The End of British Pub Culture?

A. J. Dalton

British beer and pubs are famous around the world. Things are changing， however. Is this the end of a great British tradition？

For thousands of years， the most important two buildings in any British village have been the church and the pub. In fact， until a place has a church and a pub， it is not really considered a community worthy of a name. Traditionally， the church and the pub are at the heart of any village or town， since it is where the people gather to socialise and exchange news. They are institutions at the heart of British society. After all， the word ‘pub is actually short for ‘public house.

As a result， British pubs are often old and well preserved. Many of them have become historic sites that tourists visit. One of the most famous examples is the pub in the city of Nottingham called ‘Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem， which dates back to the year AD 1189 and is probably the oldest pub in England. It was the same year in which King Richard the First （the ‘Lionheart） came to the throne， and it was he who led the First Crusade into the Holy Land， towards Jerusalem.

Many British pubs have old names referring to monarchs， such as The Kings Head or The Queen Victoria， but of course this doesnt mean they are only for kings and queens. Pubs have always welcomed people from all classes and parts of society. On a cold night， the pubs landlord or landlady can always find a warm place for you by the fire. There is always honest and hearty food and plenty of drink available at an affordable price.

Thats how it used to be， but there are worrying signs that things are beginning to change. Economic downturns， governmental ‘austerity measures， and cultural changes are causing many pubs to go out of business. People do not have a lot of spare money to spend on beer. On top of that， in 2007 smoking was banned in all public indoor spaces， including pubs， which may also have affected the numbers of customers going to pubs since then.

This decline is happening despite the fact that pubs are now allowed by law to stay open after 11pm. Previously， with 11pm as closing time， customers would have to drink quite quickly， meaning they sometimes got more drunk than they would if allowed to drink slowly. The British habit of drinking a lot very quickly is known as ‘binge drinking， and it causes long-term health problems for individuals and problems with violent crime for communities. The UK government is trying to find ways of discouraging binge drinking， and regularly spends money on television commercials to warn people of the problems of drinking too much.

In order to save their businesses， pubs are trying to diversify to attract new customers. Now， there are a number of different types of pubs：

■ a ‘traditional pub is usually more than a hundred years old， often has a ceiling made of oak beams and often has a large， open fire

■ a ‘gastro pub serves higher-quality food than usual. They are a bit more expensive than a traditional pub， but often have received awards for excellent cooking

■ a ‘microbrewery is a pub that brews and serves its own beer on the premises. It often has fresher beer than other types of pub

■ a ‘theme pub caters to specific types of customers， such as sports or karaoke fans.

As you can see， British pubs now offer something for everyone. And with various ‘save the pub campaigns， there are signs that people are rallying around these new kinds of pubs while supporting the traditional pub， migrating back from the modern and trendy wine bars to support this great British institution with pride.

Fun corner

1 Change one letter in the word ‘dine to find an alcoholic drink. ______

2 Change one letter in the word ‘pub to find a baby bear. ______

3 Change one letter in the word ‘bear to find an alcoholic drink. ______

4 Change one letter in the word ‘fine to make yourself hot. ______

5 Change one letter in the word ‘health to make yourself rich. ______

6 Change one letter in the word ‘good if youre hungry. ______

Word of the day

‘Binge drinking is the term we use to describe drinking too much too quickly. It is a social problem.

Activity 1： Multiple choice

Choose the correct answer for each question.

1. Why are British pubs often so old？

a Because the British want to attract tourists.

b Because they follow in the tradition of British kings and queens

c Because there has always been a need for them in Britain.

2. British people that go to pubs …

a can be from any part of society.

b are mainly men.

c are often royalty.

3. Why are so many pubs going out of business？

a Because of economic and cultural changes

b Because theyre not changing fast enough.

c Because they are too traditional.

4. Why did the UK government allow pubs to stay open after 11pm？

a To encourage binge drinking

b To save British businesses

c To encourage more sensible ways of drinking

Activity 2： Vocabulary

Choose the correct words to complete the sentences.

recently

traditionally

freely

traditional

historic

trendy

1. Have you been to that new bar？ Its very ______.

2. ______， there were certain drinking clubs in Britain that women could not enter.

3. Tourists like to visit ______ sites.

4. In British pubs today， people can come and go ______.

5. ______， the UK government has banned smoking in pubs.

6. Many people visit British pubs for the ______ fare （food and drink）.

Answers

Activity 1   1 c; 2 a; 3 a; 4 c

Activity 2

1 trendy; 2 Traditionally; 3 historic; 4 freely; 5 Recently; 6 traditional

Joke

The word ‘whine is pronounced in the same way as ‘wine.

Fun corner

1 wine; 2 cub; 3 beer; 4 fire; 5 wealth; 6 food