For the first time in months, I went to a bar on Friday night. As I have written before, I have more or less stopped drinking as I could not stand the hangovers any longer. But I was curious to try the new Guinness 0.0 so off we went to the Errigle on the Ormeau Road. As I was going to try the non-alcoholic beer I was able to drive. As we have discussed, getting a taxi these days is …
Years ago we were on holiday in New Jersey. At the time I was a fan of the HBO show Boardwalk Empire. If you are not familiar with the show, it is set in the world of gangsters during prohibition in the 1920s. Most of the action takes place in Atlantic City, which is a traditional American seaside resort that was a popular destination for visitors from New York. I was looking forward to paying a visit to Atlantic City. …
After 4 months of lockdown, our pubs and restaurants are now allowed to reopen – with the usual social distancing caveats. Some aspects of the ‘new normal’ just sound awful. Barriers between tables, masked staff and customers, allocated times etc. They don’t make for a relaxing night out. I have always tended to eat out at lunchtime and this will continue to be my strategy going forward. I never understand why more people don’t eat out more at lunchtime – …
It’s odd to think that teetotallers and pub crawlers could have similar objectives but I wish to illustrate that they have similar goals if we consider the drinks trade more holistically rather than narrowly. First of all allow me to say that I understand fine and well the various reasons for being teetotal and I’d even say they are correct, many of us would be better off financially and physically if we abstained from the Devil’s buttermilk. However, reality must …
Recently I stumbled across a liquor license for sale in the Coleraine area. It costs £80 000. Yes. £80 000. Good for the person selling it but what is the bigger picture and how does this affect our pub tradition? First of all, what size of premises would be required to have the turnover to pay off the £80k loan for such a licence? I’m sure many of us have entertained the notion of semi-retiring to a country pub someday …
I thought this was worth a mention for Tim Martin from JD Wetherspoon highlighting the crippling cost of drinks licences in the region. He said: “You have to pay an astronomical amount for a drinks licence here, whereas in Dublin and London they have removed most of the restrictions and you get a quicker response to changing trends in the industry. In London and Dublin at the moment there’s a lot of craft beer bars set up by small entrepreneurs, …
Courtesy of Alex, this guy thinks he’s cracked joyce’s ancient puzzle, with computer aided technology… He’s looking for people to falsify it, so get weaving!! Update: The Guardian seems to think Rory has proved his point… Mick FealtyMick is founding editor of Slugger. He has written papers on the impacts of the Internet on politics and the wider media and is a regular guest and speaking events across Ireland, the UK and Europe. Twitter: @MickFealty
