Bring the buzz back to our boozers

STRAIGHT TALK

- SUSAN LEE

IKE many people, wherever I’ve lived I've had a local.

From Yorkshire boozers to trendy bars in Essex and drinking holes across Merseyside, there’s always been a pub I could call mine, a familiar spot with faces who, if they were not quite friends, would smile in recognition as I came through the door.

And not just where I lived - it applied to where I worked too.

From the Brick to the King Edward, the Plummet Line and the Spiral Staircase, I heard stories in them all and learned my craft amid the beer fumes; after all, all human life will usually, at some point, pitch up in a pub.

They are in many ways the glue that has traditionally bound communities together, where people meet, exchange news and chat, find companionship or 10 minutes of peace and quiet.