Nelson end of an era

[rusty69]

4 minutes ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

 

I'll et you into a secret. I was making it up. 

 

I don't know what a dinner party is. No-one's EVER invited me to one....

 

?

I knew that.

[dmr]

2 hours ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

 

Is it making any money though? 

 

At those prices I can't imagine it makes very much profit after all the fixed overheads are paid. How long has she been trading for?

 

There is a saying in business it is easy to be a busy fool. By this they mean its dead easy to sell stuff at zero profit margin. Some businesses however succeed using the 'pile in high, sell it cheap' model, relying on wafer thin profit margins balanced by huge turnover. Weatherspoons are a good example in the same trade so hopefully this Thai lady is succeeding too, as that nice Mr Tim has shown it can be done. 

 

 

 

I dunno if it makes money but I suspect it does well. Its a funny place with a strong hint of "community pub" to it in the daytime. The oddest bit is they rent the end bit out to a separate micro-pub operator, so there is a competing pub within the pub. They often have little bands on which must be another expense. Some local lads drink and play pool there some evenings, usually mid week when its a bit quieter. They are always skint so the Landlady sells them really cheap bottles of beer, I reckon she gets them at Lidl. I suspect he absence of a pubco middleman raking off the profits is a big bonus. Will probably give it a miss tonight. Fridays and Saturdays they have big name bands and DJs on and even though these happen upstairs the place will be rammed (and we can listen from the boat? ). I suspect a fair few people will come from Manchester on the train. 

Maybe their approach is to run a very diverse business so that at least some parts of it will be making money, but a full pub must have more potential for making money than an empty one.

 

https://munchies.vice.com/en_uk/article/59kxn3/this-small-town-pub-fought-the-odds-to-become-yorkshires-coolest-music-venue

 

Todmorden is an interesting little place and has a guillotine lock (pretty scary as we are a tight fit). When the road was widened (1920?) there was no room to retain the  conventional bottom gates so the option was either to shorten the lock from 70 to 57 feet or use a guillotine gate (really glad they chose to keep the lock full length). The top gates could not be moved as a river runs right under the canal right above the lock.

 

...........Dave

 

 

 

 

[MtB]

3 minutes ago, dmr said:

a river runs right under the canal right above the lock.

 

 

Are you SURE you haven't been in the pub???

[dmr]

Just now, Mike the Boilerman said:

 

Are you SURE you haven't been in the pub???

As in above (up stream of) the top gates rather than below the bottom gates, but yes, we took the dog for a late afternoon walk and on the way home had to walk right past a lovely little micro pub and didn't quite manage to walk past it.  Its called "The Pub", they speak in a very down to earth way in Yorkshire.  We needed a drink as we did start at 8am this morning to get the last few locks done (that we gave upon yesterday). The Rochdale locks are big and can be hard work, the long throw windlass is earning its keep. It is the Northern section of the K&A in some ways.

 

..............Dave

[MtB]

5 minutes ago, dmr said:

As in above (up stream of) the top gates rather than below the bottom gates, but yes, we took the dog for a late afternoon walk and on the way home had to walk right past a lovely little micro pub and didn't quite manage to walk past it.  Its called "The Pub", they speak in a very down to earth way in Yorkshire.  We needed a drink as we did start at 8am this morning to get the last few locks done (that we gave upon yesterday). The Rochdale locks are big and can be hard work, the long throw windlass is earning its keep. It is the Northern section of the K&A in some ways.

 

..............Dave

 

I'm terribly tempted to bring Reg up to join you for xmas. 

 

But I suspect stoppages will scupper that...

 

 

[David Mack]

15 minutes ago, dmr said:

 

Todmorden is an interesting little place and has a guillotine lock (pretty scary as we are a tight fit). When the road was widened (1920?) there was no room to retain the  conventional bottom gates so the option was either to shorten the lock from 70 to 57 feet or use a guillotine gate (really glad they chose to keep the lock full length). The top gates could not be moved as a river runs right under the canal right above the lock.

When the canal was disused the original guillotine structure was removed, leaving only the steel channel in the chamber walls. When this section was first restored as an isolated length from above Tuel Lane to Littleborough a pair of conventional mitre gates was fitted in the other original gate recess, limiting the lock to about 60 ft boats. The guillotine was only reinstated when the final push to reopen Tuel Lane and the section through to Manchester happened.

[Victor Vectis]

9 hours ago, mrsmelly said:

< snip > Most Public house managers for instance turning in about 80 or 90 hours a week would kill for a schoolteachers salary and holiday entitlement. 

Oi!

You were going to get a green thing until I read that last bit.

 

 

[Victor Vectis]

6 hours ago, Athy said:

Everard's obviously see it as a profitable venture. Good luck to them.

There are better ales than Everard's but there are also far worse ones.

Everards beers are not worth getting out of bed for but as a brewery they operate something called 'project William'.

 

This enlightened scheme allows their tenants to sell what beers they like provided at least one Everards beer is on the wickets.

That pub round the back of Warwick railway station, The Wild Boar, is one. It even has it's own on site micro brewery producing Slaughterhouse beers.

 

Can't see that happening at Braunston though.

Too many shiny boaters wanting food and not giving a toss about the beer.

?

[LadyG]

1 hour ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

 

I'll et you into a secret. I was making it up. 

 

I don't know what a dinner party is. No-one's EVER invited me to one....

 

?

I think some of us had a good idea, but were too polite to say anything. ?

[Victor Vectis]

4 hours ago, Naughty Cal said:

If the pub is good enough people will go to it despite the drive to get to it.

 

One of our favourite pubs to visit when we are at home is The Strines Inn. It is miles and miles away from any civilisation. You have to drive to get there. Yet we went on Wednesday evening after work and the place was packed. The Strines is also a good example of how good food does not have to be expensive. 

 

Liam had a mixed grill, I had a huge homemade Yorkshire pudding loaded up with roast beef , gravy and vegetables and we both had a couple of drinks and a coffee each and the bill was £35. 

 

The Pyewipe close to our mooring is another example of a pub you have to drive too, unless you have a boat. Yet that is always busy and you can't get a Sunday lunch for love nor money.

You refer to these two places as a pubs but make no mention of beer, only food

 

As a beer drinker, to me, that makes them restaurants rather than pubs.

[matty40s]

1 minute ago, Victor Vectis said:

You refer to these two places as a pubs but make no mention of beer, only food

 

As a beer drinker, to me, that makes them restaurants rather than pubs.

Phylis drinks Budweiser, hence not mentioning beer.

[Victor Vectis]

4 hours ago, Sea Dog said:

I don't want to diss your Grandad, but he obviously never tried a pint of Star Light in Plymouth in the 70s!

 

 

Or Watney's Red Barrel, Titbread Wankard (the keg version) or Double Diamond.

 

Ahhhhh................the good old days

 

(Not!)

[frahkn]

1 hour ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

 

I'll et you into a secret. I was making it up. 

 

I don't know what a dinner party is. No-one's EVER invited me to one....

 

?

Oddly enough, I've never been invited to a dinner party - or held one of my own - and I'm within days of 65 years old so don't have high hopes of a future on the dinner party circuit. So it goes, you don't miss what you've never had.

[MtB]

3 minutes ago, matty40s said:

Phylis drinks Budweiser, hence not mentioning beer.

 

Worse, Phylis say she had a coffee in there.

 

A pub selling coffee? WTF? 

 

That makes it a coffee shop in my book.

\

 

[Victor Vectis]

3 hours ago, David Schweizer said:

Do you actually know any teachers? and if you do how many of them don't work long hours at School. Most will set off for work before 7am and few will get home until 7pm, then there will often be extra marking and preparation work in the evenings and weekends. If teaching was such a "cushy" job, as you suggest, why did you not consider it when you left the Police Force?  Perhaps the requirement to a possess a good level of intelligence, have good pre-entry qualifications, and complete three or four years academic study was a deterrent.

Yes to all that.

 

But when asked what I liked about teaching I would reply, "August. July is good but August is better."

 

Didn't 'arf wind some folk up!

 

?

[MtB]

Actually this puts me in mind of the sign behind the bar in The Blue Wanker in Old Byfleet many decades ago....

 

"Please note, we now have an arrangement with the bank.

They don't sell beer,

we don't cash cheques"

 

 

 

 

[The Bearwood Boster]

5 hours ago, Naughty Cal said:

If the pub is good enough people will go to it despite the drive to get to it.

 

One of our favourite pubs to visit when we are at home is The Strines Inn. It is miles and miles away from any civilisation. You have to drive to get there. Yet we went on Wednesday evening after work and the place was packed. The Strines is also a good example of how good food does not have to be expensive. 

 

Liam had a mixed grill, I had a huge homemade Yorkshire pudding loaded up with roast beef , gravy and vegetables and we both had a couple of drinks and a coffee each and the bill was £35. 

 

The Pyewipe close to our mooring is another example of a pub you have to drive too, unless you have a boat. Yet that is always busy and you can't get a Sunday lunch for love nor money.

We moored outside the Pyewipe last summer & had an excellent meal there.well worth a visit.?.

[Victor Vectis]

3 hours ago, Machpoint005 said:

No insult intended to your abilities, but the good state school teachers work very long hours in very stressful conditions.

With very little back up from management, sorry, the leadership team either, if my own experience and that of my friends is anything to go by.

2 hours ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

 

In addition to money, politics and religion, how hard (or not) teachers work is another subject I've found well worth avoiding at dinner parties. 

 

 

Can I refer my honourable friend to the post I made some moments ago.

 

?

2 hours ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

Another subject that gets people well aerated is whether or not to put vaseline on battery terminals. And no, that's not a euphemism  ... the subject just cropped up in another thread and last time it was discussed, it got VERY heated.

Warm vaseline..............?

 

I'd never thought of using that!

[The Bearwood Boster]

2 hours ago, Nightwatch said:

I don't want to get too involved in this 'discussion' 

 

My parents were publicans, running a number of pubs and Working Men's clubs and British Legions. Worked many hours and probably, possibly drove themselves into an early grave crematorium. They always had a roof over theirs and my head(s).

 

On the the other hand, my youngest sons fiancé is a junior school teacher. Leaves home at 0700 and gets home at about 1700. She then has to mark the days works, do a report and other, in my view, unnecessary tasks. The 'homework' takes up to two hours. Marking is colour coded hitch adds to the workload and brain draining tasks. Okay, half term and summer holidays are welcome to her and my lad, but there's times when she has to plan next terms work in the classroom. Earns less than £30,000. Edited to add that she has a mortgage to pay for.

 

So, even though a comparison is being attempted here, I don't think in this instance it's at all possible.

My goodness,that sounds so familiar.I took early retirement in 2014 after 35 yrs of teaching.In school by 7.30,do marking through 40 min dinner time(which was actually 30 mins as we teachers were told to do a 5 min overlap at the start/end of dinner time.Staff meetings one hour each week,phase meeting every 4 weeks.As I was in year 6(sats year) loads of full on marking every evening.6 weeks hols- weeks 1 & 6 sorting out/ decorating new classroom.Easy life...I don't think so !!!

Oops,forgot to mention all the planning & lesson plans !

Edited November 2, 2018 by The Bearwood Boster

[dmr]

1 hour ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

 

I'm terribly tempted to bring Reg up to join you for xmas. 

 

But I suspect stoppages will scupper that...

 

 

It would be great to have another Christmas Day cruise together, but there are so many locks up here I doubt we could do the lunch time drink in one pub and the evening in another!  The Thames will be shut now, there might be just a tiny chance if you had another boat North of the Thames ?   but only a very tiny chance.......and its a long long way!

 

..............Dave

[alan_fincher]

26 minutes ago, Victor Vectis said:

Or Watney's Red Barrel, Titbread Wankard (the keg version) or Double Diamond.

 

Ahhhhh................the good old days

 

(Not!)

 

If you have singled out Whitbread Tankard, I can only assume you have (intentionally or otherwise) managed to erase Whitbread Trophy from your memory.  It made Whitbread Tankard taste quite good, by comparison!

[dmr]

1 hour ago, David Mack said:

When the canal was disused the original guillotine structure was removed, leaving only the steel channel in the chamber walls. When this section was first restored as an isolated length from above Tuel Lane to Littleborough a pair of conventional mitre gates was fitted in the other original gate recess, limiting the lock to about 60 ft boats. The guillotine was only reinstated when the final push to reopen Tuel Lane and the section through to Manchester happened.

Yes, I read that recently and felt how lucky I was. As the Rochdale is a cul de sac for full length boats I think its surprising that money was found to restore Tod lock to full length, and also to build Tuel Lane to full length (with the extra pair of gates). We intend to show our appreciation by spending the next 6 months just cruising up and down between Summit and Sowerby Bridge.   Its still sad they never found the extra bit of money to sort out those silly short locks on the Calder & Hebble though (like they said they would).

 

.............Dave

[MtB]

12 minutes ago, dmr said:

It would be great to have another Christmas Day cruise together, but there are so many locks up here I doubt we could do the lunch time drink in one pub and the evening in another!  The Thames will be shut now, there might be just a tiny chance if you had another boat North of the Thames ?   but only a very tiny chance.......and its a long long way!

 

..............Dave

 

Wot? Somewhere like, say, Glascote?

 

 

 

 

[ditchcrawler]

What I can't understand in this tread is why is it the end of an ere?

[dmr]

10 minutes ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

 

Wot? Somewhere like, say, Glascote?

 

 

 

 

Ive sent you a PM because its a Message and its Private ?

 

............Dave