Rugeley Pubs
Oh God.. where do I start?

Rugeley pubs were the roughest pubs on the planet, in the days before smoking bans and the rapid shutdown/restaurantification of the brewing trade.

Take, for example, the Globe, locally known as "The Stranglers Arms" due to being the location a local prostitute was last seen alive. So rough, that for a while they went over to plastic glasses. Or the Shrew, infamous for it's part in the "Palmer the Poisoner" case subsequently filmed with Keith Allen as Dr. Palmer, but in my time well-known for underage drinking and the start of many a teenage pregnancy.

Or how about the Tree? Kept by the father of my schoolfriend, this was where the real hardcases drank in the 70s. My father once went in there with my uncle John from Cannock, who was only about 5 foot 1. Some local 6 foot tall hardcase with something to prove decided to make life hard for uncle John - the usual "shortarse" jokes, etc. John ignored him, which irked the hardcase, leading him to grab John by the shoulder.

Big mistake.

According to my father, he'd never seen such a display. Uncle John turned round and calmly floored the hardcase with one punch, knocking him unconscious.

The whole pub came to a standstill.

Uncle John turned to the landlord and asked "Am I barred?"

"Self-defence" said the Landlord, and everything went back to normal.
( Stevedix http://www.stevedix.de/blog, Fri 6 Feb 2009, 12:21, Reply)