In the news

Retaliation begins -

Soleimani assassination: US airbase in Iraq hit by rockets in retaliation https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-51028954

Missiles fired (and claimed) by Iran.

And now a passenger plane has crashed in Iran. Christ.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/samuel-smiths-pub-swearing-ban-humphrey-smith-fox-goose-droitwich-a9152461.html

Never liked Sam Smiths pubs much but clearly it sucks to work for them.

He’s a cunt, literally trying to stop people from using their phone/laptop/tablet in his pubs, and punished staff for not trying hard enough to even kick them out.

#ableism

Horrible, the US is the terrorist.

Has that guy lost his marbles? Hears one swearword by a customer and shuts a pub down? ... has he ever been to pubs before?

Something seems fucky with the plane crash, given there was missile activity last night also.

Happened 5 mins after take off, no reports of the pilot issuing an emergency.
Also, it was on fire before it hit the ground:
https://mobile.twitter.com/isna_farsi/status/1214756225293979648

Either way, tragic.

The guy is a grade A weirdo. I did a bit of research into them when they hit the news for kicking out a gay couple for kissing - in their Soho pub. Amongst other findings (which may be out of date):

He only employs someone as landlord if they're married - so he gets two workers and pays for one.
Everyone is on minimum wage at best, even in London.
He always wears wellies and an old Barbour jacket.
No photos of him exist.
He's the richest man in Yorkshire.

There was all manner of dodgy stuff about stock, notably out of date stock, but this was about ten years back and I can't remember it. There was an employees' whistleblowing forum (independent), and the general gist is that they were a terrible firm to work for, and the culture was entirely driven by this weird Victorian Puritan farmer.

Possibly yes, there were articles when the non swearing policy was introduced.

Smith’s eccentricity is the source of local legend and seems to know no bounds. Regulars inside Smith pubs claim he habitually dresses up as a tramp and poses as a customer to make sure his rules are being enforced. Punters in the Commercial Inn in Oldham claim Smith once sacked a bar worker for not handing him the correct change – another tale of summary sacking it has not been possible to confirm.

In January last year Smith famously went to battle with the people of his own Yorkshire town after floods destroyed their bridge. Tadcaster was split into two separate communities after the incident two days before New Year’s Eve. Smith opposed the construction of a temporary bridge over the river Wharfe, which would allow residents to cross the town. It would have to be built on his land but he refused, saying, at a cost of £300,000, the bridge was “a waste of public money”.

The guy has also banned card payments in his pubs.

Ah well in that case, this problem is going to solve itself in the long run...

I'm from Yorkshire so have a soft spot for Sam Smiths pubs, also the ones in Fitzrovia are good, decent pubs. But I went back to York recently and went to the Kings Arms and it's now outright hostile to customers, they will basically kick you out if you even look at your phone.

Numbers supposedly on the flight;
Iran - 82; Canada - 63; Ukraine - 2 + 9 (crew); Sweden - 10; Afghanistan - 4; Germany - 3; United Kingdom - 3.

I know Canada has strong Ukrainian ties but a bit lost as to why they'd be in Tehran.

Before I joined the forum I used to frequent the glasshouse stores in soho most weekdays with my workmates as our office was just around the corner and we got to know the staff well, they used to be given accomodation in the pub if they wanted it but as I remember it they basically amounted to a single camp bed and a sheet divider in a shared room and they paid for the privilege.

You can imagine the quality of life on your days off when you literally live up a flight of stairs from where you work

Pints for under £2 though.

The guy has also banned card payments in his pubs.

he'd do a roaring trade with the crack heads of soho if he switched to a barter system.

I know Canada has strong Ukrainian ties but a bit lost as to why they'd be in Tehran.

Isn’t that just the nature of air travel?

Pints for under £2 though.

a round for 5 people with change from a tenner was what got us in the door in the first place.

our rounds all went to shit when we got a new receptionist who only drank the raspberry/strawberry beers which were about £5 a bottle.

When I first heard about it that was my thoughts too but that first article I linked to is from 2017 and it doesn't seem to be having much of an impact yet. Sadly the guy and his family probably have enough squirreled away that whatever happens they won't suffer, how many of his employees suffer as a result is a different matter.

Also the only place where you could get an all day hangover for under £5, though

receptionist who only drank the raspberry/strawberry beers

There's always one!

who's worse in the cut price pub owner cuntoff - Sam Smith's or 'Spoons?

not as bad as getting stuck in a round with the kind of people who order spirits in a nightclub. still sore about a £14 double vodka and redbull from about 2002

You can imagine the quality of life on your days off when you literally live up a flight of stairs from where you work

Definitely, when others call in sick you're first to get called in. But that's probs why it's almost always* young Antipodean guys who have live-in jobs.

*or it was when I was young enough to have mates who did

I've been stung like that. I used to have a policy where I'd wait for the offender's turn to get a round in and move onto cocktails.

Thankfully my nightclubbing days are in the past now.