Talk by sociologist Amit Singh and pub artist Lydia Wood on the British pub as a community hub and the threats it faces.
Amit Singh and Lydia Wood are at Conway Hall on Wednesday 18 November, 6:30pm to 8:00pm, for a talk on why British pubs matter. It's part of the Ethical Matters series, and the conversation frames the pub as something far more than a place for a drink: a music venue, a theatre, an art gallery, a lecture space and a community hub all in one, and a vital piece of social infrastructure that grows the roots of neighbourhoods and offers safe spaces for groups and gatherings. The list runs from rock and goth pubs to student, gay, Irish, Caribbean, vegan and desi establishments.
But they're under threat. Rising beer prices, tax, business costs and competition from large chains are taking their toll, with just under two pubs closing across the UK every single day. That's the backdrop to the evening.
The two speakers bring very different ways of looking at the subject. Amit Singh is a UCL sociologist whose father founded London's first desi pub; he's written Cancelled Futures and Pubs for the People: The Fight for the Pint and the Nation. Lydia Wood has been on a mission to draw every single pub in London since 2021, a project gathered in Locals: An Illustrated Ode to London's Pubs. Between them, they cover the social theory and the visual record of the thing.
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It's in the Brockway Room on the ground floor of Conway Hall, 25 Red Lion Square, Holborn, WC1R 4RL, and there's a livestream if you can't make it in person. Tickets in advance are £15 Supporter, £10 Standard, £6 Living Support and £7 Student, with a £2 venue levy on top. On the door, they go up by a pound: £16 Supporter, £11 Standard, £7 Living Support and £8 Student, plus the £2 levy. If you're watching online, it's £7 Standard plus the £2 levy.
