If you can’t go to the pub…..

Friday night is pub night. Always has been, always will be. 

 Not just for us, either: Friday is traditionally pay day when everyone likes to celebrate their pay cheque with an evening of revelry before the next two days of idleness.

Brian and I almost always go to the pub on a Friday night. Usually we enjoy a brisk walk through pleasant countryside, then head for one of our locals where we share a couple of drinks and chat about the week gone by. On other occasions…..well, we have lots of drinks. Sometimes we meet people, get chatting and have a bit of a party.

But COVID-19 has taken pubs off the agenda. Not legally - not yet anyway, since some remain open for business despite the fact that an increasing number of customers are now falling ill, self-isolating or simply staying at home to be safe. 

But we’ve decided to do the responsible thing and avoid visiting our local. This has been particularly hard for me as I have a passion for pubs. So much so that I even write a blog on historic London pubs and have clocked up more than 80 to date.

So why do I love pubs so much? It’s not just about the alcohol, although obviously that helps. It’s the cosy atmosphere that pubs engender with their low-lit alcoves, cosy nooks and wood-panelled walls. These are inevitably covered with olde worlde paraphernalia such as old photos, oil paintings and stuffed animals in cases along with other assorted collectibles. So it's practically impossible to recreate this type of rarified ambiance - unless one actually happens to be in a pub.

Or is it?



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