Not a post that will detain you long, but I thought Saltford’s Bird in Hand deserved a mention on my blog to illustrate the joyous contrasts you get in English pubs two miles apart.
The main A4 through Saltford is the sort of dull parade of shops and Greene King Pizza Pub you travel to Somerset to avoid, but the old village, tucked down by the Avon, is a typical “edge-of-Bath” gem; almshouses, sloping streets down to riverside pub and all.
Hard to believe now, but this was a day sufficiently warm to fill the giant garden of a pub swarming with walkers and families.
Consequently, the Bird in Hand comes from another world to the Old Bank with its 10am canned beer drinkers.
A warm welcome from the Landlord, a similar welcome from the Otter (NBSS 2.5), and an unfussy pub to myself.
In the Old Bank you get relentless build-up to the big fight, here you get the Test Match. Cricket in the telly in pubs is a rarity these days. A shame the strains of Mika were playing over whoever commentates for Sky these days.
As you’ll see, some proper seating, which makes the condition of the Otter a bit of a shame. Not quite bad enough to take back though.
They were gearing up for a busy lunchtime trade of the sort that gives BRAPA such limitless material.
The chap with a red hat came in with a book containing the lunch instructions from his demanding family, all variations on what should have been a simple baguette order.
Why can’t folk keep things simple ? Ten minutes it took him, I’ve been in and out of 3 Cologne pubs in that time.
retiredmartin 
I think BRAPA might have called him the twat in the red hat!
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That’s the lyrical genius of Simon for you 😉
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Actually I find pubs with Sky Sports do tend to show the cricket when it’s on, but of course Test Matches are only on for maybe 30 days a year, and a lot of the new GBG entries aren’t the type of pubs that would have it anyway. Cricket is the ideal sport for pub TVs as you can dip in and out of it as you want.
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That’s a good point; I just assumed there’s more than one sports channel that pubs could show. I remember watching the 1st Ashes test of 2005 in the Harvey’s pub in Borough, wonderful afternoon.
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Love the observation about people ordering food, continually changing their mind and being oblivious to a queue of hacked off punters behind them…it bugs me too!!!
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There’s a certain sort of middle-class customer in country pubs who hasn’t got a clue what to do and gets confused by options.
Mrs RM would tell you I’m hyper, impatient and will order for you if you look at a menu for more than 20 seconds…
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I am feeling your pain as Mrs BB is the same and will allow everyone else to order and wait for the waiter (if table service) to arrive before announcing…I can’t decide….That’s why I order the food at the bar!
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Actually, the rise of people ordering coffee in Table2Table, Farmhouse Inns etc has led to a huge rise in queues as it appears to take longer to pour coffee than a pint…
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Good point. Spoons coffee is even worse, and after 2pm you don’t seem able to just get the mug for help yourself filter.
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I do not drink coffee in pubs,pubs are for drinking beer or spirits,but i do agree about the time it takes to serve coffee,we were in the Falmouth Wetherspoons just after 10am and there were a few people at the bar,but the Falmouth Wetherspoons is well staffed and i was soon being served with a pint and a half of Skinners Lushingtons,i brought the drinks back to our table and said to my wife “coffee people are still stood at the bar waiting for their coffees which were taking an age to be served.
I am so pleased that my wife likes drinking beer early morning just like i do and all day long like i do.
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Sounds like you are well matched -I admit to an occasional coffee followed with a wine chaser
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