Publicans and 12 pubs of Christmas

Bozo Skeleton · 12-12-2013 01:12AM

I work in a bar, and luckily enough we tend to get the 12 pubs of Christmas gobdaws in Christmas jumpers on their first or second pub on the way in to town. I turned away 2 such groups that came in after 10 last Saturday. Far more hassle than they're worth, messy sloppy drunk amateurs taking over a pub and being an annoyance to all the regulars. Pretty sure I'll have to refuse more of them this weekend. Eejits.

Cienciano · 12-12-2013 01:22AM

average hero wrote: »

Supporters of 'the 12 pubs of Christmas' are usually the same amateur drinkers that jump on any silly bandwagon. Regular drinkers or 'hardcore' drinkers usually have no time for such silliness.

I work in a pub in the city centre and we have been turning away 12 pubs groups. Why? Because firstly, we don't need to entertain them, we have other customers who we would rather serve and we don't need the bar crawls business. This might sound rude, but it really isn't.

Secondly, as per 12 pubs rules, it is one drink per pub. Being near the end of certain routes, the groups are generally on their way and they tend to be more trouble than they're worth (one round of drinks). Maybe not YOU or YOUR GROUP but as a whole, overall. As stated, we have other customers who don't want to be associated with the 12 pubs.

Thirdly, I don't get the whole 'endurance test' of having 12 pints etc. I can understand the get together and the occasion but it really isn't a badge of honour. Spare a thought for the security / bar staff who are sober and tending to you this Christmas.

"Hardcore drinkers"? You mean alcoholics? Yes, they have no time for the 12 pubs people, they're usually mumbling to a pint of beamish with a shít in their pants

shedweller · 12-12-2013 01:38AM

Cienciano wrote: »

"Hardcore drinkers"? You mean alcoholics? Yes, they have no time for the 12 pubs people, they're usually mumbling to a pint of beamish with a shít in their pants

I lol'ed.

imokyrok · 12-12-2013 01:40AM

My daughter has just arrived in from having a few Xmas drinks with her college class from Cathal Brugha St. One of her classmates is originally from Nigeria. The bar staff in Madigans on O'Connell Street served all the Irish students but refused to serve her Nigerian classmate. Production of his Nigerian passport to prove his age was rejected by the bar man and the manager. They apparently said since they are not experts on Nigerian passports they couldn't tell if it was genuine. One wonders what they do when tourists want to drink in the pub on the main street of our capital.

Even customers who were not with the group remonstrated with the staff saying the behaviour was clearly racist but they still refused him service. Pretty disgusting don't you think?

Pai Mei · 12-12-2013 01:50AM

Is there only one drink in each pub?? So like by the end you would have only had 12 drinks?? How would people even be drunk at the fifth pub??

suicide_circus · 12-12-2013 02:00AM

Love the civic minded publicans not serving drunk people. same way they object to cheapalcohol in super markets on health grounds.

Pai Mei wrote: »

Is there only one drink in each pub?? So like by the end you would have only had 12 drinks?? How would people even be drunk at the fifth pub??

Most people would pretty much there after 5/6 drinks. You must remember not everyone is mad and legendary like you

shedweller · 12-12-2013 02:03AM

Pai Mei wrote: »

Is there only one drink in each pub?? So like by the end you would have only had 12 drinks?? How would people even be drunk at the fifth pub??

Picked up with the right hand, forgot to turn left when going to the jacks...
Ya know yourself!

Michael D Not Higgins · 12-12-2013 08:52AM

imokyrok wrote: »

My daughter has just arrived in from having a few Xmas drinks with her college class from Cathal Brugha St. One of her classmates is originally from Nigeria. The bar staff in Madigans on O'Connell Street served all the Irish students but refused to serve her Nigerian classmate. Production of his Nigerian passport to prove his age was rejected by the bar man and the manager. They apparently said since they are not experts on Nigerian passports they couldn't tell if it was genuine. One wonders what they do when tourists want to drink in the pub on the main street of our capital.

Even customers who were not with the group remonstrated with the staff saying the behaviour was clearly racist but they still refused him service. Pretty disgusting don't you think?

Well we don't know how young he looks and when in doubt they shouldn't be served.

Caliden · 12-12-2013 09:42AM

shedweller wrote: »

Picked up with the right hand, forgot to turn left when going to the jacks...
Ya know yourself!

Didn't salute before taking a drink.....pointed at something....called someone by their first name....

The bants are off the charts

rustedtrumpet · 12-12-2013 09:55AM

Gubons, the lot of em.

lee_baby_simms · 12-12-2013 09:58AM

If I was out during Friday or Saturday night I would definitely go to a specific bar if I knew the 12 pubs bull**** was not allowed.

Publicans are not interested in driving out their loyal regulars for transient, loud bunch of pissheads.

Caliden wrote: »

Didn't salute before taking a drink.....pointed at something....called someone by their first name....

The bants are off the charts

God its so wacky!! What will they think of next?

ibarelycare · 12-12-2013 11:08AM

I was in town on Saturday and these groups were absolutely headwrecking. I was in Porterhouse for some grub and a group of girls in Chrsitmas paraphernalia came in at about 3.30 and started buying shots and screaming and laughing, while most of the pub was either trying to watch a football match, or get some food in after Christmas shopping. I went up to the Globe then on George's Street and by 6 o'clock they were turning away groups on the 12 pubs. People were walking around the streets with drinks in their hands in the middle of the day, like it was Paddy's day.

imokyrok · 12-12-2013 01:17PM

Michael D Not Higgins wrote: »

Well we don't know how young he looks and when in doubt they shouldn't be served.

So you reckon they would have refused to serve a twenty year old British person or Finn who produced a passport as proof of age? And who was with a group who had all proven themselves to be of age? Give me a break!

Michael D Not Higgins · 12-12-2013 01:37PM

imokyrok wrote: »

So you reckon they would have refused to serve a twenty year old British person or Finn who produced a passport as proof of age? And who was with a group who had all proven themselves to be of age? Give me a break!

You're jumping to conclusions again. You weren't even there.

bumper234 · 12-12-2013 01:50PM

imokyrok wrote: »

So you reckon they would have refused to serve a twenty year old British person or Finn who produced a passport as proof of age? And who was with a group who had all proven themselves to be of age? Give me a break!

I have seen people (20 somethings) arrive up to pubs and hand in passports from when they were 7 years old (expired) They look nothing like the person in the picture, do you think they should be allowed in?

wallycharlo · 12-12-2013 01:51PM

imokyrok wrote: »

So you reckon they would have refused to serve a twenty year old British person or Finn who produced a passport as proof of age? And who was with a group who had all proven themselves to be of age? Give me a break!

I would tend to agree with the point that it is very difficult for bar staff to judge the auththenticity or otherwise of a foreign (particularly non-EU) passport. If doubt exists then the person should indeed be refused.

It's all too easy here to play the racist card. Imagine the uproar if the person was indeed underage, was served drink, and went on to have some manner of drink related serious incident? ...

Jamsiek · 12-12-2013 03:37PM

Doing it here in Vancouver on Saturday complete with Christmas sweaters and Santa hats. Pubs don't seem to have a problem with it here, maybe they will after this weekend :-)

120_Minutes · 12-12-2013 04:18PM

Jarrod wrote: »

TL;DR - Pub crawls: Great craic. 12 pubs: A load of sh1te run by fun-nazis having 'the banter' or some other sh1te.

Exactly. this 12 pubs bollocks needs to die in a fire.

neil_hosey · 12-12-2013 04:21PM

We got rejected from the Oak, funnily enough he let the first 6 women in, all with xmas jumpers.

Then stopped 6 lads, who werent drunk. He starting shouting right of admission at which point we left, alot of name calling from the bouncer too.. wont be going back there.

12-12-2013 07:20PM

Funnily the exact opposite is happening in Cork city centre. A good number of pubs are advertising themselves as 12 pubs of Christmas pubs. Posters up and everything with prizes for tagging your group in the pub on Facebook etc too.

April O Neill II · 13-12-2013 05:18AM

danniemcq wrote: »

could work the other way though.

if people are looking for a quiet drink or 3 and they know there isn't gonna be a group of drunken fools coming in then they might head there instead.

True, my fella and I left a 12 pubs trail pub tonight for a quieter one down the road.*

* we weren't doing a 12 pubs, just having a couple of leisurely pints to try and block out the trauma of late-night Christmas shopping.

April O Neill II · 13-12-2013 06:05AM

TiltedBrain wrote: »

Or any other year.

Group of 10 of us drinking weekly in a pub, 4-5 drinks each at 5 euro a pop.

10k - 12k potential loss a year for one group?

For the sake of not letting them in for one drink when they're out having some fun with Christmas jumpers on?

So in this hypothetical, if this pub hadn't turned you away, it would become one of your haunts, all 10 of you, and you would all drink there weekly?

April O Neill II · 13-12-2013 06:08AM

rubadub wrote: »

I suppose many resort to paying over the odds for 330ml bottles, which are little more than a half pint -but the bottle drinkers would probably ridicule a friend drinking a half pint.

I love me a half pint of Bulmers.

COYVB · 13-12-2013 06:25AM

Jamsiek wrote: »

Doing it here in Vancouver on Saturday complete with Christmas sweaters and Santa hats. Pubs don't seem to have a problem with it here, maybe they will after this weekend :-)

Canadian 12 pubs is a joke. If you're doing an "official" one and not one with your mates among yourselves, prepare for a complete and utter nightmare full of the worst kind of people (it'll be bro city)

April O Neill II · 13-12-2013 06:45AM

SparkySpitfire wrote: »

They're hardly a fad, grannies have been knitting Christmas jumpers as long as there's been wool.

They are very much a fad.

razorblunt · 13-12-2013 09:40AM

imokyrok wrote: »

So you reckon they would have refused to serve a twenty year old British person or Finn who produced a passport as proof of age? And who was with a group who had all proven themselves to be of age? Give me a break!

On a sidenote, my Irish passport was refused in Morrisons supermarket in the UK as "they only accept British passports". Their HQ almost had a coronary when I reported it, worked out handsomely for me in the end.

razorblunt · 13-12-2013 09:41AM

April O Neill II wrote: »

They are very much a fad.

Worryingly they have gone from "funny" novelty jumpers to ironic "ugly sweaters" that people actually wear all year round. I blame TopShop and River Island!

ben.schlomo · 13-12-2013 10:06AM

razorblunt wrote: »

Worryingly they have gone from "funny" novelty jumpers to ironic "ugly sweaters" that people actually wear all year round. I blame TopShop and River Island!

Moreso Penneys for novelty jumpers.

Michael D Not Higgins · 13-12-2013 10:17AM

razorblunt wrote: »

On a sidenote, my Irish passport was refused in Morrisons supermarket in the UK as "they only accept British passports". Their HQ almost had a coronary when I reported it, worked out handsomely for me in the end.

You're in Edinburgh right? Which Morrisons is that? Might shave my beard and go get a few cans.

castletownman · 13-12-2013 11:06AM

Ah the Twelve Pubs of Christmas

Because nothing symbolises the festive season like competitive drinking

Publicans and 12 pubs of Christmas

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