British Brewery Campaigning To Save Traditional Pubs


I’ve talked before here on Gadling about how British pubs are in danger. In 2011, an average of 14 per week shut down, and the trend is continuing. This is due to a number of factors, including the economic downturn, competition from cheap supermarket alcohol and ever-increasing taxes.

Now Wychwood Brewery has started an online petition to “Stop the Beer Duty Escalator.” Taxes on beer go up annually at 2 percent above the rate of inflation. The petition says this adds “considerably more pressure on the British pub, the cornerstone of many of our communities” and asks for this practice to stop.

“Going to the pub is a core British tradition and so is enjoying great beer,” the petition states. In a company statement, Wychwood Brewery said, “Imagine a world without pubs. Imagine communities with no heart. Imagine thousands of livelihoods affected.”

While this sounds like exaggeration, anyone who has lived in the UK for any length of time knows that it isn’t. Pubs really are a cornerstone to the national culture. The majority of people are regular pub goers, either for a quick pint of real ale or to watch a game or to enjoy a Sunday roast. They’re also a great way for tourists to experience the country and meet locals. The withering of that culture is reducing quality of life. I spend every Easter and summer in Oxford and every year I see prices go up and pubs close. It’s depressing.

Wychwood is aiming for 100,000 signatures, which will force the petition to be heard in the House of Commons. So far they have 27,517. If you’re a resident of the UK, I say sign this petition. You’ll be fighting for one of the nation’s cultural institutions and helping independent businesses.

[Photo courtesy Andrès Moreno]

SkyMall Monday: StarScreen Social Backdrops

Working from home is dramatically different from working in an office. For one, those of us who work from home rarely put on pants. Beyond that, we often spend most of our time alone, sitting at our makeshift, on our couches or even laying in our beds in front of our computers. The vast majority of the time this unconventional work environment is irrelevant, because no one sees us. So long as we’re delivering our work on time, no one is the wiser. Recently, however, with services such as Skype, FaceTime and Gmail video making videoconferencing easier and more routine, us work-from-home folks are suddenly being seen by our colleagues, clients and bosses. Here at SkyMall Monday headquarters, I’ve always been able to work surrounded by my dogs, gadgets and fake moose head safe in the knowledge that no one could see me. Now, however, I regularly have videoconferences and feel the need to look reasonably professional. Thankfully, SkyMall has just the product to make me appear as if I’m hard at work in an appropriate environment. Now, when I fire up the camera on my computer, I always make sure that my StarScreen Social Backdrop is attached to my chair.Exposing your home to your business associates is awkward. The last thing you need while on a video call is for your filthy child or pet capybara to walk into view. Instead, you want people to think that you’re in an office. Or, if you told your boss that you had to travel to a satellite office but instead you’re just playing with your new iPhone 4S in your apartment, you can use the beach, Venice, Bora Bora, Yosemite or Mount Rushmore backdrops to keep him from getting suspicious.

Think that using a fake background while videoconferencing is deceptive? Believe that everyone should wear pants while working? Well, while you scavenge for leftover turkey wraps in the conference room, we’ll be reading the product description:

Our delightful StarScreen Social Backdrops make video chatting and conferencing fun. It gives your chat buddy the illusion you’re in a fresh and exotic environment.

Convert your messy room in an instant.

Show off new backdrop designs to all of your social network friends.

Video chatting is typically such a chore, what with so much of it involving long distance couples attempting to virtually fornicate. It’s about time someone made it fun – especially for your social networking friends (real friends won’t be impressed).

The question isn’t weather you need a StarScreen Social Backdrop; it’s which one is right for you. While the office backdrop makes the most sense, it’s hard to resist the lure of the zombie backdrop. Just imagine videoconferencing with a prospective client while he yells, “Look behind you!”. Success in business is all about brains…BRAINS!

Check out all of the previous SkyMall Monday posts HERE.

Planning an Alaskan cruise this year? Better book early!

If you’re planning on taking an Alaskan cruise this year, you may want to book the trip sooner than later. Experts say that several factors, including high demand and limited supply, could make it very challenging for travelers to get the cruise experience they are hoping for in 2011.

According to this story on the Adventure Travel Trade Association’s website, Alaskan cruise operators have seen a sharp increase in demand from consumers in 2011, which bodes well for the travel industry as a whole. An improving economy and an active marketing campaign by the state of Alaska are mentioned as possible reasons for why cruise operators have seen as much as a 30% increase in demand so far this year when compared to bookings in 2010.

Increased demand isn’t the only issue that travelers have to deal with however, as supply has also been cut dramatically as well. A few months back, small-ship cruise operator Cruise West announced that the company had been sold and that they weren’t booking any trips to Alaska in the near future. The Seattle-based company once controlled 30% of the Alaskan cruise market, which is an awfully big chunk to lose so quickly.

These factors are likely to hit travelers directly in the pocket book too. With fewer cabins available, but demand on the rise, prices are likely to increase as well, especially as the cruise season grows nearer. Thanks to the sluggish economy, discounts have been available in recent years. That is unlikely to be the case in 2011 however, when most ships operating in the Alaskan waters are likely to be sold out.

So, if you have dreams of heading north to Alaska aboard some beautiful cruise ship this year, you may want to get that reservation in now. If you don’t, you could face the very real possibility of having that dream trip slip through your fingers for yet another year.

[Photo credit: Stan Shebs via Wikimedia]

A new place to spend euros: Estonia

One of the greatest boons to travelers in recent years is the expanding eurozone. Gone are the days when you spent a few days in France, then wasted money getting your francs exchanged into lire in order to visit Italy. There were always a few odd coins left over that ended up sitting useless in the sock drawer.

At the start of 2011, Estonia has become the 17th country to join the eurozone. The kroon will soon become a memory as the old currency is phased out.

While this is good news for travelers carrying euros, it could carry a hint of future trouble. Many countries that adopted the euro saw prices rise as shopkeepers rounded up in the exchange. This is what happened in Spain, and prices never stopped rising. What used to be a budget travel destination soon became almost as expensive as the rest of Europe. Living in Madrid I’m constantly hearing Spaniards complain about how much more expensive things are these days.

Estonia has also become a budget travel destination in recent years. The Baltic republic may be small with only 1.3 million people, but it has an interesting history, some beautiful countryside, and a distinct culture. Hopefully it won’t get too expensive to experience all that.