Monday, April 14

Another One Gone


Yet another once thriving Barrow pub closed its doors at the weekend, and I hear ominous rumours of at least two more heading the same way. We all know that the loss of any local pub is a blow to the social life of many folk, but looking deeper there’s far more to it than the loss of just a drinking, and up till recently, smoking den.
 Far more jobs were obtained "down the pub" than at any Job Centre or Labour Exchange. Many a Barrow father, bought a foreman a pint or two and got a promise of a start for his sometimes unwilling offspring. How many business ideas and plans were dreamt up over a quiet pint down at the local pub? away from the pressures of work and family life, with a beer or two for lubrication the pub is the ideal thinking place. I know of half a dozen or more thriving local well established business partnerships which were forged down the pub over a beer. Not all local wheelers and dealers who trade down the pub are the "fell off the back of a lorry" variety.
You name it , builder, window cleaner, gardener etc they all could be found via the local pub, if they didn't drink there someone who did, knew which pub they could be found in.
Many a local tradesman who worked from home used to call their local "the office" and never needed to advertise for work, inquiry's and phone calls were passed on via the bar staff. Reputations could be made or broken by what the regulars said about the work he did, do a bad job and you had to find yourself another pub. Do a good job and your reputation was embellished and grew as the pints were supped to seal the deal.

10 comments:

Bill said...

which pub is this one. Dont recognise the picture

bob mullen said...

Bill; The Sandgate Salthouse Rd.

Anonymous said...

Hello Bob, I saw your eye over at BikerBobs' place and thought I would call by and say hi.
.
I live in a former mining village and where there were once 5 pubs now there are two that are open for business. One of the pubs actually made arrangements to give up the business the same day the smoking ban came into force. They thought the 'smoke' was the glue of the pub. I dare say they were right. You are right though, how many agreements have been shaken upon in a pub!
Sadly one of the pubs still trading isn;t trading because of the sale of alcohol!! Sad but true.
.
(This is daffy by the way...
http://daffy.wordpress.com/
your blog doesn't allow comments from outside of Blogger but I bet you knew that! :o) Serenity is my 'emergency spare'!!

Roy, Dublin Taxi Driver said...

Here they're all being re-developed into apartment blocks same goes for service stations

bigbikerbob said...

Hi Bob, I'm afraid its the same all over the country, particularly in places like Cumbria, Devon and others counties that have lots of country pubs, first the drink driving then non smoking killed them.

Unknown said...

Why don't they build new houses on the golf course, or knock down a whole streetful of perfectly good houses in Hawcoat?

The real tragedy of the decline of the proper pub is that it is responsible for reckless drinking by young people. When I was an, er, underage drinker we all gathered in the community pub. the same place where all ages gathered, and it did ensure that we kept our behaviour within fairly generous limits. Now the bars are designed to be as unappealing as possible to older people, so that the young people don't have restraints and nobody cares if they get legless so long as they pay up.

I haven't found a pub in Barrow that I like much. It can be done with some enthusiasm - when I was living in Reading there was The Retreat, the pub that ought to be in Barrow and isn't, that was forever being threatened with closure until the local bikers group stepped in and made it a success!

bob mullen said...

daffy:Thanks for dropping by. mining village eh! wonder what they mined. Your blog looks good and I will have a better read when I get a bit more time.Cheers

bob mullen said...

Roy: Not a lot to look forward to if we follow suit then eh?

bob mullen said...

Bob: Aye but some folk might say how many did the drink driving and the smoking kill first?

bob mullen said...

rosilind: Couldn't agree more you will have to tell me if your search for a good pub in Barrow is fruitful. Then you can buy me a pint.