Sorry, We're Closed!

I've never really seen the appeal of pubs tbh. Might be just the 1's around here, they have a musty smell, are frequented by alcys and trouble makers with yes some less troubled folk too. It's the only time I see fighting on the street. They just seem really old fashioned to me and populated by mainly older people. Even when I was young, I'd often to go to nightclubs and the odd bar but never a pub.

We've used pubs before to try and play our TTRPGs but they are just too noisy.
This is on in a village pub usually and I quite enjoy it. But in town it's just too much.

What is always heaving is the local TTRPGs centre.
They serve drinks and burgers (expensive). But it's always full. It's designed for nerds. And often nerds have money.
They play warhammer there all the time. And I go for DnD.

Its recently moved into a warehouse it's been so successful.
 
"Village" is the key word I see there. You'll unlikely see any late opening pubs in any village or small town these days, there just isn't the business for it.

Large towns and cities, sure.

Yup Fridays and Saturday nights only late opening hours, all the pubs and so on around here close 10pm latest on a weekday night.
 
Don't see any reason to force pubs to exist. They should be allowed to fade away and let the property be reused for something people do want.

Same goes for churches for that matter.

Absolutely. Like everything else. If demand is there and they are good pubs they'll do well. If they are trash and there are too many they will close.

Its just natural supply and demand and gradual changes in culture.
 
But these guys do have a bit of money behind them. :p

They do but even rich organisations can look at the obscene cost of keeping a giant stone building heated and repaired for tiny and shrinking flock.

Funny thing though, they've been stuffing covenants into the deeds of ex-churches they sell saying that no other religion is allowed to operate from that building.
 
The fact you said 'village' means you live in the middle of nowhere, so is it really that surprising it closes early? No.

Move to an actual city, not the countryside, if you want things to be open later.
 
We stayed in Swaffam earlier this year.

I couldn't believe how many pubs and restaurants either:

1) shut early
2) were only doing food on very specific days
3) just weren't open at all on certain days
 
Supply and demand.

Covid 19 restrictions destroyed "your" country. (Our)

I'm not sure how little country pubs made a living even before the decimation.

Amazon need to open booze dispenser lockers all over the place.
 
Average cost of pint of beer in 2008: £2.30
Average cost of pint and beer in 2024: £4.79

2.08 x increase

Median salary in 2008: £25k
Median salary 2024: £35k

1.4 x increase

Also seems crazy at the average cost of a beer - which I'm sure is dragged down by spoons. I know in all the bars/pubs local to me the typical pint is at least £6 (again excluding spoons). I don't know what it would have been in 2008 but certainly a steep increase.
 
Also seems crazy at the average cost of a beer - which I'm sure is dragged down by spoons. I know in all the bars/pubs local to me the typical pint is at least £6 (again excluding spoons). I don't know what it would have been in 2008 but certainly a steep increase.

I'd agree it's around 6 pounds most of the non spoons places.
 
Also seems crazy at the average cost of a beer - which I'm sure is dragged down by spoons. I know in all the bars/pubs local to me the typical pint is at least £6 (again excluding spoons). I don't know what it would have been in 2008 but certainly a steep increase.

I ran the numbers on almost everything since about 2008 and most things have gone up by around 80% or more, whilst wages have only gone up 40%

This country's standard of living in terms of what our salaries can buy has plummeted.
 
I ran the numbers on almost everything since about 2008 and most things have gone up by around 80% or more, whilst wages have only gone up 40%

This country's standard of living in terms of what our salaries can buy has plummeted.

Yeah real inflation that is essentials like heating, food, electricity etc are waaaay up.

Airline costs have come down a lot and I believe this is one of the luxury factors that impacts the headline figure.

But those struggling to eat won't care about that.

It would be nice to have an essentials inflation figure
 
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Yeah real inflation that is essentials like heating, food, electricity etc are waaaay up.

Airline costs have come down a lot and I believe this is one of the luxury factors that impacts the headline figure.

But those struggling to eat won't care about that.

It would be nice to have an essentials inflation figure

Yeh, the official inflation figure is skewed by things that don't really matter.

I mean how often is a regular family or person taking a flight? Maybe once a year for a holiday so it really isn't significant at all if that has gone up slightly.


Another few little brief examples :

A pint of milk is over double what it was in 2008.

Average unit price of electricity has also roughly doubled compared to 2008.


There are so many everyday things that have almost or more than doubled, whilst wages have only gone up 1.4x


Median UK salary should be more like 45k at least, to maintain the same sort of lifestyle and wealth growth that people had before the financial crisis.

Just look at that graph and the wage growth that the boomer generation experienced throughout their working lives ..
 
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45k in most of the country is still pretty good. You could cover a 3 bedroom house with that and have money to spare. Just stay away (far away) from London.
 
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45k in most of the country is still pretty good. You could cover a 3 bedroom house with that and have money to spare. Just stay away (far away) from London.
Its good if 2 people are on it yes I'd say so. (outside of London)

Its a it good if ones on that the others on median and have higher cost base (kids, bigger mortgage, drug addiction!)
 
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