I thought I would make todays b log all about what you pub or bar of choice says about you and the psychological effects of this. This whole thought came about when a good friend suggested that I like dark pubs which at first I thought was nonsense but actually all the pubs I frequent most often do tend to be of the dark and dingy variety so perhaps there is something in this!
Now the first type of pub to be discussed will inevitably the type I spend most of my time in the self styled "Dark pubs", these are typically conversions of old buildings or houses, usually with oak beams, rustic wooden tables and all variety of crap adorning the walls. These pubs also tend to have a high volume of "regulars" who bizarrely all seem to sit on the same stool each day with their flat cap and the same drink and drink away their day - or perhaps I'm generalising unfairly. Usually this sort of establishment has tinted or stained glass windows to restrict the light coming in as most of the "dark pub" drinkers tend to enjoy the dark. The psychological profile of people who frequent this kind of establishment are generally those trying to escape the world, by having tinted windows you lose all sense of time as it could be any time during the day and so the escapism can continue. For example those who dislike their jobs or their lives will tend to head towards these kinds of establishment, at least in the darkness one can pretend that the life outside of the pub walls does not exist. Also I have found many a single person tends towards these pubs as well, after all if you're unlucky in love the last thing you want to be is under bright lighting, no myself and my fellow forest trolls are far happier lurking in the shadows midly delusionally convinced that the hotn girl from the train will one day just happen to stop in and start a conversation, even though she probably has a boyfriend..... oh and doesn't live in the same town.
The second kind of pub is the "Semi-bar" and these are places I loathe. They usually have some of the accoutrements of the "dark pub" such as mahogany counter-tops and barstools but are completely devoid of atmosphere. These places are generally dominated by a television screen the approximate proportions of the state of Liechtenstein and usually have muzac on by the latest bands that I get to feel embarassed about as I have not got a clue who's singing! The psychological profile of the users of these pubs is slightly different, no tweed or flat caps to be seen in these establishments and anyone with a pipe would be positively vilified (well they would if this bloody smoking ban wasn't in force anyway). No usually in this place you find manual labourers and students who haven't worked out what a pub is for yet, also these places tend to be a hive for underage drinkers which is why violence is so common within them and why I tend to avoid them like the plague unless there's a very good reason to enter such as a quiz or a sporting event that I desire to see - after all my usual "dark pub" would tend to have one small dusty portable TV in the corner with a lot of old men setting aside their copies of the Telegraph to try and crane their necks to see it.
The third section is the actual bar, while the semi-bar has pretensions towards the pub but lacks the ambience the actual bar has shed all desire for an atmosphere as it is there for those people who are "cool". These establishments tend to have fittings that are all chrome and brushed steel and solid tiled floors with subtle lighting and plenty of natural light flooding in. These are not places that could ever become a "Local" and neither should they be, the point of the actual bar is to act as a meeting place for people who have important meetings and want to show off. As a result the clientele of the bar are more of the blue and white collar proffessions who will usually turn up in suits for a drink after work to show how successful they are to the rest of the world, and as you may have gathered I'm not a particular fan of these places either.
The final variety of watering-hole is the carbuncle on the face of this planet that is the club. Now my hatred of clubs is well known and I know that I am seen as very much old fashioned in my hatred of clubs but I just don't see the point in them. I recall the last dreadful time I actually went to a full club it was vile, several floors of people all crushed together buying overpriced drinks and listening to music that was so loud it was practically making the floors bleed. Even more suprisingly the staff have to wear ear-plugs because of the noise, does no-one else get a little worried by this? If you went to a pub and the landlord was standing in the doorway in a hard-hat would you not think twice about entering his establishment? And yet not only do we enter clubs but we actually pay for the privelige! Personally I would be happy never to go to such a place again, everyone is there to be drunk and to try and sleep with something, call me old fashioned but I'd far rather have a drink somewhere quiet and have a good debate, hmmmm that may well be why I'm still single.
Anyway each of these four main classes of drinking establishment has their own fans and we can all flit between them but I'm convinced I will always prefer the warming darkness of my local dark-pub where I can just go, have a pint and melt into the darkness and lurk there until the girl of my dreams just happens to stop by...........
This week Matt:
- Cooked duck for the first time in his life, it was great.
- Was miffed by the poor quality of this years fireworks display.
- Got into the festive mood by buying a mulled wine scented air-freshener.
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