinda like why wouldn't I just spent 30 and buy a bottle

[@lotstolearn5350]

Hope the historic pubs stay in business.

[@Hawkgoulet]

In the states I see breweries are popping up left right and center. They’re generally more family friendly and welcoming than bars. Bars seem to attract the hookup and drug culture, which is fine but isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. It seems traditional English pubs were more welcoming and family friendly, similar to the growing breweries in the states.

[@johnsmith-rs2vk]

Good people .

[@stevehopkins7119]

Supermarket deals 2 packs of beer for twenty pounds sometime three for two, bottles of reasonable wine for six pounds less in places etc....people's lifestyles and opertunities for a varied social life aswell as absolutely ridiculous prices in pubs are killing the pubs...the sharia bs isn't a issue it's simple economics

[@mdallas]

Did she really have to drink wine. Its a pub at least fake it and sip a pint of bitter. sheesh

[@kevininrb]

I'm not British, but still have family in England. They took us to the local pub when we went to England several times in the 1980's and we went to several pubs when we stayed in B&Bs around England. The British Pub back then was nothing like an American bar. It literally was a "public house." Sure, they sold alcoholic drinks, but they also served meals; they had games and tvs; and children were welcome in many parts of the pub. It was more like an open house where locals would go to relax and be with their neighbors than just a place to go and get drunk. I went to England once again in 2003, and even then the atmosphere had changed. Several pubs were non smoking or had non smoking areas. More than that though, there were frequently posted notices that the pubs were on a closed circuit video system, and that if you were recorded causing a problem in the pub, not only would you be banned from that pub, but from any other pubs using the same monitoring service. It all seemed somewhat Orwellian, and unlikely to foster a relaxed, welcoming atmosphere, once people realized that they were under surveillance and that "big brother" was watching.

[@kevininrb]

London itself was a city of surveillance when I last visited in 2003. Cameras everywhere, staring at you from the sides of buildings and poles. It was subtly and omnipresently chilling. Its difficult to feel or act natural when you know somebody, somewhere, is always watching you. No one in London probably ever picks their nose because they always feel like they're being watched. Even if it is safer, I wouldn't want to live that way - and I also lost any desire to return, even though London is an amazing place. There is simply no joy in living (or in visiting) if you feel like you can't relax and be yourself.

[@LadyCriminal0013]

Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo. Thats my dream to visit pubs and to visit England. When I'm rich I'd like to go 😭😭😭😭

[@ConfuseingGameing]

I want to hear the other side of this argument, the side that's out grown pubs

[@chd1694]

Very very very very sad.

[@MellorDR]

sad to say pubs in england will be on historical Pathe news in the future

[@leadfarmer9396]

good alcohol causes too many problems

[@hamstarr100]

I love the the puritans saying the smoking ban had nothing to do with this, it had everything

[@Tacsmoker]

it did, i agree, i only went to pubs and smoked weed whilst playing pool, cant do that now lol

[@gayleralan]

I doubt it's the change in social habits that pubs are closing. More the globalisation...so many American franchises are making it more difficult to open a restaurant or pub or even a cafe. I'm from London and it's becoming harder and harder to find a family owned restaurant and most pubs belong to a brewery.

[@vernonbishop]

55,000 drinking establishments seems a little ludicrous. Why such an emphasis on taking in a controlled substance?

[@jazzx251]

"and these days ... [beat] ... even take the kids" BULLSHIT! I was a toddler in the early 1970s, my parents used to have a family tradition of a "Sunday drive" to country pubs, and the ones in my home town were full of families and pets too! Some pubs even had games rooms especially for kids - with Space Invaders, pool, Berzerk and Scramble and multiple pinball machines. 10p a go. This is nothing new at all.

[@RandomGuy-ej9gr]

Now pubs are completely dead

[@georginathompson3788]

If people are choosing to be more healthy and not go out drinking alcohol then that’s probably a good thing.

[@monkeymox2544]

But that's not wat's happening, people are just drinking more at home.

[@Abcd-hr9ot]

way too many people living on that island 65.000.000..

[@heftyalan1152]

nobber d robber Think it is 66.5 now as expected to be 70m in 10 years and that is growth of 3.5 m

[@Abcd-hr9ot]

Hefty Alan its gona b an implosion

[@blusnuby2]

Me thinks a large, quick "drop in population" is just around the corner.....

[@mjg239]

4:02 Little boy drinking a bottle of... BEER?

[@Dutch0794]

Might as well start em off young

[@Rocco-dp3pp]

Welcome to Britain lad 👍

[@MsCarringtonsYoutube]

Is pubs short for Public?

[@yousall7259]

Cant smoke drink to pricy what it costs for 2 pints u can get enough cans in the offlince to get drunk🤗

[@brendanm4179]

English bars are heartless with no atmosphere, nothing like a good Irish bar. It’s the people who make a bar work

[@nigelmedcalf4148]

As i am visitor i used to go to various English pubs i remeber my friend in Rotherham bought me a nice English glass of ale he is very friendly English man i am irish...anothe rone i remember my another firend Rob bought me same drink in his local English style pub called Prince of Wales in Belle Vue, suburb of Shrewsbury and i wen to london, lincoln andother english towns i remeber well. i am law abiding irish visitor i reember many football fans is in deep trouble smashed windows in many pubs. i am very friendly law abiding and relaxed enjoy incident free drink or two very civilisied. i think English pubs are gone very quicly replace by rendezvous jazz bar or thenr modern one. as i am irish i loved irish pubs not same as english one i remember in my dad'[s old pub in artane look inside like english as chndiler and fittings like in England. i know these sigsn outside english pubs like ' white swan', red lion, etc are very friendly for locals and vsiitors alike. i recall over 40,000 now 15,000 in su.

[@JamesPiccone]

Are those beers served warm?, The mugs don't look Frosty 🤔

[@magnusbruce4051]

English ale is served at cellar temperature, which is generally 10-15 degrees. Kegged beers are refrigerated so will be more like 1-3 degrees. Beer served very cold might be really refreshing on a hot day, but you can't taste it properly.