Theme
Scream pubs are aimed at the student market, and mostly found near to universities. They claim to be 'the number one choice of students'. Its chief competitor is Varsity, owned by the Barracuda Group, although Varsity has a more mainstream market - often concentrating on football matches on Sky Sports and located closer to town centres.
The original name came from the 1893 painting The Scream, by the Norwegian artist Edvard Munch, which is a popular poster image with many students. The painting was formerly shown on some pub signs of the former It's A Scream chain.
The pubs each have individual items, for example a giant monkey mural (Horn In Hand), a talking moose's head (White Harte, Bristol), an aadvark costume (The Aadvark, Coventry) or a large painting of a Phoenix (The Phoenix, Coventry) and their own sign relating to their name. Some go further, such as the Dry Dock in Leeds and Leicester which are built inside of an old grounded ship.
Scream pubs have a loyalty card scheme known as The Yellow Card. It is available to students annually for £1 and entitles them to discounts on selected food and drink. As of November 2006, however, selected Scream Pubs have been chosen to run a trial wherein they did not sell Yellow Cards.
With the introduction of the new Scottish Licensing Laws on September 1, 2009, Yellow Cards purchased in Scream pubs in Scotland will not be valid until 72 hours after purchase.
Since summer 2010, Scream have introduced the "Yellow Card For Life" - costing £5, with the promise that it will never expire.
Read more about this topic: Scream Pubs
Famous quotes containing the word theme:
“The saying, “The Magyar is much too lazy to be bored,” is worth thinking about. Only the most subtle and active animals are capable of boredom.—A theme for a great poet would be God’s boredom on the seventh day of creation.”
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)
“Children became an obsessive theme in Victorian culture at the same time that they were being exploited as never before. As the horrors of life multiplied for some children, the image of childhood was increasingly exalted. Children became the last symbols of purity in a world which was seen as increasingly ugly.”
—C. John Sommerville (20th century)