Brilliant book shows we must toast pubs’ history

Written by Simon Jenkins, the award-winning pub correspondent of the Yorkshire Evening Post, it held me spellbound. I mentally criss-crossed Leeds and environs with this supremely well-informed and witty guide, not only taking in Leeds pubs and their beers but the history of brewing in the city and all manner of other entertaining and odd things.

The greatest thing of all was Jenkins coming straight out and calling it a “pub crawl”. It’s lovely to see somebody stick two fingers up at our PC enemies.

Besides the enormous enjoyment that Simon’s book gave me, it really brought home that one of the best-selling points of our industry, that we don’t make enough of, is its history and heritage, made tangible and vivid by our pubs.

We need to make sure that as much of this as possible is recorded and with the Jenkins-style light touch, not just for t

he historic record, but principally as a way to get people back into pubs and drinking.

We need to get our history out of the dusty archives and use it for what it potentially is — a splendid marketing tool.

I know there are lots of annual publications about beer and pubs and so on but they perform a different task. They are for people who like pubs and beer and who want to experience more of them.

Because of this they are inevitably formulaic in style. Simon’s work on the other hand is geared to waken or re-awaken interest in the pub and his passionate interest in how pubs are faring on his own turf is infectious.

He could even persuade a neo-Prohibitionist back into a pub, even though it does mention a most un-PC concept in the title.

There must be other writers of Jenkins’ ilk across the UK with enough time and interest to research their own local pub scenes and enough sponsors to ensure publication.

The Great Leeds Pub Crawl was sponsored by the Yorkshire Evening Post, for instance, and I believe sales have gone well.

Some of the other media should usefully chip in — a TV series on historic English pubs could provide a thoughtful slow-burn antidote to the negative coverage this great institution continually attracts from the self- appointed guardians of our morals and the Daily Mail.