R.I.P – My local boozer. My escape, my sanctuary, my office. Where I could be a man…

Last Monday was a grim day in the Life of this Housedad. It was the day my local pub shut its doors for three weeks for a refurbishment.  Without question, it needed a lick of paint and new chairs that didn’t snag your trousers when you got up to the bar. But that was all. Everything else about it was perfect. It has been my local for 20 years and I have no-doubt poured thousands into its tills. It served my favourite Doombar bitter. It was the place I escaped to most evenings when my wife got home from work. It was where I wrote at least fifty per cent of these 400-plus posts. It was where everyone knew my name but left me alone if I didn’t want company. It was where I made new friends for when I did want company. And at weekends, it was where I bonded with fellow males over...

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