, one in two has a soft drink

More profit in liquids that don't need as much maintenance, sell by date and such.

And as a lister of venues - I can assure you the trend is for pubs to unceremoniously dump their Folk Clubs and sessions, or bump them the minute there is a wedding/birthday booking. Quite a few have to meet in a Village Hall or private house.

When you see the number of pubs closing, it is not hard to see what is going on. Landlords/managers will try anything to stay solvent. And they are experts (?) at running pubs, not folkies.

A notable exception, and wildly successful, is the landlord of the Fleece in Bretforton (nr Evesham). Nigel is a Morris man, and the pub is 400 years old (600 as a buliding) owned by the National Trust. 3/4 folk sessions a month and Nigel puts on concerts in the Barn, he branched out into running the bar at Warwick and Bromyard folk festivals. Because he was hiring a marquee so often he bought the tent company, and probably as a pension pot, he bought the Cardinals Hat in Worcester which, no surprise, has a folk night. And he is a thoroughly nice guy, which is part of the reason for his success IMNSHO.

The pub has furniture that may be 100 or more years old, and marks round the fires to ward off witches coming down the chimney. I ain't never seen a witch, there so they must work.