Thursday 18 September 2008

The Green Man

Here is another from Young's new portfolio of modern pub signs. This one appeared after a recent refurbishment at The Green Man on Putney Heath, a pub dating from 1700 and owned by Young's since 1831.

The history and traditions of the name The Green Man are well documented but I can find no reference to its relationship with a gingerbread man.

5 comments:

BryanB said...

Do I take it that you are no longer a fan of the Youngs pubco...?

The Beer Justice said...

No, I think generally I am still a fan. Not all good but their pubs are generally comfortable and every one sells real ale.

There are some areas though where they are ignoring or forgetting traditions.

I cannot really get wound up by pub signs, if the pint within is good, I am usually happy.

Anonymous said...

Hmmm. With my marketing hat on, I'm not sure which 'brand values' Young's are trying to get across with that sign. Or is it that they're trying to distance themselves from the pagan connections of the name...? Is it meant to be a gingerbread man or the chap from a set of traffic lights? I'm not over-keen, I have to say.

BryanB said...

I reckon that signs like this show just how right the sceptics were about Youngs - it is now "just another pubco", and one of the more clueless and fashion-following ones at that.

Living in "Fullers Country", I used to seek out Youngs from time to time for a refreshing change. I can't really be bothered with that anymore - and I'd not be surprised if the next few months saw the arrival of the first Youngs pub *without* real ale.

There are other pubcos that do a better job of supporting and selling real ale.

Anonymous said...

Maybe it's a message.

"Run, run as fast as you can, you can't catch me I'm a ecological gingerbread man!"