So.. I find myself sat at home in front of the computer at 12am on a Saturday night after trying to go out for 'big drinks in town' with an old friend. Unfortunately, it turned out that the pub we were in shut its doors at 11, sharp, and so did every other hostelry within walking distance. So I reluctantly came home, since the only other options were clubs with entry fees, 'bangin' tunes, and no decent beer.
This doesn't feel unfamiliar at all. In fact, it was exactly what it was like to go out drinking on a Saturday night in Aylesbury in 1997. The question is, why is it that an 11pm closing time for pubs is still more-or-less universal in central London, but you can easily drink until 2 or 3 in pubs in supposedly 'residential' areas like East Dulwich ('home' for me), and even in other cities (Oxford)?
I'm not convinced that the opening hours revolution is being implemented consistently, is all.
Mind you, if I hadn't come home early, I wouldn't have got to listen to this.
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2 comments:
I think that, like the odd "heritage" routemaster bus and old-style phone boxes, the 11pm rule is preserved in central London so that tourists can tell their friends back home about the quaint English customs. I believe that somewhere in St James, you can find an inn which closes from 3pm until 5.30pm, will only serve halves and allows the playing of shove ha'penny for small stakes.
Incidentally, if you go to the bottom of Friern Road, you can find an original phone box -- not I hasten to add, for the purpose of relieving oneself while walking back from the EDT.
I had no such difficulties...
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