Closing Time.

Sorry to keep returning to the subject of drinking, but its difficult not to in a place like Silverton where the three pubs provide the main focus of social interaction.

Given that its generally accepted that a;cohol is a powerful and potentially dangerous drug, but that it has been an intehral part of most human societies, at least, since the beginnings of agriculture and that it use has been problematic in advanced societies, particularly in Britain over the past few centuries, you might think that  a government might wish to make sure that its use was largely restricted to controlled envioronments and that it was not as easily and commonly available as a packet of crisps. Historically, this was indeed the position until the 1980s with booze onlt being available through the public house or the off Licence. With the rise of the supermarket chains and the deregulation of controls on the availability oof alcohol, the demon drink has now become a part of the weekly shopping basket on a scale not previously available to most working people with the supermarkets blatentlt using cheap booze as a majopr form of loss leader.

At the same time the public house, once the centre of much of the social life of Briyain, has increasingly found itself unable to cope due to the end of the tied house system, the inability to match the purchasing power of the supermarkets, increasingly severe licensing comditions and rocketing tax and utility bills.  Also, more controversially, the ban on smoking has also taken its toll. the outcome has been widespread pub closures that in rural areas where the pib was a vital part of village life, a contributing factor to the devestation of many rural communities.

The present government has made much of creating the 'Big Society ' where people are encouragedto play an active part in their local communities.  If government is serious about this intention, it needs to take active steps to protect and encourage the further existence and growth of the viyal part of Briyish life, the local pib. Sadly, until the politicians end their obsessive worship of 'the free market' and their dependence on donations from some of the supermarket chains its unlikely that the continued survival of the local public house will be assured.