>> Humphrey, how many feet can you shoot off?

Centipedal, nay, millipedal numbers apparently.

My son plays football on a Saturday and we go into a Sams pub after for chips and beer etc

The manager there is still waiting for a response to a letter to the chairman from December-ish - this is an internal not external thing - just querying the decision and pointing out the effects on trade.

He reckons it has hit his pub since day one - especially the TV going. New Years Eve he shut at 11.15 and the takings were down £1100.

This is weird behaviour, when you ignore your customers BUT even more so when you totally ignore your staff and refuse to even acknowledge the letter or give any reason for behaviour that directly hits the management of the pubs. Shit will hit fan at bonus time apparently (another saving perhaps?). Quite a lot of vacancies around at the moment I believe and more coming soon...

I'm going to post this onto the Sams thread also. Sam Smiths may be a total red herring in all this (sometimes people just genuinely lose the plot and the action itself takes over and power becomes the driving force) - I do take Shambles point that when we all go off to our new venues - what happens next?

From my end I only wanted our little group to survive and it has, albeit not in its original place (but there are some signs that it might be better, could be honeymoon). The players and the (not) folk club from Nellies will also survive and hopefully flourish.

What does a normal person in the street like me do next?

Life is back on an even(ish) keel. Sams appear to be the losers - and, to be honest, I can live with that.

Perhaps we need a new thread (or a permanent one) - I'm not sure how you put it pithily - of "What can everyday folk do to preserve what we have/want given the external pressures that now bear on venues?"