In honour of his 60th birthday, Beautiful South musician Paul Heaton has revealed he’ll be putting cash behind the bar at 60 pubs today.
The multi-talented artist had previously planned to celebrate his birthday with a bicycle tour, taking him to 60 different UK and Irish pubs – but thanks to Covid and recording delays, he’s been forced to rethink.
So now, instead, he’s decided to put cash behind the bar of 60 handpicked local boozers today instead so that fans can at least enjoy a drink on him, if not actually with him, reports The Hoot.
The money will be behind tills today, Monday 9 May, at a number of different pubs in Greater Manchester – including The Britons Protection in Manchester city centre, The Railway Inn in West Didsbury and Bowling Green in Chorlton.
Image: The Manc Group
According to a list of pubs shared on Paul Heaton’s Facebook page, fans can also find cash at The Flying Horse in Rochdale, The Orion in Withington, Albert Wilsons in Withington the Dog & Partridge in Warrington and Bird i’th Hand in St Helens.
Paul Heaton made the announcement in a Facebook post, shared over the weekend.
He wrote: “Both regulars and yourselves can enjoy a birthday drink on me (until the money runs out, or the bar runs dry!).
“The hope is to bring people together on the day, whilst recognising that many folk who bought my records or showed me support over the years, could do with a wee party, as we come out of Covid and hit potential financial struggles.
“I’ll announce the full list of pubs and locations tomorrow, so if there’s one near you please head over on Monday, show your support and raise a toast to me on my birthday!”
The full list of pubs where Paul Heaton has put cash behind the bar for his 60th:
Robinsons Bar – Great Victoria St, Belfast
Eddie Murphys – Thomastown, Kilkenny
Peadar O’Donnells – Waterloo St, Derry
The Punters Rest – Tipperary
The Sky on the Ground – Whitewell, Wexford
Courtney’s Bar – Killarney, Co. Kerry
Keohoes – Dublin
Tig Coili – The Latin Quarter, Galway
Bonners Corner Bar – Ballybofey, Co. Donegal
The Old Toll Bar – Paisley Rd W, Glasgow
Nice n Sleazy – Sauchiehall St, Glasgow
The Sheep Heid Inn – The Causeway, Edinburgh
Kay’s Bar – Jamaica St, Edinburgh
Tanners Arms – Byker Bridge, Newcastle upon Tyne
The Freetrade Inn – Lawrence Road, Newcastle upon Tyne
The Half Moon – Northgate, Darlington
The Black Bull – Main St, Darvel
The Sportsmans Inn – Heads Ln, Carlisle
The Original Oak – Headingley, Leeds
The Flying Horse – Packer St, Rochdale
Britons Protection – Bridgewater St, Manchester
Bowling Green – Chorlton-cum-Hardy
The Orion – Burton Road, Withington
The Railway Inn – Lapwing Ln, West Didsbury
Albert Wilsons – Wilmslow Rd, Withington
The Dog & Partridge – Manchester Rd, Warrington
Bird I’th Hand – Prescot Rd, St Helens
The Saddle Inn – Dale St, Liverpool
The Casa Bar – Hope St, Liverpool
The Globe – Cases St, Liverpool
The Coachmakers Arms – Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent
The Bay Horse – Market Pl, Market Weighton
Lord Nelson – Arundel Street, Sheffield
Riverside Kelham – Mowbray St, Sheffield
The Morning Star – Greetwell Gate, Lincoln
Ye Olde Blue Bell – Market Place, Hull
The Whalebone – Wincolmlee, Hull
The Grafton – Grafton St, Hull
The White Horse – Hutton Cranswick
Hatfield Main Pit Club – Stainforth, Doncaster
The Old Horse – London Road, Leicester
The Black Horse – Aylestone, Leicester
The Bulls Head – Cambridge St, Saint Neots
Hardies – Merthyr Tydfil, Wales
Golden Fleece Inn – Market Square, Porthmadog
Rummer Tavern – Duke St, Cardiff
Hare & Hounds – King’s Heath, Birmingham
Patrick Kavanagh – Trafalgar Road, Birmingham
The Red Hart – Bodham, Norfolk
The Eagle – Norfolk St, King’s Lynn
The Duke of York – Woodbridge Rd, Ipswich
The Stags Head – New Cavendish St, London
The Coffee House Pub – Beak St, London
The Glue Pot – Emlyn Square, Swindon
The Thunderbolt – Bath Rd, Bristol
The Cricketers Inn – South St, Dorking
Grasshopper on the Green – Westerham, Kent
Minerva Inn – Looe St, Plymouth
Duke of Wellington – Brighton Road, Shoreham-by-Sea
Polgooth Inn – St Austell, Cornwall
Feature image – Facebook
News
New data reveals a third of Brits admit to secretly sneaking off work early on a Friday
Emily Sergeant
Surprising new data has revealed that a third of Brits admits to secretly sneaking off work early on a Friday.
After a long and tiring week, most of us would love the chance to clock off work a little earlier than usual on a Friday, but for a lot of workers, this isn’t always a possibility – and for some, they even have to work longer at the end of the week to make sure everything has been finished off and tied up before the weekend arrives.
But since there has been a noticeable rise in remote working and working from home, a new survey has revealed that working attitudes have changed.
Virgin Media has released new broadband data that reveals a drop in traffic on Friday afternoons during the summer months – with as much as an 8% dip between 3-5pm compared to the winter, as remote workers clock off early.
A third of Brits admit to secretly sneaking off work early on a Friday / Credit: Glenn Carstens-Peters | Robin Worrall (via Unsplash)
The Friday traffic drop-off comes from Virgin Media’s broadband network analysis, which it says is a ‘reliable indicator’ of the connectivity habits of the British public.
Alongside the network data, Virgin Media also asked Brits about their work policies and working habits ij a bid to fully understand the trend.
Nearly a third (30%) of Brits say they have a formal early Friday finish in place during the summer, but despite almost half of UK adults (48%) saying they’re not authorised to finish early on a Friday, 32% have admitted to regularly logging off with or without official permission.
Surprising new data has revealed Brits’ working habits / Credit: Chuttersnap (via Unsplash)
Many Brits have also confessed to working ‘on the move’ on a Friday afternoon too.
15% admitted to having worked from the train station as the weekend creeps nearer, as well as 14% from the park, 10% from the pub, and many as 30% of 18-24-year-olds worked from the car while travelling for the weekend.
“Our network traffic analysis is revealing changing workplace habits in real time as the nation takes advantage of long summer Fridays,” commented Jeanie York, who is the Chief Technology Officer at Virgin Media O2.
“We’re continuing to boost our fixed and mobile networks so whether Brits are working from their local park, or finishing their work at home, we’re ready to keep them connected.”
Featured Image – Israel Andrade (via Unsplash)
News
Tiny Manchester pub brilliantly condemns ‘alarming rise’ in hate speech
Daisy Jackson
A micropub in Manchester city centre has spoken out about an ‘alarming rise’ in hate speech.
The Victoria Tap, a tiny little boozer at Manchester Victoria train station, strongly condemned any racist, homophobic or sexist conversations taking place in its venue.
The pub said ‘there is absolutely no room for it’ within its walls.
In a statement – which has been met with praise from customers and followers – they added that anyone bringing hate speech to the pub ‘can let the door kick you on the way out’.
The Victoria Tap wrote: “We’ve noticed an alarming rise in racist, homophobic and sexist slurs/comments/conversations lately and we just want to say that there is absolutely no room for it here.
“This is a safe space for everyone.
“If you, or someone in your group, want to disturb this philosophy, you can let the door kick you on the way out.”
The Victoria Tap has brilliantly condemned ‘alarming rise’ in hate speech
Praising their statement, one person wrote: “Great to read this. There is NO place for this. All public spaces should be welcoming.”
Another said: “Pubs should be welcoming environments for people of all walks of life. There’s no room for misogyny, racism or discrimination of any kind. Those who espouse those thoughts need a good hard look in the mirror.”
Someone else commented: “That’s how I see the Vic Tap. Great place for a safe quiet pint. Keep up the great work guys as it’s a fantastic venue.”
The Victoria Tap opened at Manchester Victoria back in 2023, completely transforming a space that was previously a bin store.
As well as its cosy interior, it has a small beer garden which overlooks the tram tracks in and out of the train station.
It’s operated by the same team behind the Piccadilly Tap and the even newer Oxford Tap.
We know exactly where we’ll be heading for our next pint now. Good work, Victoria Tap.
Georgina Pellant -
9th May 2022 
