Old men drinking pints of lager in Spoons early in the morning is a national problem. It's basically treated as cheap daycare for elder relatives by some families - drop dad off with £20 first thing in the morning and pick him up at closing time.
The worst part by far is how they never sit together, they all sit individually alone.
That's a shame, I find the majority of them vary between OK and Excellent. The only ones I consider shit are Manchester Piccadilly, Monument in London, one in Carlisle and another in Hull.
There are also some really excellent ones such as one I found near the south downs. Can't exactly remember where but it had two roaring log fires in it. Great Malvern one is nearly as good.
That they don't buy a music license is a cost saving measure.
They're ok when they first open, but after a year or two get a bit of a run down feeling.
I also walk past one of my local ones occasionally at 9:30 in the morning, there's always a few old men already drinking pints of lager in there, it's sad.