Firkin Pubs: Classic Or Dud? – I must shamefacedly admit to becoming nostalgic for Firkin pubs. There seem to be so few of them around now. In their pomp they were certainly the enemy, buying up and homogenizing a variety of venues. But later in the 90s an odd thing happened – firstly the pub-bar (Pitcher And Piano, et al.) came along and redefined standardisation. Secondly the Firkin boozers started to get a bit shabbier and more lived-in, and correspondingly more comfortable. And so chain pub evolution took its course and they began to die off: outflanked by Wetherspoons on price and All Bar One on branding I think they forgot what they were for, if anything. But I had some good times in Firkins – and for one definite plus, they almost always had a jukebox.