On the matter of pubs

[moonlite_tryst]

Specifically, ye olde tradional british pubs.

Over the last 4 years I have read many fics and most of them have adhered to canon details in some form or other. But time and time again I'm thrown out of a fic once the characters enter one of the pubs in the wizarding world; pubs which, by their very location in the wizarding world, I expect be traditional (unless refurbishment is mentioned) but find contain unfamiliar elements such as the booth, the counter and the barkeep. *warning, image heavy*



Ladies and gents, may I present the traditional bar:







That's bar people, not counter. To most Brits, a counter is something in a cafe, or even a shop.

Traditional british pubs have - and this is the important bit - open seating: chairs around tables, stools at the bar.








They do not have booths. You may find a booth or two in one of the reproduction pub interiors that now grace most Muggle city centres, such as the Eerie pub chain or Weatherspoons, but finding booths in an unrefurbished traditional pub would be highly unlikely. And if there's one thing you can rely on in the wizarding world, it's tradition.

Finally, for most of us Brits, it's usual to order beer from either a barman or a barmaid, although that doesn't mean that barkeep is incorrect. The term was unfamilair to me until I read fanfic, but I couldn't find any Google entry that defined barkeep as being of either english or american origin.

So please folks, if you intend any witch or wizard to enter ye olde Leakey Cauldron or other unmodernised establishment, leave the booths and counters out.

Comments

LOVELY photos - thanks for clarification

[calmnla.livejournal.com]

Interesting and useful. I had wondered how so many fics have the boys leaning against the bar when, here in the US, the bar is usually crowded with people sitting on stools. I like the pictures of the bar with a rail only - it aids the idea of going in for a quick drink. It also makes it more significant when characters settle in at a table.

A lot of bars here are restaurant/bars because the food puts them in a different licensing category. I forget the benefit - possibly it has to do with zoning preferences for places that serve alcohol as an afterthought (wink wink) rather than as the focus of their business.

Okay - re booth - one of your pics shows built in seats on the wall side of a table. So - what's that? Bench? Seat? Uncomfortable-but-lovely wooden place to sit?

Bartender is the more familiar term in my wealth of experience. Barkeep is something they say on old TV westerns, John Wayne movies, etc., short for barkeeper (much like bartender though I've never heard anyone say "bartend"). I think the guys who wrote and hoped to sell those stories liked the way it sounded when a cowboy/bad guy/hero would call out "BARK-eep!" Sort of like a barking dog with hiccups, yes?

Barman and barmaid make sense in the wizarding world, frozen as it is in 18th-century styles.

Re: LOVELY photos - thanks for clarification

[moonlite-tryst.livejournal.com]

I'm very pleased that you liked the pics. Regarding the seat: if you mean the third pic down it's a wooden bench known as a settle. They were popular in homes from the medieval period to the 1st half of the 18th century because they helped shield the draughts and often had an integral storage chest.

BARK-eep *giggles* Yes, it does sound like a barking dog with hiccups. :)