I can't see it ever being as good again, it's a pretty tough job.
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I can't see it ever being as good again, it's a pretty tough job.
I can't think of any current presenter who could do the weekly reading for this *and* keep the academics in check. They don't make them like Melvyn Bragg anymore.
Bill Shankly was born #OTD 2 September 1913. Most famous as manager of Liverpool FC and a hero of the city, this painted cable box stands near Anfield stadium. 1/3
They have spent a lot of money to then just set the place up to fail. Such a waste, and such a stupid decision.
The Greatest
ok so we probably can't buy the Kentish Drovers or G-A-Y BUT what if we all bought the lease on the (former) smallest Wetherspoons in the world: www.rightbiz.co.uk/buy_business...
If you think they could keep Trump's death quiet then you underestimate the power of TMZ.
One of the absolute greats!
retiredmartin.com/2025/08/29/t...
Thank you!
waituntilnextyear.com/2025/08/28/t...
fwiw we've dealt successfully with some unfair dismissal stuff in the past, so while not legal experts have some experience. I'd definitely recommend writing down everything that happened yesterday and trying to document other conversations, keep anything they sent in writing etc. You have a case!
It makes absolutely no sense for them to spend all that money on a refurb just to hit the self-destruct button and lose all the goodwill (and business!) you have brought to the place. I'm so angry on your behalf, you deserve better than that.
Urgent: me and him and the cats need somewhere to live within the next two weeks, I've just been (I think very unfairly) fired and need to move somewhere ASAP
Oh no, that's awful news, I'm so sorry. They have made such a stupid decision, you were absolutely turning that place around and I don't think many people could do that. Any pub would be lucky to have you.
I know it's passé to like the Stone Roses these days but Made of Stone is still an absolute banger.
Still life
I would not name my house after one of the top three Work Fears, personally.
No, have always had good service in Bath, fortunately!
I've been mulling over whether to name or shame or not, still not sure...
I had a very odd pub experience yesterday. Walked in to an empty bar yet kept waiting while barman looked at his phone. He finally looked up and just glared at me. So, I said "Hello, how are you?" He replied with a grunt and more glaring. He only spoke when I turned around and walked out the pub.
The fixture computer should not be putting Leeds vs Everton on a pleasant summer evening. Should be when a) the clocks have gone back, b) the weather’s grim, c) some other factor that we’re all suffering through, eg bin strike/plague.
A report of sorts of VCD Athletic vs Sittingbourne from the weekend... waituntilnextyear.com/2025/08/18/v...
Hadn't necessarily made that connection! So, really property developers are stripping our streets of their identities in a much wider way...
There's so much debate around why pubs are closing and I don't think anywhere near enough recognition that a major reason is property developers.
Down the football.
Holiday starts here.
#AlphabetChallenge #WeekGforGlass Rain through windows towards a Pennine landscape.
I absolutely love this photo! So evocative. Makes me miss the rain.
Surely the point of London -- the reason it's brilliant, seductive and terrifying -- is its indifference. It rolls on with or without you. Stay, go, burn to the ground -- London couldn't care less. It hasn't read your essay. www.the-londoner.co.uk/leaving-lond...
Well, this is really lovely.
A lock-in...but it's to watch a Georgian arthouse film on a big screen usually reserved for the football is the kind of thing to enter local legend.
That's definitely good and agree 3rd place teams going through ruins that, but I do love two highly unlikely teams kicking off at lunchtime on a Tuesday and having an unexpected classic, or the camaraderie from watching a terrible 0-0 in the group stage too.
It's stupid, but the first round is the best bit of a World Cup, so a longer one sounds good...so I'm torn!
Screening at the Oak?
That is very kind of you! Popping out soon and will do the same! 🤞
Seriously foreboding skies right now, lovely stuff.
Watched Berlin 1933 on iPlayer. The far-right making better use of new communications technology than anyone, forming their own street armies and Centrists ultimately backing fascist policies and selling out anyone even vaguely left of centre. Seems...familiar.
"We need pubs to be of mixed demographics, especially when it comes to ages. By celebrating families, the old meet the new and they might even start to learn from each other."👍 One of the best articles on children in pubs I've read.
I've noticed a certain kind of person who bemoans the closure of pubs while also being vehemently opposed to making pubs more inclusive places...and doesn't seem able to make a connection between the two. Maybe if pubs welcomed more people they might make more money!
This is an excellent piece - I think the mantra "Don't be a dick" applies to life generally, yet so many don't follow it. If pubs and beer festivals want to survive they really should read this... lizziebeer.blogspot.com/2025/08/dont...
This has been a huge moral and professional failing from our media.
I’ve seen some niche sponsors’ adverts at football matches but this might be my favourite. (Hibernian FC 2 - Kilmarnock 1 HT)
GOOD MORNING! Here's our regular weekly round up of the best writing about beer and pubs. Lots of good stuff this week so the Patreon-exclusive 'footnotes' post is going to have about the same amount of links again. 🍻🍺 boakandbailey.com/2025/08/news...
I went to the @acerecords.bsky.social pop-up shop yesterday, and it was great. waituntilnextyear.com/2025/08/08/a...
I absolutely love this cover, I'm guessing from the bottles of Bass that it's inspired by Manet's A Bar at the Folies-Bergère.
Thanks so much, and it's well worth a visit!
Morning!
Thank you!
Cheers, thank you!
Yes, it's awful and unnecessary. They have a massive majority, they could be anything, yet choose to be like this.
Thanks so much for the kind words - and completely agree on needing the right people, pubs are all about that!
What a grim, grim government. They are going to completely destroy what little faith the public has left in politics, which will lead us to an even worse place than we are now.
You're doing a great job in turning that place into somewhere special, and people should know about it - thank you for all you are doing, it's really appreciated!
Thanks for sharing! It's well worth trying out, a work in progress that's definitely worth supporting.
Thanks for sharing! It is such a worthwhile project to make those changes in a deeply unfashionable pub in a deeply unfashionable place!
Thanks so much for sharing, I really appreciate it!
Hope this isn't weird to share, but to provide some balance, I wrote up some far more positive thoughts on the pub... waituntilnextyear.com/2025/08/02/r...
Really think there is a good case for Mi-Soul Radio mi-soul.com being the best radio station out there right now. Wall to wall bangers, crate digging rather than just playing the hits and a friendly community feel to the whole thing.
I think that's entirely fair! I imagine it's amazing for Springsteen superfans, but a bit of hard work for the rest of us.
I thought there was some interesting stuff in there but no way I could justify the cost. I also wonder if I'd enjoy them more as individual albums dripfed over time. The sheer volume made it feel overwhelming and made me less inclined to spend any real time listening over songs multiple times.
Listening to this and thinking it is absolutely one of the greatest songs of all time. youtu.be/ZpIhsGg2SJ0?...
A few short notes on Correction by Thomas Bernhard waituntilnextyear.com/2025/08/04/a...
I wrote this over the weekend, sharing again for anyone who missed it and now I have a couple more followers...
Sunday afternoon.
Finally finished Thomas Bernhard's Correction. An incredible book, loved how all the ideas behind it coalesced at the end. The two part scruture was perfectly executed too. It might not be his best, but his one of his most interesting in terms of it's execution.
A few years ago everything* looked like the one on the left but now everything* seems to look like the one on the right, with weirdly tight tracking. * quite a lot of things
Hello! Thought I'd finally give it a go!
I've written something about the Royal Oak, Northumberland Heath - a proper pub that has been refurbished in both a practical and philosophical sense. waituntilnextyear.com/2025/08/02/r...
I suppose it's about time I check this place out...mainly because there's quite a few people I really miss hearing from.