Pour me a pint o’ espresso, barkeep

The Evening Standard returns to Fleet Street in a photo feature that’s in the paper today — but, sadly, not online — showing that the turf once dominated by pubs for sodden hacks has now been taken over by coffee bars. It’s not just Fleet Street. All over London, coffee (Starbucks and others) and quick-lunch joints (Pret, Eat, et al) have taken over the street and the lifestyle. Instead of a pint and bangers and a conversation, Londoners are seen dashing through the streets with a Starbucks cup and a Pret cucumber sandwich. What has the world come to?