Pubs may be struggling for survival these days but there place in their community is unquestioned.

As some of these photo show,pubs are places to socialise, meet friends,to raise money for charity or to be scared out of your mind.

The latter, anyway, was the case for Crown Inn at Bowthorn, Cleator Moor pulled out all the stops for a spooky Halloween.

The Central in Egremont had a more cerebral approach when it took part in the Biggest Quiz in the World - not an attempt for an entry in the Guinness Book of Records, but a good way to raise funds!

There is another pub quiz which was downloaded because it came under pubs and Whitehaven.

This could be a lesson to always check the small print because, when read properly, this turned out to be pub quiz being held in a London church. The only connection to our area in this 201 3 photo was that it included the Rev Paul Sawrey who was ordained as a pioneer minister and deacon of the Kings Cross Church , where he was seen taking part in a pub quiz in 2012.

The pub was also where family, friends and fans gathered to show their support for Copeland’s own celebrity, Voice Contestant Jolan who, shortly after reaching the finals of the popular BBC programme, released his own record.

For Graham Carruthers from Frizington a night out at the Castle Knights Pub was a nerve-warcking one, because that is when he proposed to Victoria Dawson in 2016. Luckily she accepted and we hope they are still enjoying a happy life together.

All these photos prove one thing. Whether raising funds or just raising a glass in a toast to friends, the pub is the place to do it.

During the last football world cup the pubs were crammed with fans who needed to be with others of like mind to cheer on their team.

We saw it during the Olympics, too, where friends and families of British athletes would gather in the pub to cheer on their heroes and, even when Andy Murray won Wimbledon, his local was full of those who had known him personally, those who had been inspired by him and everyone who wanted to see him win.

My daughter, a true Kiwi,is a rugby fan who has to live with the fact that she lives in Rwanda,a country where rugby doesn’t matter and football does.This means she has to well watch rugby at home while, if she wants a quiet drink, she would have to avoid the pubs during a even English Premier League games!