CAMRA seeks a cure for the nation’s ales

For a nation of boozers, it seems that we are being short-changed when it comes to design of our pubs. The beardy-weirdies at CAMRA, the Campaign for Real Ale, this week unveil their English Heritage Pub Design Awards. And, for the 12th year running, “the judges have felt unable to give any type of award” in the “crucial category” of Best Newbuild Pub. Intake of real ale is notorious for encouraging frank exchanges of views: CAMRA says that submissions for the category “bore the unmistakable imprint of catalogue-inspired pseudo-Victoriana”, and has thrown down the gauntlet for designers to create something decent before the millennium.