Eric Sandelands has learned a lot from talking to strangers, and quite a bit of it by standing at the bar in pubs. He explains why face-to-face interactions are so important and calls for more to be done to ensure the survival and prosperity of our pubs.
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It was Elon Musk who said “Make Orwell Fiction Again” during the 2024 US election campaign. MOFA didn’t quite catch on the way MAGA did in the global lexicon, but Musk was referring to the seminal book 1984, with possibly a nod to Animal Farm.
I’d like to offer a counter view and say, “Make Orwell’s Fiction Reality Again” (MOFRA). That’s sure to capture the public imagination. Before being told to be very careful about what I wish for, I only mean it in relation to one of Orwell’s essays, The Moon Under Water.
Published in London’s Evening Standard on 9 February 1946, he wrote: “My favourite public house, the Moon Under Water, is only two minutes from a bus stop, but it is on a side street, and drunks and rowdies never seem to find their way there, even on Saturday nights.
“Its clientele, though fairly large, consists mostly of ‘regulars’ who occupy the same chair every evening and go there for conversation as much as for the beer.
“If you are asked why you favour a particular public-house, it would seem natural to put the beer first, but the thing that most appeals to me about the Moon Under Water is what people call its ‘atmosphere’.”
He describes the quintessential English pub as “unmistakably Victorian,” with its “grapevines over the gables” and “wide windows facing the street.” It’s a place where everyone knows your name, and you can chat with friends and strangers alike over a pint of beer. It is at the centre of the community.
I think most of us would like to lose an hour to two in the Moon Under Water.
The reality is that the pub industry in Britain faces significant challenges. According to the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA), reported by Sky News, more than 13,000 pubs closed in the UK between 2000 and 2023. That is a quarter of all pubs. Rising costs, particularly energy costs, changing consumer habits, and the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic have all played a part in this decline.
The BBPA also reports that beer sales in pubs fell by 54% during the lockdown periods, highlighting the economic impact of the pandemic on the industry. But it’s about a lot more than the effect of the lockdowns, devastating though they were.
Pubs have traditionally been the social hubs of neighbourhoods, long before any of us would have used a jargon phrase like ‘social hub’. They provide a relaxed, informal space where people can gather, exchange stories and build connections.
To ensure the survival and prosperity of pubs, there needs to be action in a number of areas. Firstly, government needs to take this problem seriously. Pandemic recovery was one thing, but the challenge now is low operating margins, the little that is left after prohibitive duties levied on alcohol, business rates and employment costs. Pubs clearly need what is sometimes called a fair shake.
Landlords and pub chains are entrepreneurial. We’ve seen the adaption that’s taken place, and the specialisms pubs have adopted to find their niche – the traditional boozer, the neighbourhood bar, the Sunday roast family spaces, the Michelin-starred food, and the rest. I don’t think many would relax drink-driving laws or the smoking ban, but they hurt at the time and drove adaptation.
Pubs have traditionally been the social hubs of neighbourhoods, long before any of us would have used a jargon phrase like “social hub”. They provide a relaxed, informal space where people can gather, exchange stories, and build connections. In an increasingly digital world, the face-to-face interactions facilitated by pubs, let’s call it “talking to strangers”, are more important than ever.
Ale was drunk in Britain before the arrival of the Roman Empire in the first century, nearly 2,000 years ago. But it was with the construction of the Roman road network that the first pubs, tabernae (the origin of modern English ‘tavern’) arrived. So, what have the Romans done for us? Turned us from home drinkers into pub patrons, at least for a while.
Pubs are more than just places to drink; they are where we meet and foster social interaction and cohesion. They face significant challenges, but with the right support and adaptation, they can continue to thrive and play a vital role in our communities.
More recent research by the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) reveals that pubs contribute significantly to social wellbeing and community cohesion. They are places where people of different ages, backgrounds and professions can mingle and form bonds. CAMRA supports community-owned and community-run pubs, which it sees as part of the solution. And I know CAMRA is a real ale lobby group and would say that, but it doesn’t make it less true.
Pubs are more than just places to drink; they are where we meet and foster social interaction and cohesion. They face significant challenges, but with the right support and adaptation, they can continue to thrive and play a vital role in our communities. However, they need our support. They need our patronage.
Around 30 years ago, in what I think of as my Management Consultant Period, I remember hosting a workshop with the leadership of a renowned beer company who were selling off their beer assets and getting into running a coffee shop chain. I can’t name them, but they had begun life as a brewery in 1742. From memory, the profit margin on a cup of coffee over a pint of beer was about tenfold.
Towards the end of the essay, Orwell makes his big reveal: “But now is the time to reveal something which the discerning and disillusioned reader will probably have guessed already. There is no such place as the Moon Under Water.”
Let’s hope we don’t have to spend our time imagining the perfect pub as the real ones close. Let’s use that time instead by standing at the bar and talking to strangers.
Eric Sandelands is a project training and change management expert. His latest book, Delivering Social Value in Urban Development is published through Kindle Direct Publishing and available on most Amazon portals. This article is also posted on his Substack.
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