These long three weeks of full lockdown that have just passed (here on the Isle of Man at least) have been a keen reminder of the liberty we’ve been lucky enough to enjoy for the previous six months. Home schooling, work difficulties, strapping masks on, cabin fever. Sure, none of those are fun, but it’s what you miss that matters the most: friends, family, and the places in which to spend time with them. The pub, for us at least, has always played a pretty fundamental role there.
As something to pass the time during lockdown, we started the Outlier Manx Cup of Pubs and Bars. It was just a bit of fun, but pulling together the list of pubs and bars (which we’ve loosely classified as “an establishment where people regularly go for a drink not primarily for food”) it got us thinking. Not only did it make us realise just how many pubs have closed, it raised the question of how many others will. Put simply, pubs and bars need support if they’re going to stay open. It’s not exactly a large cross to bear: pick a pub you like, meet some friends there, have a drink (boozy or otherwise). Maybe even have a pickled egg.* Then laugh, make merry, toast absent friends, hug. For those in the UK and beyond, hold tight.
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During lockdown we ran some hundred odd pubs against each other in Twitter polls. The following pubs made it through the group stages and we’re going to put our money where our mouth is and got to a pub with friends on Wednesdayto do the draw for the knockout rounds. Follow us at @OutlierCompany to vote on those knockout pairings from Thursday, 4 February.
The Albert (Douglas)
Bottle Monkey (Douglas)
The Bridge Inn (Douglas)
The British (Douglas)
Bushy's TT Tent (Douglas)
The Cat with No Tail (Douglas)
The Creg-Ny-Baa (Onchan)
Foraging Vintners (Port Erin)
The Front Porch (Douglas)
The Ginger Hall (Sulby)
The Glue Pot (Castletown)
The Grosvenor (Andreas)
Horse & Plough (Douglas)
Kiki's Tiki Lounge
The Mines (Laxey)
The Nags Head (Douglas)
The Plough Hotel (Ramsey)
The Prospect (Douglas)
The Queens (Douglas)
The Queens Hotel (Laxey)
Quids Inn (Douglas)
The Railway (Douglas)
The Raven (Ballaugh)
The Rovers Return (Douglas)
The Saddle (Douglas)
Sam Webbs (Douglas)
Seven Kingdom Distillery (Douglas)
Sir Norman's Bar (Douglas)
The Thirsty Pigeon (Douglas)
The Trafalgar Hotel (Ramsey)
The Tynwald Inn (St Johns)
The Woodbourne (Douglas)
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*Never have a pickled egg. They’re awful things. And it should go without saying but always drink responsibly.