Dodgy Boozers

The actor Eddie Marsan was recently the target of an angry mob on Twitter for saying that he preferred going to a dinner party than a pub. His reason being that he had bad memories of the local pubs where he grew up which were the aggressively masculine haunts of violent men who would get drunk and beat their wives and kids when they got home, so to him they always had that association. People ignored that he was talking about his own personal experience and accused him of spreading negative stereotypes about the working classes. Some even claimed that he was implying the middle class don’t commit domestic violence. Of course that isn’t what he was saying at all, but there are none so blind and self-righteous as a social media mob.

It occurred to me that these idiots with the pitchforks and axes must either have had very soft upbringings, or just be too young to remember when pubs weren’t clean, smoke-free, and family-friendly places where you could get a hand-crafted ciabatta sandwich. When I grew up a lot of them were fucking rough: Dingy, smoky, and unwelcoming, always ready with a dirty look — or worse — for anyone who didn’t “belong”. Every area had a “dodgy” boozer that you avoided because it had a reputation for violence (I knew several) but it could kick-off even in decent pubs. One time I was headbutted in a pub by a bloke who thought I was looking at his girlfriend. He nutted me so hard I went flying across the bar and, when I got back on my feet, the landlord kicked me out. I once saw an entire pub break out into a fight just like in a movie — glasses flying, mirrors smashed — and had to hide under a table. In some pubs if you accidentally spilled another man’s pint it was a relief if he didn’t go off on you.

There are still pub fights and men who hit their wives of course, but it’s no longer as overlooked or almost socially acceptable as it was. There used to be a feeling of “boys will be boys” and that men had the right to smack their wives about if they got out of line, or take a belt to their kids. I highly recommend this article about the violence that used to permeate everyday life.

Personally I liked the old pubs, even the dingy and smoky ones, but that’s because I’m a romantic about grubby old things and think there was more character to be found in them than the current, scrubbed-clean version. But many of them were awful places and I totally understand why someone else would have a problem with them and prefer a dinner party, and that has nothing to do with class. I love Twitter but those kind of pile-ons can make it a depressing place.

Download: Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting – Elton John (mp3)

Photo: Allison Arms, East Jarrow, 1978, by Vince Rea