The much-loved – in some quarters – Wetherspoon pub chain is associated with many things. For their supporters, who include this writer, they supply a range of interesting, well-chosen drinks at reasonable prices, often in buildings of historic or architectural interest that would otherwise have been demolished or turned into luxury flats. To their detractors, they are bilious, low-rent establishments that have caricatured the great British pub beyond recognition. Not for nothing have several taken their names from The Moon Under Water, George Orwell’s fantasia of what an alehouse should be, in what might be seen as either affectionate homage or opportunistic hijacking.

Pubs should be fun, convivial and welcoming places

Pubs should be fun, convivial and welcoming places

Yet what Wetherspoon establishments do not offer is quiet. To be sure, there are times, usually in the morning shift, when the only sounds that you can hear are the gentle chink of fork on plate as generous-sized breakfasts are consumed, and slurping as their clientele sip either a cup of tea or coffee (complete with free refills all day) or something stronger.

But when they are in full swing, especially at weekends and in the evenings, they are a raucous, Hogarthian affair, in which people from all walks of life can be seen taking full advantage of the opportunities for bacchanal........

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