Last orders at the Meat and Two Veg

A PUB in York called the Shoulder of Mutton is dropping its name after introducing a new menu to attract more vegans and vegetarians.

There are, from what I can establish, 17 pubs in England called the Shoulder of Mutton — after a dish popular in the 19th century.

When I worked in Cambridge in the Seventies, I used to drink at the Baron of Beef. Presumably, that’ll be next for the chop.

Pub names are a unique part of our heritage. They started being wiped out by the big breweries about 30 years ago, when traditional boozers were tarted up and given ridiculous names like the Ferret and Firkin, or rebranded as pretend Oirish pubs, called Fiddly O’Diddly’s. Or turned into trendy wine bars with names such as Vinz or Fizz’s.

There may be grounds for changing some old names. I don’t imagine Peterborough’s Black Boy and Trumpet is still there. These days, the landlord would be prosecuted for hate crime.

But if the current fad for veganism can do for the Shoulder of Mutton, how long can the famous Flitch of Bacon at Dunmow, Essex, survive?

And it’s not only pubs. Now it’s entire place-names.

Animal rights activists are demanding that the village of Wool, in Dorset, changes its name because it ‘promotes cruelty to sheep’.

Baaaaaarking!