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The Bridge at Napton


Dr Bob

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16 minutes ago, Athy said:

Absolutely correct, she did join for a while, yes.

I remember it as being attractive and welcoming inside, but then we were in there for only about an hour. What do you consider was wrong with it? One earlier poster suggests that a good landlord CAN be the difference between success and failure.

I see that in 2012 The Bridge and The Wharf at Fenny wer ebusiness associates, odd that The Wharf is busy and thriving and The Bridge is empty and dark.

It was very scruffy, not somewhere that you would plan to drive to for a meal, fine for walkers/boaters to pop in for lunch etc.  Not in the same league as the up market pubs that make the money.

With acceptable infrastructure a good landlord I am sure can make the difference between success or failure, but without that infrastructure I don’t believe how good you are will make people want to go there and spend £30 a head on a meal.

The Wharf at Fenny Compton is a bit of a funny one, a bit tatty and the food is basic and very cheap, but it is usually busy.  We quite like it but it is not for everyone.

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8 minutes ago, john6767 said:

 

The Wharf at Fenny Compton is a bit of a funny one, a bit tatty and the food is basic and very cheap, but it is usually busy.  We quite like it but it is not for everyone.

It is, yes, as it incorporates a shop (of sorts) and a launderette in addition to the usual bar and dining facilities. It's not our favourite pub, but I do like to find a pub which is different from most others, something of a rarity nowadays.

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8 hours ago, Athy said:

Eh? People need to drink fluids and children often take some of their fluids in the form of a bottle of pop. I certainly did (Tizer was my favourite) but I didn't see it as a "pre-drinking culture". I'm not sure what you mean.

Necking a significant amount of supermarket booze before a night out. We have to use magic powers to somehow know how many more are going turn them from happy to twatty, serve them one less than that, then ask them to leave.

8 hours ago, ianali said:

Or. People buy alcohol at a price they can afford, have  pre going out drinks and chat prior to going to a pub/club to socialise without needing to spend an outrageous amount on their drinks. This was how my kids explained it to me. It makes sense.

Ian.

It also makes sense that the commensurate drop in revenue to the pubs contributes to their eventual closing. 

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5 minutes ago, twbm said:

Necking a significant amount of supermarket booze before a night out. We have to use magic powers to somehow know how many more are going turn them from happy to twatty, serve them one less than that, then ask them to leave.

It also makes sense that the commensurate drop in revenue to the pubs contributes to their eventual closing. 

Like any business publicans are not owed a living. Are you suggesting alcohol can only be purchased at pub prices? I would also point out that I have seen many drunken people served yet more booze in bars. 

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8 hours ago, Athy said:

It's not a very good expression, as it does not accurately define its meaning. "Pre-drinking" means "before drinking", whereas the sense which you cite means actually drinking. 

In my student daughter's world it's simply called "pres" ( with a long 'e'). The "drinking" comes later.

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19 minutes ago, ianali said:

Like any business publicans are not owed a living. Are you suggesting alcohol can only be purchased at pub prices? I would also point out that I have seen many drunken people served yet more booze in bars. 

I get that. One of the thrusts of this thread is that it's incumbent on the owner to create a pleasurable experience for potential customers so as to entice them in. 

I don't doubt you've seen people 'in drink' served alcohol, it's an interesting balance to be maintained. We've got customers who can do 10 pints and remain gentlemen (and ladies) and others who we cut off after 4. It's the ones that go from genial to arsehole in the space of half of lager that catch you out. 

I think alcohol should only be served by outlets that can be held accountable in law for the social consequences of over indulgence of the products they have sold, as we are. At the moment responsibility falls back to the last premises a drunk can be traced back to, even if they only served the final half I've just referred to - generally a pub or bar in the later part of  the evening. I support the notion of a minimum pricing policy, or a change in the law that requires the supermarkets to contribute to the costs of policing, street pastors etc. financially as we do via a late night levy.  The last serious disorder we had in town was after a free concert in a park where lots of people were drunk from supermarket / off licence booze. If customers leaving my place had caused 1/10 of the bother I'd have had my license suspended.     

       

Edited by twbm
Putting the words in the right order.
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14 hours ago, twbm said:

I get that. One of the thrusts of this thread is that it's incumbent on the owner to create a pleasurable experience for potential customers so as to entice them in. 

I don't doubt you've seen people 'in drink' served alcohol, it's an interesting balance to be maintained. We've got customers who can do 10 pints and remain gentlemen (and ladies) and others who we cut off after 4. It's the ones that go from genial to arsehole in the space of half of lager that catch you out. 

I think alcohol should only be served by outlets that can be held accountable in law for the social consequences of over indulgence of the products they have sold, as we are. At the moment responsibility falls back to the last premises a drunk can be traced back to, even if they only served the final half I've just referred to - generally a pub or bar in the later part of  the evening. I support the notion of a minimum pricing policy, or a change in the law that requires the supermarkets to contribute to the costs of policing, street pastors etc. financially as we do via a late night levy.  The last serious disorder we had in town was after a free concert in a park where lots of people were drunk from supermarket / off licence booze. If customers leaving my place had caused 1/10 of the bother I'd have had my license suspended.     

       

An excellent post. Just one small ditty. A good friend of mine who I taught how to run a pub for a big brewery moved on and took a premises in his native Scotland he ran a good house and a good business. Whilst on hoiliday abroad a serious fight erupted in his pub whilst relief was in charge and a customer for want of a better word got glassed in his face with very serious injuries. As a result my mate had to go before a magistrate during the trial for the GBH and answer to why it had happened and explain the circumstances. My mate explained that at the precise time of the offence he was at about thirty thousand feet in a plane coming home from his holiday. He was told although that was the case as the licensee of the premises he was the accountable one. He was ok in the end but can you see some supermarket manager in court re a similar matter.........not on you Nellie.

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38 minutes ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

Here is the previous long thread about The Bridge Inn, in which Linzi the landlady makes an appearance.

v

Cor, wottastar! I was trawling old posts and trying to remember the landlady's name (Tina? Maria? well, I got fairly close). I did correctly recall that she was not a person whose attitude would facilitate good customer relations.

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A couple of random obsevations

I am aware of three popular and "successful" pubs that are closed or closing because businessmen reckon they are worth more as private houses or property development land. What chance is there for the ones that are not particularly popular!

Just spent a month or two in Northwich and note that several pubs have been turned into estate agents (I bet they got them at a knock down price). But more interestedly, no less than THREE micro pubs have now opened serving good beer and no food or just very basic bar snacks. There is obviously still a demand for pubs selling good proper beer.

............Dave

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Just an observation, but I am quite often given cause to grumble about not being able to moor near a pub that i would like to use, because all VMs have been taken by boats that are busy cooking their evening meals whilst downing the first of their evenings drinks on board. My grumbles usually involve wondering why they have bothered to stop on a mooring that is handy for a pub that they have no intention of using - if I were them I would be out in the middle of nowhere with my spag bol and my bottle of wine.

Is it because people are strangely drawn to moor in spots that 'seem popular'?

Should something be done to help the pubs to make the most of passing boat trade - limited as it is?

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On 1/14/2018 at 11:04, mrsmelly said:

An excellent post. Just one small ditty. A good friend of mine who I taught how to run a pub for a big brewery moved on and took a premises in his native Scotland he ran a good house and a good business. Whilst on hoiliday abroad a serious fight erupted in his pub whilst relief was in charge and a customer for want of a better word got glassed in his face with very serious injuries. As a result my mate had to go before a magistrate during the trial for the GBH and answer to why it had happened and explain the circumstances. My mate explained that at the precise time of the offence he was at about thirty thousand feet in a plane coming home from his holiday. He was told although that was the case as the licensee of the premises he was the accountable one. He was ok in the end but can you see some supermarket manager in court re a similar matter.........not on you Nellie.

Wow! (And thank you). 

Short version of a story of mine .. Police objecting to our proposed Designated Premises Supervisor for some rather spurious reasons. He'd been running the place for about 6 months without any bother, but the police were persisting and we went to a tribunal adjudicated by local authority Licensing bods. It all ended well when we pointed out the just-retired Police licensing Inspector had chosen our venue for his leaving do....      

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1 hour ago, zimzim said:

Just an observation, but I am quite often given cause to grumble about not being able to moor near a pub that i would like to use, because all VMs have been taken by boats that are busy cooking their evening meals whilst downing the first of their evenings drinks on board. My grumbles usually involve wondering why they have bothered to stop on a mooring that is handy for a pub that they have no intention of using - if I were them I would be out in the middle of nowhere with my spag bol and my bottle of wine.

Is it because people are strangely drawn to moor in spots that 'seem popular'?

Should something be done to help the pubs to make the most of passing boat trade - limited as it is?

Usually because the mooring spots next to pubs have nice piling and you can get near the bank...

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2 minutes ago, Dave Payne said:

Usually because the mooring spots next to pubs have nice piling and you can get near the bank...

...though not at The Bridge where, because of the winding hole, you can't moor next to it at all.

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10 minutes ago, Athy said:

...though not at The Bridge where, because of the winding hole, you can't moor next to it at all.

You can't moor directly outside true, but the vistor moorings are right next to the pub and I would say that people moored on those as much for the fact they are piled, and most of the canal bank in that area is not piled, as for using the pub. 

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21 hours ago, john6767 said:

You can't moor directly outside true, but the vistor moorings are right next to the pub and I would say that people moored on those as much for the fact they are piled, and most of the canal bank in that area is not piled, as for using the pub. 

This!

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On 15/01/2018 at 15:48, john6767 said:

You can't moor directly outside true, but the vistor moorings are right next to the pub and I would say that people moored on those as much for the fact they are piled, and most of the canal bank in that area is not piled, as for using the pub. 

And yet the odd thing is that since the pub closed down it has been much easier to get a space here, at least on the occasions we've been past or stopped. Every cloud has a silver lining (unless it was just coincidence).

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2 minutes ago, Lily Rose said:

And yet the odd thing is that since the pub closed down it has been much easier to get a space here, at least on the occasions we've been past or stopped. Every cloud has a silver lining (unless it was just coincidence).

Yes we pulled up there last June - the only boat on the mooring. Found the pub closed down so moved onto the Folly. Just managed to get the last available mooring. Odd as it was 'raining' down and not many boaters in the pub. BTW We found The Folly was the best pub on the whole trip 'darn sarf'.

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1 minute ago, Midnight said:

Yes we pulled up there last June - the only boat on the mooring. Found the pub closed down so moved onto the Folly. Just managed to get the last available mooring. Odd as it was 'raining' down and not many boaters in the pub. BTW We found The Folly was the best pub on the whole trip 'darn sarf'.

In the dozen or so times we have been past last year, there has always been room to moor by the Bridge but only on a few occasions has there been any space by the Folly. Its only now the holiday boats have stopped is there room near the Folly, but its still busy on the moorings but not many in the pub!

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1 minute ago, Dr Bob said:

In the dozen or so times we have been past last year, there has always been room to moor by the Bridge but only on a few occasions has there been any space by the Folly. Its only now the holiday boats have stopped is there room near the Folly, but its still busy on the moorings but not many in the pub!

It does seem weird. It suggests that lots of boaters want to moor near a pub that's still in business but not actually visit said pub.

Or perhaps they do but only relatively briefly so that at any given moment most boaters are not in the pub but have been for a time or will be before they set off again.

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8 minutes ago, Lily Rose said:

It does seem weird. It suggests that lots of boaters want to moor near a pub that's still in business but not actually visit said pub.

Or perhaps they do but only relatively briefly so that at any given moment most boaters are not in the pub but have been for a time or will be before they set off again.

That's very possible. Mrs. Athy and I for example, usually have two drinks at a waterside pub and then go back to the boat to eat. So we tend to be at the pub for only about an hour.

Regarding mooring near The Folly, we often moor between the two bottom locks of the flight, as there is generally room there and it's not far to walk.

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