Location, Location, Location

Last week, on a visit to London, we decided to walk over Tower Bridge to the Hand and Marigold in Bermonsdsey, and hence along Tooley Street to the Sun Wharf, a new Wetherspoons, in the former London Dungeon.  In October the tourist hordes have died down somewhat and our walk along Royal Mint St to the rear of the controversial sometime to be Chinese embassy, was an enjoyable one as we checked out yet another high-rise building being squeezed into the smallest of spaces.  On the bridge, gratifyingly, we didn't have to dodge photo taking visitors quite so much.  We noted a foreign, but unidentified warship, moored to HMS Belfast and the ever-changing skyline, before walking along Tower Bridge Rd and its nose to tail city bound traffic.

I have mentioned the Hand and Marigold favourably before and, on this Thursday, late afternoon, it was very quiet.  The friendly barman was line cleaning and mentioned he'd have rather a good porter on soon. Fine by me. In the meantime, a very decent pint of Lacon's Norfolk Gem was no hardship. I liked the taster I had of an Abbeydale beer a lot less and disagreed mildly with mine host about its distinct but denied whiff of vinegar, but all was redeemed by the aforementioned porter, Abyss from Other World Brewing, which hails from near Edinburgh it seems. This was an absolute belter of a beer. Highly recommended, as is the pub.

Moving on along Tooley Street, the Shipwright's Arms may be located in a bustling and increasingly refined area, but it still maintains more than a touch of its working-class roots. 

Inside, the atmosphere is lively, with a mix of commuters and local characters - geezers if you will - mingling around the large circular bar. The traditional woodwork and tiled shipbuilding murals add to the appeal of this classic pub. Outside, in that peculiar London way, we noted drinkers spilling out onto the streets, opting to stand and drink on the pavement rather than squeeze into the packed indoor seating.  The whole thing, inside and out, was going like a fair. It was good to see.

Of course, into each life a little rain must fall. There were three cask beers. Doom Bar and its stablemate Sea Fury along with Southwark Brewing's London Pale Ale which I had (in an abomination of a Sharp's branded glass) and found thin, weedy, and pretty flat. This was a shame, but this pub is better than its beer choice and was enjoyable despite it.

And so to our destination. Just past London Bridge Station which is in itself a railway wonder of the world and sharing its arches, is JDW's newest London pub - well probably - the Sun Wharf.  Inside this is a maze of separate areas which are served by one large and long bar. You could easily get lost inside, though, so packed it was. Exploring was rather difficult, and I'm pretty sure given there was more than one entrance, that I must have missed bits of it.  Service was good, though, and I noted that a couple of staff seemed to have been allocated solely to bring glasses back for washing and to clear and wipe tables. Given the throng inside, they were needed. I had an excellent pint of Buckingham Best, which of course had gone off when I returned for another.

There is little doubt that the Sun Wharf will succeed. It is in a prime position, has more passing trade than you could shake a stick at, and is reasonably priced. It is almost like a giant station bar. I'll still spend more time in the Hand and Marigold though.

Given the traffic, we walked back to Tandleman Towers South, thus missing out on the chance to use our bus passes. I still couldn't identify the unknown warship, given the darkness and the distance.

Unwisely, we called into the Goodman's Field as we passed. That was a bad idea, but overall, albeit by a majority, London cask passed muster.

I have had no end of trouble formatting photos in Blogger recently. It used to be easy, and now it just isn't if you want them to wrap. Apologies.

Two Cheers for Licensing Review

There has been much coverage in the press - almost all of it sensational - in the past few days about the Government's proposals to review and modernise the laws which govern licensing.  The laws and rules have not been looked at in any great depth since the Licensing Act of 2003 which at the time was thought rather revolutionary and far-reaching, but is now seen as restrictive and over officious.

The new Labour Government set up a working group to look at how to reduce barriers in the licensing system and to examine and propose changes. It included UK Hospitality CEO Kate Nicholls, British Beer & Pub Association chair Nick Mackenzie and Night-Time Industries Association CEO Michael Kill.

The proposals are well laid out in the trade paper the Morning Advertiser which is linked.  Most seem sensible and non-controversial. My comments in italics:  

• A one-time (twentieth anniversary) licensing condition ‘amnesty’ to modernise and streamline licences

          Seems sensible 

• Hearings and appeals – various recommendations, including a strengthening of the objections procedure to prevent unnecessary and unsubstantiated objections

         About time. Too many objections are given too much weight in decision making 

• Remove the hard-copy local newspaper advertising requirement

          Clearly outdated and outrageously expensive to no real purpose 

• Improve the potential for licensed premises to better use their outside spaces by removing regulatory barriers, improving licensing decisions, simplifying processes, and achieving greater consistency

 Rather than protect outside space from unwarranted intrusion, this has been used as a stick with which to stop businesses using available space and for local authorities to exercise their  predilection for pettiness

• Increase the maximum entitlement for Temporary Event Notices (TENs) for licensed premises (that is those with existing premises licences) to help generate new opportunities for existing businesses. 

          Sensible. This applies to premises only, not to personal licences which have different conditions

• ‘Sunset clause’ on blanket hours and other policies to avoid situations where a restrictive policy is put in place to deal with a specific issue, but the policy in effect runs forever or is continually renewed using the original out of date evidence base 

          This is so obvious. What happened and was appropriate years ago is often automatically included for the future, despite circumstances changing

Other measures will include a review of licensing fees, extended blanket hours for specific local events, a review of the late-night levy and removal of early morning restriction orders.  

So far, so sensible. Reviewing legislation from time to time is only logical - laws need to evolve with the world they govern. Few could deny that pubs today are operating in a very different landscape to 2003, when the current Licensing Act became law. And that Act itself came after years of consultation in what already feels like another era.

What’s striking in this latest review is the number of gentle digs at Local Authorities and their often cautious stance on change. Naturally, that’s not what the headlines focused on. Even the BBC led with “longer opening hours” and the predictable link to anti-social behaviour. Meanwhile, pub owners across social media were quick to point out what’s really hurting the trade - and they’re right. Soaring inflation, rising wages, shifting consumer habits, higher taxes, sky-high utility costs, the cost-of-living crisis, and unfair competition from supermarkets all pile pressure on an already stretched industry — and that’s just the start of the list.

Still, the review itself is a step in the right direction. Although The Guardian focused wrongly on “Pubs to stay open until early hours in push for UK growth” -  those extra freedoms will help. But real progress would mean tackling the everyday issues that make both running and visiting pubs increasingly uneconomic.

When I say Local Authorities can be “cautious,” perhaps that’s being kind. At times, they can be obstructive, unhelpful, even tone-deaf  - though, to be fair, there are exceptions.

There isn't an end date for consultation, so don't expect to see things change immediately.