The importance of pubs

I like pubs a lot, to the extent that I have invested several thousand of my hard-earned in them over the years. So it’s always sad to read about one closing, especially if it’s somewhere I’ve spent many happy times with friends in the past.

Indeed, many of the pubs of my youth, which extended from the late 1980s to the late 2000s have either closed and been turned into apartments or shops, closed and not turned into anything, or changed their name.

So those that survive need to be treasured.

In my books, pubs play a central role in bringing people together and driving the story forward. In The Diamond Rush, plans for a trip to the asteroid belt are hatched in Ye Olde Mitre in Hatton Garden.

And in my zombie trilogy, The Smuggler’s Retreat plays host to American soldiers drafted in to tackle the alien invasion and undead uprising that occurs in Bluff Cove, Cornwall.

In Flying Ant Day, Kent and his friends enjoy their day of freedom sitting outside in the pub garden of The King’s Arms until their relaxation is disturbed by… no spoilers here.

The King’s Arms is the name of a pub on Great Titchfield Street in central London I used to drink in first when at the University of Westminster, and then when working in the area as a freelance copywriter. It looks like it’s still open and has a hotel on the upper floors. I remember it being a bit run down when I used to drink in there, so it’s good to hear it’s had a spruce up. It’s nothing like the pub in Flying Ant Day, which is more a country pub and not based on any place I’ve supped a lager.

The same can be said for The Dog and Duck in The Pub Gardeners, the old country boozer that’s sadly on its last legs having been abandoned by its regulars who’ve deserted it in favour of a new venue just down the road.

It’s not a big spoiler to say that the Dog and Duck’s fate mirrors that of the lead characters in the book, who are advertising creatives who have been deserted by people in their industry who have turned to cheaper AI solutions. But that can be the subject of another blog.

Suffice to say here that it’s no surprise to me as someone who worked in advertising for over 25 years that the money-obsessed suits who work in these places have taken the first opportunity they can to stop paying human creatives and turn to AI slop. Disgraceful really.

Another public house is the place creatives displaced by AI seek refuge to discuss their problems and plan their response in my book Last Writer Sitting, which you can also find on the market in another guise: Only A Tool. This pub is based on The Carpenters Arms just off Tottenham Court Road in London, another boozer I frequented as a full-time copywriter in the late 2000s.

Anyway, in my latest book which is still in the planning stages, another pub takes centre stage, certainly in the opening chapters as things stand. This one’s called the King’s Head, and is the location of a pub quiz that gets raided and… well, it’s not written yet, so I can’t say more other than there will be zombies. This boozer is based on a pub in South Croydon where I sometimes attend quiz nights.

Hopefully, pubs can remain at the centre of social life for many people for many years to come. Sadly, my kidneys and liver are a little tired of processing alcoholic beverages, so I will have to hand responsibilities for keeping these hostelries going over to the younger generations.

Cheers!

And look out for Dead Headz by Jon Lymon, hopefully out in 2026.