Keeping it live

The decline in live music in public places dates back to the rising popularity of the phonograph early in the last century. Since then numerous inventions and developments have seen the trend continue.

Pubs in the UK have also been in decline for years. The smoking ban of 2007 has been held up as a major cause but changing lifestyles and cheap supermarket booze are probably just as much to blame. So pubs, like the present government, are looking for ways to cut costs and live music is an easy target. And not just pubs but restaurants and galleries too.

You can expect me to argue that cutting back on live music is short-sighted. That it's detrimental to the future of music in the UK strikes me as obvious. But even in terms of pubs' economics, cutting an obvious expense does not guarantee a saving. From The Guardian:

"Research carried out by PRS for Music – the Performing Right Society of composers, songwriters and music publishers – found that pubs that provide music take on average 44% more money than pubs that do not, a figure which rises to 60% at the weekend.

Live music nights proved to be the greatest draw, with one in four publicans reported increased takings of between 25%-50%."

However, as this article explains, the licensing laws make it time consuming and expensive for small venues, including pubs and restaurants, to obtain a licence for live music. It's understandable that publicans and restaurant proprietors see live music as not worth the effort and expense. Let's hope the current government will act on its promise to 'cut red tape' with that surrounding music licences being the first to meet the scissors.

Better than a poke in the eye?

I didn't realise how conservative (please note the small 'c') I was until brewers started messing with pub names. After I have enforced world peace, and made being hungry illegal, my next act as global dictator will be to ban the re-naming of pubs. The only exceptions will be to allow hostelries suffering under travesties like 'Slug and Lettuce' to revert to their original names. They are, after all, the nation's history: we can re-examine it, re-interpret it but, Hollywood please take note, we should never re-write it.

But when it comes to eateries, especially those at the lower end of any scale of culinary sophistication, the British have long enjoyed humorous monikers. Fish and Chip shops glory in names like 'Chip off the Old Block' and 'The Plaice to Eat'. We just love to hate a pun. And the replacement of one letter with another is a great favourite. It sounds almost the same but that small difference has a big effect on the meaning. How about 'The Frying Scotsman' or 'Chip Ahoy'? (OK, I made that last one up but I bet it's out there somewhere.)

What I really like is local flavour. In Norfolk dialect, for example, here is pronounced hare so hairdressers have a field day with names such as 'Hair Now' and 'Hair to Impress'.

Culture, as well as language is, a factor in the naming of establishments. My nearest pub is on the edge of an estate that acts as a magnet for police cars and social workers. In the car park, under the pub sign, is a trailer-style fast food outlet whose name reflects the rough reputation of its hinterland. It took me a while to work out why it was called 'A Snack in the Mouth'. I hope, gentle reader, it takes you just as long.