Pubs. So fundamental to this country, this culture, these people.
Almost every town in England has a pub called The Red Lion or The Olde Red Lion. We may visit one on the tour. They date from when most drinkers were illiterate and recognised their leader by the picture on his shield. The Red Lion was John of Gaunt who ran the country when the King, his nephew, was only 12. He could be rude to customers. ‘Get thee out of my tavern!’ became his catch-phrase.
Pub owners were unoriginal naming their pubs.
Wheatsheaf. White Hart. Ten Bells. Coach and Horses. These names repeat. We may visit a couple on the tour which is also a pub crawl. The latter was for the mail coach and the stagecoach to stop at. The horses couldn’t gallop forever and were changed at stages along the route while the post was distributed and gathered after being announced by a posthorn, and the passengers refreshed themselves at the bar, often arriving tired and emotional at their destination.
Some pubs have celebrity customers, others anonymous barflies. They may all be speaking in Cockney, a rhyming dialect with no consonants. ‘Aw righ’!’ is the normal greeting when we visit as we shall.
Some pubs have exquisite Victorian décor, others are mock Tudor. Some pubs have more than one bar, others a single long one and the temptation to slide a scotch along it.
Some pubs are popular with customers spilling onto the street. Others are quiet and conducive to a conversation. Most pubs have a menu, often written on a blackboard.
Pie and mash is a delicacy. Some pubs have a TV in one corner and a piano in another.
We shall certainly visit these on the tour and your guide, Rick Jones, the distinguished arts critic (and musician) will take the empty seat at the keys. The piano pre-dates the TV by at least a century. The pianist played popular hits of the day and everybody sang.
And so will Guide Rick.
IT ALL COMES DOWN TO THE GUIDING
BIT OF ENGLISH UNDERSTATEMENT, THIS – RICK’S A LOT OF FUN
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