The Disgrace Of The Greencoat Boy

Until yesterday, the Greencoat Boy was just one of those nondescript chain pubs in central London. Generic menus, generic beers, no dartboard, no jukebox and no pool table. Overall, it is a case study in the declining uniqueness of many British pubs under the crushing impact of the massive pub chains.

That was until yesterday evening, when the pub's name was tarnished by an act of bigotry. Yesterday evening, the #greencoatboy became the biggest rending item on Twitter. A LGBT Labour group had made a group booking for the pub but were told by the barman that he would not serve them and would not have taken the booking if he knew what kin of group had made it.

And then the power of Twitter kicked in. Within minutes, political tweeters of all parties had protested about the shocking behaviour of the pub. This Facebook group was set up and gained hundreds of members within minutes. Bloggers posted the contract address for Punch Taverns and other means for action. Various means of social media made this bone-headed decision by pub management the cause of rapid activism.

That this kind of thing can happen in modern Britain is absolutely shocking. Frankly, it isn't good enough. The pub is rightly facing opprobrium from across the political spectrum.

If you do need to drink in the area where the Greencoat Boy is, you should check out 'The Speaker' or 'The Cardinal' - two very good pubs that have ten times more atmosphere than the Greencoat Boy.