oxford pubs

Oxford pubs
Dave Richardson
Amberley Publishing 2015

How very ironic to read a book about Oxford pubs while all of them are closed for a few months. But hey, finally I have the time to catch up with the reading.

So from the Amberley series of local interest books (they also have one about the Oxford waterways), here come the pubs, 38 of them. They come in four parts: centre, north, east, and further afield. Within each section, they are ordered alphabetically, which doesn’t make much sense, especially as there are often connections and comparisons to be drawn between pubs that are located close to each other.

The author appears to have visited each one (possibly in the company of photographer Phil Gammon) and had a good chat with the landlords, and found out about the history, which generally gives a good impression of what the place is like even if you don’t know it. I know more than half the pubs included, so I can calibrate my expectations on those and get a very clear impression of what the others are like. It’s also fascinating to read up on the ancient history of places you know.

Strangely though, the one and only reason why I know that many pubs isn’t even mentioned in the book, not once. It’s folk sessions (aka pub sessions or also Irish sessions, even though I tend to prefer the non-Irish ones). When the pubs aren’t closed, there are about 18 such sessions happening in Oxford every month (and there would be loads this weekend for the Folk Weekend), where everybody (including even me) can walk in and play along. This modus operandi isn’t widely understood by the general public (and even the bar staff). Hence, when the author mentions that music is being played eg at the Half Moon on certain nights, he doesn’t seem to realise the nature of the beast. On a similar note, one group of people that has probably kept quite a few pubs afloat over the difficult years isn’t mentioned at all: Morris dancers.

The author seems to like his pubs quaint and old-fashioned, unspoiled by progress, as he likes to say, but as progress offers so much entertainment in the comfort of your own home, it is easy to see that they are struggling to reinvent themselves in various ways. Here’s hoping they come back after this coronavirus crisis, so I can play some more wrong notes in public.



PS at 14.99 RRP, these books are a bit steep for 96 pages (with lots of colour photos though) - but I think they are available from The Works at less than half price.


Update 23.4. Pubs may be among the last businesses that will reopen, and will probably need substantial help to survive, reports the Guardian this week.