Last orders? UK pubs hit by rising costs and changing tastes

At 6 quid a pint, I'm not surprised pubs are closing down.

It's sad. A well-managed country pub - which are particularly hard hit - can be one of the most congenial, appealing and welcoming habitats for human beings on Earth, especially on a long, summer evening.

Well the bars smell, the kids aren't welcome, especially at night, and the food is nothing but fried food. They even have the gall to charge you for a glass of water in many pubs. Everyone feels uncomfortable ordering a coffee because it's a pub. But I do miss a beer garden, watching maybe a football game on the telly, and I loved sitting outside on a nice warm night with a coke or a beer. But maybe now the pub was a place to pick up someone, and now it's all done on an APP. Someone said the smoking ban helped push some pubs to close, but nobody went to the pub for a fag. The went to socialize and have a drink, watch TV or even chat with a stranger, but I guess people have their eyes glued to their smartphones. The art of starting a conversation is being killed off. Maybe there is an app for that too.

Contrast, if you will, the 雰囲気 FUNIKI atmosphere of the English-style pub with the traditional Japanese Izakaya... now which would you rather patronize...?