High hops for Italian vineyard owner’s son paid to drink English ale!
By: JimOldfield
May 3rd, 2012
A Sardinian vineyard owner’s son has picked the best job in Britain – being PAID to spend time in country pubs!
In a move that rivals editing Hand-Pumped (!) Dr Ignazio Cabras has won a £7,700 grant to spend 18 months studying the British pub in a bid to save it from extinction.
The 33-year-old York University academic has already visited about 100 Lake District pubs to learn how life revolves around them, and his grant from the British Academy – the national body for humanities and social sciences – will help him go national, in studying the rural pub’s role in our social and economic life.
The York Management School ‘s economics, business and management lecturer said: “We need to help these pubs and give all the assistance we can to the people trying to save them.
“I am a member of CAMRA and I am trying to learn how to brew my own ale, but I have a long way to go!
“I first came across British beer while I was a student in Italy and liked the taste. My parents are quite interested in my peculiar passion for beer… they say it’s OK as long as I drink responsibly.
Dr Cabras began studying pubs five years ago when living in Cumbria. Two years ago he published research on the threat to village inns in the Lake District, showing how they are the hub of their communities.
He has now identified 1,700 rural pubs nationwide, in parishes with populations under 3,000 and at least five miles or 10 minutes drive from larger ones.
And he hopes to persuade local authorities to give them the breaks that keep them in business, adding: “Local authorities can support them by looking at things like rate relief, tax relief or training schemes for young people.
“A pub is an essential in British society, especially in rural areas.
“It generates jobs in areas where employment is difficult and also helps local producers.
“The presence of a pub can even increase house prices.”
For more about Dr Cabras, visit the link below.
