Before Facebook, There Was The British Pub

As a first generation Canadian, born to British parents, I’ve had the benefit of an outsiders perspective on the role of the pub in British culture. Britain has the benefit of thousands of years of relatively stable cultural history, entrenching its institutions in the social conscience. The neighbourhood pub is one if these institutions that forms the backbone of British culture.

As a child on cycle touring holidays back to the old sod, we would join old friends for the Sunday club run. Elevensies at one pub, and then a second pub for lunch dictated the route for the day. I was only seven or eight, but was included as part of these experiences. As a Canadian child left to sit on the step outside forbidding North American taverns, this was a very different experience: inclusive and welcoming.

The pub has always acted as the living room of the community. Long time family friends would go for a drink on a Sunday afternoon to the pub behind their house. They rarely made arrangements to meet anyone, they just showed up, and so did everyone else at some point or another. They would sit down for a drink or two, and discuss the politics of the day, or their health, or that great old standby, the weather. Most of these people they wouldn’t see any other time, but they could count on being part of the community at the local pub. This stable social network ensures a pervasive feeling of community that includes anyone who shows up at the pub.

I have personally benefited from this sense of community that exists in a British pub. As a young woman, I was having trouble connecting with a friend in Banbury where I was supposed to be staying. I finished up posting a note on their front door and waiting for them down at the local pub, hoping they would eventually turn up. The neighbourhood was questionable, I was alone and didn’t know anyone. I decided sitting at the bar would be safest. I told my story to the bar tender as he poured me a drink. Throughout that afternoon, the locals drifted in one by one. The bartender introduced me to each of them and told them my story. Each new acquaintance promptly bought be a drink. By the time my friend showed up to find me several hours later, I was in the middle of a crowd of about 20 people: my new best friends.

The British Pub is a core institution, it was the Facebook of its day. A place to instantly connect with strangers, share a tale and a drink, and feel you are among friends. You can return to the same pub months, even years later, and those same people will still be there, and they will still buy you a drink.