In Praise of the Great British Village Pub
Why Third Spaces Are So Important for Creators
We used to have a wonderful pub in my childhood village of Bulmer in Essex, called the Cock and Blackbirds.
It's sadly closed now and become a private house, but picture it…
A low-beamed haven where locals went for a pint or two on the way home, or to make a night of it at the weekend.
You’d see the old pushbikes and battered pickups of farm workers parked out the front - sometimes with a brace of pheasants slung in the back.
Inside, the smell of good ale and just a hint of cigarette smoke hung in the public bar - with the comforting thunk of the fruit machine, and the familiar clack of pool balls in the background.
Energetic chatter would rise up from the locals sitting at tables or propping up the bar, as the jukebox belted out vinyl hits in the corner.
A decent restaurant was tucked away in the lounge bar across the hall too, serving plates piled high with local game, root veg, and a roast on Sundays.
I grew up loving places like this. The characters, shared stories and boozy chats of rural life. I remember clapping along watching the Morris Men on special occasions.
Over subsequent years as a writer, whether living in the city or countryside, I’ve often escaped to the snug corner of a pub to scribble ideas that later became income streams.
I’ve met up with my wife, family and friends for great nights out doing the pub quiz or singing karaoke, and met future business partners for meetings over pints.
However, with over 1,000 pubs closing every year in the UK since 2000 - I'm concerned future creators (and the wider community), won't be able to enjoy these essential third spaces for much longer - and that's why we should treasure and preserve them.
Or lose them at our peril...
Third Spaces Fuel Creative Work & Combat Loneliness
If you’re a creator, especially one balancing your side hustle in the quiet corners of early mornings or stolen lunch breaks, you know this truth: making things online is often a lonely business.
Third spaces - village pubs, local coffee shops, your neighbourhood bar - they break that isolation. They remind you you’re part of something bigger than your laptop and to-do list.
You overhear a snippet of conversation that sparks a fresh article idea. You meet a fellow dreamer and swap frustrations and wins. You just unwind with a good honest pint.
When we lose these places, we lose valuable community. We lose the casual connections that keep your mind fed and your spirits topped up.
That's why Jeremy Clarkson’s fight to save and regenerate the Farmer's Dog pub in Oxfordshire, and former model Jodie Kidd’s passion for keeping her local Half Moon pub alive in West Sussex - are not vanity projects.
Far from it.
They’re a genuine attempt to protect these precious places that give rural life its pulse and wandering creators their lifeline back to the real world.
Keep Third Spaces Alive & Thrive as a Creator
So if you’re crafting an online writing business, don’t underestimate the power of third spaces - especially if you live rurally.
It’s important to occasionally step out of your writing room and find a local pub or café that lets you breathe - so you can think, write, and connect there.
Support them by showing up and buying a coffee, or better yet a pint and a ploughmans.😋
And if you also want to support a digital community of likeminded creators building a writing business, then join us for daily tips at Weekday Writer.
👻 Content Champion Ghostwriting
Need content that sounds like you & grows your business (without writing it yourself)? Want to work with a 25+ year veteran copywriter? Let’s talk.📧 loz@contentchampion.com