If you go down to the pub today …

Published on Monday 31 August 2009 22:02

IT IS early on Tuesday evening, and Tam is on his way home from work. He checks his watch. No harm in popping into the local. After all, it's on the way.

He pushes open the door of the pub he has been drinking in for the best part of three decades, and takes his usual barstool among the usual faces.

They jabber contentedly, discussion swirling between politics, weather forecasts and that referee at the weekend. The usual chat. Might as well have the usual pint, Tam thinks.

Catching the barmaid's eye, he winks. No response. This time he nods. Still nothing. "Same old, please Jean," he says. She sighs, eyebrows slowly rising. "I'm afraid you're going to have to be a wee bit more specific," Jean tells him, preparing a drink behind the bar.

"What you meaning?" asks Tam, mindful of his thirst. "Well, from now on we've got this new blend that's replacing 'the usual'," she replies. In front of him, she places a tumbler, three-quarters full with clear liquid. "Adam's ale," Jean smiles. "Straight from the tap."

It is a scenario that is likely to be played out across Scotland's public houses over the coming days, prompting gales of laughter around the bar.

But it is also indicative of a wider change that will herald an end to age-old practices and traditions common to the nation's watering holes.

With the new Licensing (Scotland) Act having come into effect today, bar staff may no longer be au fait with the "usual", whatever it might be.

The legislation classes as irresponsible any attempt to "encourage, or seek to encourage" someone to buy a larger measure of alcohol than they initially intended.

Consequently, some companies training workers in the practicalities of the changes are discouraging them from asking customers, "The usual?" for fear such leading questions are tantamount to breaking the law.

The act also brings an end to happy hours and buy-one-get-one-free promotions. Free water will be available, and soft drinks must be sold at "reasonable" prices.

Such a broad range of measures has led some critics to denounce the act as state-imposed "teetotalitarianism" that will further damage an industry in precarious health.

However, representatives of patrons and pub companies said yesterday they expected little impact on the time-honoured experience of going down the local.

Patrick Browne, chief executive of the Scottish Beer and Pub Association, said that since the act received Royal Assent in 2005, many publicans had anticipated the changes. "I don't think there'll be any big differences to the pub experience," he said.

Mr Browne said that while there are "still issues about the way customers are dealt with", and went on:

"A lot of people will be very careful about asking if someone wants another drink, as it could be seen as irresponsible. But the idea of offering a glass of water between rounds is probably an extreme."

Paul Waterson, chief executive of the Scottish Licensed Trade Association, said: "In a system where licensees and servers are trained properly, the public will see changes and better standards. The onus is on tackling excess, and the government must now look at price stability in supermarkets."

Janet Hood, head of the British Institute of Innkeeping Scotland, the professional body for the licensed industry, dismissed as "nonsense" the idea that licensees would stop asking their customers if they wanted another drink.

"There's a difference between doing that and giving someone who wants a G&T ten shots instead," she said.

There will be a gradual learning process for all involved.

Some licensed premises will be trading unlawfully from today because of an backlog with licences.

Sergeant Mark Gilhooly from the licensing section of Lothian and Borders Police said it would take a "pragmatic approach" to enforcement because of the volume of applications. Strathclyde Police, too, promised a "common sense" attitude during a two-month period of grace.