Sometimes you just need to sit at the bar in a proper boozer and enjoy a beer and some quiet time. What I love about pubs like the Hungerford is there are always solitary blokes having a beer. Quietly reflecting or lost in their own thoughts. Bizarrely, in certain quarters, this is regarded as odd or even sad behaviour. I don’t understand that school of thought as I’ve always done it and it’s no different from going for a coffee on your own.

What I enjoy about these solo drinks is chance encounters. You never know who you’re going to chat to at the bar and what you might learn. The beauty is you’d never talk to the person next to you in your everyday life and expand your horizons. You’ll also likely never see them again but will have had the experience of a few pints and a pleasant chat. I’ve had many interesting and enlightening moments talking to strangers in pubs, mixing with different types of people.

I’ve touched on before how pubs are a beacon for the lonely and it’s important to consider your new friend might not talk to another person all day.

Pubs play a pastoral role in the community and I’m delighted proper boozers for working class people still exist in London. The Hungerford is a pub for people from all walks of life and puts a caring arm around its punters. Their closure durkig Coronavirus lock-downs has meant many older drinkers who live alone will be bitterly lonely. Their only social lifeline has been cut off and many aren’t tech savvy. The ability to order deliveries to even embrace the warm comfort of human interaction in a two minute chat at their doorstep is also beyond them.

I’m an infrequent punter here but it’s my type of pub - pool table, cheap, no kids in buggies and veteran punters having a booze. It’s rough and ready. It’s not sanitised. It’s real.

There are few characters in pubs now but this place is as authentic as it’s punters. I’m, as always, looking forward to passing the time of day with some of them next as soon as I’ve left.