Saturday 19 September 2009

Soft Furnishings


If I were a pub licensee, I would certainly keep soft furnishings down to a minimum.

On a recent visit to Haworth, I was driven out of two pubs by the pong. In the first, The Black Bull, the smell of dogs was very strong and I certainly wouldn't have liked to eat there. I like dogs and like to see them in pubs, but they cannot help but leave their scent on the carpets where they lie.

In the second pub I visited, there was a lingering smell of cigarette smoke. I'd better not mention the name of the place in case they are foolishly ignoring the ban (I don't want to get anyone into trouble) but actually, I think it was because the place needed refurbishing. It's very hard to get the stale smell out of carpets (and clothes!) so I suppose years of impregnation has taken it's toll (as the guy said to his wife after their fifteenth kid).

No, if I were a licensee, polished wooden floorboards (like in The Gunmakers, Clerkenwell, my son's gastropub) and simple wooden or metal furniture would be the order of the day.

3 comments:

Stonch said...

Obviously I agree - and as you point out, my pub lacks soft furnishing!

Expanding on the point about pubs needing refurbs post-smoking ban, The Gunmakers ceiling bore nicotine traces until earlier in the year when myself and John O' painted all the walls. I think every pub that hasn't had a lick of paint since July 2007 needs attention!

Saga Of Nails said...

Pubs with no soft furnishings tend to be quite echoey. I think that nice pubs need them for the acoustics. I spent six months working in a busy, high ceilinged pub with no carpets, curtains or upholstered seats. It looked good when it was quite, but it was hell on a Friday night.

And Jeff, I know a pub in Bristol that has been purposefully painted with nicotine effect walls and ceilings. The Manager requested as such, and Youngs were stupid enough to do so.

G. Chapman said...

Smoking in pubs seems a distant memory already...