Country folk - HOW do you cope?

[fruitnveg]

I love nice country pubs as well. But is it me, or is it getting harder and harder to find a really good one? You know, those ones that are just perfect to sit in on a Sunday afternoon and have shoulder of lamb and 12 pints of Guinness by a crackling log fire. More and more seem to be getting a bit chainy, or just not as nice as they used to be. Maybe I'm just getting old.

Not a big drinker myself, but i think the Ansty Cross fits the description you're after quite well. Maybe poke your head in when you're in the area next.

 

[Gazwag]

RANDOM but TRUE

 

[PILTDOWN MAN]

Can't keep my sheep pigs goats chickens and horses in the city, I'll stick with the countryside.

Sent from my tractor...

 

[Hillian1]

Not a big drinker myself, but i think the Ansty Cross fits the description you're after quite well. Maybe poke your head in when you're in the area next.

The Ansty Cross is deceased.

I drove past it today and its all shut down, which is a shame.

 

[Colossal Squid]

Brighton's not really a city though, is it? Well alright, it is, but you get my point. It's not exactly Hong Kong or somewhere

Not many places are on a par with a mega city like Hong Kong but it doesn't make them any less cities.

I know Brighton isn't MASSIVE but I can go out and get something hot and tasty to eat from any number of establishments within spitting distance of my front door, I can pick up some emergency late night booze at 3am and I can generally stock up on anything I might possibly need around the clock. This is what I miss.

Being marooned in the country requires PLANNING everything. If you have a few drinks before noticing the fridge is empty thats it, you're f***ed. Because you can't get anywhere thanks to being too intoxicated to use the ONLY method of transport available. This is what really freaks me out. I think I'm just too SPONTANEOUS to live in the countryside where everything needs to be thought out in advance

 

[fruitnveg]

The Ansty Cross is deceased.

I drove past it today and its all shut down, which is a shame.

 

[Meade's Ball]

 

[Colossal Squid]

I love nice country pubs as well. But is it me, or is it getting harder and harder to find a really good one? You know, those ones that are just perfect to sit in on a Sunday afternoon and have shoulder of lamb and 12 pints of Guinness by a crackling log fire. More and more seem to be getting a bit chainy, or just not as nice as they used to be. Maybe I'm just getting old.

I think this is sadly just a sign of the times. It is increasingly difficult for independent free houses to stay afloat with spiralling costs associated with the upkeep of a pleasant drinking hole. The big breweries and chains snap up the sites they can run profitably (thanks to their far greater buying power and centralised distribution networks) while the unprofitable pubs simply shut down and disappear forever.

Modern Britain innit

 

[Hastings woody]

You could allways grab the 12 bore from the gun cabinet and go out and get yourself a rabbit,goose,partridge,pigeon,pheasant something for tea. or just go out and blow away some squirells for fun,eat them if you like, You cant do that in town without getting banged up.

 

[Gritt23]

we cant get freeview were i am in nehaven

And my mum and dad can't get Channel 5 in Rustington. So?

 

[Colossal Squid]

YES. YES EXACTLY.

Once again Mr Lee is TOTALLY on the button with this one

 

[beorhthelm]

having grown up in the sticks, somewhere similar to description, and lived 13 years in central/south London, i can see the good and bad in both.

the city is great when you're young, single or not so single and want to go out lots. the countryside to just relax and probably better if you have youngish kids, though i hated it as a late teenager. the solution is to be on the edge of town ideally 10 walk from a train station, you dont have to drive 20 minutes just to get out, have clean air, but you can get to the shops and pubs easily too.

 

[Colossal Squid]

You could allways grab the 12 bore from the gun cabinet and go out and get yourself a rabbit,goose,partridge,pigeon,pheasant something for tea. or just go out and blow away some squirells for fun,eat them if you like, You cant do that in town without getting banged up.

Not everyone in the country owns a gun I'm afraid.

Sure, there's f*** loads of wildlife bumming about, much of which I could gobble down were I any good at KILLING but I am from the CITY. I know not of how to do such things.

Mind you there's a bloke down the road who'll apparently bring freshly shot pheasants round in his land rover if you ask nicely. Trouble is I wouldn't have a clue what to do with the feathery fuckers

 

[Commander]

Not many places are on a par with a mega city like Hong Kong but it doesn't make them any less cities.

I know Brighton isn't MASSIVE but I can go out and get something hot and tasty to eat from any number of establishments within spitting distance of my front door, I can pick up some emergency late night booze at 3am and I can generally stock up on anything I might possibly need around the clock. This is what I miss.

Being marooned in the country requires PLANNING everything. If you have a few drinks before noticing the fridge is empty thats it, you're f***ed. Because you can't get anywhere thanks to being too intoxicated to use the ONLY method of transport available. This is what really freaks me out. I think I'm just too SPONTANEOUS to live in the countryside where everything needs to be thought out in advance

Yeah I know what you mean. I love the countryside and I will definitely live there again a few years down the line, but the whole planning thing is an issue. I went down to Cornwall for a week with the gf and it was lovely. Got to the house, opened a bottle of wine, had a relaxing glass or two, then thought right we'd better go out and get something for dinner. Shit. £30 for a taxi to the nearest shop and back. It takes some getting used to.

 

[Superphil]

Being marooned in the country requires PLANNING everything. If you have a few drinks before noticing the fridge is empty thats it, you're f***ed. Because you can't get anywhere thanks to being too intoxicated to use the ONLY method of transport available. This is what really freaks me out. I think I'm just too SPONTANEOUS to live in the countryside where everything needs to be thought out in advance

Be fair now, that is because you are not used to the situation you find yourself in. I don't notice myself planning for everything, similalry, I don't run out of food or booze, so I guess I do the planning automatically.

Oh, and you don't have to PAY for satellite TV, it's called Freesat, it's quite modern, my parents-in-law (in their late 70s) have had it for a number of years, they live in the country too, about a mile away. They also have the internet, an HD TV, a Humax HDD recorder and a digital camera. You see, we are not bumpkins you know, we simply have different ways of achieving our goals.

We are able to be spontaneous, Perhaps we are socially developed in a different way, whereby we don't need so much choice to make us happy (otherwise we'd move to a town or city I guess), we have excellent pubs & great restaurants. We can go for a walk or hop on our bikes (or horses), or get in our cars (or tractors) and get to where we want to be. And we won't find ourselves in a traffic jam.

Your original question was 'HOW do you cope?' Well I do hope I have helped to answer your question, now just chill out, and you never know, you just might even enjoy it a little bit.

 

[daveinprague]

Insects are much bigger in the country. In almost five years here, I've still not been to the end of the metro system. There is a place called the country here but I'm a city boy at heart.

 

[Commander]

Be fair now, that is because you are not used to the situation you find yourself in. I don't notice myself planning for everything, similalry, I don't run out of food or booze, so I guess I do the planning automatically.

Oh, and you don't have to PAY for satellite TV, it's called Freesat, it's quite modern, my parents-in-law (in their late 70s) have had it for a number of years, they live in the country too, about a mile away. They also have the internet, an HD TV, a Humax HDD recorder and a digital camera. You see, we are not bumpkins you know, we simply have different ways of achieving our goals.

We are able to be spontaneous, Perhaps we are socially developed in a different way, whereby we don't need so much choice to make us happy (otherwise we'd move to a town or city I guess), we have excellent pubs & great restaurants. We can go for a walk or hop on our bikes (or horses), or get in our cars (or tractors) and get to where we want to be. And we won't find ourselves in a traffic jam.

Your original question was 'HOW do you cope?' Well I do hope I have helped to answer your question, now just chill out, and you never know, you just might even enjoy it a little bit.

I love the way you talk about 'we' as if you are another species altogether

 

[Falkor]

And my mum and dad can't get Channel 5 in Rustington. So?

so what

 

[Gritt23]

so what

Exactly!

 

[Superphil]

I love the way you talk about 'we' as if you are another species altogether

Well, we do have more fingers than you