A friend of mine from the UK told me that pubs might be the country’s greatest contributor to the downward spiral of the legal system and government there. It was anecdotal but he joked that the reason they have all this authoritarianism on the table is because no one can be arsed to do anything but commiserate at the pub.
> the pub campaigners and the council won: the China Hall was ordered to remain as a pub.
But it was too late for Norris. The fight had taken it out of him, and his health deteriorated rapidly. He died on 22 June 2023, aged 74. Some 250 people turned up to his funeral in Honor Oak.
Sounds like a class act.
As long as there are no negative consequences for billionaires to behave like this they will continue to do so. Only a matter of time until people take matters into their hands.
What a shame. The pub culture in London was excellent when I visited - a real highlight of the people. The amount of friendly strangers I chatted with over a beer at a pub that had outlasted (or at least been repaired) through the Blitz in WW2 is astounding. A really beautiful city.
I think they’re crap tbh, born and raised in England. Pubs now charge way too much for alcohol, in many areas they have grumpy bouncers, rude service, and bad food. You can’t look away from your belongings for a moment without risking them being stolen. Try Japanese izakayas, way better.
Pub and banks have been disappearing from communities rather rapidly over the last 20 - 30 years. With pubs its because fewer people are drinking and its cheaper to buy your drinks from a supermarket or an off-licence. Communities in London are also changing, the white working class have moved out to the suburbs or out of the city entirely, the newer communities either dont drink or dont have a pub going tradition. But there are no real community hubs that have taken over.
It’s why we call Billionaires the Parasite Class - because like a true parasite, they bleed the community of its vitality and vigour in favour of the obscenely fat, labour-free profit margins that they are so greedily obsessed by.
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[ 1.6 ms ] story [ 44.9 ms ] threadSounds like a class act.
As long as there are no negative consequences for billionaires to behave like this they will continue to do so. Only a matter of time until people take matters into their hands.