Last Calls, Gentlemen!

The British pubs are much more than a meeting place for friends sharing a few drinks and chat. It's an institution for centuries, with no generation boundaries and loved by people of all ages. A voice through a loud-speaker calls out: Last calls, Gentlemen!' indicates 10 minutes before closing time and for those who wish to have one for the road to place their last order. Some pubs rings the bell but people seem to prefer somebody yelling out!

But things are changing. The prohibition of smoking in premises, stricter control of alcoholism, economic crises, etc. Traditionally pubs are property of the beer companies, but 37 of them have closed or were acquired by multinationals. In the recent years, thousands of them have passed into hands of companies - known as PubCos, dedicated to obtain the maximum benefit in the shortest time, without any interest for the history or the social cohesion. The PubCos rent out the locations under the condition that they conduct the business with beer bought only from certain brands which they got at discounted prices.

The crisis have bitten into the profits of these chains, many of them responded by raising the rent. If the business does not function, then put the pub on sale. The chain Punches & Taverns, owner of 8.400 pubs, and Enterprise, 7,800 have accumulated huge debts of more than 10,000 million Euros. Since the year 2,000, six thousand pubs have closed, with 50 thousand jobs lost and that many more in danger.

To most Brits, drinker or not, Britain would not be Britain without those colourful pubs. I am quite sure even foreigners would feel the same. Pubs are and have always been, a national tradition and part of the country's identity.

Tags:Pubs,BritishTradition

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