I like the way in which Orwell describes both his favourite and ideal pub, citing that those are two different ideas and, that as good as The Moon Under the Water is, it does not entirely meet his ideal setting criteria.\u00a0 I think his pragmatism is admirable, therefore I have differentiated my ideal criteria from the pub that takes the number one spot on my list that\u00a0I’ve\u00a0visited during the past four weeks.<\/p>\n
Here are my criteria:<\/p>\n
1. Football.\u00a0 Every good pub needs to have the match on.\u00a0 There is nothing that lends itself more to a pub than football.\u00a0 All the elements of a pub:\u00a0 beer, argument etc. are present in a football match.\u00a0 I have a great suspicion that sole reasons pubs have flourished throughout English history; but, as of yet, I lack evidence to support that claim.<\/p>\n
2.\u00a0 Pub Quiz.\u00a0 Every good pub should have a weekly pub quiz.\u00a0 The level of seriousness and competitiveness may vary, but there should be a weekly quiz nonetheless.\u00a0 Also, the pub needs to have a quiz master that takes the quiz more seriously than their job, and this is mandatory.\u00a0 In order for this trivia quiz to appear to have any significance in the lives of the pub regulars, the questions asked must be presented by the quiz master with the illusion that they are of endless importance to our human existence.\u00a0 One can always tell how the quiz master has prepared for each quiz.\u00a0 The recommend time is 18-20 hours a day, all week.<\/p>\n
3.\u00a0 Sunday Roast.\u00a0 A Sunday roast is a cherished English tradition and every good pub should take it on as a priority.\u00a0 Mmmm … Yorkshire puddings.<\/p>\n
4. \u00a0The pub’s fish \u2018n should be made with cod.\u00a0 Ok, I have nothing against haddock.\u00a0 It is a fine fish I\u2019m sure; but, I think parliament should consider making a national law making mandatory for haddock fish \u2018n chips to be CLEARLY stated on all pub menus.\u00a0 Words cannot express the disappointment in ordering fish \u2018n chips and having haddock arrive on your plate … tough break oh-ten.<\/p>\n
5.\u00a0 Drink specials, specifically 4-pint pitchers.\u00a0 For those of us that are a bit new to the rounds-buying system of buying drinks in pubs, pitchers make things a bit easier, as well as save you a few quid.<\/p>\n
6.\u00a0 No live DJ.\u00a0 DJ\u2019s are alright, but what they\u2019re really trying to do is turn a pub into a nightclub.\u00a0 I\u2019m not down with that.<\/p>\n
1. \u00a0During my brief stay here in London, I have lacked sufficient time to judge each of the many pubs I\u2019ve been to by all of these criteria.\u00a0 However, I do have a favourite.\u00a0 The Rising Sun, on Tottenham Court Road, has become my go-to pub to watch a football match, and for this reason, it probably takes my top spot.\u00a0 Also, the show their games on Sky Sport 3D, and for a five quid deposit, you can get glasses to watch the match in 3D (Ok, I\u2019ll admit, like any football purist, I scoffed at this idea at first, but after watching a 4-0 England rout of Switzerland in 3-D, I\u2019m a believer). \u00a0The Rising Sun also offers pitchers that save you a few pounds here and there and they do well about steering clear of the problematic diversions, such as DJs that could damage the atmosphere of the pub.\u00a0 The Rising Sun is not a place to spend a night out on the town getting wasted, but rather it is a great place to have one or two pints, and, if you\u2019re lucky, check out the footy.<\/p>\n
2.\u00a0 The second on my \u00a0list is The Court. \u00a0The Court consists of a pool table, perhaps the best pitcher deal in the Bloomsbury area and a group of regulars that seem to have a decent taste in music.\u00a0 Operated by a public juke box, The Court gains major points for a patronage that put 2 Bowie songs in a row, Prince, Otis Redding and Earth Wind and Fire all in a night. Well done.<\/p>\n
3.\u00a0 Third is The Rocket.\u00a0 Quality deals on bottles of Becks, and Newcastle Brown Ale is never out of stock.\u00a0 This pub offers later hours on weekends (2am) on Thursdays and weekends for the later crowd. \u00a0Thursday night live DJ threatens to ruin the atmosphere, but the he is pretty chilled out, realizes that he’s not DJing at a club and generally plays what people ask to hear.<\/p>\n
4.\u00a0 The last spot on my rankings, gaining an Honourable Mention, is The Bank of England.\u00a0 My most recent pub experience offers great porter and a classy, elegant night out to the pub.\u00a0 Decorated very luxuriously, The Bank of England makes it into the top four by means of a very positive first impression.\u00a0 Not much on the drink specials, but its understated elegance, no music and great ale selection make no muddle of defining The Bank of England as another shining example of the \u201cproper pub.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I like the way in which Orwell describes both his favourite and ideal pub, citing that those are two different ideas and, that as good as The Moon Under the Water is, it does not entirely meet his ideal setting criteria.\u00a0 I think his pragmatism is admirable, therefore I have differentiated my ideal criteria from […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":371,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6696],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3779","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-2010-luke"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/norwichhumanities\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3779","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/norwichhumanities\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/norwichhumanities\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/norwichhumanities\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/371"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/norwichhumanities\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3779"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/norwichhumanities\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3779\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/norwichhumanities\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3779"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/norwichhumanities\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3779"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/norwichhumanities\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3779"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}