stingray

That looks brilliant. Can't wait for ROA at the Victoria Inn.

Why?

Not trolling, but more devils advocating - honest..: Do those that lament the demise of the wishing well like / still visit the prince? Are incumbent locals not laughing all the way to the bank about the increase in their house prices?

Err. Not a very busy local food outlet in that case - a restaurant would normally dump 10/20 litres every time it changed the oil in each fryer. Also - you don't pay for removal any more as it has value as biofuel - guys drive round trying to pinch it from each other.

Mugging, conning, ripping off and overpricing? Good ingredients, staffing, services, gas, electric, cleaning materials, rent, insurance, NI contributions, tax, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc and then maybe, hopefully #shock horror# make a profit, while trying to build a business? I am off to McDonalds for an extremely fairly priced burger and fries to stick it to these evil corporate swines...

Was also in Kings a couple of weeks ago with a suspected broken scaphoid... (and have subsequently spotted the nurse who helped me on the telly). Couldn't agree more - they were extremely helpful, in the face of having to deal with idiots. Only bad thing I can see is money grabbing parking fees by the council. Was running late, so had to put the car on the road, and ended up spending ?12 on parking!

They are just practising. They will save us all.

Regent is more of a gastropub type menu with prices to match. Florence good pub grub, so horses for courses. Taper - trust you? But you don't think meatwagon burgers are upto much do you? Casts doubts... ;-)

No 12. Alled Jones.

I have seen this before. The place is immaculately clean, doing everything, but unless you can quote rules verbatum, and produce a forest worth of paperwork, the boxes don't get ticked. All to be taken with a pinch of salt methinks. If anywhere is really bad, they would be shut down.

Erm, did you actually read the link on the crimestoppers website. Says that this scam was shut down 5 years ago, the info has not come from Royal Mail, or Trading standards, and that it is actually the circulation of a chain email which is the problem... Don't open any attachments etc if you get it?

OMG is the picture in the actress actually of Crista Flanagan when not in full Ugly Betty Garb? Just checked google images. She isn't.

lets not also forget manny can also deliver a performance like this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IbCskgWxVNI.

Was in Manchester for the fight on Sat. 2 highlights were reaction for when Lewis was in the ring beforehand and spotted Bruno and got him in there too, And 18,000 people chanting "you're shit and you know you are" when a battered Harrison was leaving the Arena.

Looking at that picture, that actually looks like it could have been a really nice bottle of Liebfraumilch, rather than some of the mass produced rubbish. Specifying its region "Nahe" and all. Anyone else know any more about it?

I used to work in a very family friendly pub. It actively encouraged families to come in. It also kept an area which was adults only. For the most part, there were happy families in one area, and happy adults in another. Complaints often heard on both sides of the argument: It is like a creche in here. Why can't we sit in the adult area with this kids - this is ridiculous. Problems on both sides: Drunken or problem adults. Screaming kids who are left to run around unsupervised by adults. Both of these situations were inconsiderate, and not tolerated. It is the job of the premises in question to manage these situations, and more often than not take the associated flak which goes with it. Have to say though, a scorned parent was most of the time more viscous than a scorned adult. Me thinks, tolerance, empathy, and realising the earth does not revolve around yourself is what is required on BOTH sides of the argument.

Whilst I agree ?4.80 is pricey. If you buy a premium cider, (in a half a litre bottle, which the government recently increased duty on, in a market with high demand, probably organic, when tied to a high purchase price) then the premises in question is probably going to be making much less money from it than they would be on a pint of mass produced draught fosters.

Whenever I read about people knowing how to run the perfect pub, I always think of the line: "Advice is a form of nostalgia. Dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it's worth." People should really try and make more Baz Lurman produced, spoken word, pondering, chart pleasing, thought provoking tunes if you ask me. (Played on a jukebox in a proper old pub).

(in Reply to Brendan) You are referring to the beer-tie, where individuals enter into a contract to rent / lease a premises from a Pub Company (used to be the brewery in days gone by) in return for agreeing to only buy their booze from said company. (simplified version). Whilst I am not a massive fan of the Beer-tie, what must be understood is that this is not a new thing. This is how pubs have been run for decades. Also, when people take on a site, they are fully aware of what they are entering into (if they are not - then more fool them.) Other market conditions have made pub trading more difficult, but bad pubs can be too quick to look to lay blame anywhere other than at their own front door. Smoking ban, cheap supermarket booze are all factors, but there are many thriving boozers out there, who operate under the same conditions. There are of course I am sure, many more rural and community pubs whose closing have been a result of the reasons mentioned above in sad circumstances, but still believe that times move on, and many other of these pubs have survived by diversifying and evolving.

A chain will appear where there is market demand, but still think that a well run independent should trump it every time - especially in East Dulwich. If Chains force independents to raise there game, then is that such a bad thing? I am certainly not pro-chain, but think that if you choose to run your own business, then you must continue to evolve and work at your business, as the corporations and chains do. On the pub front, I think so many independents have closed as they think that they deserved and expected a living. You simply cant get away with that any more.. in the pub industry, or anywhere else in working life...?

If the Victoria Inn (Wishing Well) is anything to go by, then we could be onto a winner here.

I have sent her the link to this thread. I have got to be honest. I think you would have had better chances with a more direct approach...... we shall see.

I know who it is...

I genuinely think The Actress would be a really cool name. Admittedly it is a bit different. But once you start over-analysing some pub names they can all be pretty ridiculous.

Glad you guys are enjoying playing out a pipe dream, but trust me, from experience, to buy, transform and MAKE A PROFIT from this place would not be as easy as you think.... And I would think in the current climate, (with beer duty going up again), you are looking like more like 12k to get into the black each week (before anything breaks down).