THE RED LION AND SUN

The Red Lion and Sun serves a good variety of food for it's customers. Most pubs provide basic refreshments such as crisps and nuts, and many serve sandwiches and other snacks. A growing number of pubs also serve a selection of hot meals.

Seating is provided outside the pub so that customers can sit and have their food and drinks here if the weather is good.

We call these benches with integral seating 'picnic tables'. You often find them outside pubs or cafes. It's great to have a picnic, but I don't think you would be very popular if you brought your own food to eat here. Sometimes there is a sign pointing this out. It usually states that -

 ' Tables are solely for the use of customers and only food purchased on the premises may be consumed here'. 

This pub serves both hot and cold food.  A printed menu inside the pub lists various steak and fish dishes, which would be served hot with potatoes (often chips or new potatoes) and other vegetables. 

In addition there is often a blackboard on the wall with a list of 'Specials' to add variety to the menu. This 'Specials' menu is changed every day and often includes seasonal foods.

The 'jackets' mentioned here are jacket potatoes. 

( see the British Foods section for an explanation).

The cold foods here would include sandwiches and baguettes. Baguettes are  long thin French stick loaves. Here you would get part of such a loaf, sliced in half and filled with meat or cheese plus a salad garnish. They are usually quite large.

Doesn't this look an inviting scene? Just the place to sit and have a drink after a hard day at work. The interior of the pub is nice too. It's very traditional inside. 

On the door is a notice stating that children are not admitted. For many years in Britain we have had strict rules preventing children from entering pubs or drinking alcohol. You have to be 18 before you are allowed to purchase alcohol in a pub.

These days pubs are trying to be more 'family friendly' and often have designated areas that accompanied children are allowed to enter. They often provide a special cheap menu for children and provide a play area in the pub garden. Small pubs such as this sometimes do not have room to provide these extra facilities. The bar staff will always tell you whether children are allowed in.

Some pubs also provide entertainment.

Here they are advertising Jazz evenings on Wednesdays and Saturdays. It is quite common to abbreviate the names of the days of the week in this way.

A 'Sing Along' is an occasion when a singer would be hired to sing well-known songs and get the audience to join in with them.  Karaoke evenings have also become very popular in Britain in the last few years! We don't have special clubs for karaoke but pubs often hire the equipment for an evening.