mercuryg

Absolutely, malcolm, it's not a boozer, it's not out to attract the drinkers, but that's what it's going to get in the first instance. I have no doubt a good few punters will go there for food, but can't see that being enough trade to sustain it. neil wrote: "I'd just like to say well done to all the doom mongers on this site. It's the best thing to happen to bedlington in ages and already it's been written off. Most other places would make a concerted effort to get behind it and make it a success like my wife and I and our friends have already said. For those said doom mongers, if u aren't part of the solution, you're part of the problem, please keep your opinions to yourself and in doing so, do the image of this up and coming town a massive favour." First, those whose opinion doesn't tally with yours have every right to express it; I haven't been in any way offensive in putting my views across, and neither have I written off the Red Lion. I simply do not see where all this much mooted business is going to come from. A few months back the Market Tavern, after its make over, began providing a much publicised Sunday Dinner; it was round a fiver, choice of roasts, great food, I tried it and loved it. It lasted a few weeks before the manageress knocked it on the head because it wasn't worth it. Not enough people were coming in. Why is Wetherspoons going to be any different? I can't see a reason. Yes, it's somewhere new, and yes, people are always intrigued by that, but for how long? The other part of the above I don't understand is why the Red Lion opening again is 'the best thing to happen to Bedlington in ages'? It's just another pub that sells food. It's hardly the second coming. I don't know, as it happens, if you and your wife and friends currently frequent any of the pubs in Bedlington; I do, which makes me very much 'part of the solution'; if Wetherspoons wants trade it needs to be looking to those who do spend money in teh town, who do drink in the local pubs, and who do eat in local establishments rather than presenting a regimented ideal that doesn't allow standing at the bar, wants everyone secreted away in cubicles where they can gather in groups of four, and even discourages the bar staff from conversing with the punters unless they are serving them! I can't see many of those who do spend good money in bars doing so in the Red Lion, but all credit to Wetherspoons for rescuing the place.

This is something I've heard repeated in many quarters, and it does intrigue me. You have to ask who these locals are that don't go drinking in Bedlington now, and where they go, or if they go out at all. You also have to ask why that is, and why a Wetherspoons will suddenly offer them an opportunity they don't already have. I can see that some of the establishments are not attractive to certain clientele, yet the Tavern recently had a major league make-over and is very pleasant indeed. The Sun is a perfectly reasonable and tidy place to go for a pint, and the Northumberland is also a pleasant bar. What is it about Wetherspoons that will have all these people coming out ot of the woodwork to drink there? Is it the cheap beer? That's great, but the clubs offer cheap beer, so that's hardly the incentive that's going to change people's drinking habits. Is it the food? Great, too, decent, basic grub at a good price, I like that; but I'm only going to eat once in an evening. My point may seem pessimistic - and in many ways it is - but I can't see where the trade is going to come from; Wetherspoons will attract the regular afternoon drinkers who frequent the Grapes, for instance, but only as long as they are allowed to remain there as they won't be able to behave as they do in the Grapes! It will attract th usual Friday and Saturday evening drinkers, like me, who will pop in for a pint, just like I do in most places, and it will certainly garner a Sunday lunch crowd. But draw people back, or out, who don't drink in Bedlington now? Why? Beer is still cheaper in Tesco's.

yep, and the store manager is the dim kid who started where the graduate is now.

Malcolm Two days ago there was an 'outage' in Scotland that affected the North East; anyone using BT lines (which is just about everyone no matter who your ISP is) could have experienced a slow down. I rang my ISP to find out what the problem was and was given that information. It is now fixed.

I should have tholught of that! I somehow can't see a hairdresser in a 289 Cobra, though!

I'm far from sad, but I am someone who likes a pub to be a pub. I respect Wetherspoons for making a go at it with the Lion as, as I've made quite clear, it should be a pub, and it was being left to rot. I have no problem with the concept of the 'family oriented pub' but don't see why I should come on here and declare it will b a massive success when that's not what I believe; as I've made quite clear, I simply don't see where the business is coming from. I've also said that I will be going in, because my views are based on market forces, the way pubs are in the town at the moment and my experience of other Wetherspoons establishments. I cannot understand the attitude of people saying 'They've got my custom' or vice versa without actually having tried it, that makes no sense. I doubt 'other folk' will be aggrieved at the comment about 'old gadgies' because, as I clearly pointed out, it was a quote from a younger 'gadgie' among a group who I happened to be talking to last night; personally, I don't think the place will be full of 'old gadgies', but that's clearly the opinion of many of a generation younger than me. These lads, by the way, used to drink in the Lion years ago, when I did, and we had many a good night in there. Clearly, they are accepting that it's not really going to be to their taste. so what hope is there for the Lion? I may be wrong; many people on here believe that a Wetherspoons is 'what the town needs'. I may find that it is packed every day. I doubt it. People won't start coming out in the evenings again just because there's a Wetherspoons in town. Nobody other than those who already do will begin drinking in teh day, and most of those frequent the clubs and will not go to Wetherspoons. There is no passing trade, and no waiting trade - this isn't Ashington, with it's bus terminus, or Newcastle. So where is all the business coming from? I'm sorry that me not being all positive is not to your liking, but there is also one other aspect of all this that I find difficult to accept. I drink in a selection of pubs on the front street that are run by landlords and landladies who have, for many years, provided me with great service and are trying to keep their head above water. They pay high rents, high prices, and now along comes a company that can afford a failure looking to play the lead in the market. What happened to supporting local businesses? Are all the people on here who are gagging to go to Wetherspoons regular pub-goers, like me (really, if you drink in Bedlington, you will know me)? Or are they just being enticed by the prospect of a new kid in town? I suspect the latter, and that most will go in for a lookie, and then head down to Tesco's for 15 cans of lager at a bargain price.

There is clearly great hope in these battling, determined and bright students who stand there, defiantly, with a placard bearing the legend "WE ARE YOUR FUTRUE" (sic)

I agree, they have made a considerable investment and I am not knocking that at all; The Red Lion is a local icon that should be open, and should be a pub, but I just don't see where the Wetherspoons 'type' of customer is going to come from. I also have to say that doesn't point to much of their 'research' being 'clever' at all, but to the opportunity to buy a valuable building at a good price. Wetherspoons, like many other pub chains, treats pubs not as places where people go to spend money but, more to the point, as concrete assets; what they now have is a building that, with new fixtures and fittings and a complete make over, holds a much higher market value than it did six months ago. Furthermore, an open pub is worth more than a closed one. If the trade doesn't come they won't continue to waste money on paying staff, and nor will they sit back and say 'well we put x hundred thousand into this so we can't stop now' they will, like any good business, cut their losses and sell up. They do it all the time, at many of the 1000 other run down pubs they have pumped their money into. At one local establishment last night I talked to a group of younger lads, all good drinkers, who were on about the impending opening of the bar; they all, to a man, said they would be going in for a look, but were unlikely to stay or make it a regular place because they come out, in the week, to play pool, and at the weekend they want something that is not, and I quote, geared towards 'old gadgies'. I give the place a year, at best.

It is an inviting place for the family, without a doubt, and for that it should be commended. The problem there lies in the fact it is not families that keep pubs alive, it's people who go out to drink. As for 'discerning' customers, those that I know are planning to make it their new watering hole are all people who I'll be quite happy not to have to meet, and not the type for a family oriented bar. I mean, would YOU want to drink with mr Darn??????!!!!!!

A classic, but why the uglified overblown version? 289's are prettier. The major problem with one of those is that you spend quarter of a million quid on your genuine Shelby and everybody thinks it's a ten grand replica.

I think that, with that little space between the bar and the tables, it is automatically enforced, Mr Darn. This from someone who even moves bar stools away from the bar because they get in the bloody way!

Absolutely - I'll have three! I can't think why anyone would actually be stupid enough to spend that much on a car - any car - when it's performance potential is entirely superficial.

if it did that would be two more reasons to buy it; it doesn't. Wait 'til you see one in the flesh, it's utterly gorgeous. Costs a fifth of the Veyron, which is hideous to look at and not all that great to drive (if contemporary reports are anythign to go by) and is limited to 225mph, which is more than enough for anyone. And it's British.

Someone told me yesterday that there is a no standing at the bar policy in wetherspoons bars. Apparently they want you to sit in a little enclosed booth or at a table. That's me going somewhere else, then.

Absolutely right, Monsta, it shoul be a case that if you don't like it you'll go elsewhere. So why condemn it before you've tried it?

Hate to pull you up on that, Monsta, but I think 16.4 refers to the cylinders and - and what I don't know - as the engine is just under eight litres. Is it worth the price? No, of course it's not. If you have to think about the price, however, then you can't afford one! Buy a Bristol Fighter T instead.

Nicely designed so that there's little room for standing at the bar, I note. Not a good move. Looks pretty, though. Bit too much like a restaurant for me.

You may have some points, but I drink in Bedlington regularly (perhaps too regularly!) in a variety of pubs, and while you're right there is interest in Wetherspoons opening, I would say that most of it is more of 'well I'll pop in and see what it's all about' than a welcoming and eager anticipation. The 7am opening is a complete red herring; as i said before that's great where you have a major bus/rail station and a regular number of people passing, with time to wait for their connection and a need for a bacon sandwich, but in bedlington at 7am you have a stream of cars heading out of town and a handful of people crammed into the bus shelter; there is no business for them at 7am, it's a needless expense and one that, as economics determine, they will soon knock on the head as they have more business sense than that. I like the idea of curry clubs and such, but again it's worth remembering that many pubs in Bedlington have tried such ventures over the years - to a t, each one has failed miserably through lack of interest. Malcolm also raises an interesting point about the clientele, and it's one that the non-Wetherspoons initiated seem to be ignorant about; in one bar I drink in on Bedlington front street there is a regular afternoon crowd of half a dozen who are, as you say, eager for it to open. The lure of cheap beer is something that fits their needs. What they don't realise is that the language they use and the attitude that prevails will have them kicked out within a day, as Wetherspoons is known for not tolerating bad language or behaviour and proferring a 'family atmosphere'. I simply can't see where that angle of clientele is going to come from. The landlady in the bar I mention is fully expecting those few regular afternnon drinkers to flock to the Red Lion when it opens; she is also fully expecting them to be back in her place pretty quickly when they find they are not the sort of people that Wetherspoons wants. Will I be going in? Of course I will; however, call me old fashioned, but I prefer to support the local landlords who have been providing me with good, honest enjoyable service for all these years rather than give my money to a major corporation that is interested only in a quick buck.

No I don't! where have I ever changed my stance on the matter? It began with me saying I believe there are escaped animals in England, that's still my stance on the matter, I have never done anythign but agree fully that native lynx have been extinct in th UK for centuries - and still are - and never mentioned anything about reintroducing them at all. I also never said they were common, in fact quite the opposite. I even concluded that the likelihood of a breeding population of escaped or discraded animals is slim. I haven't changed my argument at all.

can means can not, too, though, doesn't it? It's quite easy to miss out on things when you decide in advance that you won't like them. What if i'm in that 'niche market'? I mean, if there's a niche market to be targeted then someone has to be in it! What if the 'limited music genre's' happen to be ones I like? After all, nobody loves everything! As for amateur, so what? Don't you sometimes get sick of slick, boring professionalism all the time, isn't that yearning for something more 'amateur' the very reason we chat on sites like this? And then there's 'can be crap'; Yep. Everything can. No, try harder Monsta. The only reason you could possibly give me is that you know what it's like, you've heard it, and you know what I want. You don't, so it's not really much of a sell, is it? I wish all who are trying to break into local radio great success;I remember the days of KFM, pioneers of 'community radio', in Stockport very fondly.

I did say that, but where's the implication there are breeding populations of lynx in england in that sentence? I can't see it at all.Can anyone else? Furthermore, considering we - that's this thread - are talking not about native lynx, which mr Autumwatch rightly points out don't exist (just like native wildcats don't exist in England) surely you can see that the distinction is clear? You should do - it's been explained for you.

Ha! I look forward to relieving you of some hard earned cash, Malcolm!

Wow! What a read this thread is (and the others)! I never knew radio stations could arouse such vitriol! But then most of it comes from Monsta, for whom a cheese sandwich can cause apoplexy! On that note, to Monsta, your question 'give me three good reasons why...' etc, can you give me three good reasons why not?

It's a question that has been asked, debated and so on many times. One of the most common dismissals of the possibility of released or escaped lynx existing in the wild is that which you mention - the possibility, or unlikelihood as such, of them breeding. Yet, there is a well known example of a young lynx, one mentioned earlier in this thread somewhere, being sighted and positively identified with no known source - i.e it was not an escapee- forthcoming. Even those who are sceptical about 'Alien Big Cat' sightings freely admit that there is a strong possibility there are such animals loose in the country (I believe the expert witness account posted earlier - perhaps by yourself - alludes to this.) These animals, contrary to what Monsta might have us believe, are not reported once every few years, but quite regularly; mainly the reports come from people in remote areas, farmers and farmworkers, and a good many are from people on trains passing through generally uninhabited regions. More so than breeding, the real question is why so many reports are of 'black pumas' when the melanistic colouring doesn't exist even in the wild. You may have gathered it's not a subject I've become interested in since reading this thread; I'm heavily into crypto-zoology and collect such reports. Monsta - you completely missed my point: Packham was talking of a lack of native lynx, of which nobody - least of all me - is disputing. We are talking of animals that are not native to the country.

Malcolm, I think I may have been a touch unfair with that final sentence, as there is more to me not advertising on here than simply the 'tone'. I may be based locally, but my business is not, per se, 'local' so I see it serving little purpose. However, I am in the process of looking at more local business possibilities, so will consider the option. A quick one for TomTom - the North and 'reasonable' are not phrases I would class together (I'm assuming you're talking prices) and I know of no publicans who are unduly worried about the impending opening of Wetherspoons; the reasons are quite simple - people frequent this pub or that because they feel at home there, they meet the people they want to meet there, they like the ambience, music, staff, beer, pool table, bandits. whatever. Those people aren't suddenly going to up-sticks and head to Wetherspoons.