taint.org: Justin Mason’s Weblog

Dublin: This is it — it could be the end of an era. CB Richard Ellis auctioneers have a page up noting a new property to be auctioned on Wednesday 11th May 2005 — The Stag’s Head, 1 Dame Court, Dublin 2:

The Stag’s Head is one of Dublin’s most famous and finest landmark licensed premises, with many outstanding Victorian features.

The bar is lavishly appointed with many fine Victorian features from the beautiful mahogany panelling through to the red Connemara marble counter and the ornate stained glass windows.

Accommodation briefly comprises ground floor traditional style bar with feature mahogany and marble topped bar counter and terrazzo flooring with a snug area to the rear with ornate stained glass skylight. On the first floor there is a further lounge bar area with feature bay window. On the second floor there is a large catering kitchen, dry goods store and office. In the basement there is a further lounge bar area, cold room and toilets.

Many nights were spent in the Stag’s Head partaking of their excellent Guinness. It used to be my local, at one stage, and I still drop back in for a night when I get the chance. Save the Stag’s!

As my mate Ben put it –

The new owners will doubtless get rid of the (moth-eaten, stuffed) fox, put in recorded music and big-screen televisions, hire bouncers, open on Sundays, extinguish the distinctive odour of damp, replace the marble with formica, and dig up the Dame St mosaic and trade it to the Russian Mafia for heroin and trafficked women. Evil bastards.

Tags: area, bar, counter, dublin, floor, glass, head, lounge, mahogany, marble, stag

ThisIsLondon: ‘David Blaine thought he was ready for anything. The US illusionist suspended in a glass box over London had prepared himself for 44 days of starvation, loneliness and boredom.

But there was one thing he had not planned for - Londoners.

… the prize for invention went to golfers who teed up with clubs on Tower Bridge and tried hitting the box with golf balls.’

Tags: anything, boredom, box, glass, illusionist, londoners, prize, starvation, thing, thisislondon

New Scientist: The Last Word: ‘Q: I have heard that it is possible to live on Guinness and milk alone. Is this true, or even partially true?’

‘A: This is not quite true. Guinness does contain many vitamins and minerals in small quantities, but is lacking vitamin C, as well as calcium and fat. So, to fulfil all of your daily nutritional requirements you would need to drink a glass of orange juice, two glasses of milk, and 47 pints of Guinness. — Nigel Goodwin , University of Nottingham’

No problem!

Tags: calcium, fulfil, glass, guinness, milk, new, orange, scientist, vitamin, word

Coca-Cola has been working on a new sales technique for restaurants, called H2No“: a method to reduce what is known as “tap water incidence”.

Each time a glass of water is requested, waiters must emphasise the wide range of beverage selections available, including soft drinks, non-carbonated beverages and alcohol. Especially, no doubt, those produced by Coca-Cola.

Date: Tue, 04 Sep 2001 13:46:20 +0000
From: “Martin Adamson” (spam-protected)
To: (spam-protected)
Subject: Month-old story from forteana-l finally hits British press

Evening Standard - 4 September

Coke’s war on water
by David Rowan
You’ve finally plucked up courage to ask a sniffy waiter for a glass
of tap water and the worst you’re expecting is a passing scowl of
disapproval. So you had better hope he hasn’t been trained by
Coca-Cola in its latest corporate mission - Just Say No To H2O. 
Concerned at the vast potential profits lost by diners not paying for
liquid refreshment, the world’s largest soft drinks company has been
working with restaurants to teach staff “beverage suggestive selling
techniques”. 
The plan - codename H2No - involves briefing staff to “influence”
customers to reduce what is known as “tap water incidence”. Each time
a glass of water is requested, waiters must “emphasise the wide range
of beverage selections available, including soft drinks,
non-carbonated beverages and alcohol”. Especially, no doubt, those
produced by Coca-Cola. 
The strategy appears to be working: at least one restaurant chain has
reported higher profits since training serving staff in the H2No
programme. The result, says Coca-Cola, is sending “a powerful message
to the entire restaurant industry - less water and more beverage
choices mean happier customers”. 
Details emerged when the company’s website told of the plan,
highlighting profits at The Olive Garden restaurant chain. Under the
headline “The Olive Garden targets tap water and wins”, the website
says: “Many customers choose tap water not because they enjoy it, but
because it is what they always have drunk in the past.” 
To encourage them to spend more money, the American chain developed a
competition with Coca-Cola offering company merchandise and an
allexpenses-paid trip to Atlanta to staff who met monthly targets.
“When the contest was completed, almost all participating restaurants
realised significant increases in beverage sales and reduced levels of
tap water incidence,” the company claims. 
The corporation researched why customers might order tap water, and
suggested what might make them choose something else. For the 30 per
cent who cite weight or other health considerations, the best
strategy, it says, is to offer lighter or noncarbonated alternatives. 
For those who ask for water “because it’s there”, waiters should never
offer a glass unless it is specifically requested, and then not before
using “suggestive selling techniques” to promote drinks with a price. 
A number of websites have criticised the strategy. On plastic.com one
email reads: “Jesus guys, we know you’re in it for the money, you
don’t have to pretend you actually care.” Such criticisms have
prompted Coca-Cola to take down web pages relating to H2No lest people
“who aren’t in a sales-related business” misunderstand its purpose. (A
copy has, however, been stored at this address:
www.stayfreemagazine.org/public/coke.html.) The company says the
campaign, launched in the US, has not been extended to the UK. 
London restaurateurs told about the scheme had little sympathy for
Coca-Cola’s campaign. “They’re wrong about it improving the dining
experience,” insisted David Wilby, Antony Worrall Thompson’s partner
at Wiz in Notting Hill. “The way to give the customer a better
experience is to give them what they want - we wouldn’t raise an
eyebrow if someone ordered tap water.” 
At The Savoy, Olivier Thomas, food and beverage manager, said: “We
have no problem serving tap water and wouldn’t think of charging for
it.” Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay also saw nothing embarrassing about
asking for water. “I love tap water,” he said, “in a really nice
decantered jug”. But he added: “It’s only visiting chefs who ask for
it.” 
Still, Coke’s on to a winner whatever customers choose. It is selling
tap water in pretty blue bottles under the brand name Dasani. The
drink has been “enhanced with a special blend of minerals for a pure,
fresh taste”, but is otherwise straight from the local water supply.
What tap water fans might call the real thing. 

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Tags: beverage, cola, doubt, emphasise, glass, incidence, range, restaurant, staff, water