Conversation:

An Off Licence in the UK is not necessaraly attached to a pub. In fact, it rarely is. In the UK Pubs generally have two types of licence, one for consumption on premises and one for comsuption on or off premises. Most pubs have the later, dual licence. Gone though are the days when there was a seperate room or counter for off sales. Some pubs still have the rooms there, but these are rarely used for that purpose. In general they have either been knocked through and become part of hte pub itself, or are now used as store rooms. Most off sales in pubs are done over the main bar.
An Off Licence in the UK generally has nothing what so ever to do with a pub and very rarely has a licence for consumption on the premises. Mostly they are akin to liquer stores, selling just that, along with a current trend for stocking ice-cream and sweets.

The wording was never meant to suggest that it was! It was suggesting that in Australia, a bottle shop (off-licence) may, or may not be, attached to a pub!

Whoami?

There was an old style Off Licence room at the pub which would have been my local if I'd stayed at home long enough. When I was little we'd sometimes go in there on hot days and be able to get a glass of water, and a few years later we used it to buy bottles of cider . I haven't been there for about 30 years, so I've no idea if it's still an offy. The only other place I've ever seen one like that is in a few old northern pubs around Manchester - the kind that have a tap room and a snug.

Oh, nicely written entry btw. How rude of me not to say so

And I more so rude. It is a good entry, very good actually as I was able to follow and understand it

I'm sure the author will pop in to accept your congratulations later, but honestly, there wasn't much to change.

Excellent summary.

If I might offer one small addition,

If you happen for some reason (alcohol poisoning being the most probable ) to be unable to recall which State or Territory you happen to be in at this particular moment, the phrase "I'm gasping mate, can I have a draught thanks?" will result in delivery of some sized glass of the local favorite draught beer.

Whilst drinking that, you can read the posters/taps in the bar and look in the invariable glass fronted "foreign beer" fridge (which includes anything from interstate as well) and make an informed decision as to your second purchase.

Good idea!

... and finally, the author makes an appearance. Sorry, Friday my toddler was sick, and then the weekend got in the way of being at work and checking in. Bother.

Thanks for the feedback, peoples, and I see my trusty editor has been responding to suggestions and enquiries. (Ta muchly, Whoami?!)

In the draft stage there was someone who lamented that if ordering a beer were that difficult, surely the phrase "Just gimme a beer!" must be heard fairly frequently. I guess the point is that asking for a glass of beer will get you a different size in different places. Once you've established what you've got you can ask for a larger or smaller one, depending on your preference. It's really not that complicated! *sheesh*

Guran

Thanks Guran!