Does anyone else feel as I do? That there is an insidious erosion of our British way of life.
For instance, a newspaper report on the impending closure of Yates's town centre pub, in Kidderminster.
And, directly underneath this, a further report, claiming that Working Men's Clubs in the West Midlands,are also under threat of closure.

Plunging sales, due to the smoking ban, and the recent budget price rise on beers, ciders, wines and spirits, are being blamed for the decline.
Government say, the price increase will help to deter under-age-drinkers. It isn't the pub trade contributing to this. It's the cheap alcohol, freely available from supermarkets and off licenses.
So why use a sledgehammer to crack a nut, approach.

But these are only the latest nails in the pub trade's coffin. The drink/driving law affected sales too. In order to compensate then, pubs started selling more food. This is no longer enough, to save some of our traditional pubs from closure.

Now I have to admit, that the news of Yates's imminent closure, didn't make much of an impact for me. Until that is, I visited my own local on Easter Tuesday, for a lunch time meal and get-together. This same pub, played host to my birthday celebrations in February. We are always made welcome there, with good food and a warm, friendly atmosphere.
It was on Easter Tuesday that I realised, just how much, our village pub is an integral part of the community. Just as much as the village shop, the school and the church etc. I guess that some of you, must feel the same way about your local too?


What is more English than our Old World pubs, loved by the American tourists. Sadly, it seems, like our Post Offices, the traditional British Pub is being forced out of business. Where the smoking ban is concerned, why not bring back the 'smoke room' most pubs had one years ago. Until they fell victim to the open-plan fashion. For the record, I don't smoke, and never have, so there is no bias intended.

Then there's the drink/driving.............
Maybe our publicans could take a leaf out of one landlord's book, he kept a pub in the middle of nowhere (the Highlands). He provided a mini bus for his customers , he was also the driver. I was staying in the area at the time, and his hostelry was always busy.

I just know, that if we lost our local, our village would be poorer for it.