English pubs are different from bars in other countries. A lot of people meet in them - rich people and poor people, old people and young people. In the oldest pubs, there's a man playing the piano, and everyone sings old songs.

An English pub's usually very noisy and full of smoke from cigarettes. Most people drink beer. You can ask for 'bitter' or 'mild', but mild is a workmen's beer and a lot of pubs don't sell it now. The beer's drunk from a small tankard that holds half a pint of beer or from a large tankard that holds a pint of beer. A lot of foreigners don't like English beer because it isn't drunk cold. But the English say that good beer is like good red wine - you shouldn't drink it cold!

When you want a drink in a pub, there isn't a waiter who brings you drink to your table. You must go to the bar and ask the barman for your drink. You pay for your drink when you order it - before you drink it; and then you carry it to your table yourself. But a lot of people don't sit at the tables; they like to stand near the bar. It's there that you'll hear the most interesting conversation.

Pubs are open from eleven o'clock in the morning to three o'clock in the afternoon, and from half-past five in the evening to eleven o'clock. If you want a drink at another time, you must drink coffee or tea! At ten to eleven every evening, the barman shouts: "Last orders, please!" Everybody rushes to the bar to buy a last drink. Then, at eleven o'clock, the barman shouts: "Time, gentlemen, please!" This means that it's the time when the pub must close. You needn't leave the pub until ten past eleven, but the pub isn't allowed to sell any more drinks. Thirsty people who arrive too late are often vary angry.

Sometimes pubs in the country sell drinks until midnight or one o'clock, but someone must always stand near the window to tell the barman if a policeman's coming!

After the pubs close, a lot of young English people have parties at their homes. Some of them go to dance - but they must usually drink coffee. There are even restaurants that aren't allowed to sell beer or wine!