Looking Back: Drinking in the pub was a more serious business back in the day!
What did you do to socialise when you had a young family? And I don’t mean when you asked your mother to babysit so your spouse could spoil you by bringing you to the pub on a Saturday night for a barley wine and, if you were lucky, a bag of chips.
When you caught up with the gals in the 1960s and 1970s, they frequently had young children.
You weren’t working anymore because we had to quit our jobs when we became pregnant, and you’d put your bopping days at the City Hall Ballroom behind you. You’d be way too exhausted anyway!
All you did was push the pram down to the doctor’s surgery or the infant clinic, go around the park, or go shopping. Your socialising was more like chatting on a park bench or asking people around for a cup of tea.
A far cry from today’s young mothers. When I visited our local social hub, disguised as one of a huge chain of pubs, I was astounded by how much things had changed for mothers and newborns.
It has changed for women in general, but not as much for men, who have always been able to buy a drink at a pub bar, with the women’s limitation eliminated in 1982.
In the 19th century women if ever entering a public house, and always with a man, were encouraged to drink in a private room called a ‘Snug’
So there were groups of ladies, some pushing babies in prams. Men talking anything under the sun, particularly football. Single men and ladies. People are working on laptops.
Many people take advantage of the infinite tea, coffee, and chocolate options. The food and drinks are reasonably priced. (No more men selling cockles and mussels from wicker baskets like in the 1960s! TV screens.
Today, pubs are more than just a place to drink, but also a social club. A place where people can relieve their loneliness by getting to know other regulars.
Public houses like this provide a valuable service to society for men and women of all ages and in a variety of settings. And that’s my tale, which I’ll stick to!!
Read more on Straightwinfortoday.com
Comments are closed, but trackbacks and pingbacks are open.