Monday, 25 October 2010

41. Demise of the Kingfisher


The crew fancied a well earned pint at Shillingford, after all they had been boating for over two hours without a break or a beer. Jimmy suggested that they should visit the Kingfisher Inn and hotel in the village of Shillingford. Much to the disappointment of the other two thirsty crew, Phil retorted “It shut last year”.
The English pub is a traditional establishment   and is part of our English heritage. A place to chat or not talk in, a place to break or make friendships, a place in which to stand up or fall over in or a place in which to drown your sorrows in or a place in which maidens can be bowled over once you have had a skinful of Dutch courage in order to approach them and attempt in a drunken haze to chat them up.
The demise of such places has been caused by stringent drink driving laws, a ban on smoking and cheap supermarket prices. In the Sixties us older generation , actually used to drive to our favourite watering holes to drink, smoke a few joints and didn’t have the likes of large supermarket chains or Paki shops on almost every other  corner

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