The Pub Curmudgeon

ARTICLES OF INTEREST

A tougher limit won't help
Yes, drink-driving is shameful, says Stephen Glover. But a tougher limit won't help - it'll simply hit modest drinkers trundling home from the pub.

A blast from the past
Paul Chase says that the spectacular comeback of alcohol as a social problem has spawned a fundamentally misguided campaign of neo-prohibitionism

Admit drinking is normal
Dolan Cummings says we need a better drinking culture: one where alcohol consumption is not seen as a social problem

The real age drinking starts
Tim Martin of Wetherspoon's attacks the hypocrisy of ministers and other authority figures who seek to clamp down on underage drinking but admit themselves to going in pubs before the age of 18 and say it did them good

Don’t worry — drink and be merry
The government acts as if booze is the root cause of all our social problems, says Leah McLaren, but it’s not. Drinking is an important part of British culture, the pub is the hub of the community, and health warnings can even be counterproductive

A place where nobody knows your name
Nathalie Rothschild says that, as Britain’s dark, smoky, friendly pubs close down, the anti-pub - the JD Wetherspoon - is taking their place

More articles...

Site Index

CURMUDGEON'S "OPENING TIMES" COLUMNS

2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | 2001 | 2000 | 1999 | 1998 | 1997 | 1996

Highlights from earlier years:   1995 | 1994 | 1993

Curmudgeon Extra

A few Beer and Pubs items that, for whatever reason, never made it into the pages of "Opening Times"

Curmudgeon on Drink-Driving

Comments made in the Curmudgeon column over the years on the drink-driving issue

Opinion Pieces

Only Here for the Beer?

A critical but sympathetic look at CAMRA's achievements since its foundation

Driven to Drink

The surprising truth behind 21st-century Britain's toxic binge-drinking culture

The Death of the English Pub

Alcohol consumption is at a post-war record, so why is the traditional pub in crisis? And is it ultimately doomed?

Why 50 mg is Wrong

Lowering the UK drink-driving limit would in practice do nothing to cut road deaths while putting thousands of pubs out of business

Drink-Driving - A Fresh Approach

How we could really make serious inroads in drink-related road deaths, if the government had the moral courage to put political correctness to one side

Real Pub Food in Every Pub

Promoting real food in pubs should not equate to food snobbery

Miscellaneous

Interesting Links

A collection of links to sites relating to beer, pubs and drinking, and others of a curmudgeonly nature

Interesting Articles

A collection of opinion pieces from the press reflecting the themes of "The Curmudgeon Page"

About this Site

So what's this nonsense all about? And who is "Curmudgeon" anyway?

Feedback

Your views - and what Curmudgeon thinks about them

Curmudgeonly Quotations

A selection of my favourite quotations on the subjects of beer, pubs and drinking, and liberty and lifestyle freedom

Curmudgeon's Ideal Pub

The features I'd look for in my perfect pub - including Hartington Best Bitter and a characterful pub cat. But would anyone turn up?

The Facts About Drinking and Driving

A scan of an official booklet from 1986 that deals with the issue in a much more honest and straightforward way than would be possible today

The Curmudgeon Questionnaire

A unique insight into what makes the author of this website tick

Rants and Moans

The tiny handful of blemishes that disturb the sunny uplands of Curmudgeon's view of the world

Drinking Jokes

A small collection of politically incorrect jokes about drinking

Have Your Say!

If you have any comments on this website, please either fill in the form below or send Curmudgeon an e-mail.

Proposals of marriage are particularly welcome...

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