Neil Hanson's Blog - Posts Tagged "pubs"
Campaign for Real Everything
Back in the mists of time (okay, the 1980s) I edited five editions of the Campaign for Real Ale's (CAMRA http://www.camra.org.uk) Good Beer Guide and yesterday I went along to a reunion of the Campaign's "old and bold" from those halcyon days of yore. Although the pints of CAMRA's preferred product weren't being downed with quite the alacrity that would once have been the case, the years seemed to have been generally kind to the CAMRA Pioneers; perhaps the recommended number of units a week can be safely increased a little, after all! Apart from a little gentle nostalgia it did make me reflect on the astonishing success of the Campaign - and I claim no personal credit for it whatsoever, since the ground work had been well and truly laid well before I came on board.
Real Ale was going the way of the Great Auk and the Dodo when CAMRA was formed but the stubborn refusal of ordinary customers - people like us - to put up with the desecration of our pubs and the conversion of our national drink (no, not tea, the other one) into a over-carbonated, taste-free near-beer, forced the giant drinks conglomerates into a humiliating U-turn. It led to the rich and diverse brewing landscape we have to day, where almost every town seems to have its own small brewery. It's not all sunshine, lollipops and roses, of course, because pubs are still closing at an alarming rate, but as an example of the triumph of consumer power, it has few equals anywhere in the world.
However, while celebrating that, I was forced to reflect on how sad it is that CAMRA's example has never led to similar consumer success in other areas of our national life. How much more pleasant would Britain be now if a "Campaign for Real Corner Shops" had had similar success in turning back the Tesco tide? Or a "Stuff Starbucks and kill Costa" campaign had given us a bit more diversity in our high street coffee shops? And don't even get me started on McDonalds…
Real Ale was going the way of the Great Auk and the Dodo when CAMRA was formed but the stubborn refusal of ordinary customers - people like us - to put up with the desecration of our pubs and the conversion of our national drink (no, not tea, the other one) into a over-carbonated, taste-free near-beer, forced the giant drinks conglomerates into a humiliating U-turn. It led to the rich and diverse brewing landscape we have to day, where almost every town seems to have its own small brewery. It's not all sunshine, lollipops and roses, of course, because pubs are still closing at an alarming rate, but as an example of the triumph of consumer power, it has few equals anywhere in the world.
However, while celebrating that, I was forced to reflect on how sad it is that CAMRA's example has never led to similar consumer success in other areas of our national life. How much more pleasant would Britain be now if a "Campaign for Real Corner Shops" had had similar success in turning back the Tesco tide? Or a "Stuff Starbucks and kill Costa" campaign had given us a bit more diversity in our high street coffee shops? And don't even get me started on McDonalds…
