I've just watched Channel 4's "The Red Lion", a documentary look at pub life seen through a number of different pubs each called the Red Lion. It was non judgemental, sympathetic and if this doesn't sound too contradictory, warts and all. From binging student girls, to elderly men seeking companionship, to rugby teams, old ladies and a permanently tipsy landlord, the pub all meant something more than just a drink. It was companionship and good times, though not without a little pathos.It was excellent viewing for the fervent pub goer and a timely reminder in its final Red Lion, of what the closing of its only pub can do to a village community.
Great stuff and if I may add, the sort of thing Channel 4 used to do so much of and should do more of. Well done Sue Bourne and the Cutting Edge Team
Watch it here.
10 comments:
SHITE-won't let me watch it here on the continent! Download it, burn it to a dvd, and send it to me, eh? (Don't bother subtitling it though.)
This review in the Guardian sums it up very well.
Nick. Not sure I know how to do that from a stream ex C4
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090930005912AAiqmVB suggests using flvget, which ain't free, but has a free trial version.
With Firefox, I use the downloadhelper plugin for some things, file2hd.com for others, and allvideodownload.com for others. And some things just won't let themselves be downloaded.
Yep - a good watch, and treated with pathos, as you say.
I too thought that the progamme was very good. Must check out the Red Lion at Stodmarsh, gravity served beer and a landlord who's a real character. 15 pints a day can't be bad. Liked the way he refererd to them as "sharpeners"!
Cracking looking pub, but the beer looked as flat as a witches tit.
Although I enjoyed the programme, I thought it 'was' somewhat judgemental. Whilst ostensibly about pubs and pub going, the other main theme of the programme was (our) attitude to drink. The presenter fequently quizzed the people featured as to whether they tought they drank too much, and coincidentally, most of those featured did indeed drink quite heavily, even the two old ladies meeting in the pub for companionship. As usual I watched a programme featuring a major part of my life and thought, this doesn't represent me or most of the pub goers I know, who drink rather more moderately these days.
I must say I didn't find this, but they did ask the question about how much people drank, but didn't really make an issue of it. I thought the broader points came across rather well and were sympathetic.
As a snapshot, it wasn't half bad and pretty representative of my experiences
Sue Bourne did ask how much people drank, so it could be said there was a slight agenda there, but in my view the general tone of the programme was sympathetic. It certaintly wasn't a stereotypical "Britain's Binge-Drink Horror!" piece.
And anyone who loves pubs (as opposed to just loving beer) knows very well that much of their character is derived from people who drink considerably more than you or I would think reasonable, let alone the anti-drink zealots.
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