I was handed a flyer for a bar not that far away from here. It has a website, so out of interest I had a look. It is being run by an English couple who are trying to create an English country pub in the middle of nowhere. Fish and chips once a month, quiz evenings, a guest musician for an evening, and for special occasions such as the rugby world cup they will turn the TV on. There is quite a difference between an English and a French bar. Firstly many French bars in these rural areas are closed by 8.00 pm. People do not tend to go out to the local for the evening, much preferring the TV or being with the neighbours. Secondly French bars tend to be places where you go to have a couple of small beers or a tiny glass or two of wine and a good gossip for a couple of hours. There are some bars that open about 8.00 am where people will go for a glass of wine or a strong cup of coffee to set them up for the day. Some French bars are the place you go to place a bet on the days horse racing as there are no betting shops. The atmosphere is very different, they are not the same thing as the pubs I visited recently, where drinking several pints, or eating decent food at a price, or rubbish food for an advertised great deal is being pushed at the customers. One of my French neighbours complains of the bad behaviour of some of the young who get into trouble after too much to drink. When you talk about it you find that they have been to the clubs or discos in the big towns, they don't exist in the sticks.
I wonder what it is like for any others who live in rural areas in the UK, or other far flung places like Germany, Mexico, or even Scotland.