A Little Local Difficulty

As January draws to a close, I at last have something to celebrate. More than few times in these hallowed pages I've mentioned the terrible fate that befell my one-time local pub, namely that it fell into the hands of a twat who succeeded in alienating all of the regulars and turned it into a dive. Having barred myself from the place a couple of years ago, I've led a life of nomadic exile, shambling from pub to pub, trying to find somewhere I feel comfortable. Having finally settled into a new drinking home, I have now learned that the proprietor of my old local - let's call him Deke, not his real name, but close enough - has finally had the decency to leave the place. Apparently he had a leaving do, to which none of us old regulars were invited. Whilst I'm given to understand that someone else has bought the lease, the place still hasn't reopened. I'm given to believe that Deke left it in such a run-down state that it requires extensive refurbishment.

Of course, even when it does reopen, there's no reason to believe that the new management will be any better than Deke. Sadly, around these parts, there seems to be a trend for old established pubs to be bought by people with no experience of the trade, and turned into bizarre 'theme' pubs, attempting to attract some kind of 'trendy' clientele which simply doesn't exist in this town. A pub quite close to my current local, for instance, was bought some months ago and renamed 'Venom' (not it's real name, but close enough -just think of a synonym for 'venom'). The new owners spent what appears to be a fair amount of money turning a traditional pub into some kind of faux Soho lounge bar. Not surprisingly, it's been a disaster. Their last attempt to attract custom was to set up an on site tattoo parlour and offer tattoos while you drink. There were no takers, obviously. So,what can we expect to see at my old local - a Wild West-themed saloon, perhaps? To be honest, I don't really care. All that matters is that Deke's reign of terror has finally ended. There is some justice in the world, after all!