During the years 1998-2007 I traveled to England at least once per year,from my home in southern California, but usually more like three of four times in a twelve month period. This habit of travel started and come to an abrubt halt for the same reasons: I could no longer smoke in an establishment I was drinking in. That's right, when California enacted the no smoking in bars rule in '98, I took my drinking business all the way across the pond where I could still relax with a pint and a smoke. It was worth every penny and I have very fond memories from those travels.
I now confine 100% of my drinking allowence to my home. I will not go out and spend my hard earned dollars in any place that will not allow a patron to smoke and have thier drink they have purchased.
I know that my social-smoking brotheren in the U.K. are self inflicting a dying tradition of pub cultutere for much the same reason I now seclude my drinking to my home: We want to smoke while we drink, and if we have to stay home to do that, and watch our local pubs go out of business because of that, we will.
The anti-smokeing laws in Californai are bad for the economy, just as the ones in The U.K. are, and the laws were not designed or voted on by people with the pubs best interest in mind. The laws should be repealled here in California as well as in the U.K.

Pubs are closing in Britain, and likewise Tavern attendance is down in the USA. Yes, the smoking ban
hurts the Pub scene, but also the zero tolerance drinking and driving laws in both the US and Britain
are having permanent dampening effects in both countries. I live in Florida and visit Britain every year.
I noticed the downturn in Bar and restaurant attendance in the USA first and soon after the same situation in Britain. People would rather stay at home and be safe than face the chances of a
alcohol related bust on the road. So it goes....

I've been going to England almost every year since 1995. One of the things I look forward to is real ale. I've enjoyed a pint in many pubs, most recently in Scotland. It's sad to hear that pubs are closing, especially those that are long-established neighborhood meeting places. One of the things that differentiates the pub from the American bar is that the pub is a more of a family social place, while bars in the US seem to be meet markets or places to go to get loaded.

On my last trip to England a friend and I visited a couple of pubs that, at one time, had been real ale free houses, with a number of fine ales. My friend was shocked that, in the span of about six months, both of these places had removed the real ale, going for lagers and "fizzy" beers. Undoubtedly the management of these places changed, or they found the real ale crowd dwindling and no longer able to sustain the pub.

At the rate of 60 closures per month, I can't only imagine that within a few years all the real ale pubs will be gone. What a pity...

Recently I visited UK for work assignment. When I went to a Pub, I found that it was a gay pub. I felt really embrassed.

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