Things in living memory which seem very anachronistic now

[The exile]

Ordering things in imperial measurements should be illegal. I include pints in that opinion.

Pure outdated nonsense.

Massive expense swapping out all measured glasses etc. last thing the licensed trade needs at the moment. (And also, IIRC, one of the reasons the pint survived the 1970s metrication) Anyway, it’s not as if there is much consistency across the continent as to what “standard” beer measures are

 

[AM9]

Massive expense swapping out all measured glasses etc. last thing the licensed trade needs at the moment. (And also, IIRC, one of the reasons the pint survived the 1970s metrication) Anyway, it’s not as if there is much consistency across the continent as to what “standard” beer measures are

It's not about 'mimicking the continent', the metric measurement system is the global standard. The UK has been a metric nation since the '60s, yet there are still many who resist change for obscure reasons.

 

[The exile]

It's not about 'mimicking the continent', the metric measurement system is the global standard. The UK has been a metric nation since the '60s, yet there are still many who resist change for obscure reasons.

Didn’t say it was. There was (and still is) a massive economic argument against changing something which is sold in fixed quantities but requires marked measures. “Large” and “Small” (which is effectively how beer is sold in pubs - wherever you are) are neither metric nor imperial measures.As long as people know what those sizes ;roughly) are and get exactly what they’ve paid for, what does it matter. Equally - I’d have no objection to a move to 500ml and 250 (or 300)ml glass sizes but there’d be years of confusion before we got there.

 

[Steddenm]

No! Was that a thing? Wish I’d known at the time as would have been very handy….

Yes. They were often prizes on Bullseye as well.


Image shows a PYE 26" colour CRT television with a built in printer for printing pages from Ceefax and Oracle (pre-Teletext). The screen shows a page from Ceefax, p167, for a recipe for some kind of lamb cutlets. A smaller image with the main image shows a hand holding a remote control. Image is taken from a magazine advert some time in the early 1980s.

 

[WesternLancer]

Yes. They were often prizes on Bullseye as well.

View attachment 196897
Image shows a PYE 26" colour CRT television with a built in printer for printing pages from Ceefax and Oracle (pre-Teletext). The screen shows a page from Ceefax, p167, for a recipe for some kind of lamb cutlets. A smaller image with the main image shows a hand holding a remote control. Image is taken from a magazine advert some time in the early 1980s.

wow!

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Yes. They were often prizes on Bullseye as well.

View attachment 196897
Image shows a PYE 26" colour CRT television with a built in printer for printing pages from Ceefax and Oracle (pre-Teletext). The screen shows a page from Ceefax, p167, for a recipe for some kind of lamb cutlets. A smaller image with the main image shows a hand holding a remote control. Image is taken from a magazine advert some time in the early 1980s.

if anyone has still got one (retro fitted with digital tv decoder obv) can you still get the thermal paper?

 

[EYFanatic]

wow!

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if anyone has still got one (retro fitted with digital tv decoder obv) can you still get the thermal paper?

I'd imagine its the same type of thermal paper as used in till reciepts and NHS hospitals where they print out live readings

 

[GordonT]

I'd imagine its the same type of thermal paper as used in till reciepts and NHS hospitals where they print out live readings

Possibly the bespoke dimensions of the paper feed would be the ...erm.. sticking point.

 

[bspahh]

wow!

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if anyone has still got one (retro fitted with digital tv decoder obv) can you still get the thermal paper?

The Philips 26CS3890/10R was from 1984. It had 11cm wide rolls of paper
https://www-marcelstvmuseum-com.tra...ch=http&_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en has some pictures of the internals

https://sadbadger.com/blog/2019/8/27/the-future-of-tv-is-printers says it cost £699 when new which is the equivalent of £2305 when adjusted for inflation.

You can get four 11cm wide rolls of paper for a thermal printer for £88.30

https://uk.hach.com/p-thermal-printer-paper-for-dpu-s445-11-cm-width-4-rolls/LZM078

 

[Richardr]

Massive expense swapping out all measured glasses etc. last thing the licensed trade needs at the moment. (And also, IIRC, one of the reasons the pint survived the 1970s metrication) Anyway, it’s not as if there is much consistency across the continent as to what “standard” beer measures are

Doesn't France for example use the same size glasses for beer as the UK? All that happens is that they are not filled to the brim.

 

[D6130]

Doesn't France for example use the same size glasses for beer as the UK? All that happens is that they are not filled to the brim.

In most continental countries drinks glasses are marked with lined measures - as with my local here in West Yorkshire - so there is no need to fill them to the brim. In Italy, for example, beer glasses are marked with measures of 0.2 litre (Una piccola), 0.4 (una media) and 0.6 litre (Una grande) and wine glasses have similar markings.

 

[The exile]

Doesn't France for example use the same size glasses for beer as the UK? All that happens is that they are not filled to the brim.

Don’t know much about France - but Germany has different style glasses varying by size of drink ordered, type of beer and region (all marked) . Never seen British-style glasses there.

 

[D6130]

Don’t know much about France - but Germany has different style glasses varying by size of drink ordered, type of beer and region (all marked) . Never seen British-style glasses there.

True....as do Belgium and the Netherlands..However the majority seem to have a lined measure marked on them in my experience.

 

[The exile]

True....as do Belgium and the Netherlands..However the majority seem to have a lined measure marked on them in my experience.

All German ones used for commercial purposes must.

 

[PeterC]

In most continental countries drinks glasses are marked with lined measures - as with my local here in West Yorkshire - so there is no need to fill them to the brim. In Italy, for example, beer glasses are marked with measures of 0.2 litre (Una piccola), 0.4 (una media) and 0.6 litre (Una grande) and wine glasses have similar markings.

They still like a full pint in W Yorks. Until a couple of years ago I visited Whitby regularly and by the end every bar I used had gone over to pint to brim which, with sparklers fitted, meant they you were paying for froth.

 

[styles]

They still like a full pint in W Yorks. Until a couple of years ago I visited Whitby regularly and by the end every bar I used had gone over to pint to brim which, with sparklers fitted, meant they you were paying for froth.

Sparklers in a drink? I hear that's not the best idea!

 

[52290]

In the north of England there used to be a device called an autovac which returned the beer in the drip tray to the barrel. This was particularly popular in Yorkshire but could also be found here in Lancashire. This is now outlawed.

 

[ic31420]

In the north of England there used to be a device called an autovac which returned the beer in the drip tray to the barrel. This was particularly popular in Yorkshire but could also be found here in Lancashire. This is now outlawed.

wow!

My local wouldn't refill the same glass recently for cross contamination issues.

 

[styles]

In the north of England there used to be a device called an autovac which returned the beer in the drip tray to the barrel. This was particularly popular in Yorkshire but could also be found here in Lancashire. This is now outlawed.

To be fair that does sound like it could result in a funky tasting pint.

On the plus side, people who leave the pub with a third of their pint still in the glass could have it poured into the drip tray for the next customer

 

[SargeNpton]

Closed Shops and Demarcation in workplaces.

For those unfamiliar with the terms...

Closed Shop: When you had to join a trade union to be employed at that particular place of work. No union card, no job.

Demarcation: Tightly defining who could do what job at that place of work where several unions represented different groups of workers. Made it very difficult to retrain to a different skill.

 

[D6130]

They still like a full pint in W Yorks. Until a couple of years ago I visited Whitby regularly and by the end every bar I used had gone over to pint to brim which, with sparklers fitted, meant they you were paying for froth.

Next time you're in West Yorkshire, try the excellent Fox & Goose in Hebden Bridge - community co-operative pub which still uses oversized lined glasses to ensure that you get a full pint....or half.

In the north of England there used to be a device called an autovac which returned the beer in the drip tray to the barrel. This was particularly popular in Yorkshire but could also be found here in Lancashire. This is now outlawed.

A popular misconception. Autovacs are still legal and widely-used in West Yorkshire - especially in Ossett Brewery and former Tetley pubs - as well as in Edinburgh.

wow!

My local wouldn't refill the same glass recently for cross contamination issues.

Refilling the same glass is now illegal....for the reasons that they correctly stated.

 

[Lewisham2221]

Refilling the same glass is now illegal....for the reasons that they correctly stated.

Is it actually illegal? There's plenty of places offering things like self-service refillable soft drinks and ice cream where cross contamination would be far more likely, especially as there's often young children involved rather than a trained member of staff.

 

[styles]

Refilling the same glass is now illegal....for the reasons that they correctly stated.

Do you have a source for this? Not something I was taught on my personal licensing course!

A risk assessment by the establishment might determine that possible contamination with the nozzle from refilling might be an issue, but I'm not sure it's actually unlawful, just a policy decision from individual establishments or chains.

I don't work behind a bar for my day job but certainly when we've had temporary event permits from the council to serve booze, we've deemed it fine to refill.

If this were unlawful I'd expect the likes of Nando's to be on notice for their refillable soft drinks (which are actually done by untrained members of the public and children so a much higher risk for contamination!)

 

[Cross City]

Is it actually illegal? There's plenty of places offering things like self-service refillable soft drinks and ice cream where cross contamination would be far more likely, especially as there's often young children involved rather than a trained member of staff.

I was a chef and publican for 15 years so I can chime in on this.

In my entire career I've never worked anywhere that let you reuse glasses, and I've never been in a pub as a customer where this happened ever.

I'm not sure if there's a specific law against it (very unlikely), but you would absolutely fail a food safety audit of the inspector saw you reusing glasses for drinks. Your lips directly touch the glass which directly touches the dispensing nozzle of the beer tap. This is especially true for real ales where the whole spigot is submerged into the glass/drink.

With self service ice cream or soft drinks the thing you're eating/drinking out of doesn't touch the nozzle the product is being dispensed from, so they're permissible.

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but I'm not sure it's actually unlawful

Yeah there's no way there's a specific law against it.

It is filthy however and a pub doing it wouldn't get my custom.

 

[sprunt]

On the subject of the contents of drip trays being reused, I remember some kind of TV thing on this - I don't know if it was a news report, or part of a documentary - about 35-40 years ago when for some reason the subject was topical, possibly there was a proposal to ban it? They were reporting from a pub, and as well as the drip tray being emptied into a glass to start the service of the next pint that was ordered, they followed the landlord round the pub at the end of the evening walking round the pub emptying the remains of unfinished pints into a bucket (presumably several buckets for different drinks, or at least one for lager and one for bitter but I don't remember that level of detail), then taking the bucket down to the cellar and pouring the contents of the bucket back into the beer barrel to sell again! I hope that's anachronistic now!

 

[D6130]

Do you have a source for this? Not something I was taught on my personal licensing course!

A risk assessment by the establishment might determine that possible contamination with the nozzle from refilling might be an issue, but I'm not sure it's actually unlawful, just a policy decision from individual establishments or chains.

I don't work behind a bar for my day job but certainly when we've had temporary event permits from the council to serve booze, we've deemed it fine to refill.

If this were unlawful I'd expect the likes of Nando's to be on notice for their refillable soft drinks (which are actually done by untrained members of the public and children so a much higher risk for contamination!)

Purely from the bar staff at the hostelries that I frequent....and from the instructions given by CAMRA to the volunteer staff at beer festivals at which I have worked. TBF, I can't quote an actual law as such.

On the subject of the contents of drip trays being reused, I remember some kind of TV thing on this - I don't know if it was a news report, or part of a documentary - about 35-40 years ago when for some reason the subject was topical, possibly there was a proposal to ban it? They were reporting from a pub, and as well as the drip tray being emptied into a glass to start the service of the next pint that was ordered, they followed the landlord round the pub at the end of the evening walking round the pub emptying the remains of unfinished pints into a bucket (presumably several buckets for different drinks, or at least one for lager and one for bitter but I don't remember that level of detail), then taking the bucket down to the cellar and pouring the contents of the bucket back into the beer barrel to sell again! I hope that's anachronistic now!

That may have been the case with a few unscrupulous licensees' in the past....but the Autovac system - or Beer Economisers as they are known in the Edinburgh area - don't recycle spilled beer back into the cask, but back into the pump. If used correctly by experienced bar staff, they present only a minute danger. However, if used by inexperienced staff who don't pull a pint correctly and allow spillage to run through their hands and fingers - which could be infected with various nasties - it's a whole different ballgame. How many times have we seen bar staff - and chefs and waiters for that matter - nip out for a smoke or to use the toilet and then go straight back behind the bar or the stoves without washing their hands?

 

[DelW]

Purely from the bar staff at the hostelries that I frequent....and from the instructions given by CAMRA to the volunteer staff at beer festivals at which I have worked. TBF, I can't quote an actual law as such.

Conversely, quite a few beer festivals still sell you a "souvenir" glass on arrival, which you then use throughout. There's usually a water fountain or similar where you can rinse it between different beers, but no hot/soap glass washing facility. Sometimes you can trade them in (for washing and re-use) at the end of your session, but I've found that recently most won't take them back.

 

[Oxfordblues]

I'm meeting a friend in a pub tomorrow. To celebrate ten years since the Brexit vote I'm going to buy him 568.26125 millilitres of beer!

 

[David M]

as well as in Edinburgh

Definitely not the case in Edinburgh. Slops were made illegal when all day licensing came in. Re the same glass being reused, bear in mind that the glass is often touched (real ale all the way down at the bottom) by the pouring mechanism. I don't want someone else's germs on my glass - fortunately reusing of glasses, both spirits and beer, is illegal in Scotland as well.

 

[styles]

Definitely not the case in Edinburgh. Slops were made illegal when all day licensing came in. Re the same glass being reused, bear in mind that the glass is often touched (real ale all the way down at the bottom) by the pouring mechanism. I don't want someone else's germs on my glass - fortunately reusing of glasses, both spirits and beer, is illegal in Scotland as well.

Have you got a source for reusing glasses being illegal in Scotland?

 

[SargeNpton]

This is the best guidance I have found about refilling glasses...

Cross Glass Contamination – what are the legalities? - Cellar Craft

Readers’ Questions We had an interesting enquiry from a reader regarding the legality of refilling glasses. The reader had been on a cellar course and the trainer emphasised the risk of cross glass contamination by refilling customers’ glasses and the risk of prosecution if they did so. As...

cellarcraftuk.com