Are we calling time on our pubs?

Say what you like about smoking, but visiting a pub for a pint and a quiet smoke was one of life’s pleasures taken away from us.

Pedestrians still breathe petrol and diesel fumes, but what does that matter?

In the area of the Milton Arms, the White House and Travellers Rest, both within a shout of the pub, have closed in the past few years.

I am sure that the cost of a pint has a lot to do with it as well.

I can remember meeting mates in a pub and buying five pints of brown & mild for less than 50p. It was 1s 8d a pint (less than 9p) equal to 11 pints for a pound. I was earning about £12 a week net then, so the round was equal to 1/24th of my wages. If you wanted to meet your mates today and buy five pints you wouldn’t get much change from a £20 note.

I can see pubs disappearing completely in the next 20 years and, like steam engines and sailors in uniform, a great British tradition will be gone forever.