Oh how we're missing our nights down at the boozer
How’s it going with all those things you said you would do while you’re in lockdown? Be honest. There’s time yet, but you probably haven’t taken up juggling after all, memorised the periodic table, or composed that opera.
Creosoting the shed and clearing the odd cupboard is about as much as most of us have done. The best laid plans…
It seems more likely that our to-do lists for when we’re finally released into the wild will accrue significantly more ticks.
That said, many of us only have one item on our post-liberty itineraries.
We’re going to the pub. Even if all they have is Taboo, Mirage and dandelion and burdock.
We’ve always loved pubs and love them even more these days. Absence supposedly makes the heart grow fonder, but I didn’t think I could love the boozer even more. I was wrong.
It isn’t even about drinking. I’ve never been much of a drinker. It’s about people.
The pub is where humans, technically adult humans, gather and each bring something to the experience, be it the wise, the intelligent, the daft, the loud, the ridiculous or even, get this, people who know what they’re talking about. Politics, religion, film, art or, of course, football may arise in conversation.
However, men in particular have a notable fondness for talking absolute moon juice with their friends - and I suppose it’s the gleeful talking of rubbish with our peers that we miss most.
The art of exchanging drivel continues to thrive on WhatsApp, but isn’t the same somehow. God, I miss the pub. But there’s a deadly serious side to this. Whenever “all this ends” the economy will be squarely in the soup. Chances are the big businesses which compete with the small, local ones, will be damaged but still operating.
The small, local ones? Well that’s up to us. There might be cheaper options, but they’ll only save us money in the short term.
If your nearby inn, baker, grocer, newsagent or cafe closes permanently, then we’ll all have to pay for it in the end.
Now if that isn’t a good reason for charging down to the pub at the earliest opportunity, I don’t know what is.