Why this Blog?

A place where I can lament the changing times; for eccentric comments on current affairs and for unfashionable views, expressed I hope, in cogent style; also occasional cris de coeur largely concerned, I regret to say, with myself.



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I welcome your comments, so do please write. Please note however that all comments are moderated prior to publication. Whilst I fully appreciate that life can be frustrating, nevertheless, abuse, SMS language and illiteracy will not be tolerated!

Friday 22 March 2013

A (Very) Brief Word on the Budget

For my foreign readers, I should explain that the title refers to one of the two financial statements we have here in the United Kingdom each year from the Chancellor of the Exchequer ("Finance Minister") currently the Rt Hon. George Osborne M.P.

Included in the budget was the news that excise duty on beer is to be reduced by one penny (£0.01) per pint (560ml).

Given that my local pub has recently increased its price of a pint of beer from a greedy £3.80 per pint to an outrageous £4.00 per pint, Mr Osborne's news has not caused my heart to flutter.  Please note that the current price of a pint of beer is now about 40 times what it was in the 1960s...

Pubs in England/UK are very expensive; recently in another one I decided that I would like to have a bag of crisps ("chips") to accompany my pint of beer.  I ordered them from the barmaid who then asked me for - a pound! Yes, £1 for a bag of crisps that probably cost the pub less than 10p.  I gave them back to her.

With the fascist smoking ban introduced here in 2007, and the outrageous - indeed exorbitant prices demanded - is it any wonder that hundreds of pubs are closing every week in the UK?

No it isn't!

Until the next time.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

32 grams for a quid....cor you metropolitan types know how to live

`0`o`~O

Paul said...

Aha! Well those times I never knew- sadly...

Anonymous said...

come on now ,get a grip. All we`ve heard from you in a week is a winge about the price of crisps.

ponder this....Has DOG meat been found in our food? New takeaway horror as experts discover 'mystery meat' in a lamb curry. `O

Paul said...

The reference to crisps was merely to highlight my dissatisfaction with the outrageous prices charged in pubs.

As for "dog meat" do you mean e.g. Pedigree Chum or do you mean braised Alsatian?

Anonymous said...

Most likely chow?

"laugh at the jokes folks"

Paul said...

Groan...