for those far and wide around, or across, look you see, the world, one of the most commonly asked questions about quintessential English life pertains to the pub. why oh why, the people of the planet ask, do we spend so much of our time and social lives in them, outside of the obvious of it being the case that alcohol is available (and encouraged) in them. most would actually say the obvious is enough, but there is so much more.
a pub is a place where, for instance, one can go and easily start a fight, should they be in the mood for a bout of fisticuffs. on the other end of the spectrum, it is the single best place to go to meet someone of the opposite or same gender to engage in temporary sexual activities, or at least it was until professional footballers made car parks and "dogging" locales the place to be. further, you can buy illicit, dodgy and somewhat less than legal things there. over the years pubs have provided a most excellent trading post for everything from dodgy VHS tapes and DVDs, drugs, fake passports and various electrical appliances.
mostly, though, it is the social element of the pub what makes it popular. virtually all aspects of English life can be found within a pub at any minute of any day. and, as it happens, someone has kindly made a video of this being the case available.
no, i cannot take credit for the video. i found it on something called "Reddit", who appear to have borrowed it off of someone called "Live Leak". well, whatever. should you find this all useful, i suggest that you as a sign of kindness or respect visit either or both of them websites and click on an advert or two, so that they may receive coins of money.
unfortunately the format of the video was one what would not allow me to download and then upload here, so i had to film it off the computer screen. apologies for the quality then, but here is the video, showing seconds of life within an English pub one midday. a Tuesday, i think it said.
yes, i am quite close to being pretty sure that if you went into any pub in England (i cannot speak for other areas of Great Britain or the UK but i am sure they have pubs and blogs) at any time of day you would see similar to this.
for the benefit of those not from England but planning to visit England and go to a pub, i thought a guide to who you might, or most likely will, meet could be of value. no, usually i would not put this blog forward as some sort of "tourist guide", but in this instance why not.
The Groover
one of the most striking aspects of the video was, for some of you, the fact that women, or if you like the ladies, were present. in certain countries, and i didn't single out Australia, women are all but forbidden from pubs, with them being seen as the preserve of the male. not so in progressive, forward thinking England.
it would be wrong to call this lady, or if you like lass, the dancer. she is quite clearly grooving rather than dancing, so it is far more appropriate to call her the groover.
expressions of joy and happiness by the medium or forum of dancing and grooving are quite welcome in pubs, as can be seen here. sometimes they lead to like minded people meeting and forming friendships with physical aspects, be they short or long term. in isolated cases they can lead to the drunken, shouting along of the more prickly aspects of the Adele catalogue, but normally that is later on a night.
The Colonel
we are exceptionally proud of those who have served in the military or armed forces. although we cannot always agree with the wars the powers that be wage, it does not take away from our admiration of the brave who stand and are prepared to sacrifice to defend our way of life.
regrettably, far too often our soldiers have been called on to go and rescue the ungrateful French, as and when their arrogance has led to them being bullied. as a result, in the confusion between doing their duty and finding that their duty has been to save some Frenchie, quite a few retired military types in England elect to see their days out in a drunken haze.
here you can see a colonel, going on his hat, jacket and splendid cane, seeking a light for his cigarette. and why not. he has spent years in service of his country, who will deny him a smoke.
no, it is not always a Colonel you will see in an English pub. but, more often than not, there will be a senior ranking military figure. every now and then it will be a Major, or an Admiral, or maybe even a Squadron Leader. you should always offer to buy them a drink, and light their cigar or cigarette, out of respect and thanks for their service.
speaking of which.......
The Beefeater
i am indebted to Spiros for pointing this one out. no way am i as good as recognising a man in uniform as he is, obviously. he said it was good to see one of the Royal Guard taking a break from his busy day protecting the Queen to have a quick pint.
as a progressive nation, we are one of the few that recognise how much better the military are when the correct drinks are available. yes, normally this is tea, but we have no issue whatsoever with our armed forces having a cheeky pint every now and then.
tea would be the more prominent thing, though. as history reflects, during the years 1939 and 1944 of World War II, British tanks did not have the correct facilities installed to make tea. this was introduced to British tanks in late 1944. and by the second half of 1945 our troops had won. you do not need me to connect the dots there, you can do it.
i particularly like how this most trusted guard of our Queen is off duty, but never off duty. he shall not cease marching until a senior commanding officer tells him to do so.
The Individual
we live in interesting, delicate and sensitive times. there are legal, social and moral responsibilities placed on all of us to always respect the individual. and yet we cannot speak of the traits or characteristics which make them they individual they are, or we shall be condemned a racist, judgemental and so forth. so, we speak of respect and with respect, but do not always know why.
my best guess would be that this chap, an individual, was taking a quick break from work. it could be that he was working on a space film, or a piece of cinema intended for a more mature and discerning audience (like an Eastern European re-imagining of Snow White And The Seven Dw...Individuals i once watched by accident), or he could be appearing in a U2 video. or maybe that his him off of that show where they have the dragons and what have you.
anyway, whatever brought him to the pub, i am sure he would have thoroughly enjoyed having a pint or two. he would no doubt have felt very safe in particular with so many military types in at the same time. as, indeed, would have
The Broken Foot
most, if not all, are quite tired of the phrase "keep calm and carry on" now. it soon hit saturation point via excessive marketing. a truth, however, is that it is an important part of the English way of doing things. when some sort of obstacle or prohibition comes along, we just press on. simply saying "it will be all right" gets everyone in the mindset that it will, and so it is.
a broken or otherwise damaged foot was certainly not going to stop this lady, or if you like lass, from going down the pub. since she is in the video, clearly it did not. and everything turned out to be just fine.
well, there you have it. should you visit England and go to the pub - any pub - it should be that you will see most, if not all, of these in there. if that doesn't happen, then you have not done it properly, or maybe need to stay in a bit longer. all of them will come, and also someone will try to sell you a "legit" toaster, as well as a video of Ghostbusters or similar.
be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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