Hot topics

Opinion

Rob Willock

Jonathan Smith

Roger Protz

Pete Brown

The Guv'nor

My Shout

Mark Daniels

Robert Sayles

Mike Berry

Phil Mellows

Business Clubs

MA250 Business Club

Freehouse Business Club

Opinion > The Guv'nor

Email this page News by email Send a press-release

The Guv'nor

The view from the frontline: a no-holds barred opinion piece from licensees. If you have something to say about the trade and would like to contribute, then email ma.editorial@wrbm.com

Robert Sayles: A tale of two pubcos

23-Mar-2011 - During the course of the last few weeks a number of Publican readers have got in touch. More and more of you it seems are...

Hamish Champ: Show 'em how it's done

21-Mar-2011 - My local butcher has come up with an ingenious revenue-generating scheme. For 85 quid he will spend an hour or two taking you through the...

Matt Eley: 'Society of Licensees should be a positive force'

16-Mar-2011 - 'Great' I thought, slightly underwhelmed, 'yet another trade body to add to our industry's already impressive array of acronyms'. I mean with the BBPA, BII,...

It's time to salute the small independents

16-Mar-2011 - Praise to all the country pubs, for they are a very important part of our industry, says Michael Kheng.

Mark Daniels: Smoking Ban Fallacies

14-Mar-2011 - I've long been an advocate of moving on from the smoking ban. Unlike my esteemed blogging colleague, Pete Robinson, who advocates a return to the...

Hamish Champ: Give me a night in a pub over Ant and Dec anytime

14-Mar-2011 - I had a reminder last week of why going to the pub is, to borrow a line from our recently-departed-for-pastures-new editor, the "best thing ever". One...

Don't fall for the gloss, beer tie needs reform

14-Mar-2011 - The surface of recommended licensed trade reforms has barely been scratched, says Simon Clarke.

Caroline Nodder: 'It has been a genuine privilege to write about such a vibrant market'

11-Mar-2011 - Us journalists are notoriously fickle when it comes to moving from industry to industry, but I have to say the pub sector has been a...

Julian Grocock: 'It's time for beer, not mead'

09-Mar-2011 - A few weeks ago I returned home to be told by a daughter that I'd missed a phone call from a journalist - a well...

James Wilmore: Let's not strike up the band on live music reform just yet

08-Mar-2011 - The government's backing of Lord Clement-Jones' Live Music Bill caught observers a bit off-guard last week. Baroness Rawlings' repeated support was welcomed, but such warm words...

Caroline Nodder: Energy firms must be less slapdash in their dealings with pubs

07-Mar-2011 - There are some big plus points to being a journalist and one of them is the ability to stir companies into action on behalf of...

Hamish Champ: Whither Punch Taverns?

07-Mar-2011 - All eyes - or most, anyway - will be on Punch Taverns in a couple of week's time when the pubco reveals the results of...

What happened to the power of personality in pubs?

02-Mar-2011 - Dave Daly reflects on the changes to the managed-house system since he entered the trade.

Robert Sayles: Is the price of beer being 'manipulated'?

28-Feb-2011 - In 1890, English economist Alfred Marshall published his work, 'Principles of Economics' which outlined how the principles of supply and demand interact to determine price. Marshall...

Karen Black: Is it paranoia when they really are out to get me?

28-Feb-2011 - Painful as it is to share these defects with you, share I must: • I am blonde - and as we all know blondes are stupid....

Hamish Champ: Smoking ban, schmoking ban...

28-Feb-2011 - In a blatant attempt to increase my hit rate on thepublican.com and win the coveted 'Hits of the Month' award, I thought I'd return to...

Caroline Nodder: It is this wealth of ideas from the grassroots which fuels our sector

25-Feb-2011 - I had the honour last week of being asked to judge the final of the Pilsner Urquell Czech Challenge competition, which saw licensees compete for...

Investment is key to success in business

25-Feb-2011 - Steve Haslam explains how he has kept TLC Inns booming through constant and careful investment.

Martin Dinkele: What do we want modern pubs to be?

23-Feb-2011 - If year zero for pubs was tomorrow what would they be like? Or, what do we want pubs to be in order to be successful and...

Mark Daniels: Personal Alcohol Licences... Fact, or Fantasy?

22-Feb-2011 - On Monday's Jeremy Vine show on Radio 2 - this week hosted by Vanessa Feltz - a former Labour councillor put forward the idea that...

Pub Bitch: Spot the difference - trademark wars

21-Feb-2011 - Spot the difference Protecting a trademark is all well and good, but I reckon it can go too far. Artisan Brewery, based in Cardiff, has been...

Hamish Champ: Well, you've gotta laugh, haven't you?

21-Feb-2011 - I spent much of this past weekend going 'mystery visiting' some of The Publican Awards' Freehouse of the Year finalists, and what a fine bunch...

Caroline Nodder: CAMRA had its own reasons for super-complaint

18-Feb-2011 - The fact that CAMRA wasn't exactly up front about the decision to withdraw its appeal over the beer tie says a lot about how it...

Robert Sayles: We're down - but are we out?

18-Feb-2011 - "Ladies and Gentlemen. Good evening, and welcome to Madison Square Garden. "Tonight, we are pleased to present a world heavyweight title fight for your entertainment. "In...

Pete Robinson: The British Pub - A thesis on it's decline and fall

16-Feb-2011 - For 450 years British pubs and their smoking customers have enjoyed a mutually beneficial relationship that has survived essentially unchanged through wars, periods of extreme...