Great Western Coffee Shop

From the Andover Advertiser[/quote]

 (http://www.andoveradvertiser.co.uk/news/15096344.Railway_club_to_shut_after_63_years_over_rent_hike/)

With the advent of H&S; random employer testing; plus considerable awareness of drink/drugs driving nowadays, a lot less alcohol will be consumed if working the next day. 
Whereas a 'skin full' would have been consumed after a shift with a sign on perhaps early the next day, there should be no chance today.
That said, for those retired, or on their own, a meeting place to swing the lead {nautical expression!} or these days 'swing the lantern'; with like minded fellows is called for.

The days of staff going down "the social" after work have passed - very much like the days of Saturday peaks at Paddington with boarding control on the holiday trains to Paignton, Minehead, Kingswear, Penzance, Falmouth, Newquay, Tenby, Fishguard and  Aberystwyth.   

Many social clubs - even where there are still significant numbers of local employees in the business - are past their "sell by date" and need - at the least - a fresh lick of paint and a new direction.  "It's an albatross around our neck" said a senior manger to me concerning such an establishment that's nothing to do with rail ... with their place populated largely by low-spend seniors (only some of whom had ever worked for the business) and even that population very much thinner in number than it had been. Andover (Andover Junction) is no longer the operational heart of significant rail activity, and I would suspect that the "railway" in the title more relates to history or to location anyway; for sure, some rail staff based elsewhere will locally and commute by train to base.

So the "drinking prior to shift" argument is probably not an issue.  Ironically, many of the active seniors who attend places like these no longer live within walking distance and drinking and driving is an issue.  And we still have a disjoint on this, even with newer social facilities.

Near to us, two new clubs have opened within the past few weeks.  They're for rugby and football, but each has its own bar and club room with an encouragement to none-players to join and it will be interesting to see how that end of the venture gets along.  Yesterday afternoon - that's Saturday - at about 17:30 I walked up there and the car parking was stuffed, with odd cars pulled off the slde of the road all the way from the club to the main road, so clearly popular earlier in the afternoon, with a few diehards remaining for the social.  And cars were leaving in a steady stream at that time too.

The last saturday afternoon bus called on the main road than passes on 4th February, at around 17:30 - there are now just two buses on a Saturday that pick up anywhere near there, and they leave at 10:15 and 12:15. I tend not to agree with Wiltshire Council's officer suggesting that there's no point in the buses continuing, citing purely historic data as his evidence without considering the new sports clubs and stadium with a 3,000 capacity.  But (perhaps) like sports and social clubs like the old one I described as an albatross above, too much concentration on the bus has been put on providing the same old services for the dwindling user base without looking forward and saying "how can we make this better for the future"