Birthplace and spiritual home of the Philosopher On Tap movement. The concept was dreamt up one evening by the fireside in the pub.
The original plan was to apply for an Arts Council Grant so that I could fund sitting in the pub talking about issues philosophical. Seemed like a good thing for the Arts Council to be spending my tax money on.
I did intend to spend most of the funding with a PR Agency to publicise the activity but the first Agency I approached couldn’t see the newsworthiness of the project. Where were my philosophic credentials? Who would want to listen?
They didn’t quite understand the beauty of the concept. That it actually didn’t matter whether I was a real expert in philosphy or not. The concept to me was a work of art in itself, whether I had a queue of people wanting to talk or nobody.
I sacked the PR Agency and in the end didn’t get round to applying for the funding either. Seemed too much like hard work filling out forms. The alternative is this website.
The Morning Star is a traditional beer drinking pub. No restaurant or frills. You go there to talk and drink. It is just off the beaten path of the Bailgate so it doesn’t get filled with tourists. It and pubs like it hold Philosopher On Tap sessions every day of the year. There are probably more members of the worldwide Philosopher On Tap movement than there are in many major religions.
