Though the British still tend to regard eating as a functional necessity rather than a focal point of the day, great advances towards a more sophisticated appreciation of the culinary arts have been made in recent years. Every major town has its top-range restaurants, many of them boasting awards for excellence, while it's nearly always possible to eat well and inexpensively, thanks chiefly to the influence of Britain's various immigrant communities. However, the pub will long remain the centre of social life in Britain, a drink in a traditional "local" often making the best introduction to the life of a town