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Wow there is a lot to unpick here. 1. I think all the pubs he mentions have gone. 2. He was born and raised in Chelsea. That’s pretty rare now - Londonnhas u

Wow there is a lot to unpick here. 1. I think all the pubs he mentions have gone. 2. He was born and raised in Chelsea. That’s pretty rare now - Londonnhas undergone a paroxysm of middle class selling up to wealthy (foreign) investors and I would be amazed if any architects today could be born and raised there. 3. I love the detail of the balance bars on the pub lanterns. They are all gone because an electric bulb can operate even when swinging - but a candle or gas just need to remain upright - wow. 4. Cars - cars are hardly mentioned because this was 1966 and you could drink and drive, you can park anywhere because most people did not have / need a car 5. Men not families - again still the sixties 6. The rise of food and Gastropubs - it’s rare a pub can survive on drinking alone and being part of the lunchtime food trade is almost as profitable as evening drinking Our “third spaces” do matter and reflect on us in interesting ways - going to come back to this article :-)

PaulRobinson 2y ago
Most of the pubs exist still, I think. The food thing has always been the case, it’s just that in the past you could make a bit of stew or have some pies in a warmer at the end of the bar, and you could sell them for a reasonable price, and make more profit than you would on same spend on beer (alcohol duty has been around a long time), but now, needs have changed. That’s come from two directions. First, those pie warmers and stew pots would struggle with modern health and safety rules in relation to food, and compliance with the regs costs more money so you need more expensive product. Secondly, consumer demand. A lot of central pubs now are dealing with far more tourists than were around in the 1960s as a consequence of cheaper air travel and changing drinking habits of local resident populations. Those two groups mean pubs have had to move to sit down meals, and at a near-restaurant price point. A few go a little under that level (Greene King and Fuller’s for example, they seem to do very well on food at a non-gastro price point), but they always knew food made more money than beer. I think it interesting that Sam Smith pubs segregate the food. You can’t just order food to your table - you have to go to the dining room. This means intent has to be decided on as you walk in. I like it a bit, but actually, I’d prefer the Fullers experience more, in that if I have a couple of pints and then want to order a battered whitebait with a jenga of chips and some crushed peas, I can do that. :)
- lifeisstillgood 2y ago
  I think the “women in the workplace” social change has had a much more impactful change than the surface “gastropub”. Looking at say the 30s to the 60s pubs were a mostly male preserve, and the vast majority of the spenders. As society evened up its finances a little, women coukd choose and that choice was fairly obviously away from male dominated drinking establishments - over time of course. Anyway the shift to more geneder equality has had HVD impacts across the board - weakening trades unions, holding down wages etc I think I am wondering off the point but I reckon there is a six part tV series in “chnaging britain in a dozen pubs”
eadmund 2y ago
You forgot 7: the men with caps and pipes are no longer there because of the smoking ban. It’s just not a proper pub if there’s not some smoke spiralling up to the ceiling.

PaulRobinson 2y ago

Most of the pubs exist still, I think. The food thing has always been the case, it’s just that in the past you could make a bit of stew or have some pies in a warmer at the end of the bar, and you could sell them for a reasonable price, and make more profit than you would on same spend on beer (alcohol duty has been around a long time), but now, needs have changed. That’s come from two directions. First, those pie warmers and stew pots would struggle with modern health and safety rules in relation to food, and compliance with the regs costs more money so you need more expensive product. Secondly, consumer demand. A lot of central pubs now are dealing with far more tourists than were around in the 1960s as a consequence of cheaper air travel and changing drinking habits of local resident populations. Those two groups mean pubs have had to move to sit down meals, and at a near-restaurant price point. A few go a little under that level (Greene King and Fuller’s for example, they seem to do very well on food at a non-gastro price point), but they always knew food made more money than beer. I think it interesting that Sam Smith pubs segregate the food. You can’t just order food to your table - you have to go to the dining room. This means intent has to be decided on as you walk in. I like it a bit, but actually, I’d prefer the Fullers experience more, in that if I have a couple of pints and then want to order a battered whitebait with a jenga of chips and some crushed peas, I can do that. :)

lifeisstillgood 2y ago
I think the “women in the workplace” social change has had a much more impactful change than the surface “gastropub”. Looking at say the 30s to the 60s pubs were a mostly male preserve, and the vast majority of the spenders. As society evened up its finances a little, women coukd choose and that choice was fairly obviously away from male dominated drinking establishments - over time of course. Anyway the shift to more geneder equality has had HVD impacts across the board - weakening trades unions, holding down wages etc I think I am wondering off the point but I reckon there is a six part tV series in “chnaging britain in a dozen pubs”

eadmund 2y ago

You forgot 7: the men with caps and pipes are no longer there because of the smoking ban. It’s just not a proper pub if there’s not some smoke spiralling up to the ceiling.