BRAPA : the archives (201-210)

 I was supposed to be going to Rotherham on a BRAPA pub-ticking expedition today.  It seems pointless now as we will probably be playing them next season, so here's some more treasures from my pub archives ......

201 - Museum Vaults, Sunderland - The good John Watson had whetted my appetite for this proper old skool Sunderland institution (though it's history is vague) by sending me a heart-warming Youtube clip following a day in the life of this pub, interviewing staff, regulars, visitors etc. on pub life & culture.  It left me with a happy glow, which was fitting as a recent fire had left the pub closed for most of the week in the run up to our visit, and it still had a sooty smell, the whole place looking a bit sorry for itself.   It was very cold on entering, despite the morning sun, and never felt like a place we could settle in for the duration (never mind, the Kings Arms was calling).  And in a way, seeing staff I recognised almost as 'friends' from the Youtube clip just being functional and distant was a little bit dispiriting!  There was no disputing the beer quality (the range a bit more limited than both Kings and Isis), my Maxim and Consett ales however superb.  The fire was lit (a bit too late for us), Tom had a rant about Tyne and Wear not existing (he was right), and it was time to move.  I'd love to come here on an evening.  John describes this as an 'unlucky' pub but considering Sunderland's home form over the last 2 or 3 years, it'd be like me saying every Hull pub was unlucky - heck, maybe they are!  Whalebone certainly is (now),  8th Feb 2014 was the date.

A white hot fire enjoyed with a pint of White Hot by Consett

202 - William Jameson, Sunderland - This is it!  The definitive answer to the oft asked question "so what was the first Good Beer Guide pub you visited?"  A Wetherspoons in Sunderland!

It was late September/early October 1997 and part of the 'Freshers Kit' were a book of vouchers.  Me and my Panns Bank flatmates soon worked out that by far and away the best offer was a 'spicy chicken or bean burger & pint" for something ridiculous like £2.50.  So as we settled in to Uni life before our courses proper started, I often found myself coming in here with some combination of Jane Taylor, Philip Lister, Matthew Hurcum, Ieuan Griffiths and Krister Holland.  What legendary names of the past!  The best thing was, the number of vouchers was huge and Jane being Jane, she kept blagging more from 'people she knew'.  Let's just say, the staff mood went from happy & welcoming on our first visit to thoroughly despising us by about visit 15, with a stern warning they regretted the entire voucher scheme and wanted to pull the plug.  We didn't push our luck after that so I probably haven't been in this pub for about 18 years now!  It had only been open 4 or 5 months on my visit, and it felt clean and what I now recognise to be distinctively Wetherspoons, but it wasn't til my Penny Black (Northwich) visit in late 2001 that I was properly aware of the chain.

203 - Post Office Vaults, Birmingham - Pubs that have done me more of a favour than I've ever done them are in short supply, so this strange little underground place close to New St station deserves a lot of praise.  My experiences here started post match on Valentine's Day 2012 on a midweek night after a bore draw at St Andrews.  Sure, it's a "modern day drinking space" (annoying phrase) rather than a pub but it had a great range of ales, friendly quirky staff and locals.  Dad tells me later he really didn't enjoy this pub, which surprises me.  The stand out moment was we (which I think also included Mark Bainton and Chris Douglas) got talking to a rather obnoxious man, it was hard work until he revealed he was "dying" and he became nice after that!  Very weird.  A year or so later, it was early morning in Birmingham before we made our way to WBA. Villa or somewhere and I needed a poo to the extent I had serious stomach cramps.  We happened upon this pub and although Dad refused to go in for a drink, the kindly staff and locals let me obliterate their toilet without any fuss, they were even nice.  I maybe should've said "give it 10 minutes!"  Most recently, end of August 2014, we were here at the very end of a long BRAPA/cultural day in Brum (Villa had been moved to the Sunday, tickets had already been purchased) and a cancelled train meant we popped in here.  It was a pint too many (a gorgeous pale Salopian Oracle) and I left my bag.  We rang them on the train, landlord was really good, and a few weeks later, just when I was losing hope, they returned it via Hop Studio brewery, close to us.  Phew!  Yes, pub deserves a lot of praise indeed.

I was going to do a Laurent Blanc/Frank LeBeouf with Mark, but changed my mind (POV 14/2/12)

204 - Shakespeare, Birmingham - 17th November 2012 and me and Dad found ourselves in that all too familiar situation of walking around a freezing City centre waiting for our designated pub to open before 11am having booked a ridiculously early train.  This was not a GBG pub when we visited, I was just happy to see an open door at this ungodly hour, and a sign saying "Nicholson's" suggested that whilst we may not be entering any life changing pub, we would find some real ale.  And that was as good as it got - the pub was very busy (possibly due to the sub zero temperatures) and after a gang of loud men had stood in everyone's way, a hen-do came in and Dad's face was a picture,  We always joke that I can judge a pub's success based on how long it takes Dad's coat to come off.  In here, it didn't.  After a miserable half of Nicholson's Pale, we scarpered before the hen's got the feather boas out (not a deliberate euphemism).

205 - Wellington, Birmingham - You know when you feel you've been overly harsh on a pub over the years and then don't want to admit it?  Well, if so, the pub in question might well be this drinkers paradise.  A lot of my early skeptism is due to the Welly (Hull) gang being a bit too over-admiring of it.  I'd been told ad nauseam about this incredible real ale cornucopia (you know from previous archive editions, what I call "Chris Irvin Syndrome" but I'll blame the likes of Ben & Mark in this case).  It took me ages to make my first visit, suspense had been building and I somehow couldn't find it stopping off in Brum on the way back from my ill-fated 2007 Hereford holiday.  I finally got the chance post-match WBA away when we'd won 3-0 and were momentarily joint top of the Premier league (ah, them were the days!) on 25th October 2008 and I wasn't impressed.  Firstly, they have so many beers on, you have to order by number causing a very sterile relationship with already miserable staff (it ain't a chinese restaurant for godssake!)  Secondly, we had to sit in a dusty corner near some old barrels/women.  Thirdly, the beer was warm and flat.  And finally, some WBA fans came over to "congratulate us" but told me we were lucky to win (3-0 away?  Are you 'avin a laff?)  HOWEVER, my visits since on 17th November 2012 and 30th August 2014 were very good.  On the former, we were technically drinking in Old Joint Stock which has a great inside but a boring beer range.  So we bought beers in the heaving Wellington, used an alleyway in the courtyard to go back to OJS (careful with spillage) and drank them in there.  Best of both worlds!  (N.B. see Tom's update below).

206 - Anchor, Digbeth, Birmingham - In what I'd call the "Peaky Blinders" area of Birmingham, in the Irish quarter in the run up to St Andrews, I first fell in love with this amazing old multi-roomed heritage pub on 9th September 2006.  By gum, there are some great old pubs in the West Midlands in terms of architecture of old. and this is a prime example.  I don't remember the details that day.  We didn't play Brum for a bit but on the next occasion, 17th April 2010 we'd persuaded the Welly gang to join us.  Before they arrived, a strange moment where an old man who'd been annoying Dad by talking too much suddenly fell asleep, what a godsend!  As Ben crashed his way through the door, this was our excuse to tiptoe out of that room and we found a hidden side room which we took over.  I mean, we all had our Hull City tops on and we basically didn't let anyone else in.  It was one of the top pre-match experience, and it rightly won away pub of the season.  The same couldn't be said for it on our third and final visit, Valentine's Day 2012 where we met a few Welly gang stragglers having checked in to our Premier Inn for the night.  They had a "Valetine's beer fest" on so the blackboard was even more chock-a-block with ales than usual - problem was, they were all rubbish with stupid names like "Cupid's Love Muscle" and even ruder, not nice when you are being served by a 6 foot 5 serious Brummie-Irish skinhead!  Also, the atmos wasn't buzzing like the previous two times.  A real shame.

207 - Sacks of Potatoes, Gosta Green, Birmingham - On the recommendation of a former Birmingham Uni student (thanks Adam Knowles if you are out there!), this really was in the heart of studentsville on the walk back from St Andrews on 17th Nov 2012 where we had loads of time to kill before the train.  We decided on a spot of dinner in here, and I was pleased to see a great selection of local ales I'd not normally get to try.  The pub was split level and I think Grant Holt was terrorising Man Utd in one of those "plucky soon to get relegated Premier team deserves to beat a top team but loses heroically" kind of matches.  There was an awkward moment as Dad (deaf at the best of times) struggled to get the food order across to a Brum student who mumbled and made no eye contact.  However, staff were generally good, my burger was amazing, as was the ale, and what a shame we had to venture back out into the scary outer Birmingham darkness for our train home. 

208 - Black Eagle, Hockley, Birmingham - 'Twas the sunny hopeful morning of 25th October 2008 and the Welly gang's West Bromwich Albion correspondent, the friendly Aiden, walked us to one of his favourite pre-match outlets, the Black Eagle.  This pub I'd heard about for some time previous,  so it is conceivable that Chris Irvin had been a fan of it too, though this was the first time me and Dad had linked up with the Welly gang for a WBA trip.    It looked a bit of a shambles as we approached from the outside, but never judge a book by it's cover I learnt in Torquay in about 1999 in the pre-ale days.  However, on this occasion, we were right to heed the warning.  Tim Taylor Landlord was the only beer not turned round or gone off as we arrived, the pub was busy and staff didn't seem to be able to cope with the demand, we squashed into a little table near the bar and suddenly the Naviagtion in Blackburn we'd visited that August didn't seems so bad as Dad returned fuming, having had some bad experience / misunderstanding with Aiden / a barmaid in ordering his ale.  I'll have to ask him if he remembers the details but let's just say, I guess we caught it on an off day otherwise how the heck is it still in the Guide? N.B. See Tom's comments below.

209 - Lord Clifden, Hockley, Birmingham - In excruciating pain from a Root Canal, Dad and I made up our minds to come here pre-West Brom on 21/12/13, making it one of my later pub ticks before BRAPA became a seedling in my brain.  Our early drinking days pre-WBA had seen us go to the Vine (which will be pub 215) and this had the same long, thin, old world feel, but in this case with rooms off to the side.  The kindly staff seemed to be looking on me and Dad sympathetically as we drank our early pints of Church End, Elland and Wye Valley.  It soon became clear as it was THAT time of year and a group of students in Christmas jumpers arrived to spoil our solitude.  Dad, always one for "making things happen" moved us to the ornate smaller front bar where one old man was watching Gillette Soccer Saturday.  Guess what?  The Christmas jumper gang doubled in size and followed us in!  So we moved back again, the staff were chuckling along with us by now and they showed their hard working ethos by getting a new Rudgate Christmas ale on which was the pick of the bunch.  People were "dining" by now and tables were full of old food plates but it beat Christmas jumper wankers.  All in all, an excellent pub, I'd go again, just not pre-Christmas.  Oh, and it cured my toothache for a day at least.  

A pint of HPA on a table fitting for the Jewellery Quarter area

210 - Barton's Arms, Newtown, Birmingham - When people ask me what my favourite pub in the GBG is (another commonly asked BRAPA question), I often say this one though technically, I visited long before BRAPA on 4th May 2009 (if only we'd been aware of it on the so-called "Thriller at the Villa" all those years previous where the bouncers on the pub we did go to pretended Dad was the landlord to stop too many fans coming in!)  I digress.  It was a balmy Monday night and with not too many pub options in this part of the world, this place stood out like a beacon over the desolate wasteland.  Dad and me sat down to a great pre-match session, it's such a beautiful building, ornate tiling and such a heritage gem I almost have tears in my eyes wishing i was there (ok, maybe I'm getting carried away).  This was the one time we got to sit in the little booth under the stairs which I love.  It was also my first introduction to Oakham ales which has become my favourite brewery in the intervening six years.  Our second trip on 5th December 2009 (such a relief when it finally opened) was a chance to show Ben how good it was, shockingly he wasn't a fan!  I cannot believe it, maybe he has changed his mind since.  This time, we sat more in the front bar and staff kept popping out of little hatches to pass beer along so we didn't have to walk around the vast circular bar.  Nice touch.  Some talk in the media of this pub being smashed in during the "London riots" (when they spread to Brum) had me fuming like a smoke bomb and this pub was out of action for a while.     3rd May 2014 brought our next trip, a total no brainer anyway for our pre match pub but it also had a beer festival on.  Bumping into an old school friend's brother now with  Welsh accent was bizarre, but more bizarre is why this pub even needs to have a beer festival?  And finally, 30th August 2014 me and Dad caught a taxi here after we met up in the afternoon.  It was calming with no football on, an Arbor brewery "takeover" was going on, and we tried amazing beers from each brewery.  This experience is particular was as close to utopia as it gets,  What a pub!  If we get relegated, any tears will be for not coming here next season.  Bruce out, Allam out.   

The wonderful, amazing Barton's Arms near Villa Park

So there we go, plenty more pubs to follow with more from the West Midlands before moving into Wiltshire and Worcestershire.

See you soon, Si

  

BRAPA : City of Hull 2-4 Greater Manchester

The title might read like a football result from the last day of the season (some of you may argue two goals for Hull City is optimistic), but it reflects my BRAPA ticks so far in this, my birthday week of almost unlimited, unadulterated pub joy.

It all began in Hull on a sunny bank holiday afternoon as Dad helpfully drove us out to Newlands Ave, where we began our drinking at a pub he'd already dampened my expectations on.....

641 - Larkin's Bar, Hull - It didn't really convince from the get-go, regardless of Dad's comments.  It was what it said on the tin, a "bar", and with families, groups, reserved tables (although helpfully with signs saying when they are reserved from, so you could still sit down in advance - take note George Hotel in Cullingworth) and even plastic glasses for outdoor drinkers, it didn't really scream GBG pub to me.  As Dad said, in Hull this is probably quite cutting edge and modern, if it was in, say, York or Altrincham (to pluck two random examples out of the air), it'd be bang average.  The staff were good and hard working, and I took advantage of hesitation by others to nip in for a quick round, Milestone and Wold Gold were about the only ales available but despite Milestone not being a great brewery, I enjoyed my pint.  The wine menu (what sophistication) detailed a frog (toad?) hanging off a cocktail stick in a pint of beer.  Interesting.  It felt a decently run set up, if a bit chaotic, but the drinkers of Hull were determined to make the most of their bank hol.  A tent outside seemed to be offering a local music festival, but I'd rather have an indoor pint in a proper glass any day.

Larkin's, under the Newland Ave bridge - note the "Allam Out" sign

I couldn't help feel that Hull is still in the dark ages in terms of real ale pubs, never mind the whole craft craze.  What with Welly shut down, the owner of Lion & Key and Wm Hawkes strangely deciding they want no CAMRA affiliation, and the Exchange lasting about 2 months, options are limited and shutting Walters all afternoon seemed a bit silly.  

After a bit of Hawkes time (good ale but unconvincing barmaid and atmosphere), we ended up in our next pub - it says a lot to me when a Wetherspoons wins pub of the year .....

642 - Admiral of the Humber, Hull - But you can see why.  Helpful staff, wide range of excellently kept ales, who cares that 'Spoons "cater for all" when they can please so many?  A wide range of locals, home and away fans and the after work crowd mingled happily - it was busy but this huge former paint & wallpaper shop meant it never felt crowded and we even got a nice booth towards the end of an excellent pint of Celt Dark Age, a mild with a sting, quite a rarity.  Although the pub is all on one level, my trip to the loo found at least three people complaining about the "long walk".  What did they want, a horizontal escalator thing like in Manchester Piccadilly station?  Some people!  Glad to finally get this "pub tick" as we joked it might be my last in the GBG (i use the word "joked" loosely).  I may be back here for breakfast some time soon.

It's all kickin' off at the Admiral - in a non threatening way of course.

So onto Tuesday we went, the weather having taken a turn for the worse but I found myself in Manchester on the slightly delayed 09:41 so grey, windswept wetness was to be expected.  A short Metro "yellow" line took me to Altrincham, where the A-Z had begun in 2012 but two new venues had since appeared in the GBG.

643 - Pi, Altrincham - A cool, funky kind of place - the type to make you come up with bollocks soundbites like "proof that Greater Manchester is at the heart of the modern real ale revolution" so I won't say that!  I never know what to make of Alty, is it a well-heeled, upmarket market town of Cheshire or a shitty suburb of Manchester?  With my brain in turmoil, I wasn't perhaps at my most sociable as the friendly barmaid served me a gorgeous pint of Hand Drawn Monkey, though the threat of complimentary peanuts would probably have killed me stone dead!  As Social Distortion's cover of "Ring of Fire" rang around the cosy bar, I was finally glad I'd made the effort to do a BRAPA day despite earlier misgivings, as I shared the space with two elderly gents enjoying a pie n pint combo.  If you're in Alty, you should definitely try this place.

The life of Pi : modern, fresh, clean, friendly, Alty! 

644 - Costello's Bar, Altrincham - Another modern bar with superb ales and a nice atmosphere, I was impressed how on a wet Tuesday lunchtime, so many people of different walks of life were enjoying this place from old couples to bearded hipsters with laptops.  This was in the supposedly attractive Goose Green area of town, but major roadworks just outside sadly made it all a bit of a squashy eyesore for my visit (it could've been worse, a sign tells me they are closed for a refurb from next week).  A friendly barman (a bit like a nervous George Boyd) helped me choose from the 6 Dunham Massey ales (this is the brewery tap) and then gave me a loyalty card.  I didn't have the heart to tell him I'd probably never return due to BRAPA commitments!  He might have glazed over if I had done.  Like Pi, I was very impressed and it further emphasised yesterday's feeling of how Hull needs an ale flavoured shot in the arm.  

A loyalty card and a Dunham Massey porter - that's me sorted! 

Next, I hopped back on the Metro one stop to Navigation Road, two pubs were a short walk away.

645 - Railway, Broadheath - Wow, how different was this from the Altrincham duo?  Not only was this actually an incredibly down to earth pub, but it was National Inventory with multi-rooms, outdoor loos and I'm sure my favourite pubs are where you enter into a hallway/corridor.  The only beers on were Holt's Mild or Bitter, I went Mild and wasn't complaining as a 3.2% felt right for this stage in proceedings.  The locals were crowded around the bar area happily chatting to the landlady, it was a very jovial atmosphere with tonnes of laughing but I hadn't drunk enough to join in and went to explore the main lounge, though I spent most of my time walking around with my pint having a good nosy, it felt such a novelty to be in a proper pub after recent BRAPA ticks.  Superb.  You know, as my challenge goes in, the beer range on offer takes less and less significance. 

Cheers!  Mirror selfie time at the wonderful old Railway in Broadheath.

646 - Old Packet House, Broadheath - Even closer to Navigation Road station was an even more historic pub, right next to the Great Bridgewater Canal, which I did at GCSE, and 200+ years ago, canal travellers and workers would've been sat where I was today.  Local office workers had just taken their faces out of the nosebag when I arrived, but the remnants of food was enough to make me delve into my own bag for secret scotch eggs!  Again the ale range wasn't great with only two on, but no disputing the quality of my Little Bollington ale, a very local brew.  The pub descended into a peaceful early afternoon wind down, with the few locals who remained in a comatose state, just like me, and the sun finally came out, shining a beam through a stain glassed window partition which made things feel almost heavenly.  It was a "wind down" I never really recovered from! 

Historic canalside pub not far from Navigation Road Metro stop.

I almost had too many options.  Back on the Metro, I debated whether to 'alight' at Sale and tick off the two pubs here, or head back into Manchester, get off near Deansgate and do Cask Bar, or go even further into the centre and do the long awaited Soup Kitchen/Molly's House pub ticks.  Like a less lethargic Tom Huddlestone, I dillied and dallied, ended up doing none of the above, and found myself in Piccadilly station with a coffee and sausage roll cursing a cancelled train to York (possibly the one which reaches L**ds at 16:17 which has been terrible recently).  

I think yesterday plus the early start had caught up with me, but I'm sure more BRAPA ticks await in the coming week so stay tuned.

Si

 

BRAPA - Cleveland Rocks!

It was a grey May Saturday morning as escaped Tour De Yorkshire in York to arrive in the market town of Stokesley.  This was the latest leg of the 'North Yorkshire challenge', where I'm trying to tick off every pub in the Good Beer Guide in this incredibly vast & varied county.  Living in York does NOT make it any easier.  Alphabetically speaking, Carlton-in-Cleveland was the next in the book, so it was a case of combining that with other nearby pubs.

Arriving into Carlton, the main focus of today's BRAPA pub ticking.

Like so many North Yorks trips, I found myself (rather randomly) getting a bus from outside the Buck Inn in Northallerton, or did I, as the entire town centre had been consumed by a temporary fairground, including dodgems and a very impressive looking ghost train!  Luckily, I had time to spare to locate the replacement stop.  The true course of BRAPA never runs smoothly.....

636 - Spread Eagle, Stokesley - Despite a slight delay, I was in Stokesley for 11:30am with a bitter wind whipping around the town.  Stokesley was in that blueprint of traditional North East market town with one long main street, market stalls, cobbled areas, and most importantly,  traditional pubs!  This first one took too long to get warmed up, literally, as the wood burner had been lacking in attention and despite the month of May upon us, it was freezing.  This was a Marston's tied pub so the ale was limited, but the Hobgoblin Gold was a contender for pint of the day, such was it's quality.  I've been in plenty of Spread Eagle's but this is the first where I've seen actual spread eagle carpet, a happy quirk!  As the customers started to arrive for lunch, the wood burner was given a poke (or whatever they do), a couple of barmaids said 'hi' to me so staff points there, whilst an old man told an anecdote about Jo Brand and naming children.  I helped three old women wearing dark glasses (the granny mafia?) to move a very heavy iron table, and they'd just sat down as I finished my pint - nothing personal ladies, I can assure you.  

Spread Eagle - right in the middle of Stokesley market place

The sun had briefly appeared so I took a gentle stroll along the pretty River Leven, chatting to a few ducks on the way, wondering if they'd appreciate some real ale to go with the bread that kids were indiscriminately chucking at them.  Time for my next pub.

637 - White Swan, Stokesley - This pub is home of the 'Captain Cook' brewery, and one of the most pleasing asides of BRAPA is the opportunity to try new ales I don't normally see in York.  Right from the off, this pub oozed quality with a lovely welcoming huge fire I got myself in front of and a lovely old fashioned furnished feel, gentle old-style music topped off the perfect ambiance and the staff were friendly.  I went for a Black Porter, and it felt a bit like it was 10:30pm, such was my relaxed state.  In truth, I could have chosen from 7 or 8 ales, mainly Captain Cook ones.  A man near me ordered a very nourishing looking pie - but as usual, my schedule was too tight to take such liberties.  The pub started to fill up, the clientele quite diverse but nice to see quite a few younger drinkers coming in.  Pub of the day?  I'd say probably so.  

A pint of local brew in front of the fire at the White Swan

The original intention had been to walk the 4 miles from Stokesley to the pretty little village of Hutton Rudby, but my earlier bus had shown me a lack of pavement of a busy road.  This combined with my tight schedule, further long walks and the weather (now spitting with rain) meant a taxi made sense.  I had some chat with my female taxi driver about Tour De Yorkshire but being a woman, she had to concentrate hard on her driving (I'm joking!) so it was a bit sporadic.  

638 - King's Head, Hutton Rudby - We were back on with the Marston's here, this time I went for a Sunbeam which for me, is the Hobgoblin Gold of Banks'.  Not sure I enjoyed this quite as much but this could be due to how cold the pub was, if anywhere needed a fire or wood burner, it was in the long main bar, but the barmaid knew it so I didn't labour the point.  I was the only customer in, and she was a nice friendly easy young lass to chat to despite her lack of love for football meaning she couldn't join me in laughing at Newcastle Utd (2-0 down v Leicester within minutes).  On a different note, she admitted her friend fancied Ed Milliband and was one of his twitter Milli-babes or whatever they are called.  The outside area looked good, they even have a TV out there for the smokers, and apparently a snug area but I didn't get that far.  A local chap came in to watch the match, so I felt a bit less bad about leaving the pub.  Must be hard for these little village pubs to drum up trade, so I can only hope this one was thriving by 3pm.

King's Head's are always better when they are Henry VIII instead of Richard III

639 - Blackwell Ox Inn, Carlton-in-Cleveland - A long but rewarding 2.5 miles later, I was in Carlton on the edge of a national park, I'd go as far as to say I actually enjoyed the walk, especially as the pub at the end of it was the key one of the day.  Like so many rural North Yorks pubs I've visited since BRAPA began, there was a real 'food leaning' here and the constant clatter of cutlery and various conflabs between barmaids, chef and watiresses seemed to back this up.  Having said that, the majority of diners were 'coming soon' with reserved tables being set out, and it was reasonably quiet with just a few couples winding down after lunch.  The beer range was decent, and I had a Roosters ale which with a name like 'Blackwell' must have been brewed specially for the pub.  I was feeling my least sociable here, so retired to a raised area and smuggled a protest chicken n stuffing roll I'd earlier bought from Thomas the Bakers in Northallerton!  The crumbs gave me away.  Amazingly I had a phone reception so could do a bit of 'housekeeping' before I went on my way.

Beautiful scenery, decent pub - page 4 of the North Yorks section of the GBG complete! 

640 - Black Swan, Kirkby-in-Cleveland - I finished with a flourish here after a slow start to life in the Black Swan.  It had been another fair 2 plus mile walk, and some locals at the bar had seen my walking some some recognition of my dedication to BRAPA at least.  It felt very much a locals local when I first arrived, and I took my pint of Wainstone's Kirkby (presumably again a house beer) to a bench seat where I then shuffled backwards and forwards to try and see the scores coming through on Soccer Saturday, which maddeningly were not going well for Hull City!  Typical.  My ale itself, whilst great quality, was a bit too bitter for my taste (which is rare for me), surely I hadn't had enough already?!  I then started talking to locals and staff alike, my first opportunity in ages to explain BRAPA and it was so nice to have such a pleasing end to my day out, especially as it allowed me the chance to hand out my 'cards' which I'm still not always remembering to leave in pubs.  Definitely the friendliest pub of my trip, and it probably felt as real and homely as any today, certainly joint with the White Swan.  

Friendly community pubbing in Kirkby (you an even see my bus stop in the distance).

And for once, the bus journey back went smoothly.  Even better, a direct train to York was arriving at the station in Northallerton just as I was walking up the ramp.  And I didn't even need a York Tap pint so it was fish & chips, snooker and bed.  Pretty much a textbook BRAPA day! 

Onwards & upwards, I've got plans for a new Hull pub tomorrow before the match, and then perhaps a Greater Manchester day out on the 5th but undecided.  You'll be the first to hear about it.

Si

  

BRAPA - Heath & Latest News

This was a sixth consecutive week of midweek pub ticking in West Yorkshire, a new record and we are really cooking on gas, though Tuesday saw only one new pub visited due to it's (relatively) isolated location.

I took a train from L**ds to Sandal & Agbrigg, though it was more Agbrigg in truth, a place with a pretty unpleasant down & out feel to it, a bit edgy but I was soon heading down a country footpath towards Heath.

Unfortunately, I took a wrong turning and ending up in a gypsy commune where a young boy in full Chelsea kit (I don't have the heart to call him a 'full kit wanker', he might curse me) informed me of my mistake.  However, three small dogs were already yapping/biting at my feet and a cockerel had excitedly ran across the courtyard.  On my way out, a car full of young Irish gypsy girls (all spray tans and hooped earrings) also helped me find the right path.  

I was soon in Heath and what a picturesque little place it was, the pub overlooking the common.

Long distance view of pub from across the common

635 - King's Arms, Heath - I entered into a corridor with a maze of rooms, all dark oak panelling, coming off in various directions.  Yes, this was a heritage pub and has won plaudits for expanding without losing it's character (apart from a rather light, airy conservatory where most people were eating).  It also has the most working gaslights in ANY pub which made me want to sign a gaslight anthem (sorry, bad joke).  I got served in a tiny front room but with no tables, went to a side room where a couple were eating an amazing smelling steak & ale pie.  The pub is Clark's, but leased to Ossett (phew!) so I had the house beer, King's Arms, reddish and excellent quality.  I was aware it sounded like people were laughing and enjoying themselves more in other rooms, so went to explore but an old local was getting his wife a pint of "Fosters in a Peroni glass", it takes all sorts.  He then told a barman he thought he'd put weight on, what a charmer, so I returned to my side room.  We then had a bit of drama as the police turned up on the common, a very rare occurance.  Trying to impose my character, I said "as long as they don't come in here!" which unfortuntely made me look guilty.  The barmaid assured me they'd need a warrant.  I went to the larger main room for a second pint, a very unusually dark Banksies beer that tasted light with that modern hoppy twist.  I'd have stayed here if there'd been more room, but again retired to what was now, MY side room and read my book, the barmaid lit me a candle and all was peaceful though I still felt I was "missing something" in one of the other rooms!  A nice two pint session, as I nipped back to Leeds via Agbrigg.

It's heritage, it's gas lit, it doesn't let the filth in!  The Kings Arms, Heath.

The journey back was mercifully straightforward this week, I even got the boost of hearing Hull City had taken the lead against Liverpool!  After a Burger King and another episode of "The Thick of It", I was flabbergasted to hear they'd even managed to win.  

A very satisfactory end to an incredibly satisfactory BRAPA evening!!  

LATEST NEWS

• Again, I forgot to leave a card in the pub!  I must get into a routine, maybe have them in a more 'easy to reach' pocket like Christina at work suggested.
• I am planning Saturday's first North Yorkshire BRAPA day since the Dales.  This one is in Carlton-in-Cleveland, up in that Yarm kinda area.  The main thing is, no crazy bikers will be invading my space but a fair bit of walking looks necessary.  
• With Birthday and other social events coming up, midweek West Yorkshire trips are on hold until 19th May when we return to Hebden Bridge, which has new pubs since the 2015 GBG has been published, encompassing Cragg Vale too.
• My Birthday week means a bit of time off - I have to take advantage BRAPA style.  Greater Manchester is on the agenda, I was also thinking Rotherham but if Hull City get relegated, I'd get to go next season anyway.  Dad may also be taking me to a new BRAPA 'Hull' tick pre-Arsenal home. 
• Spurs away is our final football chance for BRAPA ticks this season.  Tom has some ideas but as usual, that part of the world is a real ale desert if you take out the Pembury Tavern so I'll be having a look over the next two weeks to see if we can get another Carshalton style success! 
• May should actually be a very productive month.  April garnered 20 new pub ticks, I'm looking for the 30 mark in May though!  Let's think positive.  

See you soon, Si

A pint of Ossett and a good book in a great side room - perfect BRAPA moment/

BRAPA - Carshalton & Holborn

It was one of those rare Saturday's that combined and very productive BRAPA ticking session (five new pubs visited in all) with a Hull City away win.  You could almost call it a 'one-off'! Easily the best football day of the 2014/15 season.

My decision to book us on the 05:48 train to London meant 'early openers' were the order of the day, luckily I've got my own "pubs that open in London before 11am" list.  Not everyone can boast one of them!

630 - Shakespeare's Head, Holborn - God bless Wetherspoons (well, kind of), so often the saviour at times like this.  I noted that the GBG stated this pub "opens 8am, serves alcohol from 9am".  Dad and myself were technically in at 08:59am, and although the staff overlooked the 1 minute (note to Greyhound in Ipswich and the now defunct Junction in York), the beer pumps hadn't read the script and our first two choices refused to produce real ale!  Luckily, the barmaid was a friendly lass, and it was third time lucky with a decent pint of Twickenham's 'Naked Ladies'.  Barmaid became the first African American girl I've heard use the phrase "lovely jubbly", are you watching Mr Farage?  The pub was nicely done, very Spoonsy but a homely, old feel despite it's vastness.  The clientele was pretty much a 50/50 split of excitable Middlesbrough fans travelling to Fulham, and stern looking Businessman having full English breakfasts.  As quotes from Macbeth loomed above, we sat in a booth and found the beer good quality, if not to our tastes.  Re the beer serving problems, Dad quipped "well, they said they start serving from 9am, didn't mean you get to drink it til 10!" Haha, well, I guess you had to be there.

Me arriving at our first pub, bang on 8:59am!  

631 - Penderel's Oak, Holborn - There was time to fit in another early morning 'Spoons before our train to Carshalton via Victoria, as the rain cleared into a warming sunny mist in Central London.  Dad has worked opposite here for his Pensions stuff on and off for years now, yet he'd never noticed this pub which says something about the low key exterior for a 'Spoons.  Mr Penderel hid Charles II in an oak tree from Cromwell, hence the name.  I can't say I approve of that, and I wasn't a fan of the interior either.  Despite being situated in a historic building, it was too light for a 'Spoons with roof light above the bar area, which felt a bit more like a coffee shop servery than a bar, despite huge displays celebrating the American 'craft' phase we are going through.  Staff weren't as impressive either, and though my Rudgate IPA was a contender for pint of the day, you had to go down the steps to just outside the loos to appreciate any kind of historic atmosphere.  A bit of a shame.

Dad arrives at the Penderel, does your Cromwell know you're here?

632 - Windsor Castle, Carshalton - An hour or so later, we were walking through the pretty suburb of Carshalton with the sun properly shining now and our day could really take off.  As he so often does, Tom appeared from nowhere across the road and we were soon in this pub, and how nice it was (novel almost) to be in a proper old fashioned boozer after two consecutive Wetherspoons.  "Not that there's anything wrong with that", to quote Seinfeld.  The very young barman who served us looked like he had his own opinions of Tom's view that Carshalton was spoilt by a busy main road running through it, but he didn't say anything out loud, and a St George's themed ale was decent, a bit of a southern taste.  We sat in a comfy raised area and the pub and it seemed a thriving community place with signs for live music, beer festivals and lots of food options.  A solid start to life in Carshalton.

Tom appears from nowhere like Dame N'Dioye to ram home the opener.  

633 - Sun, Carshalton - A real contender for pub of the day, and if I understood what Chris Douglas said to me later in the ground, Hull City fans helped to save this pub for the community when it was under threat of demolition.  The beer range was really impressive, lots of different styles like porters, stouts, fruit beers and more standard lighter ales.  My Gravesend Shrimpers was a traditional darker bitter, some might say bog standard in this day and age but perfectly kept, loved it.  We really could've stayed a long time.  The friendly, hard working staff half expected everyone who came in to order food, but obviously not in my case, my pub visiting to food ordering ratio must be one of the lowest in the UK!  (maybe),  Although it was on quite a busy street corner, the pub had a very serene atmosphere almost like it was down a backstreet, or even nearer to the countryside.  

Dad hitches his trousers up and crosses the road towards the Sun.

634 - Hope, Carshalton - This pub has won lots of awards recently, was nearer the station, so made sense for us to end our pre-match session here.  It had a darker interior (which I always prefer) and even though they did food, it felt more focused on the beer than any other pub today.  The beer range and quality were equally as impressive, and my Earl Grey flavoured IPA from Siren Craft (nice to see them doing cask) was heavenly.  Despite the fantastic atmosphere inside, the sun had really come out by now, we sat outside the back of the pub (there was even the remnants of a beer festival on, ala Swansea recently) and I conducted a Hull City themed quiz that went down well and with Ben having joined us in the last pub, we captured that Welly gang atmosphere of old before a quick dash for the train, we had become a bit too comfortable.  I can see why this pub is so highly regarded.

Ben and Dad arriving at the Hope, who is photobombing who?


So that was that, a great match experience with Allam Out protest followed.  I'd booked as on an early train back and just as well with these Donny-York engineering works slowing things down painfully.  We had popped into Parcel Yard for a quick one post-match due to getting from Selhurst to Kings Cross in excellent time.  After MOTD, I was in bed for midnight.  Job done.

Si

BRAPA - North of Halifax

West Yorkshire midweek BRAPA trips celebrated their first anniversary with a difficult two pub session in villages to the north of Halifax, though technically listed under Halifax in the GBG.  And whilst we are on the landmarks, this is my 100th blog entry.  Pull those Party Poppers.

Had I started WY midweeks with last night's excursion, I'd have probably been too mentally scarred to carry on with the after-work challenge.  A year today, in fact, the Grove & Midnight Bell in Holbeck seemed a whole lot easier.

After a straightforward train to Halifax, I jumped in the nearest taxi (the bus times were all out of sync) and soon I was in the rural little village of Bradshaw.

Arriving at the Golden Fleece on a fine spring evening.

628 - Golden Fleece, Bradshaw - I'd pictured in my mind's eye the best and worst case scenario here, and I was amazed to see how close to 'best case scenario' this pub really was.  A bustling local throng stood around the bar (in fact, not being able to get to it was as bad as it got!), a great range of ales, some from the Revolutions brewery whose ales are music themed, and one I had, Cleopatra (comin' atcha!) that was accidentally so - all peach and cigarette overtones.  £2 a pint!   I took advantage of the fine spring evening to sit in the excellent beer garden, with views overlooking local countryside, hills, I could even see some grazing horses in the distance.  It was idyllic, a utopian scene, but life doesn't allow things to be perfect for long. I was soon put on edge by a young guy who kept talking angrily to himself - he was a cross between serial murder man Ian Brady and the young priest in Father Ted who gets Dougal into smoking, ear piercings etc.  He lay on a bench, I tried not to make eye contact.  Everyone else was jolly and local, enjoying the sunshine and with my bus still a way off, what could I do but order another pint - this time Revolutions 'House of Fun', a milk stout and a good one at that!  Bus handily arrived just across the road, and I was on my way to Swalesmoor.

Idyllic outdoor drinking at the Golden Fleece.

Having done my research, I thought I was a real clever clogs getting off the bus in Ovenden leaving me a not too bad 0.7 mile walk to the next pub.  What the map didn't tell me, it was all uphill and quite back-breaking!  The bus I got was a Yorkshire Tiger, I just hoped the evil Dr Allam didn't own the company or I may have demanded a refund of my £1.70.

Seats made out of real Tiger skin on the 528 bus to Ovenden.

629 - Sportsman Inn, Swalesmoor - When they said 'Sportsman',  I was thinking perhaps Rugby League, Cricket or even Football for this area, so when it turned out to be skiing, it was quite a surprise.  A dry ski slope overlooking a pub garden isn't something you see every day.  In fact, it made the whole area feel like a European tourist resort.  But this was north Halifax and a kindly gent who was sweeping up leaves  showed me the way in, told me the barman was called Jake, and I should use his name to freak him out.  Well, I did and it worked on the characterful, quirky, bearded young barman - in fact, when I revealed I'd been told his name "by a guy sweeping up", the locals looked at each other as if to say "oh no, not the sweeping ghost of Swalesmoor again!" and now I was scared, until Jake went outside to satisfy his curiosity and revealed the sweeper was 'the boss of the whole complex'!  To keep my 'music' themed beers going, I had a "making your mind up" by Salamander which was almost as good as the previous two.  It was getting chilly now so I sat inside, they even had a fire burning and it seemed like a very nice rural style old fashioned pub.  This was spoiled somewhat as a L**ds fan and a N*wcastle fan (with his girlfriend) swarmed round my table and we settled down to watch Barca v PSG in the Chumps League.  It was a decent experience apart from the hero worship of Barca's skills and style of football so I was quite happy when the time came to leg it back down the hill for the bus back to 'Fax.

Dry ski slope outside pub in the middle of nowhere, unique! 

As it turned out, I was soon back at Halifax Station on foot having gone at such a pace, I almost stayed ahead of all the busses.  I got back just in time for a train to L**ds, but a farce ensued.  First I was stuck outside L**ds station for ages "waiting for a platform to become available", missed one connection, the next train was cancelled, the next advised people to get off and catch another, and this was delayed by 7 mins!  So by the time I got in with my Burger King, it was 11pm!  

A frustrating end to an otherwise excellent night of BRAPA.  

Si

BRAPA : the archives (191-200) A Sunderland v Newcastle special.

191.  Bodega, Newcastle - Often a front runner for our "Welly gang away pub of the season" award, we first came here 13th September 2008 on 'Cockney Mafia Out' day which just added to the wonderful/hilarious atmosphere.  They never really follow their protests through do Geordies.  3,000 fans missing out of 50,000?  Wow, that's gonna scare Mr Ashley(!)  Sorry, I digress.  What I love about this pub is that even when it is ultra-busy, the atmosphere is never threatening, friendly in fact, whilst the range of beers is absolutely spot on - by which I mean, there are always lights, darks, everything in between, the full spectrum of ale types.  Oakham's "20 Years" and Durham Magus are the two that have really stood out here.  All washed down with a Pease Pudding Stottie, and you've got an experience as canny as a load of sardines in a canning factory.  Visiting on a midweek afternoon pre-Dreadnoughts gig saw it good but less magical, but in both September 2013 and 2014's pre-match sessions, it returned to it's 2008 glory, regardless of the fact on both occasions I was feeling the effect of three days of York beer festivalling.  And with 7 points from 9, a lucky pub too.  We even tried to get in post-match in 2014, but it was about ten deep at the bar, so we headed to our next pub ....

Having worn a Newcastle shirt in Bodega the previous year, Ben proves he still has no shame in 2014!

192.  Bridge Hotel, Newcastle - Ah yes, another wonderful example of why my days out in Newcastle always end up in a happy haze.  Incidentally, this was my first pre-match real ale pub here on 13/9/08, we'd taken advantage of some "castle open day" and gone up the opposite tower, before a quick pint pre-Boedga (I think it was an 11am opener then) and Dad and I were so impressed, it was a real wrench to move ourselves.  It doesn't look like it's going to be such a huge pub, but it has such depth and an outside bit beyond that, yet it still always seems quite busy.  Other occasions here involved sitting with some 'hens' pre-Tossers gig on a dark evening, but if this was really March 3rd 2008 as the internet suggests, this pre-dated that football day!  On 'Dreadnoughts' day, JW2, Lu and me popped in here for lunch and a pint or two during our cultural/ghostie walk around.  With Lu limited with vegan requirements, I felt a sense of unity and it was "jacket & beans, jacket & beans" for both of us.  Most recently, we were here post match on 20/9/14 but having thrown away a 2-0 lead, i felt depressed - a pint of Tiny Rebel 'One Inch Punch' still cheered me up as we sat outside with a, shall we say, "mixed group" of stray tigers and approachable mags.  My "Pardew In!" comment wasn't well received.  But again, their glee at a late 2-2 home draw on a so-called "protest" day just didn't make sense!

193.  Duke of Wellington, Newcastle - This old pub on 'High Bridge' (feels more like a sunken cobbled street) has been a guide regular and very popular with the locals for much longer than I've been into ale.  I've been here on three occasions, the most memorable being when Dad and I got into Newcastle very early 10am, it was freezing, but we saw from behind the glass, several glum Geordie faces staring out onto us like they'd been here all night, they probably had. I'm not sure (this could have been before a  Sunderland away game 12th Sept 2009 I'm guessing).  This feels like a proper old school boozer and I was also here before the Swingin' Utters gig 6th September 2011 and probably also the cup win up there on 14th Jan 2009.  What these experiences had in common was a random phone call, in 2011 from Dad and in 2009 from Ric - and I never receive phone calls, especially in my pre-iPhone days where I barely ever used a phone so it was notable in a boring way.

194.  Chillingham, Heaton - A classic Groovie Ghoulies gig always seemed to end up drunken debacles (see my Nottingham archive reviews) and the first, Friday 21st Feb 2003 was one of the best.  I remember getting a scary Metro into that whole Byker area with JW2, a first for me, and being smitten with a girl at work who I was on a course with at this time.  A bit like the Cluny, I saw this as a gig venue with the added bonus of ale, and remember having to take it from the bar, outside, in another door, up some stairs, to the venue which had quite a light, loungy feel for such an event.  People bringing trays of takeaway curry in only added to the surreal environment we found ourselves in.  Future Victorian-waxwork Chris Milner and sister Lu appeared at some point, the gig was great, I was up & down those stairs for ales like a washerwoman, and a drunken singalong in the car back to Shincliffe (poor Ken!) made for a fantastic night, and still the most drunk I've ever seen JW2 to this day!  Superb night.

195.  New Bridge, Manors - Typical of my hazy memories of Newcastle, this was part of a very BRAPA-esque crawl before I went to a gig having a whole afternoon free.  I think the March 2008 Tossers gig is the most likely, I have a feeling I visited after chatting with those hens at the (old) Bridge, and got a bit lost negotiating my way around railway sidings and tunnels to get here.  Ale-wise, this was excellent (loads on I'd never heard of) and I still have a loyalty card the friendly barman gave me (wonder if it's still valid?), the pub was full of students and he thought I was one.  I felt pleased until I started listening into their incredibly annoying conversations, I wondered if they'd escaped from University of Dork.  The pub was quite light (I prefer the relative darkness of the Bridge Hotel).  I moved on pretty swiftly, for I had much new pubbing to do before the gig!

196.  Crown Posada, Newcastle - My introduction to real ale in the City came when, I'm not sure exactly what the purpose was, maybe there wasn't one, but I met John some time after finishing uni (2000) and his 2003 move to York, I think maybe the summer of 2002.  I'd just met his lovely parents for the first time, enjoying a coffee in some shiny new eatery across the road which me n John weren't impressed by, and the contrasting atmosphere in the 'Coffin' (as it's sometimes known) was even starker.  I still remember it clearly, walking into this long thin pub, the glorious pint of Big Lamp, squeezing onto the end of some old locals seat, the old fashioned music coming through an old gramophone - there's a great chapter on this pub in my "In Search of the Perfect Pub" book which really captures it's spirit.  I am pretty sure I've been in here once or twice since, with JW2 again or Dad, but never on my own though I drunkenly looked for it twice in vain on the way back to the Travelodge after various gigs.  An absolute marvel of a pub.

197.  Fitzgeralds, Sunderland - I was first aware of this pub living at Chester Road when at Uni between 1998-2000, when somebody (probably Philip Lister) had a friend on his course who worked here, so Philip claimed he could get us all discounted drinks, though we once went (making it a very early BRAPA tick, we'll say 1999 for the sake of argument) and any discount predictably didn't transpire.  The real tragedy though was that i overlooked all these weird looking beers in favour in some lager or other, blissfully unaware what real ale even was!  Despite hearing "Fitzy's this", "Fitzy's that" on a regular basis, I avoided this pub for the remainder of my time at Uni and it was only one post-match (18th April 2009's 1-0 defeat perhaps) that we went for post-match drinks believing "Beefy" Mark Bainton was there, he wasn't but it was busy, we stood up, but considering all this, we enjoyed the experience and did get a seat for about the last two minutes!  To this day, it's still a mystery to me why I haven't been here more.

198.  Isis, Sunderland - A bit like the terrorist organisation of the same name, this pub's emergence on the pre-match Sunderland scene was put to me a bit like it was a threat to the national security of our King's Arms homeland.  Intrigued, and with JW2 not quite such an early starting drinker as us, we popped in 8th Feb 2014 and I was immediately impressed.  A great range of Jarrow beers served by really good staff, and a terrific two roomed building with secret toilets and a proper hallway giving it grand pub of old feel you normally find more in Greater Manchester, Merseyside or the West Midlands.   Though me, Ben and Tom (quite rightly) stuck to the plan and moved on, Dad lamely and annoyingly decided he was "too ill to move", Mark's knee suddenly had a twinge, and Chris Douglas insisted an a sit down meal as is so often the case, before Christine then declared it "away pub of the season".  Ben and I both texted our displeasure!  Still feeling the need to let it impress me, I made this our designated pre-match pub on 26/12/14.  Now most pubs open 12 noon on Boxing Day, but this place looked like it'd been serving pints of Rivet Catcher since at least 8am!  It was heaving, and in the back room, very very cold.  Things warmed up when John and Ken arrived, and had a few hundred Mackems been ejected for no apparant reason, it might have been pub of the season!

199.  Ivy House, Sunderland - It doesn't sit easily with me even 'highlighting' this as a visited BRAPA pub.  It was a dark, windy night in the late Autumn of 1998 and in our Chester Oval house of ill repute,  Jane Taylor's Autumn of Terror was building us her stalker, Graeme, wouldn't leave her alone.  Not one to front awkward situations head on, she decided the solution was that everyone currently in the house was to vacate it for the evening, and go to a pub where he'd never find us.  So we soon found ourselves walking down behind our house, through a few terraced streets, to this pub I'd heard about since my Panns Bank days.  At one point, a bush bristled in the wind and Jane leapt a mile in the air, thinking Graeme was lurking behind it.  The people present were me, Jane, Andy Denton, Philip and Jane's friend Kerry, the ginger teacher with the big knockers.  We played pool (I was off form, even Philip beat me, the shame!), drank lager and alcopops unaware of "real ale", watched music videos on a screen, it was a good night, awful hangover next day. Had felt like being in a pub, just a studenty one.  I still feel I have unfinished business here and will strive to return when I'm "mopping up" Sunderland.

200.  King's Arms, Sunderland - A fitting pub to bring up the 200 with, another "Welly away day pub of the season", very much our Bodega of Sunderland and it also does Ham & Pease Pudding "filled rolls".  When the good JW2 realised Saltgrass just wasn't cutting the mustard any more (loyaler than most), he joined many others marching up that hill to the King's, and was soon raving about it.  So on 18th April 2009, we joined JW2 and his Dad here with a huge Welly gang including the likes of Lizzy and Colin Scunthorpe for one of the best away match sessions ever.  A great ale range, a friendly barmaid (as long as you speak loudly, bit deaf) and a brilliant pub quiz even featuring a section on the "away team" made for a classic.  No wonder we were back the following year 12th Sept 2009 and on our long awaited return 8th Feb 2014 where we proved it doesn't have to be an unlucky pub for Hull City either.  It was busy without being uncomfy, and again I thought the beer quality was superb, the likes of Consett White Hot and Durham White Gold, and one about Admiral Collingwood.  I like the bare boarded circular layout, it feels like a basic non pretentious boozer.  However, JW2's reports on 'beers going off' or 'on the turn' may be a bit more often than is acceptable for a GBG pub.  It could be a match day thing, hard to cope with demand (see "The Pub" in Leicester), but even so, it may be a worry if a tough CAMRA inspector came in on one of these days.

Wow, well that made me nostalgic and I'm wondering if it's too late for Newcastle and Sunderland to join us in the Championship next season for more adventures like these?   Either that or Groovie Ghoulies reform and come on tour.  I'm not sure which is most likely.

Next time, we'll finish off in Sunderland before turning our attentions to the West Midlands.

Si