Pub Bitch: Darling's Blarney budget
Blarney Budget
I recall as a young pup sulking mightily when all my favourite TV programmes got chopped to make way for hours and hours of boring Budget coverage. It might not get everyone's gander up, certainly not those of primary school age, but with beer tax — and let's face it, pretty much every other kind of tax — on the minds of many and particularly those with an interest in the drinks and pub sectors, the Chancellor's looming speech will be closely monitored. The thing is, when will it be? The even money is on March 17, though I'm not the gambling type. At least in these satellite TV times there'll be enough to distract the young 'uns, plus if it is on that date, and if Darling announces a beer price hike to come in at midnight, it'll add an extra frisson to St Patrick's Day. Night. Whatever.
Scotland v Germany
Last week's fuss over BrewDog's 41 per cent IPA 'Sink The Bismarck' beer puzzled me. Readers of a number of websites, including our very own thepublican.com, posted comments lambasting the Maverick Scottish BrewerTM for its 'strongest beer in the world' claim tit-for-tattery shenanigans with rival German brewer Schorschbrau (The Publican, passim). Commentators suggested the name of the latest brew from James Watt and his chums was 'distasteful', with its reference to matters now best consigned to history. Hmm. How many howls of protest have there been at the jingoistic digs at Germans from Shepheard Neame, the Kent brewer, over the years? Or Marston's recent Aussie-baiting around the Ashes? None, as far as I can tell. I reckon it's an anti-Scot thing. Shame on ye, y'Sassenach bastarts!
Stevie stolen
You have to feel for licensee Clive Ray, especially if you come from red side of Liverpool. Not only did his pub in Marford, near Wrexham, get burgled the other week with £1,500 in cash stolen, months after he moved into the place, but his prized possession was nicked too. The thieves walked off with a framed set of four photos showing Liverpool FC's Steven Gerrard scoring goals in the FA Cup Final, the Champions League Final, UEFA Cup final and, perhaps less salubriously, the Worthington Cup Final (they all count. Ed). Adding insult to injury, Red fanatic Clive had coughed up £700 for the thing at a charity auction. Mysteriously, it didn't contain a photo of the own-goal Gerrard scored for Chelsea in the Coca-Cola Cup Final in 2005…
S&N alumni association
Not in the 'retirement' sense you understand, but C&C Group does rather seem to be turning into a home for former Scottish & Newcastle (S&N) executives. In the latest move Sir Brian Stewart, golfer extraordinaire and former chairman of S&N afore the clog-wearing lot bought it two years ago, is to join the Magners maker as non-executive chairman this coming August. Stewart will be able to rub shoulders with his former S&N muckers John 'Dunbroking' Dunsmore (ex-S&N chief executive), plus former S&N group operations director Stephen Glancy and ex-S&N finance director Kenny Neison. At least they'll have lots to talk about…
Bankers continue PR offensive
You'd think banks, especially those effectively owned by you and me, would be mindful of staying in the public's good books, wouldn't you? Tell that to a number of Jersey branches of NatWest, which is part of (the publicly-owned) RBS. According to the BBC, NatWest is refusing to handle accounts of thrift clubs run by pubs on the island. For those in the dark, thrift clubs are where people pay in a small amount of money and get their cash back, plus interest, at the end of the year. According to the Beeb's website, the bank is no longer handling such accounts because they require a lot of work, so presumably aren't worth the effort, financially. Given that we're all likely to own RBS for years to come, perhaps they should revisit this mean-fisted decision…
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