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November 13, 2018

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Dave Timoney

Another reason why young people went to pubs in the past (specifically the 70s through 90s) was the availability of live music. More restrictive regulations, compounded by the fact that many music pubs were Victorian buildings in urban areas now subject to gentrification, has produced a decline in such venues, with some converting to gastropubs and others being bought for redevelopment as private homes.

This suggests the causality may be bi-directional. Higher prices lead to cultural change, but cultural change in specific locales may also drive pubs to target different market segments that support (and even expect) higher prices, or owners to consider a change in use.

Aaron Headly

It would not surprise me if some study reveals that banning smoking in pubs also led to a sudden reduction in pub custom.

When something breaks a habit, that habit often stays broken.

Nick Drew

@ When I was a 15-year-old kid, I’d drink in pubs

Same here. And it was an important education: you'd be tolerated by your elders and betters (on pain of being slung out unceremoniously) if you learned to observe the unwritten rules of sociable adulthood

"Right lads, what'll it be?" Which meant more than just the drinks order: the unspoken rider was - "you gonna have a bit of quiet enjoyment here this evening, spend a few bob, wait your turn for the bar billards, don't overdo things - or am I gonna sling you out?"

pgl

"Today, for example, you can get 12 cans of Lager at Tesco for £8.50, which means that a pint of beer is 4.2 times as expensive in pubs as in shops. 30 years ago, it was only twice as expensive."

That sounds about right but consider the heading and scaling of your graph. You seem to be doing the graph in terms of some base = 1.0 ala 30 years ago as opposed to the true relative cost of pub beer v. store beer over time. Which is why your index is at 230 now not 420 now.

I know it is a small point but the graph might mislead people even as I get what you are saying.

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