Profit, or total stupidity?

Anna and I went out last night to meet with a friend who was celebrating his 65th birthday. He asked that we meet at a well known pub called The Boundary House in Abingdon, Oxfordshire.

We arrived about 8:15 pm and were gone by 9:20 pm - but why?

Well to start with as I was driving, I decided a non alcoholic coke would be best so ordered a pint and a half of diet coke (which was on draught, so the cheapest version anyway)...... that'll be £4.35 please. I felt like saying  to the barman, I didn't come here to buy the place! £4.35 for a pint and a half of diet coke!! No wonder the pubs are closing down at a rate of some 38 per week.

We found a couple of wooden round back chairs in what can only be described as a very loud, quiet corner, of the pub. What a b....y racket, the so-called music was so loud that we were lip reading to convey conversation, a totally uncomfortable, unneccessarily loud, crowded (where do they get their money from?) meeting place, where the 'disco' music was soon beginning to overide every conversation in the pub.

If that's how the kids of today want their music well okay, but the real gripe was £4.35 for a pint and a half of diet draught coke. For that money in any supermarket we could have bought over a gallon of the stuff (but we wouldn't have had the 'comfort of the pub atmosphere' of course).

So are the exhorbitant cost of the drinks to keep the pub open, or is it greed on the part of the owners, stupidity or a combination of each factor, but the bottom line is we spent £4.35 there once and will never go there again, so who is the loser?

Anna and I were once landlord/landlady of a pub, but we didn't feel the need to rip people off like this so what's happening? Is it that the rent/rates really are too high and if so is the local Council to blame? That being the case then perhaps the people of Abingdon need a new team of local Councillors to lobby government to levy sensible costs etc. Hah, a UKIP led Council maybe lol

Am I really on my own here, or is this the norm nowadays. Maybe it's our age, what say you members?

The mark-up on your Coke doesn't seem atypical. Ordering drinks in any pub or restaurant attracts something like a 300% hike over supermarket prices. It seems harsh to be forced to pay that much, but many pubs would not survive if they charged less. I enjoy the pleasure of being able to visit a country pub for refreshment when out walking, and accept the sort of prices you quote, not that I could pay that every day. Pubs are closing at a record rate, and most establishments only survive because of the mark-up.

As for the music, it is a challenge to find a quiet pub. Such havens do exist, but need seeking out. Most of us become less tolerant of loud music as we get older. Personally, I dread wedding invitations because of  the obligatory ear-shattering conversation-stopping disco which seems to be a feature of most wedding receptions. Having to endure the din for politeness is torture, at least you can walk out of the pub if you don't like the music.