garypeacock

Sorry to disapoint you but I've done a lot of research on this for a book I've written on the demise of pubs.(see link below) In 1980 a pint was 35p and the tax take was 26%. A pint costs you £2.60 today the tax is 30%, so in fact the tax hasn't risen that much. If inflation and wages are taken into account then the price of a pint today based upon the 35p figure should be £1.14 It's not though is it? Somewhere someone is being very greedy in the pub trade. I'll leave you to think who that might be. It's not all the taxman. http://www.deathoftheregular.com

Just had a look at your profile, maybe your Kimmy neighbours don't like your pet rats. Some people are funny like that. Gary http://www.deathoftheregular.com

I'll not be booking in, I stayed there for a couple of nights in my youth, not very welcoming or friendly receptionists...........

I was born and bred in Rotherham and have since lived in many places. Rotherham is the friendliest place on God's earth. Are you sure you're not in Tinsley, Swallownest or another halfway house that doesn't know what it is? Which area is it? and I'll tell you what the problem is.

Maybe they think you are posh, with yur big City ideas about being nice to one another.

My Grandma used to say, 'never skimp on your bed or shoes, as you spend most of your life in them' I bet the ones who are moaning all have big flat screen teles.......... http://www.deathoftheregular.com

My Grandma used to say, 'never skimp on your bed or shoes, as you spend most of your life in them' I bet the ones who are moaning all have big flat screen teles.......... http://www.deathoftheregular.com

Thanks Ron.

I was interviewed today about my book death of the regular on radio derby. There's more than one faux pas, but I do manage to get a couple of points across on pub closures and a mention or two of Rotherham and Sheffield. http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/player/p00wjw5p move the timer bar to 2.11 thanks Gary http://www.deathoftheregular.com

I was interviewed today about my book death of the regular on radio derby. There's more than one faux pas, but I do manage to get a couple of points across on pub closures and a bit on Sheffield and Rotherham http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/player/p00wjw5p go to 2.11 on the timer bar thanks Gary http://www.deathoftheregular.com

Yes Oh dear, oh dear. That's a new one, blaming the rising economies of the world for shutting pubs. http://www.deathoftheregular.com

Choogling, I'm aware of the bad press that Sam Smiths gets and I'm not trying to use them as a panacea for running pubs. My very first local, the New Broom in Rotherham is a Sam Smiths pub and for years it was a fantastically busy place all week. This was in the 70's and 80's and even up to the millenium. I went to a funeral last week of one of the Men who used to go in there and I'm afraid the pub is now a shadow of what it used to be. Sam Smiths refuse to pay for a music or tv licence and the place had zero atmosphere. But the beer is still cheap. Maybe they could put it up a couple of pence and have a juke box. http://www.deathoftheregular.com

I'm not denying the fact that City centre pubs and wine bars are full on a weekend, crikey they should be. My fear is the closure of many of our local pubs. http://www.deathoftheregular.com

You are kidding yourself if you think that such a price differential is down to such things as business rates. It's greed and all about the ability to rip off tourists. There are people in York on minimum wage, where do they drink? Maybe in the Sam Smith's and wetherspoons pubs, where they have to pay the same wage/property/business rates as everyone else. I look forward to your book on the economic realities of modern life and how the taxes on pubs and punters go to pay to bomb 'brown people'. Open your eyes, its to do with what I've mentioned plus more choice for people ie: 500 tv channels, facebook and drinking at home. Add in the lack of young people being welcomed in pubs and you have the reason for our dying pubs. The smoking ban was a very minor reason for the death of local pubs, which is where I started my argument with you. I repeat do Sam Smiths/Wetherspoons pay different tax rates? No they have different business models to the pubcos. Get over it.

I believe you are quite wrong, smokers still go to the pub, i'm one of them. The tax take on a pint of beer is roughly the same percentage as it was 30 years ago. Do a bit of research mate. The greed is from the pubcos and landlords, which other service industry sees the solution to a drop in trade being price rises. Ask yourself why Sam Smiths pubs can sell beer for less than £2.00. Do they pay to a different tax regime? Ask yourself why the average price for a pint in york is nearly £4 and yet a few miles away in Dewsbury it's £2.40?. Greed and the market economy that's why. btw, the book is doing quite well, maybe you ought to write one, its a free country. http://www.deathoftheregular.com

Hopman, Where did you get your isbn for the paperback from. The isbn thing has completely flummoxed me. Gary

Did anyone stop using buses, trains and planes when smoking was banned? Did anyone hand in their notice when smoking in offices was banned? Think about it, the reasons that pubs are empty and closing are many, mostly greed, more outside choices for the punter and the demonisation of youngsters. See my book death of the regular, which disects the subject. http://www.deathoftheregular.com Gary

I went the smashwords route as well, you're right Sarah, it's a bit of a pain. I then uploades the same doc to kindle and that was quite straight forward. So I'd say once you've gone through the smashwords route then go kindle, not the other way round. I've had 4 smashwords sales and 7 on kindle, not a lot but there you go. As an update I've got about 30 hard copies left and am about to be reviewed in the Rotherham advertiser, derby evening telegraph, amber valley voice and a spot on a daytime show on radio Derby.(topical issue, being the closure of so many pubs) My fear is that if any of those go well I could be caught with my pants down as it were with more sales than copies available. My printer can turn round in 4 working days, so it might not be such a problem, but I'd hate to let people down. As an aside I've now worked out that the ratio of website visits to generated sales is only about 1% ie people I don't actually know buying the book. Not sure how that figure rates and I'm beggining to think that my website is not up to scratch. Feedback welcome. Gary http://www.deathoftheregular.com Gary

Mr Stephen, I think the arts centre did a series of concerts for local groups, probably on friday nights, they were poorly attended if memory serves. I can't remember much about the pulp one, only that I recognised that I'd seen them when they later became a little better known. The only others I saw there were Artery and the Negatives. I do remember a lot of aggro with the 'mod' types after the Negatives played. Gary

I saw them at the arts centre in Rotherham too.

at http://www.deathoftheregular.com thanks Gary

Sarah/All, Had a launch/signing event at one of my local pubs on Friday. It went well and it was probably one of the proudest times of my life. Nearly up there with having kids..... Over 200 sales now, after only ten days and 1600+ website hits. Gary http://www.deathoftheregular.com

I have a book out and available for sale on this very subject. It also has a local flavour to it. http://www.deathoftheregular.com Gary

Dave, I'd honestly consider doing it yourself, taking the hit and selling it through your existing networks. If it goes well, then someone in publishing might see it and take a risk. I have a mate in the media who touted my book to some publishing companies. Two got back to me and offered me 10% royalties. Think about that for a minute, you would need to sell a 1000 copies just to make a £1,000. I went with a printer, got 300 printed, add in the proff reading and it meant me having to sell 120 before I saw a profit. I'm just about rid of the 300 and I've produced a profit of over £1,000. I had to invest £900 at the start so it is a risk. But you could just have 100 printed and see how you go. Gary

Well mine is printed and is doing quite well. If I could get an order through each website hit I'd be laughing. My book is mainly about Swanwick in Derbyshire, but contains quite a bit about Rotherham and Sheffield. Oh and pubs. After no little research I went for Printdomain from Rotherham to print my book and they've done a great job for the cost. Best marketing tip - have some beermats printed and hand them out like you would a business card. have a look http://www.deathoftheregular.com Gary