Last Orders? Not Yet — Six Sutton Regulars on Why the Local Still Pulls Them In

The great British local is supposed to be in trouble. Rising costs, quieter weeknights, a generation that drinks less — you have heard the story. And yet, on a wet Tuesday in Sutton Coldfield, people are still walking through pub doors for a quiz, a coffee morning and a bit of company.

We spoke to six regulars at six different pubs across the town about what keeps them coming back in 2026. Some names have been changed at their request. All of them had one thing in common: the pub is not just somewhere to drink. It is somewhere to belong.

Margaret, 72 — The Crown, Boldmere: the coffee morning

Margaret has been going to the Thursday coffee morning at The Crown for three years. She started the week after her husband died, mostly to get out of the house.

'I walked in and did not know a soul,' she says. 'By the second week, someone had saved me a seat. That is the whole thing, isn't it? Someone saves you a seat.'

The coffee morning runs every Thursday from 10am to 11.30am, with £2.50 for a hot drink and a biscuit. Margaret now helps set out the cups. She says the pub has changed — less drinking at lunchtime, more food and families — but the corner table still does the same job.

Go this month: Thursday 12 November, 10am, The Crown, Boldmere. Just turn up.

Danny, 34 — The Bottle of Sack, town centre: the quiz night

Danny is the quizmaster at The Bottle of Sack on Tuesdays. He is a dad of two, works in logistics and admits he started the quiz because the pub was quiet on a Tuesday and he wanted somewhere to go with his mates.

'It is not University Challenge,' he says. 'Last week one round was just questions about biscuits. People take it exactly as seriously as they should.'

The pub is busier than it was five years ago on quiz nights, but Danny is honest about the rest of the week. 'Weeknights are quieter. People are watching the pennies. But a fiver in the pot and a bit of nonsense on a Tuesday? That still works.'

Go this month: Tuesday 10 November, 8pm. Teams of up to six, £2 per person.

Priya, 41 — The Station, Wylde Green: the knit-and-natter

Priya moved to Sutton Coldfield from Birmingham four years ago and knew nobody. She joined the Sunday knit-and-natter at The Station after seeing a poster in the window.

'I do not knit very well,' she says. 'But nobody minds. It is the talking that matters.'

The group meets on the third Sunday of the month, 2pm to 4pm, and has grown from four people to around a dozen. Some knit, some crochet, some just drink tea and offer opinions. Priya now brings her daughter.

'It is a proper local thing,' she says. 'You do not have to be good at it. You just have to turn up.'

Go this month: Sunday 15 November, 2pm. Bring your own wool or borrow a spare pair of needles.

Tom, 28 — The Fox, Mere Green: the acoustic night

Tom works from home and says he sometimes goes whole days without speaking to anyone except the postman. The acoustic night at The Fox on the third Thursday of the month is his antidote.

'It is small,' he says. 'Three or four people playing, maybe twenty of us watching. But it is the only time I see some of my neighbours.'

Tom says pub life has shifted for his age group. 'We drink less, we spend less, we go out earlier. But we still want somewhere to go that is not a coffee shop or a gym.' The acoustic night, he says, gets the balance right. 'You can have one pint and listen to a bloke with a guitar. That is a good night out.'

Go this month: Thursday 19 November, 7.30pm. Free entry, collection for the musicians.

Elaine, 58 — The Old Horns, Four Oaks: the book club

Elaine has been in the book club at The Old Horns for six years. The pub has moved towards food and family dining in that time, she says, and the book club has moved with it.

'We meet on the last Wednesday of the month in the side room,' she says. 'We have a rule: you can come even if you have not read the book. That keeps it friendly.'

The group reads mostly contemporary fiction, with the occasional local history book. Elaine says the pub is not the boozer her dad would recognise, but that is not necessarily a bad thing.

'It is cleaner, it is warmer, and there is more going on. The book club has kept me in touch with people I would never have met otherwise.'

Go this month: Wednesday 25 November, 7pm. This month's read is a short novel — ask behind the bar for a copy.

Callum, 19 — The Three Tuns, Sutton Coldfield: the pool league

Callum is a student who comes home most weekends. His Monday-night pool league at The Three Tuns is the reason he sees his old school friends.

'We are not brilliant,' he says. 'But it is a laugh. There is a bloke in his seventies who plays every week and absolutely destroys us.'

The league runs on Monday evenings and is open to new players. Callum says his generation wants different things from a pub — cheaper drinks, earlier starts, something to do. 'Sitting in a circle just talking is not always it,' he says. 'Give us a pool table and we will stay for two hours.'

Go this month: Monday 9 November, 7.30pm. New players welcome; ask at the bar to be put on a team.

What makes a good local in 2026

Ask six regulars and you get six answers: a saved seat, a silly quiz, a spare pair of knitting needles, a bloke with a guitar, a book you did not finish, a pool table that has seen better days.

The common thread is not the beer. It is the invitation. A good local in 2026 is one that gives you a reason to walk through the door on an ordinary night, and then makes it easy to stay. If you have been meaning to try one of these events, consider this your nudge. The kettle is on, the quiz sheet is printed, and there is probably a seat with your name on it.