Drinking can be quite a feet

Who comes up with these arbitrary style rules for the new breed of drinking establishment?

We all know that in the proper world of real, grown-up hostelries, the places where lager is just a misspelling of big, that the sole arbiter of style, behaviour and indeed anything that moves or makes a noise, once you pass under the sign telling you the premises are licensed to sell beers, wines and spirits, is the gaffer. His word is law.

But in these supposedly trendy places - you can usually tell them by the fact fried potato peelings are on the menu - all tradition and culture goes out the window in favour of arbitrary rules which one can only suppose are in some vain hope that it will lift them above a mere pub. And of course it also gives the bouncers, usually from the Phil Mitchell end of the gene pool, something to do.

The reason I mention this is that I was with a group of friends and our offspring last weekend and we had been out for a meal in Mere Green to celebrate the impending wedding of one of our group's children. We, or to be more honest, the younger ones, had decided we should all round off the evening in one such place. Think after skiing without skiing as a sort of clue as to where.

It all seemed simple until we tried to get past the bouncers who announced that there is a ban on sports trainers after 9pm. You could understand a ban on drug dealers, or baseball bats, bike chains or whatever or even a sorry we are full if the place had been heaving - which it plainly was not. But sports trainers? And only after 9pm?

It hardly bothered me as I only go in the place once in a blue moon but because a couple of our number were wearing casual shoes, including one pair which were canvas and, apparently, quite fashionable - the two male and a female door staff, with that cheery demeanour that would make them instant hits in EastEnders, decided they were trainers and delighted in turning away a quick couple of hundred quid or so that would have gone over their bar. They even managed to single out their only regular customer in our group for special treatment - and he was the one getting married.

The bizarre thing is that all the men had been in there earlier - casual shoes and all - and had we all stayed or returned at 8.59pm we would have been welcomed with open tills but once the clock has chimed nine - even if all the customers inside are doing a passable imitation of a fun run fashion show at a Nike convention - if you arrive in footwear which the cordwaining experts on the door declare are sports trainers you are banned.