Catford Bridge Tavern closes its doors after bid to turn it into a supermarket (From News Shopper)

All pubs were doomed as soon as the facist smoking ban was introduced. The majority of regular drinkers - you know, the people who used to actually put their money behind the bar - were (and probably still are) smokers. Who actually thought that drinkers wouldn't object to standing in the cold and rain for a smoke after paying nearly four quid for a pint?

Where are all the goody-goody non-smokers who stayed away from pubs because they couldn't bear to go home smelling of other people's smoke? I'll tell you. They're in the same place as they've always been; their front rooms watching dreary soap operas, banal sitcoms and humiliating talent shows while they drink cheap booze from the local supermarket.

Pubs are now things of the past and have been replaced by family restaurants, poncy wine bars and pound shops. The regular drinkers have had to resign themselves to the fact that they can't go down to their local, meet their pals and enjoy a relaxing smoke with their beer, all because the stay-at-homes objected to the smoky atmosphere. These bores are the same ones who visit the pub once a year at Christmas and whose new aftershave and perfume is more noxious than any tobacco I've ever smelt.

The great British pub is now just a memory for most drinkers and a haven for yobbos dealing drugs and looking for trouble.

What a very sad state of affairs indeed.

Agree completely - talking to the manager of an establishment I frequent in Croydon, she commented about all the do-gooders who claimed "the only reason I don't go to a pub is because of smoker - if there was a ban I'd go"

Ban introduced - all that happened was the smokers drink at home (one of the few places they're allowed a fag), but where those who said they'd go?

So 2061 people have signed the petition - how many of them actually used this pub?

Perhaps even if a small proportion actually went there it wouldn't have closed

Well, that's different! The Licensed Victuallers Association (LVA) blames something else. they blame cheap supermarket booze and the high prices that tenant publicans have to pay because they are tied to a brewery. Their own research shows that numbers were unaffected by the smoking ban. No one disputes that smoking can cause lung cancer. I like others, ignore that fact. Isn't it funny that something that prevents people from getting cancer from passive smoking, bar staff, non smoking patrons etc is seen as the tool of 'do gooders'. It is good to know though that every thriving pub (according to you two) are only surviving because non smokers go there, they can't all be sat at home watching TV as well and all the smokers put off by the ban (if they are then it is they sat at home ‘in front of their front rooms watching dreary soap operas, banal sitcoms and humiliating talent shows while they drink cheap booze from the local supermarket). unless, wait, maybe the smokers are there and don't mind nipping out for a smoke. you can't have it both ways. I prefer detailed research like that by the LVA and not some nonsensical rant here

I can only assume that the writers of the first two posts neglected to read the article (and have certainly never been to the CBT). Where does it say this pub has closed because of lack of custom?

The truth of it is that the CBT is a wonderful pub that the whole community loves, 'do gooders' and smokers alike, and it was doing very very well.

It's (hopefully temporary) closure has absolutely nothing to with the smoking ban whatsoever but is a result of the sad fact that certain types of businesses are inherently at risk of being forced out by developers and freeholders acting in consort and looking to turn a quick profit. That is why the use and enforcement of planning laws are so important and Lewisham Council should be commended for recognising the necessity of the Article 4 direction.

The real value of the CBT to the community is immeasurable, particularly given that Catford is largely barren of similar community assets where people can meet and mingle.

Fingers crossed for the big re-opening – Save the CBT!

The Bnp support the pub trade so there's a surprise lol

Outandabout wrote:
Well, that's different! The Licensed Victuallers Association (LVA) blames something else. they blame cheap supermarket booze and the high prices that tenant publicans have to pay because they are tied to a brewery. Their own research shows that numbers were unaffected by the smoking ban. No one disputes that smoking can cause lung cancer. I like others, ignore that fact. Isn't it funny that something that prevents people from getting cancer from passive smoking, bar staff, non smoking patrons etc is seen as the tool of 'do gooders'. It is good to know though that every thriving pub (according to you two) are only surviving because non smokers go there, they can't all be sat at home watching TV as well and all the smokers put off by the ban (if they are then it is they sat at home ‘in front of their front rooms watching dreary soap operas, banal sitcoms and humiliating talent shows while they drink cheap booze from the local supermarket). unless, wait, maybe the smokers are there and don't mind nipping out for a smoke. you can't have it both ways. I prefer detailed research like that by the LVA and not some nonsensical rant here

Nonsensical rant?

You are obviously one of the good-gooder bores I mentioned in my comment. Not only that, you are a rude bore, which is even worse.

I certainly wouldn't want you to latch onto me in the pub and start spouting off your mummy's boy nonsense.

v8matt wrote:
I can only assume that the writers of the first two posts neglected to read the article (and have certainly never been to the CBT). Where does it say this pub has closed because of lack of custom?

The truth of it is that the CBT is a wonderful pub that the whole community loves, 'do gooders' and smokers alike, and it was doing very very well.

It's (hopefully temporary) closure has absolutely nothing to with the smoking ban whatsoever but is a result of the sad fact that certain types of businesses are inherently at risk of being forced out by developers and freeholders acting in consort and looking to turn a quick profit. That is why the use and enforcement of planning laws are so important and Lewisham Council should be commended for recognising the necessity of the Article 4 direction.

The real value of the CBT to the community is immeasurable, particularly given that Catford is largely barren of similar community assets where people can meet and mingle.

Fingers crossed for the big re-opening – Save the CBT!

Although I disagree with every single word you said, at least you were not rude, unlike Mummy's Boy, Outandabout.

Just make sure your keep your eyes peeled in case he's out and about and hoping to make friends in YOUR local boozer. I bet he drinks cider and munches on dry roasted peanuts while he bores the bar staff with his tedious, narrowminded views on life in general.

It's enough to turn you to drinking cheap booze indoors!

Soled and Heeled wrote:
The Bnp support the pub trade so there's a surprise lol

A good surprise or a bad one? Please explain your comment further.

Lord Erastus Theobald Piggott wrote:

Outandabout wrote:
Well, that's different! The Licensed Victuallers Association (LVA) blames something else. they blame cheap supermarket booze and the high prices that tenant publicans have to pay because they are tied to a brewery. Their own research shows that numbers were unaffected by the smoking ban. No one disputes that smoking can cause lung cancer. I like others, ignore that fact. Isn't it funny that something that prevents people from getting cancer from passive smoking, bar staff, non smoking patrons etc is seen as the tool of 'do gooders'. It is good to know though that every thriving pub (according to you two) are only surviving because non smokers go there, they can't all be sat at home watching TV as well and all the smokers put off by the ban (if they are then it is they sat at home ‘in front of their front rooms watching dreary soap operas, banal sitcoms and humiliating talent shows while they drink cheap booze from the local supermarket). unless, wait, maybe the smokers are there and don't mind nipping out for a smoke. you can't have it both ways. I prefer detailed research like that by the LVA and not some nonsensical rant here

Nonsensical rant?

You are obviously one of the good-gooder bores I mentioned in my comment. Not only that, you are a rude bore, which is even worse.

I certainly wouldn't want you to latch onto me in the pub and start spouting off your mummy's boy nonsense.

I didn't expect you and your whippet racing woodbine smoking world to appreciate that you presented such a mass of conflicting arguements. Calling it nonsensical was actually being reserved and kind. What IS it with you and mummy's boys? You mention that so often to people. You meant 'do gooder', I am sure. A 'good gooder' implies there is a 'bad gooder'. More like some mummys boys story. **** you have me at it now. I am pleased for you and your world because, trust me, you would never ever frequent mine. There is nothing at all about you or your 'kind' that would ever lead to me latching onto you. I can be assured that if you ever came into a pub I was sat in it would be selling seafood with your fag ash dropping over the stock. You are happy to increase the risk of cancer to people who choose not to smoke but you moan about the smell of cheap aftershave. Thank you to the CBT poster for an informative post and for dispelling the 'smokers are us' posters. I'm going to have to stop smoking now just to be further from the first ranter

Oh newsshoper, the word is da mn' it really shouldn't be banned

Outandabout wrote:

Lord Erastus Theobald Piggott wrote:

Outandabout wrote:
Well, that's different! The Licensed Victuallers Association (LVA) blames something else. they blame cheap supermarket booze and the high prices that tenant publicans have to pay because they are tied to a brewery. Their own research shows that numbers were unaffected by the smoking ban. No one disputes that smoking can cause lung cancer. I like others, ignore that fact. Isn't it funny that something that prevents people from getting cancer from passive smoking, bar staff, non smoking patrons etc is seen as the tool of 'do gooders'. It is good to know though that every thriving pub (according to you two) are only surviving because non smokers go there, they can't all be sat at home watching TV as well and all the smokers put off by the ban (if they are then it is they sat at home ‘in front of their front rooms watching dreary soap operas, banal sitcoms and humiliating talent shows while they drink cheap booze from the local supermarket). unless, wait, maybe the smokers are there and don't mind nipping out for a smoke. you can't have it both ways. I prefer detailed research like that by the LVA and not some nonsensical rant here

Nonsensical rant?

You are obviously one of the good-gooder bores I mentioned in my comment. Not only that, you are a rude bore, which is even worse.

I certainly wouldn't want you to latch onto me in the pub and start spouting off your mummy's boy nonsense.

I didn't expect you and your whippet racing woodbine smoking world to appreciate that you presented such a mass of conflicting arguements. Calling it nonsensical was actually being reserved and kind. What IS it with you and mummy's boys? You mention that so often to people. You meant 'do gooder', I am sure. A 'good gooder' implies there is a 'bad gooder'. More like some mummys boys story. **** you have me at it now. I am pleased for you and your world because, trust me, you would never ever frequent mine. There is nothing at all about you or your 'kind' that would ever lead to me latching onto you. I can be assured that if you ever came into a pub I was sat in it would be selling seafood with your fag ash dropping over the stock. You are happy to increase the risk of cancer to people who choose not to smoke but you moan about the smell of cheap aftershave. Thank you to the CBT poster for an informative post and for dispelling the 'smokers are us' posters. I'm going to have to stop smoking now just to be further from the first ranter

So now we discover what kind of a person you REALLY are: a boring snob.

Outandabout wrote:
Oh newsshoper, the word is da mn' it really shouldn't be banned

Spot the spelling mistake and poor punctuation.

When it comes to you and those like you, we are all snobs.

Outandabout wrote:
When it comes to you and those like you, we are all snobs.

If that's the case then you are also an idiot. You really have quite a few strings to your bow, don't you?

Readers, please take note of the fact that the boring idiot AKA Outandabout becomes very angry when someone disagrees with him and even resorts to swearing.

Joe, I hear the Seven Stars is up for sale. Where are you and your fellow 'Travellers' going to drink now?

I'm a little more up market now, I'm a changed man since me last bit of bird.

I use the one in old Cray high street. Well no nick there either, so I can smoke me Camberwell carrots in there.

Lord Erastus Theobald Piggott wrote:
All pubs were doomed as soon as the facist smoking ban was introduced. The majority of regular drinkers - you know, the people who used to actually put their money behind the bar - were (and probably still are) smokers. Who actually thought that drinkers wouldn't object to standing in the cold and rain for a smoke after paying nearly four quid for a pint?

Where are all the goody-goody non-smokers who stayed away from pubs because they couldn't bear to go home smelling of other people's smoke? I'll tell you. They're in the same place as they've always been; their front rooms watching dreary soap operas, banal sitcoms and humiliating talent shows while they drink cheap booze from the local supermarket.

Pubs are now things of the past and have been replaced by family restaurants, poncy wine bars and pound shops. The regular drinkers have had to resign themselves to the fact that they can't go down to their local, meet their pals and enjoy a relaxing smoke with their beer, all because the stay-at-homes objected to the smoky atmosphere. These bores are the same ones who visit the pub once a year at Christmas and whose new aftershave and perfume is more noxious than any tobacco I've ever smelt.

The great British pub is now just a memory for most drinkers and a haven for yobbos dealing drugs and looking for trouble.

What a very sad state of affairs indeed.

Geezz guys, this article is nothing to do with the smoking ban -its to do with the freeholder wanting to make a bigger profit on the property he owns and so sells a very successful pub (where smokers and non-smokers congregate in harmony) which is the heart of a community, to a national retailer so he can make a killing on the lease, and lease the upstairs as flats -currently not possible with a pub below. Ok? So dont bother posting your ideological crap at us when its nothing to do with the original story. Ignorant people.

"Ignorant people".... dead right.

Igorance, I cant stand it on here at times, I just have to sit down and shake me old head.

katicus12 wrote:

Lord Erastus Theobald Piggott wrote:
All pubs were doomed as soon as the facist smoking ban was introduced. The majority of regular drinkers - you know, the people who used to actually put their money behind the bar - were (and probably still are) smokers. Who actually thought that drinkers wouldn't object to standing in the cold and rain for a smoke after paying nearly four quid for a pint?

Where are all the goody-goody non-smokers who stayed away from pubs because they couldn't bear to go home smelling of other people's smoke? I'll tell you. They're in the same place as they've always been; their front rooms watching dreary soap operas, banal sitcoms and humiliating talent shows while they drink cheap booze from the local supermarket.

Pubs are now things of the past and have been replaced by family restaurants, poncy wine bars and pound shops. The regular drinkers have had to resign themselves to the fact that they can't go down to their local, meet their pals and enjoy a relaxing smoke with their beer, all because the stay-at-homes objected to the smoky atmosphere. These bores are the same ones who visit the pub once a year at Christmas and whose new aftershave and perfume is more noxious than any tobacco I've ever smelt.

The great British pub is now just a memory for most drinkers and a haven for yobbos dealing drugs and looking for trouble.

What a very sad state of affairs indeed.

Geezz guys, this article is nothing to do with the smoking ban -its to do with the freeholder wanting to make a bigger profit on the property he owns and so sells a very successful pub (where smokers and non-smokers congregate in harmony) which is the heart of a community, to a national retailer so he can make a killing on the lease, and lease the upstairs as flats -currently not possible with a pub below. Ok? So dont bother posting your ideological crap at us when its nothing to do with the original story. Ignorant people.

You don't know what you're talking about.

Gypo.Joe wrote:
I'm a little more up market now, I'm a changed man since me last bit of bird.

I use the one in old Cray high street. Well no nick there either, so I can smoke me Camberwell carrots in there.

What, The Star on the corner of Star Lane? Lovely pint of Bass they used to do in there back in the 80s.

Always a good place to pick a bargain, if you know what I mean, Joe.

Oh yes the good old days The Star. One of the last pubs I know of that still had saw dust on the floor in the pubic ( sic ) bar.

Happy Days.

Lord Erastus Theobald Piggott wrote:

Outandabout wrote:
When it comes to you and those like you, we are all snobs.

If that's the case then you are also an idiot. You really have quite a few strings to your bow, don't you?

Thats three times now people have stated facts, even someone involved in the campaign it seems (V8matt) and STILL your arrogance and ignorance has yet to reach it's limit and they don't know what they are talking about or are wrong! Is it infinite, pease assure me you stop somewhere before 'the earth is flat'. Why not log in as your other profile and support your own argument because no one else will. Its not about the smoking ban, read what the man said (V8Matt) if he is wroing then give your reasons, in detail or bow out. As for being an idiot for being a snob about you. I'm incredibly astute in determining who would or would not be good company. The fact I wouldn't want you as part of that company is something you will have to live with and not tell me I am wrong about it either!

Outandabout wrote:

Lord Erastus Theobald Piggott wrote:

Outandabout wrote:
When it comes to you and those like you, we are all snobs.

If that's the case then you are also an idiot. You really have quite a few strings to your bow, don't you?

Thats three times now people have stated facts, even someone involved in the campaign it seems (V8matt) and STILL your arrogance and ignorance has yet to reach it's limit and they don't know what they are talking about or are wrong! Is it infinite, pease assure me you stop somewhere before 'the earth is flat'. Why not log in as your other profile and support your own argument because no one else will. Its not about the smoking ban, read what the man said (V8Matt) if he is wroing then give your reasons, in detail or bow out. As for being an idiot for being a snob about you. I'm incredibly astute in determining who would or would not be good company. The fact I wouldn't want you as part of that company is something you will have to live with and not tell me I am wrong about it either!

Oh, you DO make me laugh.

Now, run along.

Gypo.Joe wrote:
Oh yes the good old days The Star. One of the last pubs I know of that still had saw dust on the floor in the pubic ( sic ) bar.

Happy Days.

Yes, the sawdust was there to soak up the blood of 'Travellers' doing battle with each other after a few pints of the hard stuff.

I can just imagine Outandabore walking in there. He wouldn't have lasted two minutes, especially when he started waving his hand in front of his face to dispel the aromatic old shag tobacco smoke which hung in the air like blue fog in those days.

Good times, they were.

Laterssssssssss Lord P, I'm off to the fiscal cliff.
May be in Clackets Lane if ya'd like a tea later. I'll text ya. ;)

Oh I do love your pseudo hard man image on here. The pair of you 'old muckers getting it on, spit and sawdust, those were the days mentality'.Always suggesting that anyone with any intellect is some stick insect soda water sipping nerd, or Theo with his 'mummys boy' comment all the time, what IS that all about, I mean bizarre or what. There really are some serious issues in that head. Theo have the bal_ls to either answer the points you disagreed with or shut the f up. I am a snob, I do think that Theo there would love an old shag in a blue fog of smoke, just so she could see the horror before her.

Outandabout wrote:
Oh I do love your pseudo hard man image on here. The pair of you 'old muckers getting it on, spit and sawdust, those were the days mentality'.Always suggesting that anyone with any intellect is some stick insect soda water sipping nerd, or Theo with his 'mummys boy' comment all the time, what IS that all about, I mean bizarre or what. There really are some serious issues in that head. Theo have the bal_ls to either answer the points you disagreed with or shut the f up. I am a snob, I do think that Theo there would love an old shag in a blue fog of smoke, just so she could see the horror before her.

Outandoutbore, please refrain from swearing or I will be forced to report you.

You've been warned. Now play nicely - preferably in the middle of a very busy road.

Lord Erastus Theobald Piggott wrote:

Outandabout wrote:
Oh I do love your pseudo hard man image on here. The pair of you 'old muckers getting it on, spit and sawdust, those were the days mentality'.Always suggesting that anyone with any intellect is some stick insect soda water sipping nerd, or Theo with his 'mummys boy' comment all the time, what IS that all about, I mean bizarre or what. There really are some serious issues in that head. Theo have the bal_ls to either answer the points you disagreed with or shut the f up. I am a snob, I do think that Theo there would love an old shag in a blue fog of smoke, just so she could see the horror before her.

Outandoutbore, please refrain from swearing or I will be forced to report you.

You've been warned. Now play nicely - preferably in the middle of a very busy road.

I think you are serious, after all your blustering, I believe you would report someone for swearing. What a first class simpering wimp!

Outandabout wrote:

Lord Erastus Theobald Piggott wrote:

Outandabout wrote:
When it comes to you and those like you, we are all snobs.

If that's the case then you are also an idiot. You really have quite a few strings to your bow, don't you?

Thats three times now people have stated facts, even someone involved in the campaign it seems (V8matt) and STILL your arrogance and ignorance has yet to reach it's limit and they don't know what they are talking about or are wrong! Is it infinite, pease assure me you stop somewhere before 'the earth is flat'. Why not log in as your other profile and support your own argument because no one else will. Its not about the smoking ban, read what the man said (V8Matt) if he is wroing then give your reasons, in detail or bow out. As for being an idiot for being a snob about you. I'm incredibly astute in determining who would or would not be good company. The fact I wouldn't want you as part of that company is something you will have to live with and not tell me I am wrong about it either!

Sadly this thread has become the victim of trolls and there is no point in engaging with them. It's a reminder of why, as a rule, I never post on sites like this.

For the record I am not involved with the running of the campaign, but I am a concerned local and regular.

For what its worth, Outandabout, I know who I'd rather have latch onto me in a pub :)

'For what its worth, Outandabout, I know who I'd rather have latch onto me in a pub :)'

Anyone with the patience to listen to you, I should imagine.

Lord Erastus Theobald Piggott wrote:
'For what its worth, Outandabout, I know who I'd rather have latch onto me in a pub :)'

Anyone with the patience to listen to you, I should imagine.

ohhhh wadda madder? No one want to pway wiv you? poor baby, Never mind de dums, someone will play with you another time. poor mummys boy.

Outandabout wrote:
Oh I do love your pseudo hard man image on here. The pair of you 'old muckers getting it on, spit and sawdust, those were the days mentality'.Always suggesting that anyone with any intellect is some stick insect soda water sipping nerd, or Theo with his 'mummys boy' comment all the time, what IS that all about, I mean bizarre or what. There really are some serious issues in that head. Theo have the bal_ls to either answer the points you disagreed with or shut the f up. I am a snob, I do think that Theo there would love an old shag in a blue fog of smoke, just so she could see the horror before her.

I seem to remember the term once used as "barrow boys"...( or should it be barra bois ) ring any bells.

Don't you realise how you and the other puppet come across as such intellectual pygmies when measured against so many ordinary people. Blaming everyone for all the ills and doing nothing about it yourself. Doesn't it concern you how really thick you sound or how you just appear to be this mind numbingly boring Neanderthal. Have you no pride left or you don't care simply because you hide behind this persona or that one. Must everyone who can string a sentence together automatically be some wine swigging posh boy. Can’t your imagination broaden just for a millisecond to appreciate that your view of the world is so jaundiced and prejudiced against everyone and everything that it just makes you just another, well, joke really. Some might defend their positon stating where they grew up or went to school but people don't have to prove you wrong about how you see them, they just have to see what pathetically stupid and bizarre things you write based on nothing more than your two marbles crashing together and forming a semi cohesive thought. (It's really easy if you now type 'no' as a tip, run along now, the grown ups are here)

I bet you did that in joined up ritin too.

Excellent work boi.

Don't deny it.

Gypo.Joe wrote:
Oh yes the good old days The Star. One of the last pubs I know of that still had saw dust on the floor in the pubic ( sic ) bar. Happy Days.

Thought you meant the Blue Anchor

While we are in yesteryear remember The Black Boy ?

Gypo.Joe wrote:
While we are in yesteryear remember The Black Boy ?

Ah, yes. It's still going strong. Naturally, the Norris clan still rules the roost.

A great little pub and always has been. I've spent many a great smoky evening in that treasured establishment.

Thanks for reminding me, Joe.

reasonable75 wrote:

Gypo.Joe wrote:
Oh yes the good old days The Star. One of the last pubs I know of that still had saw dust on the floor in the pubic ( sic ) bar. Happy Days.

Thought you meant the Blue Anchor

The Blue Anchor was the pub with no beer. Okay, it had beer but nothing of quality.

Outandabout wrote:
Don't you realise how you and the other puppet come across as such intellectual pygmies when measured against so many ordinary people. Blaming everyone for all the ills and doing nothing about it yourself. Doesn't it concern you how really thick you sound or how you just appear to be this mind numbingly boring Neanderthal. Have you no pride left or you don't care simply because you hide behind this persona or that one. Must everyone who can string a sentence together automatically be some wine swigging posh boy. Can’t your imagination broaden just for a millisecond to appreciate that your view of the world is so jaundiced and prejudiced against everyone and everything that it just makes you just another, well, joke really. Some might defend their positon stating where they grew up or went to school but people don't have to prove you wrong about how you see them, they just have to see what pathetically stupid and bizarre things you write based on nothing more than your two marbles crashing together and forming a semi cohesive thought. (It's really easy if you now type 'no' as a tip, run along now, the grown ups are here)

You still here?

http://www.youtube.c
om/watch?v=ks7-A-7Zv
ak

I think we at different pubs Lord P, I'm on about the one in Cray Hight street.

I know the other one too. AH estate.

Gypo.Joe wrote:
I think we at different pubs Lord P, I'm on about the one in Cray Hight street.

I know the other one too. AH estate.

Sorry Joe, my mistake.

Yep, that's the one.

I used to frequent The Black Horse at the end of Sidcup High Street many years ago. It is now gone, unfortunately. I loved it because it was smoky, the drinkers were (more or less) well behaved and the Directors was kept well.

Naturally, I drank in the saloon end. The public bar was the domain of the 'Travellers' who'd made their way up from the Seven Stars.

Everyone rubbed along nicely. The good old days.

Gypo.Joe wrote:
While we are in yesteryear remember The Black Boy ?

I think that one was the Black Horse.

I have a question, who was it that elected Outandabout sheriff of the internet ? Who wuz that man ?

Maybe we should send the poliss rund his gaff to check he aint being forced to read the Shopper and comment.

Perhaps outandabout and v8matt should themselves read the comments that started their tirade

Neither Lord P or I said the smoking ban was why this pub closed - they were general observations

So the LVA has done research? Well do you always trust research - perhaps speak to a few more managers / landlords

And I note neither has answered my question, 2061 signed a petition - how many of them actually used the pub (or was it one passed around & includes friends and family from around the country)

And try to answer without swearing

Fond memories of this pub. Meeting old friends in there for a quick drink before
sauntering off to the dogs.


Ronny

Marty1979 wrote:
Perhaps outandabout and v8matt should themselves read the comments that started their tirade

Neither Lord P or I said the smoking ban was why this pub closed - they were general observations

So the LVA has done research? Well do you always trust research - perhaps speak to a few more managers / landlords

And I note neither has answered my question, 2061 signed a petition - how many of them actually used the pub (or was it one passed around & includes friends and family from around the country)

And try to answer without swearing

Well said!

south-london-plumber wrote:
cheap plumbing repairs before xmas.
www.south-london-plu

mbers.co.uk/

well if that's representative of the clientele or "supporters" then not a surprise it's closed

Read the rules about abuse and swearing

Lord Erastus Theobald Piggott wrote:
All pubs were doomed as soon as the facist smoking ban was introduced. The majority of regular drinkers - you know, the people who used to actually put their money behind the bar - were (and probably still are) smokers. Who actually thought that drinkers wouldn't object to standing in the cold and rain for a smoke after paying nearly four quid for a pint? Where are all the goody-goody non-smokers who stayed away from pubs because they couldn't bear to go home smelling of other people's smoke? I'll tell you. They're in the same place as they've always been; their front rooms watching dreary soap operas, banal sitcoms and humiliating talent shows while they drink cheap booze from the local supermarket. Pubs are now things of the past and have been replaced by family restaurants, poncy wine bars and pound shops. The regular drinkers have had to resign themselves to the fact that they can't go down to their local, meet their pals and enjoy a relaxing smoke with their beer, all because the stay-at-homes objected to the smoky atmosphere. These bores are the same ones who visit the pub once a year at Christmas and whose new aftershave and perfume is more noxious than any tobacco I've ever smelt. The great British pub is now just a memory for most drinkers and a haven for yobbos dealing drugs and looking for trouble. What a very sad state of affairs indeed.

Without taking sides on the smoking ban itself, it is very important to understand that the closure of the Catford Bridge Tavern is completely unrelated. This is currently a popular pub and the only reason now that it, and most other pubs in Lewisham are threatened, is because of the value of the land they stand upon. Many of the ones that have closed are profitable but they are worth far more to developers as flats rather than as pubs. Developers have been buying them up for this purpose and driving out the licensees who are running profitable, popular businesses. Click on the link below to read Lewisham Council's Sustainable Development Committee's report into the loss of pubs. We have made the recommendations in it to the Mayor and officers who are taking on them on. In the meantime the Article IV preservation order the Mayor imposed has stalled, hopefully stopped, the proposed conversion to a supermarket.
http://www.lewisham.
gov.uk/mayorandcounc
il/overview-scrutiny
/Overview-and-Scruti
ny-Reports/Documents
/Preservinglocalpubs
review.pdf

Another dodgy boozer in the borough turned round, a la the Ravensbourne. Family friendliness it appears is where the smart investment is in the pub game but looking at the bigger picture they are turning in to flats or supermarkets as we speak in every inch of London. That's where the real money is. Similar story with 1802

Another dodgy boozer in the borough turned round, a la the Ravensbourne. Family friendliness it appears is where the smart investment is in the pub game but looking at the bigger picture they are turning in to flats or supermarkets as we speak in every inch of London. That's where the real money is. Similar story with 1802

Very sad news about the pub....my friend lost his virginity in there....he'll be devastated

Could this go back to when Catford Dogs closed?
People would leave the stadium & go for a drink on their way home

Marty1979 wrote:
Perhaps outandabout and v8matt should themselves read the comments that started their tirade

Neither Lord P or I said the smoking ban was why this pub closed - they were general observations

So the LVA has done research? Well do you always trust research - perhaps speak to a few more managers / landlords

And I note neither has answered my question, 2061 signed a petition - how many of them actually used the pub (or was it one passed around & includes friends and family from around the country)

And try to answer without swearing

A few points:

1. My words can hardly be termed ‘a tirade’, especially in comparison to the first two posts in this thread. I have not sworn nor, I might add, indicated I choose my pub with reference to whether the ‘nick’ might catch me smoking illegal drugs (Gypo.Joe). I have merely sought to clarify why the CBT is currently closed.

2. “All pubs were doomed as soon as the facist smoking ban was introduced." De-construct this sentence and tell me how it does not relate to the CBT, and all other pubs. If it did not relate to the CBT then the point was misplaced and, at best, poorly put.

3. I certainly do give more weight to the LVA’s research (and any other association or representative body that may have conducted research into the matter) than your anecdotal knowledge. If I spoke ‘to a few more managers / landlords’, would my own circumstantial evidence be of any more value than the LVA’s own research, or indeed Cllr Curran’s professional knowledge?

4. Are you seriously suggesting that one must speak to each of the 2,061 signatories to find out whether they in fact used the pub in order to make a point to you? You can always read the comments and addresses on the petition for yourself.

You appear to be a pub lover, it is just a shame that your attitude has stayed in the past. You won’t save any pubs now by moaning about the smoking ban (which will never be repealed), and pretty soon you’ll be picking up your grog from a generic mini supermarket – and good luck finding the quality and variety that you’d find at the CBT.

If you really love a good pub then speak out against the problems that exist for them today.