Wednesday 18 July 2012

You're not coming in here

I was reading a poll yesterday about what people think are reasonable grounds for being refused entry to a pub.

The poll underlines the tensions implied in the term "public house". Unlike bars or nightclubs, pubs are usually someone's home. Although open to the public, they're not the same as a railway station or a shop, or being invited to someone's home. They're in a gap between all those things, although some are clearly closer to drinking in someone's front room and others to being in a hotel.

The results of the poll are interesting for a couple of reasons.

Some of the grounds people think are reasonable seem - and I know it's a small sample - a bit arbitrary, with a surprisingly high number of votes for example for "Men wearing shorts."

The list also misses out some of the most common reasons for being refused entry to licensed premises, namely wearing football colours, being part of a stag/hen party or not conforming to a "no jeans, T-shirt or trainers" dress code.

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