The Pub Curmudgeon

ARTICLES OF INTEREST

Minimum pricing means minimising choice
Ramping up the price of booze won't change drinking habits, argues Patrick Hayes, but it will squeeze just a little more freedom out of life.

Ignore the doctors – cheap beer is one of life’s few pleasures
Government-controlled pricing for alcohol is just stupid, says Graeme Archer - and depressing coming from a Tory prime minister.

We should stop panicking about Boozy Britain
Chris Snowdon argues that a sense of perspective is needed about Britain's supposed alcohol problems, and that minimum pricing is not the answer.

Panorama’s addiction to pisspoor journalism
Rob Lyons says that the recent edition of the BBC’s current-affairs show was a one-sided showcase for the anti-alcohol lobby.

The gestation of a dubious idea
Ellie Lee argues that it is moralism, not evidence, that underpins the advice that pregnant women should abstain from alcohol.

We don’t need to be saved from the ‘demon drink’
The old temperance movement was made up of working men who promoted self-control, says Josie Appleton. Today booze-bashing is the preserve of a killjoy elite.

More articles...

Site Index

CURMUDGEON'S "OPENING TIMES" COLUMNS

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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

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