Quote Originally Posted by mickd1961 View Post
My home town Harrogate is vibrant 923.

But you’re talking about one of the top 10 towns to live in in the U.K. and often voted the top place to live.

If you look at Stourbridge where I have lived most of my life I’m not saying you won’t hear of any new establishments opening but…….the pubs that were there all of my life and for 50 to 100 years have gone.

On just the Hagley Rd into Stourbridge we’ve lost,

The Prince Of Wales,

One I can’t remember the name of,

The Swan,

The Old Swan.

This is in a straight line of 1.5 miles.

Within another half mile we’ve lost The Labour In Vain and The Pedmore House which was a huge landmark.

A quarter of a mile in another direction we’ve lost The Star And Garter and the historic place I had my wedding reception, The Stewpony.

The odd new place pops up and then closes within 2 or 3 years.

What we are losing locally are major local pubs of great history and replacing them with occasional shops etc turned into wine bars that fail and go t I t s up.
The Harrogate reference was in direct response to al who started his reply with 'Lots of pubs closed around Harrogate' Feels like I had to drag out of him the comment 'Harrogate will always do well '

Agree the loss of these old pubs is a shame but it's not a recent phenomenon. Lots of examples just 1 close to your patch. As a kid in the 60's I remember us driving from West Brom to Kinver through Stourbridge and at the bottom of a hill there was a crossroads with a pub on each corner.

By the time I was driving in the 70's there was only 2 open

Probably by the 90's there were none. All had closed. Seem to remember one was an Indian restaurant.

So why now is it all over national and local news as bad news with no reporting of the positives. Where is the balance?

There's a classic situation in the nearest town to me. Right opposite the busy mainline station there's a traditional English pub been there for years. The decors grim, the menus stretches from scampi and chips to burger and chips, the bar staff disinterested, always looks quiet. I've never been in. Traditional opening times.

200 yards up the hill there's a bar probably 20 years old I regularly visit.Less than half the size of the pub. In the mornings they serve an excellent breakfast from full English to smashed avocado on toast. Plenty of commuters picking up their obligatory take away coffees before getting on the train .

Lunchtime there’s a menu to cater for the many office staff close by. Choices include a Falafel, sweet potato, guacamole, red pepper, and spinach wrap. You get the picture.

Early evening lots of commuters stop off for a quick one on the way home.

As they leave seating is changed more suited to a younger crowd.

Outside there is a terrace that can be either fully enclosed with heaters, totally open to the elements and all the configurations in between. Cost £30k.

At weekends they have live dj’s and stay open until 2am as do others close by.

And finally the looker that is the Lithuanian barmaid is worth the visit just to get served by her.

But as I’ve said to al the closing of pubs is very much secondary to the real point.

Why oh why do the media constantly feed us bad news and neglect the good news and why do we lap it up and regurgitate it as fact when there is often another side to the story?