On Saturday Glenn and I joined our friends Kim and Linda for an evening in Emsworth. For a small town of rather less than 10,000 inhabitants, Emsworth, tucked away in the south east corner of Hampshire on the shores of Chichester Harbour is remarkable for having nine pubs!
Although there are 60,000 pubs still in existence in the UK today, four are closing daily. In London the number of lost pubs are 2,977 and here in Hampshire 792, these figures were last updated 6 April 2014.
A threat to the future of traditional pubs is also a threat to countless social groups within Britain that thrive because of their 'local'. Pubs throughout history have been central to society and whole communities can grow around a particular pub.
All but one pub in Emsworth serve food and each has its own distinctive character. The lord Raglan, the only waterside pub situated on the edge of the village overlooking the river Ems and the slipper mill pond, is a charming 18th century establishment. When we arrived on a wet and windy Saturday evening we were greeted by a roaring log fire, we cosied up in a corner by the inglenook fireplace in the beautiful oak beamed bar to study the menu.
Some pubs have a long tradition of serving food, dating back to their historic usage as inns and hotels where travellers would stay. Many pubs now have extensive menus serving anything from Thai green curry to goulash, never a good sign in my eyes as you can guarantee a long and complicated menu invariably involves frozen/microwaved food. Traditionally pub grub was about the strength of ingredients and the simplicity of a well cooked dish, these included hotpot, pies, fish and chips, bangers and mash, roasts and ploughman's with not a moussaka in sight!
The lord Raglan enjoys a great local reputation for its food and I for one wasn't disappointed!
Followed by Irish coffees
I believe that for large numbers of people, great British pubs like the lord Raglan provide the chief centre of a social life within the community, along with home cooked food, traditional ales and good wine, such pubs are an ideal gathering place for rollicking thinkers and musicians and should always be part of our heritage!
'When you have lost your inns, drown your empty selves, for you will have lost the last of England'
-Hilaire Belloc
Support your local pub!
Love Donna xxxxxxx
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