I wish that CAMRA would make up its mind

Tea makers by any chance? I have an aunt (all of 2 years older than me) who worked for them and didn't like the slavery.

Sadly I don't think there that many good licensees available to open new pubs. The last few decades brought a lot of spanner weilding people into the trade who thought of beer as simply containerised drink, pubs as "retail sales consumption locations" and customers as "end users"

But how much work did the "traditional" pattern of 11-3, 5.30-11 and 12-3,

That's 63½ hours a week, and going back fifteen years or so, the vast majority of pubs opened those hours, or something very close.

For some pubs yes, for others no. I know plenty of pubs where Saturday lunchtimes are very quiet, and Sunday only really perks up after 2 pm. And plenty of urban pubs have no food trade worth speaking of.

In this case he probably does :-) He also serves no food.

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The pubs IME which opened every lunchtime were urban ones, and I wouldn't think that has changed much, although less alcohol will be consumed at lunchtimes by workers these days, in fact many companies ban lunchtime drinking, so the emphasis has shifted to food rather than drink. Rural pubs, except for holiday periods, have had little point opening since the tractor replaced many farm workers, and that took place over 50 years ago. Everyone's local will be different, and a survey of pub open hours is probably available, but extending hours has, as a rule, meant increasing hours. The extension to 11.00 IME has meant that every pub stays open whilst 11.00 The allowing of Sunday drinking in Scotland has meant that virtually every pub is open on Sundays. The big change in pubs is their profitability, hence the closures we see all the time. Of course some may be laid at the feet of incompetence, but if 6/week close due to incompetence, and pub life/profitability were so good, then 6/week should be opening by competent licensees intent on doubling their trade/good life. The turnover in licensees these days is very high, with around 4 years being the norm. in the free trade, and longer in the tied houses as they have to sign up for longer as a rule.

And yet they open. Doesn't this presuppose that even when trade is poor they feel they have to take it?

Indeed, but food has increased in importance in the pub trade generally as a counterbalance to decreasing alcohol sales.

He is, IME, unusual. I know plenty of licensees who do serve after hours, but it's not because they really want to, it's because they need to.

No, I would say that in the early 80s, pretty much every pub, urban, suburban or rural, opened more or less the full permitted hours in their district. OK, many would open at 11.30 rather than 11 or 10.30, and maybe at

The spread of lunchtime closing has mostly occurred after the liberalisation of opening hours.

There is no reason to believe that, in practice, after the liberalisation of evening closing, small tenanted pubs and freehouses would end up opening longer hours than before.

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I would say yes, but that may be a slur on a company who might well produce very acceptable tea:-) But you are correct.

The alternative to a flexible system is an inflexible one that HAS to be defined. You can't have it both ways.

Perfect.