Pubs for the people: The fight for the pint and the nation

In their new book Pubs for the people, Amit Singh and Sivamohan Valluvan offer a daring defence of the humble public house, waging battle against those who see the pub only as a poignant symbol of a bygone England.

Making a journey into the nation's living room, they blend tales of Singh's father - the founder of London's first 'Desi pub' - with a lively travelogue that carries them from a hipster nightmare in Shoreditch to an izakaya-inspired Eccles pub run by migrants from Hong Kong. Along the way, they take on private equity, yuppie gentrifiers and culture-war blowhards who use the pub as a prop for their rage-baiting patriotism.

Life today can seem lonelier, angrier and poorer than it did before. But as Singh and Valluvan show, the pub offers the inviting prospect of a more equal, sociable and comfortably multiracial England.

Amit and Sivamohan will be in conversation with Malcolm James (Sussex Centre for Cultural Studies) and Phil Mellows, followed by audience questions and a book signing.

All are welcome!

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Caroline of Brunswick, 39 Ditchling Road, Brighton and Hove, United Kingdom

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