Pubs

As it is Sunday I m going to write about pubs. Now, it would be very surprising  that if ex pats were asked to say what they missed most about the UK  that "Pubs" would not be in the top ten.
A Pub seems to me like a musical greeting card, you open the door and enter a world full of happy people, men propping up the bar putting the world to rights, groups of women having a giggle.
Once Pubs were divided into ^A Public bar ^ where generally only the men went , wearing their work clothes, it was also known as "The spit and sawdust bar", because once the floor was covered in sawdust and it was acceptable to spit, and the ^Lounge Bar ^ where they  took their girlfriends and wives. It was definitely more of a "Man's world". Children weren't  allowed. I often waited patiently in the car for Grandpa with my lemonade and packet of crisps, the salt wrapped in a twist of blue paper that had to be shaken vigorously. As I got older I was allowed in and when I was 14 I could have cider. The effects of cider were thought to be rather bland but it made me discover a whole new  persona, gin and tonic even more so. Having an alcohol drink is meant to give you "Dutch courage"  and it certainly took away my shyness. "Liquid happiness" Uncle Peter calls it. I wonder why they took so long to put warnings on the bottle.
Many a man must have arrived home in a happier mood after a drink in the pub with his mates.
Going to the pub on a Sunday and then home for roast beef and Yorkshire pudding is certainly in my top ten.