Fancy a pub desk?

Last week: “No more pubs, Norm”This week: WFP. Keir needs a pint

Just listened to the King’s Speech - very underwhelming. Bit low energy (probably had enough of the red pen.) Good to hear “legislation will be introduced to tackle late payments” to support small biz, but what about the huge burden of regulation? The energy crisis? Cost of living? I paid £7.50 for some mackerel in M&S last night. 👀

I had a text from a friend about how two pubs are closing each day in the UK.

Will start trying to work more from pubs and less from cafes. Most pubs are ancient and historical — whereas cafes come and go!

Agree and doing the same. Between Jan and Mar, 161 pubs closed across England, Scotland and Wales, with a loss of 2,400 jobs. I’m also fed up with seeing beautiful buildings boarded up - or turned into Tesco Express.

Most cafes close at 5 pm — we have a pub/bar culture rather than a cafe culture. I’m always looking for cool indie places with the right vibe - papers, mags, good coffee - where I can sit and read or do some writing in the eves.

I’m off to Old Dame now - Royal Victoria Hotel on the seafront. Grade II listed and a bit tired. Mostly coach parties and cream teas, but it’s huge with a piano lounge and bar. Free wi-fi and meetings rooms by the hour. A Victorian seafront office for the day, why not.

We might add another day to our Writers’ Café so Tue, Wed, Thu afternoons. It’s helping massively - gotta stop bothering the builders!

Some of the big chains are offering ‘Work from Pub’ (WFP) packages - desk space, unlimited hot drinks, wi-fi and lunch for a flat fee (£10-£20), which is 40% cheaper than coworking for the day.

My local Spoons (John Logie Baird) is in an 1850s building in town. Prints and text about local artists & writers, £1.85 for Lavazza coffee, tea and free refills. Gotta be worth a try - just hope the carpet doesn’t give me a headache.

A Hastings Pub Crawl — with artistic license

I was chatting to Chris the chef the other day. He looked a bit glum so I asked how things are going - he’s also self-employed.

“It’s a struggle.” He has to prepare food but doesn’t know how busy it will be. People are eating out less. The government needs to reduce VAT on hospitality and offer longer-term support.

Here’s Markus Thonnett’s new exhibition PUB CRAWL - really beautiful card cuts telling the stories of 10 Hastings pubs. I love looking at them while I’m working.

Bring on El Niño and long, sunny eves at the pub watching the Three Lions lift that trophy! 🍸

Nika xo

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