The country’s licensing laws mean the supermarket has opened a pub so it can sell alcohol, while campaigners are fighting to help other venues open and get people dancing

At first sight The Middle Ale in Dundonald, Northern Ireland looks just like any other pub. There is a big TV, an array of seating, and beer pumps behind the bar. Look a little closer, however, and you might ask why there are packets of fajitas and gravy granules on the walls.

That’s because the pub belongs to the supermarket chain Lidl, but the Middle Ale (like “middle aisle”, get it?) isn’t just a wacky marketing stunt. Northern Ireland has ultra-strict laws around licences to sell alcohol, whether as a shop, pub or nightclub. Lidl tried to get a licence to sell alcohol in its Dundonald store, and was refused, but after a court battle it did manage to get a licence for a pub – which it duly opened next door, selling alcohol to take away as well as serving drinks in the pub itself.