Fancy a pint?

BBC Learning EnglishLondon LifeFancy a pint 1?
　　Callum: Hello and I'm Callum Robertson, and this is LondonLife. They are somethingof a British institution, they have their own specialisedvocabulary and there are over 6000 of them in London alone.
　　What am I talking about? Well it's the good old pub, ofcourse. Going to the pub is something that isquintessentially British, it's something that is part ofour heritage our culture and it's an experience which isn'treally the same anywhere else in the world.
　　So first, what do we mean by a pub. The word pub is shortfor public house, a public house. A public house is a placewhere alcoholic 2 drinks are sold for people to consume onthe premises 3. What makes a pub a pub and not simply a baris that pubs usually have some kind of homely 4 atmosphere.
　　There might be lots of wood in the décor, carpets on thefloor and if you're lucky an open fire where you can sitwith your drink and keep warm on a cold winter's night.
　　Pubs are usually identified by a sign hanging outside.
　　These signs were originally compulsory 5 following a 14thCentury law which said that whoever was making beer to besold had to hang out a sign.
　　These days most pubs are still marked by a sign hangingoutside and the names of pubs are also very traditional,like The King's Head, The Rose and Crownand the Carpenter's Arms.
　　There is a lot a specific vocabulary associated with pubsand pub is not the only word they are known by. Booze is aslang word for alcohol and so the boozer is another namefor a pub.
　　A pub that you go to regularly you call your local, and inyour local you are known as a regular.
　　So what is it about the pub experience that makes it sospecial? Dean Fetzer runs a website which provides a guideto and reviews of thousands of London pubs told us why.
　　Dean FetzerWell, it's about the whole package, it's about theenvironment, the atmosphere, the people who work in thepub, the people who visit the pub and the beer is importantbut it's not the ultimate part of the experience, it'sabout how you find the pub.
　　Callum: So according to Dean it's not the beer that's mostimportant about going to the pub, it is important but it'snot the ultimate part of the experience. That is theoverall atmosphere and environment, the people who arethere are the people who work there. It makes it all a verysocial and enjoyable experience. Listen again.
　　Dean FetzerWell, it's about the whole package, it's about theenvironment, the atmosphere, the people who work in thepub, the people who visit the pub and the beer is importantbut it's not the ultimate part of the experience, it'sabout how you find the pub.
　　Callum: In most pubs you can buy a wide range of alcoholand soft drinks, wines and spirits but because most pubshave a connection with breweries 7, companies that brew 6 orproduce beer, this is the main product sold. There are manydifferentbeers and lagers. In Britain if you order a beer what youget what is called, bitter, a dark beer which is not verygassy. Lager is the golden drink with more gas that is morecommon in many other countries. So if this is what you wantand you're in an English pub be sure to ask for lager. Andalthough you canbuy beer and lager in a bottle it's more usual for it to beserved by a pump which brings up the drink from barrels inthe cellar of the pub.
　　In Britain beer and lager from the pump is sold in measuresof a pint or half a pint. Just those two. A pint is abouthalf a litre. The word 'pint' is very useful to remember.
　　With British people you can use it when arranging a drinkand buying a drink. For example a very common phrase to useis this one:
　　Fancy a pint, fancy a pintIt means, "Would you like to come to the pub with me andhave a drink" Quite a long sentence there – so it's usefulto remember the short version:
　　Fancy a pint?
　　And of course the word 'pint' is used when ordering yourdrinks in the pub. A pint of bitter pleaseI'll have a pint of lager pleaseAnd if you don't want a pint, but a half pint, then we justuse the word 'half' Half a bitter pleaseHalf a lager pleaseFinally if you're going to an English pub there's anotherthing to remember. Here's Dean Fetzer again.
　　Dean FetzerDon't expect a waiter to come to your table and take anorder 'cos it doesn't happen in a lot of them, some aredoing it now, but it's quite a new thing.
　　Callum: That's right, when ordering your drink in a pub yougo to the bar and speak directly to the person workingbehind the bar, there are no waiters coming to tables totake orders!
　　Well that's all from this edition of London Life. I have toadmit that I'm quite thirsty now, anyone fancy a pint?