Looking for a cheap pint and the chance of a decent conversation without having to shout over dreadful hits of the day? There’s an app for that. The Wetherspoon Pub Finder, spotted by Frackulous, seeks out your nearest Wetherspoon’s on your iPhone, iPod touch and iPad. Cheers.
The primary function of the app is to search for nearby Wetherspoon and Lloyds No. 1 pubs. You can search by town or postcode and use your GPS to seek out the nearest low-cost beverage.
If you’ve already had a swift half or three and maps are starting to look a bit blurry, switch to augmented reality mode and follow the onscreen arrows to stagger safely right into the warm and welcoming arms of the nearest barman.
You can save your favourite Wetherpubs in the My Locals section. More information than you could ever need is listed for each pub, including contact details, opening times, food and drink menus, and extra features like tellies and Wi-Fi. The best bit is the short history of each pub, revealing the rich and textured heritage of the very ground that teenagers are currently being sick on.
The JD Wetherspoon chain was named after Jefferson Davis ‘Boss’ Hogg from Dukes of Hazzard and one Mr Wetherspoon, founder Tim Martin’s geography teacher, who reportedly told Martin he’d never amount to anything. Thirty years later the 6ft 6in, Northern Ireland-born and New Zealand-raised Martin is a multimillionaire and owns more than 700 pubs. He still visits every new Wetherspoon and Lloyds No. 1 pub for a pint or two, shambling in unannounced and — as this Craver learned first-hand in a former life behind bars — occasionally carrying a packed lunch in a plastic bag.
Once you’re settled in with your cut-price beverage, it’s time to download more essential booze-related apps. Drinking game Wasted will keep you amused, Drink Buddy will keep track of what you’ve imbibed, and Booze Death Calculator will work out how many drinks you are from polishing off your final glass and calling time forever. Chin-chin.