LIKE MANY BRITISH SEPTUAGENARIANS, DAVID CHARLES Graves lived alone. The 75-year-old, who was known to everyone as Charlie, had no close friends or family, but regulars at his local pub, the Ivy House in Nunhead, in southeastern London, often saw him sipping a pint of Beck’s lager at the bar.
Charlie’s attachment to his local public house will resonate with many Britons. As far back as Roman times, when roadside inns offered comfort to travelers, pubs have occupied a unique place at the heart of British society. In Shakespeare’s time, there was roughly one pub for every 200 people, and they feature in several of his plays. George Orwell’s famous 1946 essay “Moon Under Water,” describing the 10 key points of his ideal pub, notes that alongside draft stout, open…