Views from the bar
Emmie Harrison-West visits a few pubs giving something tangible back to loyal punters
Emmie Harrison-West
Saturday 24 August 2024
This article is from
Scotland
issue 109
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Pubs have come a long way, I observe, as I stuff a strip of condoms into my back pocket, while pondering a toilet-wall advert promoting HIV testing. It may seem slightly at odds with the happy-go-lucky image of UK pub culture, but in one of my locals here in Edinburgh, The Regent – and many other pubs, clubs, bars, taprooms and breweries across the UK – this is the norm.
We always talk about communities supporting their local, through visiting the pub on a rainy day, or choosing a soft drink and packet of Scampi Fries during Dry January, for example. We flocked to pubs with empty milk bottles for fresh takeaway beer during lockdown, donating to fundraisers, and buying home-cooked Sunday roasts in cartons to keep the doors open. But what about when our pubs give back to us?
Pubs and breweries can support charities, be sustainable, or brew a beer for International Women’s Day, but it can be so much more than that. Sometimes, our favourite haunts give back to the community in small, simple ways that we often take for granted.
For instance, drinking holes that have offered period products in loos have saved me many times. If you’re someone that bleeds, you’ll know all too well the feeling of being caught short. Too many times I’ve fled a social event mid-pint as my period has made a surprise appearance. I leave, embarrassed, because I’ve bled through my clothes.
Locals offering period products can not only provide dignity, but help people who are perhaps experiencing period poverty, and still want to socialise at the pub. It gives them access to a basic necessity, without having to sacrifice social interaction. It goes for pubs offering condoms to encourage safe, consensual sex, too; all for free, with no questions asked.
Sometimes, our favourite haunts give back to the community in small, simple ways that we often take for granted
Alan Nicholls, owner of The Regent, tells me that the pub works with Waverley Care, Scotland's HIV and Hepatitis C Charity. “They supply us with condoms to help reduce the number of new infections,” Alan says, adding that it's been the case at the pub for many years. “We also supply free period products, which The Regent pays for.
“An evening for someone can suddenly turn from good fun to misery without available products, so we decided to provide them. It's a gesture which shows that we care about the wellbeing of our community members. Tourists especially are amazed that the products are available free of charge.”
Even amid a time when bad news about pubs and brewing is everywhere we turn, our locals are still choosing to give back, and out of their own pocket. “It helps to create a community feel and a sense of belonging,” Alan says. “If people feel proud of their local, then we're doing an OK job.”
The Keg & Comfort, a micropub in Oxley, Wolverhampton, told me that in addition to period products, it offers body spray and hand cream, as well as sun cream on sunny days. “We are very much a community micropub,” owner Louise Clive says. “The majority of customers are locals, but we want anyone who comes in to feel comfortable.” Louise adds that it’s been supplying its freebies for six years.
“We are always trying to look after our customers and locals, not only to keep them coming in, but because they are our community and neighbours, and you never know what is going on in someone's life,” Louise says. “Doing the occasional freebie is great for turning people into friends, rather than just customers, and for bringing new customers back again.”
If you can’t serve beer in a safe, inclusive environment then people won't drink there
For Sean Ayling, brewer and co-owner of Tom’s Tap and Brewhouse, embracing the diverse community of Crewe with open arms comes from personal experience. “The social isolation that can exist if people haven't got a space to meet up is really detrimental to mental health,” Sean tells me. “I’ve always felt, growing up, that I never quite fit in anywhere. I was never in the right cliques at school, and that was a very big part of why I wanted a space here for all.”
In efforts to fight exclusion, some events at Tom's Tap have raised eyebrows. “I don't think many bars have hosted a menopause party before,” Sean says, noting it was in partnership with a charity called Motherwell. “People going through the menopause want that non-judgemental space to come and be able to discuss what's working for them and what's not. They want to let off a bit of steam about how they’re not being taken seriously, and we give them that.”
Tom’s Tap adopted the Everyone Welcome initiative after its launch, back in 2018. Since then, they’ve only had to throw out six people in six years. As a result, about 80% of its customers are neurodivergent or LGBTQIA+.
“We wanted to create a place where there were essentially no d*ckheads,” Sean tells me. “There’s hundreds of articles about how difficult it is at the minute, but this is our point of difference: if you can’t serve beer in a safe, inclusive environment then people won't drink there.”
In a world where pubs are often seen as just places to drink, these stories about small acts of kindness remind us that they can be so much more - hubs of community, support, and belonging.
“The beer is not the important thing,” Sean poignantly added. “It’s important to never lose sight of that.”
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