In 1946 the novelist George Orwell* wrote an article for the London Evening Standard paper about his ideal ideal pub.  For him the pub would have the following 10 attributes:

1. On a side street, to keep out the drunks or 'rowdies'.
2. Most of the customers are regulars and 'go there for conversation as much as for the beer'.
3. Its look is uncompromisingly Victorian - 'everything has the solid comfortable ugliness of the 19th century' - and there is a log fire in winter.
4. A dining room upstairs, where you can get a good solid lunch.  Only snacks are served in the evening.
5. Downstairs there is a public bar, a saloon bar and a ladies' bar.
6. No radio, no piano.  It is always quiet enough to talk.
7. The barmaids know the customers' names and call them 'dear', but never 'ducky'.
8. It sells tobacco, stamps and even aspirin.
9. The beer (including a 'soft, creamy stout') is always served in a glass with a handle, ideally a pewter or china pot.
10. There is a garden, with a slide and swings for children.  It is 'puritanical nonsense' to ban children.

He wrote, at the end of the piece, that he had only ever found a pub with eight of the 10 features.

* http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/orwell_george.shtml

The site Smitten by Britain give five crucial differences between a British pub and an American bar: the name, TV screens, food, decor and location:

http://www.smittenbybritain.com/the-difference-between-a-british-pub-and-an-american-bar/

Having said that, when in Scotland recently I noticed that pubs have very different names from the usual English ones like Red Lion, Rose and Crown (see above) ,Travellers' Rest, Queens Head, Kings Arms (see: http://www.historic-scotland.gov.uk/raising-the-bar-pubs-booklet.pdf).  See 'A short history of pub names: http://www.britainexpress.com/History/culture/pub-names.htm

And another site 'What makes the perfect pub' in the Telegraph:  http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/pubs/9520257/What-makes-a-perfect-pub.html

Quotations from secrets of the new breed of entrepreneurs who made their fortunates by making their names into brands.

Sir James Dyson, founder of the Dyson Company

Everything, or almost everything, I do, fails.  Almost everything an engineer or a scientist does fails because when you get success you stop.  You've done it.
I quite enjoy being on the edge, which is why I haven't sold up or sold shares.  Most people in my position sell out because they're worried it will fail.  My wealth is tied up  in the business.  I don't want to sell even one bit of it because I want the control.



Lord Sainsbury of Preston Candover, President of Sainsbury's
I've learnt from so many people, especially people who were successful, but I always believe the one to learn from most of all is the competition.  I used to say that there's always something you can learn, however bad the retailer.
Every company chairman is in a sense a performer, with the shareholders his audience.  Sometimes he plays the hero and sometimes  he's made the villain, but we all act the part, don't we?

Jonathan Warburton, Chairman of Warburtons
One of the  criticisms I would have of our taxation system and of Britain in general, is that entrepreneurs who build businesses but then quickly sell them are regarded as heroic.  It's the culture in the UK to admire the people who've done little, maybe got a bit lucky, made their quick money.
You have to reward success but do it properly.  The more positive you are with your tax the more you create barriers to enterprise.  I struggle with the fact that the state knows better than me.  I don't try to tell politicans how to run their lives and they should leave me alone because I'm a decent human being who employs a lot of people and has spent £400m in capital in a decade investing in Britain.
One of the things about great brands is that, to the consumer, in a world that's so transient, the authenticity of the brand is everything.  We're just 600 yards from where the business started in 1876.



From 'The Branded Gentry: How a New Era of Entrepreneurs Made Their Names' by Charles Vallance & David Hopper, soon to be published (http://thebrandedgentry.com/).