I'LL HAVE MY USUAL

'We're going down the pub' may soon be the new mantra - the days of 'our local' are back. While nightclub attendance figures are on the decrease, London's seriously social people are turning to bars for entertainment, so much so that marketing companies have earmarked barclubs (so-called 'chameleon' bars) as the future, particularly for the over 25s. But it helps if you're loyal. MICHAEL HARVEY tracked down the capital's regulars ... old and new

Danny 'Big Dan' Harmston, 68

Occupation: Semi-retired - "the last of the original meat porters" at Smithfield market. Lives: The Barbican Regular at: The Cock Tavern, EC1. Length of service: Over 40 years. "I used to use the old Cock Tavern before the fire in 1958." Frequency: "I get here at 6.30am". The usual: "It's black coffee and a cigar now. I used to drink but once you've had the flavour you don't want to work." Can always be found: At the table nearest the bar. Credentials: First at the bar and on first-name terms with everyone. Danny has seen it all, from the days when the market was busy all year round (he once got Tony Booth, Cherie Blair's father, a job at the market) to now, when you're more likely to see a City types booked in for their Christmas breakfast with pints of Guinness. He says: "I have two offices - this place and Luigi's cafe over the road." Clare Stanley, 22 Occupation: Works for PPL, a company which licenses music to bars and pubs. Lives: In Holloway. Regular at: Alphabet, Beak Street, WC1 (she works opposite the bar). Length of service: Eight months. Frequency: Most evenings from 6 until around 8 or 9. On Fridays she's there: "'til they throw me out." The usual: Whisky and dry ginger but has been known to drink beer and cocktails. Can always be found: Sitting in the upstairs bar. Credentials: First-name terms with the staff. Waiting for the seasonal spring menu to kick in because she loves to snack on Alphabet's calamari. She says: She has fallen through the toilet door; walked the length of Alphabet with her hold-ups around her ankles; and set light to her hair while drinking flaming Sambuccas. CAN DO At a time when London is gripped by twin obsessions - hedonism and ecology - the opening of a bar called Can is timely. What Can sells mostly is beer. In cans. Its gimmick is instant recycling. The moment the last drop of amber nectar has slid past the tonsils, you make straight for one of the four Perspex tubes which rise out of the glass floor at the front of the premises. The can will be whisked from your hand and one moment later can be glimpsed travelling at speed through a tube in the basement heading for the crusher. While nursing a hangover, you may console yourself that all proceeds from the recycling programme go to charity. I asked owner Steve Switzman if anyone had tried to use the powerful suction of the tubes for anything else, but he declined to comment. Can: 50-52 Long Lane, EC1. Mon-Sat noon to 1 am Pete Clark Anna Parsonson, 28 Occupation: Works at Julie's Bar, Holland Park. Lives: Kilburn. Regular at: The Cow, W11. Length of service: Three years. Frequency: Most evenings for a couple of hours and until the bitter end at the weekends. The usual: Vodka, cranberry and soda. Can always be found: Either at the bar joking with staff or sitting at a table with her friends. Credentials: First-name terms with staff. She says: Most memorable session lasted six hours and included 15 vodkas. Nick Sekulic, 30 Lives: Ladbroke Grove. Occupation: DJ (Nick Spinola) and has worked at Complex and the Fridge. Regular at: Dust, Clerkenwell Road, EC1. Length of service: Six months. Frequency: Most nights from around 5.30pm until midnight. The usual: Pint of Stella. Can always be found: Standing at a certain part of the bar. "There's a step, so it's a perfect vantage point for letching. You get to see everyone as they come in." Credentials: He's such a regular he even went along to the staff Christmas party, and he DJ-ed at the bar on New Year's Eve for free. He says: "In one 10-hour session I got through 10 pints of Stella, four glasses of champagne and eight shots of melon-flavoured vodka." Sally Walker, 46 Occupation: Company director of The Rock Box poster company (the office is just across the road from the Engineer pub). Lives: Mill Hill. Regular at: The Engineer, Gloucester Avenue, NW1. Length of service: Four years Frequency: Most lunchtimes and evenings. An average stay of 2.5 hours. The usual: Bottle of Rolling Rock will be waiting on the bar. Can always be found: At the bar. Credentials: Knows bar staff by name. Frequent free drinks from manager. She says: "We call this the boardroom, we're here so often. If anyone calls and I'm not at the office they know where to find me. Being a regular means I can come in on my own and just chat to the staff until someone I know comes in."

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