Community Support

THE SPOONS

The community centre. A place for all walks of life to gather for group activities, social support and public information. An unlikely venue for this type of hub is the Wetherspoon's Pub.

Many pubs offer their patrons a safe, warm and friendly environment to gather with friends but none seem to do so well as these chain of pubs do, or can offer that extra bit more than advertised. It's not just the great value food and drink on offer. These places are like sanctuaries for some who have lost their way - safe-havens to visit, where there is warmth from companionship and happiness to be found from sharing good banter and a drink or two with friends.

The Moon Under Water is a fictional pub that George Orwell envisaged. A place where real ales and good value food can be found, where the whole community can enjoy being together, without exclusion. This is the reasoning behind the inspiration for JD Wetherspoon and I think they got it so right.

These places are indeed a community centre, where one can find solace and kin, a friendly face or a shoulder to lean on. They offer us a chance to be human, acknowledging those who we may also be or become and not sneer or judge. It's the only public place I know where one can feel comfortable being when not at our best, where ordering a drink before 10 am is not seen as a bad thing and where we can mix without criticism.

Londoners

TRADITIONAL LONDON

Where are all the original Londoners going these days? There doesn't appear to be many traditional places left in London where true Londoners hang out, leaving me increasingly in the minority of those born and bred in this city. 

Anywhere in London with any real character seems to have been bought out and changed beyond recognition. The heart has been sucked out of our high streets and replaced with a soulless pastiche of establishments filled with money-orientated rich-wannabe patrons where those who frequent them aspire to nothing more than having high streets lined with more over-priced artisan vanity projects. 

The real Londoners must be moving out to Kent, Essex and the shires, because the bustling, vibrant high streets and community-rich markets & shops have been replaced with whoopsie wine shops and boutique delis. The once before vibrant pubs, where the landlord knew your name, are now either shut down or transformed into dull middle class 'gastros', where bugaboo pushing couples sit with their equally boring mates, discussing mortgage loan rates and their next DIY project.

I bumped into a lovely couple staying at The Merrymouth Inn in The Cotswolds this weekend. They inspired me to look for the real London again. Places that still exist where roast potatoes and shellfish are laid out on the pub bar for it's patrons to enjoy (for free), where bustling markets echo with the cry of a London trader, plying us with prices in a cockney fashion and long established eateries with traditional pie 'n' mash, eels and liquor can still be found at a price we can all afford. 

Eels had seen a bit of a decline since the 70's but are now steadily returning to record numbers once again. This enigmatic creature, once the staple of the working classes, seems to be making a comeback. Maybe this marks a metaphorical return to a real and proper London - one which I'll be seeking out over the coming weeks.