Children in pubs
 

I spotted this article about the sign the frustrated landlady of a pub in Leighton Buzzard had put up. Must say I sympathised, as did most of the regulars and people who had commented online, apart from a few who had obviously had a sense of humour removal at some stage.

http://www.parentdish.co.uk/2014/10/...de=aol_2485673

So, children in pubs - what do you think? I'm not talking about the dining room/area (this pub doesnt do food anyway). I must say I'm in the "no kids in the bar" camp myself, and long for the old days when the little bleeders were left in the car with a bottle of pop and a packet of crisps. In any case, when did the law on banning under 14s (I think it was) from pubs change, or is it just one of those that is routinely ignored?

JB perhaps a better place ?

What along with Ebola?:ugh:

Pretty much depends on what kind of kids and what kind of pub. The way some young children behave these days I would not let them out of their cage never mind letting them in a pub.

I had a couple of pals over for a weekend of aviation related activities and we retired to the local pub for refreshments. I hadn't been in there for years as the last visit was like walking in to a teenage disco. This time there was a children's party going on and the ankle biters were running through the bar. Not a word from the parents who were quietly getting pissed. Never again. Children should be barred. It isn't that pubs are the only source of food or shelter, it is the parents who want to be there.

This is a very British thing. Pretty much everywhere else in the world it's quite normal for kids to go for a meal/drink with their families and any suggestion of banning them would be greeted with incomprehension. Coincidentally or not, they don't seem to endure the same problem that we do of swarms of puking, fighting, urinating teenagers when they do come of age.

I think if you go into a pub with a full on play area outside on any given weekend you'd be daft not to expect there to be kids there. The local of an evening should be a different matter.


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They introduced a 'Family Happy Hour' at lunchtime on Sunday when I was at RAF Wattisham.

Apart from a couple of patch-brats who were rounded up and returned to their breeders by one of the people-formerly-known-as-WRAFs (rather a....errmm...'substantial' woman), who had collared the little buggers as they were trying various room doors, the main problem was the behaviour of the parents. One of whom had brought her latest offspring with her and subsequently proceeded to change its nappy in the bar....:mad:

Our continental cousins seem to have the right idea - and aren't averse to giving their little cherubs a smart cuff about the swede, should they misbehave. So that they soon learn The Code of Behaviour in Public! Whereas in the UK, anyone doing that would soon have some interfering busybody reporting them to some 'agency' or other....:(

We really are a nation of miserable ba*****s.
Just returned from Greece where, like most European Countries, children are not treated like a virus.
Likewise, in the Middle east and Asia most social occasions are centred around the family.
Unfortunately, in this country, we adopt the 'seen and not heard' approach and so kids are sidelined. Not surprising then that a lot of them lack social skills and are indeed a a pain in the arse. Their parents were brought up the same way so it is a vicious circle. Add to that the fact that we treat alcohol like fuel and believe the quickest way to happinnesss is to have a full tank as soon as possible.
We reep what we sow.
HOWEVER.....Happy Hour is hallowed ground and no place for kids.

Partly agree, beagle. Surely personal example and visiting pubs as a family is a key part of learning that Code of Behaviour -rather than a total reliance on inflicting physical punishment. The fact is, in UK, kids are often either barred entirely or confined to a damp back room/car park/outside with the smokers. Perhaps this helps explain why this code isn't learned, and therefore the unpleasant results when they're a bit older.

When I joined the definite rule was: Mess members ONLY in "Happy Hour". No wives, no guests (unless serving personnel) and definitely no children! But those were the days when we lived under constant threat of nuclear war, most people lived on base and drinking and driving wasn't as frowned upon as it is now. :}

Well yes, ShotOne, I didn't wish to imply that a clip round the ear should be the sole control option. Example and explanation is certainly preferable.

The most impressive discipline I witnessed being applied to some child was when I was driving slowly past a group of traditional gypsy caravans in deepest, darkest Lincolnshire in 1969. One of the gypsy children suddenly darted out across the road and I came to a sudden halt. A rather large, huge in fact, gypsy woman picked it up by the scruff and gave it an almighty wallop on the backside - which I could almost feel inside the car. "Sorry, mister", she called, as I set off again. But I bet he didn't run across any more roads for a while!

Are Happy Hours or 'Twofers' still in vogue these days? The rules you describe, Roly, are exactly those I recall.

The problem with kids in Pubs is that the little buggers never shout! :suspect:

Friend of mine ran our local hostelry a few years back. The only kids he let in were offspring of regulars he knew. Reason being he knew his regulars could be relied upon to keep their off spring in check and they wouldn’t mind a quiet word in their ear if the devils got out of hand.
When staying at the RAF Club, we always take the kids to the Running Orse, where most people seem happy to see them. They tend these days to sip a lemonade and are happy playing with an electronic device ( turned off of course) and are hopefully no bother to other members. If they ever get too excited we would take our drinks to our room.

Oh to have been able to take our horrors to the local when they were young! They are now 45,43 and 41.


A story that typifies those unenlightened days - a ex-Herc mate of mine invited his Aussie in-laws over to Wiltshire for the christening of their baby son in 1977. Thinking it would be a good idea to take them to our local for a pub lunch (only chicken-in-the-basket in those days ), he rang up 'Happy Jim' the not so genial patron of The Old Inn in Minety and duly booked. He explained that he had the tame Aussies with him and would it be alright to bring cot and baby in. No children allowed in the pub was the answer. Alright says Ron, cancel my booking. I don't think he ever went there again - it was The Turnpike or Plough at Crudwell for our ex-Herc meetings from then on!


I am happy to see well-behaved brats in a pub but draw the line at them sitting at the bar, and if they hear industrial language ( we have a large farming community here! ) that's tough.

racedo You are quite right! I appear to have posted this both on here and in JB. Blame it on (not so) early onset dementia!

Many apologies - perhaps some kind mod will merge the two?

Mess functions
 

Hell, even us CCF cadets at age 12-14-16 allowed to be in airmens NAAFI bar on camp at Church Fenton lol

Though cannot remember if any special times if families of personnel allowed in / on certain mess functions?

Cheers

Roland, I remember when wives were not allowed in the mess to check the mail even.

At Lindholme one wife used to go to the Guardroom and telephone box to ring the mess and find out if her husband was there. Oddly he had always just left.

On Marlow High Street we have a pub which sports the notice:

'Under 25s Welcome if Dining'

Just one of the problems of being close to High Wycombe ;)

Ever been in a city-centre pub in Brum on a Saturday evening? :rolleyes: Excited, underdressed kids on Bacardi Breezers - but no parents. := I once had to navigate a friend to somewhere more salubrious by phone (The Joint Stock near St Philip's Cathedral, if ever anybody is in the same predicament). :)

Wells Cathedral School has an interesting idea. It hires a Bristol disco Saturday mid-day, soft drinks only, and runs a coach there and back. :D