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London Pubs From the lense of Mr Bernhardt

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DAVE SMITH
Posts: 1213
Joined: Sat Jul 10, 2004 11:12 am
Location: ENGLAND

London Pubs From the lense of Mr Bernhardt

Post by DAVE SMITH »

With the amount of photo's Doug has taken over the last 10 years visiting London ,these 3 images have captured what London Pub Life is about.
These shots taken outside a Truman and Hanbury Buxton pub give you an insight to the atmosphere inside and around these places. To think how many pubs we are losing now on a daily basis is very sad, not only London but throughout Britain.
You sure made a good job of these Doug and made a bunch of friends at the same time.
Dave
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e-lord clyde crowd1.jpg
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Brian the Brush UK
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Re: London Pubs From the lense of Mr Bernhardt

Post by Brian the Brush UK »

Hi Dave,
Your right about the pub situation, up here in Yorkshire things are just as bad, ale houses closing all the time, such a pity !!
Nice photo's, pity about the beer !! ha ha !! :lol:

Brian.
http://www.brianthebrushuk.com
With a stroke more imagination.
Ron Berlier
Posts: 245
Joined: Fri Apr 09, 2004 3:27 am

Re: London Pubs From the lense of Mr Bernhardt

Post by Ron Berlier »

Greetings Dave,

Is it just the world economy that is causing all these pub closures or are there less obvious reasons?
Ron Berlier
Wherever I go, there I am.
DAVE SMITH
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Joined: Sat Jul 10, 2004 11:12 am
Location: ENGLAND

Re: London Pubs From the lense of Mr Bernhardt

Post by DAVE SMITH »

Ron.
Here is a report from the Times which tells you about the situation.


The rate of pub closures is accelerating, with 52 going out of business every week at a cost of 24,000 jobs over the past year, figures show.

Almost 2,400 pubs and bars have vanished from villages and towns in the past 12 months, according to research for the British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA). Local pubs serving small communities have been the worst hit, the association said.

The number of closures represents the steepest rate of decline since records began in 1990 and has risen by a third compared with the same period last year, when 36 pubs were closing every week.

A preference for drinking more cheaply at home, rather than going out, is thought to have contributed to closures. A BBPA spokesman said: “The biggest impact is the recession. There are fewer people out and fewer people spending money in pubs and bars. Pubs are diversifying but, unfortunately, if you are a community pub you can’t transform yourself into a trendy town centre bar.”


Dave
Last edited by DAVE SMITH on Mon Dec 14, 2009 8:35 am, edited 1 time in total.
erik winkler
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Re: London Pubs From the lense of Mr Bernhardt

Post by erik winkler »

In Nederland, the pubs (we call them cafe's) have a difficult time, because te breweries are asking them a higher price than he suppermarkets do.
So if a pub owner buys his beer in the supermarket, it cheaper than the beer he buys directly from the brewery.
Somehow they still manage over here....
Realizing we are in the 2nd renaissance of the arts.
Learn, copy and trying to improve...
Still in the learning phase ;-)
Amsterdam Netherlands
www.ferrywinkler.nl
www.schitterend.eu
www.facebook.com/Schitterend.eu
Doug Bernhardt
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Re: London Pubs From the lense of Mr Bernhardt

Post by Doug Bernhardt »

Ah.....the neighbourhood pub. I've been using CAMRA as one of my guides and all their research and writers. Campaign for Real Ales. Essentially they say something like"the pub companies own huge blocks of pubs (some companies 100 thousand or so) and are really real estate concerns." So if they can make more money with property as a parking lot thats what'll happen to the "local" The English government has tried to regulate but much as Eric mentions the price is at some point the issue. A beer and a meal at a London pub is incredibly reasonable especially when compared here to north america. I'm actually pretty emotional when I quote(ish) an English writer "when you lose your pubs you lose the soul of England". Just a wonderful people and way of life......I love it there.
That "lot" in front of the Lord Clyde is a good example. It was June this past year and my wife and I........mostly me, had a last day and a half in London left to visit a n old pub or three, before a flight after visiting Wales. I wanted to re-visit the Lord Clyde, a family run pub since the 2nd World War, before going off to the George Inn for a bite and a few pints at the Market Porter, one of if not the finest Ale Pub in all of London, all in the general area of St. Pauls Cathedral. After a pint or so inside taking in the marvelous glass (an earlier post has pictures) I went outside to get an overall photo of the building. It was about 6PM on a Thursday, maybe Friday and group was just outside enjoying a summer evening as a group of friends. They spotted me with the camera and one of them said something like "Hey....what about a photo of me?" I said (and urged them on) and just as I was about to take the picture stuck my hand into the air to get their UNDIVIDED attention. It was then that my wife took a photo of me taking a photo of them. It was a huge hoot with everyone wanting to know something of Canada etc etc etc. Those pictures are among my favourite from that trip. It also goes without saying that I had a terrific visit with Dave Kynaston and took in all his wonderful signwork,shop and village while in Wales. The town a good craftsman lives in is obvious when you arrive there.......not unlike Stowe vermont and probably Jacksonhole WY as well. I'll try and make an addition or 2 to these photos but my real problem is that I have quite a few thousand of them to choose from!!
Ron Berlier
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Re: London Pubs From the lense of Mr Bernhardt

Post by Ron Berlier »

Thanks for the feedback guys. What a real shame to lose so much history and tradition. When I think of Europe, though I've never been there, the pubs is one of the first things I think about. A place where all the locals can go and enjoy the friendship of their neighbors over a pint. A real loss. :cry:


Doug, I truly appreciate the wisdom in that quote -
Ron Berlier
Wherever I go, there I am.
erik winkler
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Re: London Pubs From the lense of Mr Bernhardt

Post by erik winkler »

The quote is also spot on for the rest of Europe, Germany has the same thing with their Beergartens.
A nice tradition to go drink beer and enjoy food and company in the cellars during winter and the gardens during summer.
Holland has the same with their cafe's, but it is hard here to compete with the disco bounce internetstereo of the new pubs.
But they will ot go, because we still love our tradition and want to pay that little bit more for a beer in a bar instead of home.
Like the British pubs these go back 200 yeas or more.
In Amsterdam I am a tourist guide in my free time for friends, relatives etc. and I love to go to the really old places, dating back 400 years.
No music there, just the old atmosphere where the old sailors who traveled around the world used to come and drank a 'jenever' Dutc spirit.
Realizing we are in the 2nd renaissance of the arts.
Learn, copy and trying to improve...
Still in the learning phase ;-)
Amsterdam Netherlands
www.ferrywinkler.nl
www.schitterend.eu
www.facebook.com/Schitterend.eu
vance galliher
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Re: London Pubs From the lense of Mr Bernhardt

Post by vance galliher »

.....Doug, that smile on your face is one of your best...........keep up the good work my friend !
vance
dimensional and glass art signs
http://www.vancegallihersigns.com
cam bortz
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Joined: Tue May 04, 2004 8:54 am

Re: London Pubs From the lense of Mr Bernhardt

Post by cam bortz »

In Ireland a few years ago I got into a conversation with a pub owner, and commented on the huge number of closed pubs I'd been seeing in my travels. His perspective was interesting - he said a big reason was the anti-smoking regulations. As I remember, the gist of this was that for many pubs, the profit margin was already very small; a lot of the "day trade" in Ireland was older pensioners who would spend a good part of the day in a pub, having a few pints, lunch, and smoking their pipes. His words: "This old lads are not the sort who are going to step outside for a fag(cigarette); they sit at the bar or by the hearth for hours at a time with a pint and a pipe, and were the whole reason to open the place in the daytime. Since the anti-smoking laws passed, the old lads started staying home." He said the resulting loss of income was the death of a great many pubs that were already on rather shaky ground, profit-wise. Again, his words: "A lot of old fellows were just stunned when publicans said they could no longer have a pipe at the bar - some got indignant, some just became resigned to it, but most of them just don't come in anymore - they don't see the point."

However we may feel about tobacco use in general, I think this is a ... shame, and yet another example of unintended consequences of a well-meaning law. :(
Jeff Lang
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Joined: Thu Apr 08, 2004 10:31 am
Location: Pittsburgh, PA, USA

Re: London Pubs From the lense of Mr Bernhardt

Post by Jeff Lang »

Doug & all,
Have had this page bookmarked for a long while. When I need an inspiration for a storefront job, I'll go to it. Seeing it today reminded me of this post.

http://www.pbase.com/bygaspo/pubs&page=2

Jeff
Jeff Lang
Olde Lang Signs
Pittsburgh, PA, USA
412-732-9999
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