We might also find that just the cost of a basic license will drive many of the smaller pubs to close, and these are often the very pubs where folk clubs meet. After all big pubs with loud music which get packed out are not likely to want clubs or sessions.

In the area (SE London / NE Kent) which I live, the following pubs have already ceased to exist in the last few years:

The Yorkshire Grey, Eltham       - now MacDonalds
The Garden Gate, Downham          - now MacDonalds
The Sawyers, Bromley Common       - now MacDonalds
The Crossways, Sidcup             - now Burger King
The Plough, Bromley Common       - now wine warehouse
The Two Brewers, Otford          - now private house
The Star, Brasted Chart          - now private house
The King's Arms, Brasted          - now office building
The Rorty Crankle, Plaxtol       - now private house

There are many others which have gone - a lot of them were pubs that I wouldn't have wanted to drink in, but the trend is there. With the value of houses in the South-East, it is often a cheap way for a firm or private individual to aquire a reasonably sized property at a bargain price.

When all the little pubs have ceased to exist, or become mainly restaurants, where will we hold our sessions ?