Since Stonch banned me from his website, I’ve obviously not had any referrals. Until yesterday, when someone made a connection from this post in October 2007, the week I started my blog.

Ah, that takes me back. The good old sparkler debate. Beer blogging was such a Frontier-like experience then. Stonch was the pioneer and so many followed in his wake.

But who’s that also lurking in the comments section, an outspoken, if not slightly gruff, surfer called Tandle Man? I wonder if he is any relation to our own, cherished Tandleman, who has now also been delisted from Stonch’s blog list.

Who will be delisted by the cockney sparra next? My money is on Real Ale Blog, another early adopter, who’s name is not now mentioned at the Gunmakers.

UPDATE: Stonch-gate! Click here for latest

Frustrated licensees are planning a protest march to highlight the plight of tenants outside the headquarters of Britain’s two biggest pubcos — Punch Taverns and Enterprise Inns.

Both pubcos are fueling the crisis in British pubs but surely they have to change their ways now. In good economic times they decided to forget about selling beer and become property companies. 

Can they keep squeezing their tenants out of the industry and still survive while pubcos like Wetherspoons are cornering the market?

The great Ian Bone has declared Saturday, January 31, 2009, to be National Anarchist pub crawl day. Before we can even think of revolution, we have to save our pubs.

Where first? I suggest Guest House, then Mason’s, Wellington, Old Ship, then – suitably tanked up – we storm the Vincent Hotel’s exclusive bar and demand to know why rich bastards are allowed to knock down beautiful old cinemas to build five-star hotels?

The reason I started this blog was to give a voice (albeit a rather mouse-like one) to those who were fed up with being lectured to by do-gooders and neo-Puritans who want to see our right to enjoy booze restricted.

I mused that there may be a political movement in all of this, although my appeal for violent revolution under the banner of Glass War went unanswered by the majority of Britons.

However, some Libertarian types have succeeded in stirring something up. The Drinkers Alliance, which was re-launched today promises to give voice to the “ordinary” drinker and fight those politicians who want to take away our freedom to get Piccasoed.

My only quibble with the movement is a disclaimer on their website which warns us about the dangers of overdoing it. This is just the sort of nannying that the DA should be fighting and they should drop this mealy-mouthed get-out sop to the docs from their otherwise excellent website.

I have signed up to their campaign, perhaps you should, too.

Taking umbrage at my view of the Cains situation, Alan Hastings of Ormskirk has contacted me with his opinion.

Mr Hastings has been fighting a campaign to reinstate Moorhouse’s Pendle Witches Brew to the Ship at Lathom, known locally as the Blood Tub. The Ship became a Cains pub following the Liverpool Brewery’s takeover of Honeycombe’s pubs in 2007.

Although he has been offered money-off vouchers and recommendations that he tries Cains brilliant Dark Mild, he is sticking to his guns.

He goes on to say that perhaps the reason why Cains is in such a mess is bloody-mindedness over the refusal to allow guest ales.

Ironically, Cains were in a similar position themselves at the beginning, trying to get their beers into tied pubs, relying on brave and cash-wise landlords prepared to do deals

I’m in the Cains-lovers camp and was delighted to be offered the Liverpool brewer’s range on a recent visit to the Ship. But I appreciate Mr Hastings’ frustration. It’s horrible when your favourite pint is banned.

Pubs and breweries are in less of a mess because of things like the smoking ban and more because of the unfair and monopolising business practises of the big pubcos.

These companies care little for beer and everything about property, they bully their tenants into paying huge rents and maintenance while restricting the choice of beer they can serve and the profits they can make.

The pubco system – a legacy of a Thatcher era – needs to be smashed.

There’s talk from union bosses, MPs and others this morning about trying to keep Cains afloat, but it all seems pretty grim. 

Sudarghara Dusanj told the Post this morning: “There is a very real possibility of the business folding.”

They quote Chris Routledge, an occasional commentator on this blog. Apart from the prospect of his favourite beer disappearing, Chris has just finished the proofs of the his new book Cains: The Story of Liverpool in a Pint.

He may now need to write a another final chapter at least, there may even be scope to tie in the collapse of Cains with a lot of the unease people in the city are feeling about how the post Capital of Culture landscape will look.

The event has concentrated on capital rather than culture. Aside from a lot of shiny new buildings, shops and here-today-gone-tomorrow businessmen, what lasting grassroots cultural value will the city take from this event if genuine Liverpudlian culture like its beer and pubs are gone at the end?

Cains sponsored the Capital of Culture in a deal worth more than £1m – money that could have helped ease the mess they are now in. At the time there was talk of Liverpool becoming some sort of Hong-Kong business powerhouse. The Dusanj Brothers got caught up in that thinking, hence their seemingly doomed expansion.

But there’s a bright side. With all this publicity, Chris’s book could be a Christmas best seller.

Update: Daily Post coverage HERE.

Start building the barricades. According to The Sunday Times, the Department of Health (otherwise known as DOH!) and the Home Office will shortly “consult the public” on new measures to curb the “irresponsible” sale of alcohol.

What does this mean, police closing down pubs because the booze is 10p cheaper for an hour? It’s time we booted out this nannying government and cleared the decks of those who want to control our lives and force us to become pill-popping health freaks like them.

Who’s with me?

UPDATE: British Beer and Pub Association fight back.

It seems the only enlightened country to live these days is Uganda, where the Government have announced an immediate reduction in the price of beer.

Local worthy Keith Muhakanizi said: “We want to encourage drinking of beer made from local raw materials.”

If only Idi Amin had followed the same course of action, he’d probably still be around today. Not that he’d want to be King of Scotland anymore, with the growing army of nannies they have there.

Still there’s hope that a petition against plans to raise the alcohol buying age to 21 in Scotland will be effective. If not, everyone of teenage years or heart should turn Scotland into a  giant supermarket booze party before that ban comes in. 

The Drink Warriors who shut down the London tube have shown us the way. 

The Government is to spend millions of pounds sending a team of anti-alcohol “experts” into Liverpool after the Department of Health branded the great city the booze capital of Britain.

The Liverpool Daily Post, which seems to swallow anything these days, has printed a press release about the worrying news here. The Post goes on to claim that drinking men die 20 years younger than teetotallers – a claim which is so full of crap that it hardly bears mentioning.

What is happening to my beloved Daily Post, which seems to be turning into a peevish, puritanical propaganda sheet?

The Govt’s National Alcohol Support Team (is that NAST-Y for short?) are to get £34m (about $70m for my American readers) to come up with ways of stopping people drinking in Liverpool and surrounding districts.

The police have promised to do their bit by pushing for Alcohol Disorder Zones (where pubs have to pay for policing work if anyone causes trouble after drinking there) and challenging all new licences.

These are worrying times for Liverpool drinkers.

The cops have closed down Liverpool (yay) Street station on the London Underground after thousands of drinkers turned up to protest against the ban on tube booze. The BBC has the first story.

Reports are coming in of other tube stations being over-run with pie-eyed partisans.

Brilliant! Let’s hope there’s similar stunts when the booze ban is in place. Make Boris’s first stupid decision one he remembers.

And let’s see Jones the Steam try to tell 200 footy fans to hand over their cans of lager when the new season starts.

If the unions had any guts they’d go on strike until the booze ban was lifted.

Update:  Liverpool Street, Euston, Euston Square, Aldgate, Gloucester Road and Baker Street tube stations are all now closed because of drinkers. The BBC has some great pictures of the fun here.

Update 2: 17 people arressed and three people assaulted as the drink ban comes into force. Reports of fights breaking out everywhere. Didn’t really think this one through, eh Boris.