My Local

"Pub?" —Hot Fuzz, uttered by Danny on three different occasions as a proposal where to go next (for finishing time, birthday celebrations, guns akimbo shootouts, etc.)

Public houses, or "pubs" are a cherished British and Irish institution, and are rather different from North American bars (or, at least, the TV versions of said bars). They're much better lit, more comfortable, better furnished, and serve "pub grub" as well as the usual mixed drinks and pints of ale. They're open to all ages until a certain hour, and they close much earlier. Service generally requires going up to the bar to order. The closest American equivalent is the Local Hangout.

The local pub (or "local") is frequently the glue that knits together a community or neighbourhood, and is an obvious focal point for the cast of many British Series.

Examples of My Local include:

Comics

• Time In A Bottle, a Good Guy Bar in Paul Cornell's Knight & Squire.
• The White Horse, a centuries-spanning pub frequented by The Sandman.

Film

• The Winchester in Shaun of the Dead.
• And, by the same people, the pub in Hot Fuzz.

Literature

• Harry Potter has the Leaky Cauldron, the Three Broomsticks and the Hog's Head, wizarding versions of the British pub. The Muggle pub the Hanged Man is where the locals of Little Hangleton gather to gossip about the Riddles' murder and conclude that Frank Bryce is responsible.
• The Horse and Groom in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, when the Earth is intact. Known only as "that pub there" in some versions.
• The Oxford Bar in the Rebus books/TV series - a real pub (not a bar...) in Edinburgh.
• In Songs of Innocence, the Little Vagabond wishes that church could be more like the local alehouse, with a warm fire, beer and merriment.
• The Wheatsheaf in David Langford's The Leaky Establishment and "Leaks". The nuclear weapon scientists who make up the clientele have taken one look at the sign (which presumably looks something like this) and renamed it "The Mushroom Cloud".
• There are many in Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels, the most well known being the 'Mended Drum' (previously known as the 'Broken Drum') in Ankh-Morpork. In books featuring the Watch, usually the featured pub is 'The Bucket' - a pub in which no one wants to go to, and because of this, has become popular amongst the Watch because there would be no fights that they would have to break up.
  • And 'Biers' which is favored by Ankh-Morpork's "differently alive" community.
• The Flying Swan, frequently used as a rallying point/sanctuary in the Brentford "Trilogy".
• The White Hart, from Arthur C. Clarke's Tales from the White Hart.
  • Based on the real world pub, The White Horse, where London SF writers and fans used to have a weekly get-together.
• While not discussed much in the main books, the local pub for residents of Ffarquhar, Sodor is a charming place called The Three Beetles. Good food and drink, good atmosphere, handy for the train station, and it even has a bowling green.

Live Action TV

• The Rovers Return, from Coronation Street
• The Queen Victoria ("The Queen Vic", or just "The Vic"), from Eastenders
• The Woolpack, from Emmerdale
• The Dog in the Pond, from Holly Oaks.
• The Canley Arms, from The Bill.
• The Archer from Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps
• The Crown in Men Behaving Badly
• The Oval Tavern in Peep Show
• The Railway Arms in Life On Mars. The Trafford Arms is also an example.
• The Lamb and Flag from Bottom (The same series also mentioned 'The Dog and Handgun')
• The Nag's Head from Only Fools and Horses
• The unnamed wine bar in Coupling.
• The Mucky Duck in Man About the House
  • Which resulted in the American adaptation Threes Company having the very British-local-seeming Regal Beagle.
• Pommeroy's Wine Bar in Rumpole of the Bailey
• The Drovers Arms, or "the Droves", from All Creatures Great and Small.
• 'The Jockey' of Shameless
• The college canteen and in a few episodes, a pub, in Mind Your Language
• The Grapes in Early Doors.
• The Aigburth Arms, Lister's watering hole in Red Dwarf

Radio

• The Bull, from The Archers.
• The White Rabbit, in Big Finish's Doctor Who spin-offs, is UNIT's local. The Doctor's also been known to pop in ... since the 15th century.
• Whenever a pub was mentioned in Hello Cheeky, it was either the Duck & Pullet or the evil variant, the Cock & Wallet.

Web Original

• This Time Round is this for the whole Doctor Who Expanded Universe.

Live Action TV

• The pub in Ballykissangel.
• Tigh Tadhg in Ros na Rún.
• McCoy's in Fair City.
• The Crane Bar in Jack Taylor (Also a real pub in Galway.)

Live Action TV

• Imperial Hotel from Blue Heelers, where the police of the town went to relax.
• Neighbours always has a bar of some sort in the same area of the Lassiters complex: the Waterhole (destroyed in a gas explosion), Chez Chez (renamed after Cheryl's death), Lou's Place (burned down), The Scarlet Bar (renamed after Max left it with his ex-wife) and Charlie's.