VEXED BY A BASS VOID IN VERULAMIUM

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I’ve been stuck in Huddersfield with duff WiFi; rather hoarse after shouting obscenities* at a Southampton team; rarely have I enjoyed a victory so much.

As I can’t upload photos of Hudders and (excitingly) Urmston, here’s a bit of St Albans from last week, uploaded in the Wetherspoons in Chapeltown.

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St Albans

I had the company of Mrs RM and made her walk across the mud that is Verulamium Park. towards the Lake, always at its best in winter.

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And the landslide took her down
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St Albans Lake

We stopped to see the famous mosaic, housed in a building that will make a fabulous micro pub when all the world in micro pubs and Spoons.

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Future micro
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Roman mosaic

Mrs RM felt she’d done enough walking to justify a stop in the first pub we came to,

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but she hadn’t, and we carried on up the hill to the Cathedral , which is magnificent. Third only to Lincoln and Blackburn.

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Sainted pub tickers through the ages
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Font, not the one in Manc

Mrs RM was so impressed she played with her I-Phone while I explored, along with an impressive number of Italian tourists.

We pressed on to the venerable Boot, where I had promised her a pint of finest Draught Bass.

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The demonstration rumbling on in Market Cross should have warned us,

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CAMRA demonstration

No Bass !!!

I considered a “No Bass” walkout, but Mrs RM was already seated with her phone out, so I had to buy her a pint of Citra served in that horrific Adnams glass.

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Good beer, duff glass

Hard to fault the beer, even at £4.20 (ouch !), and a really cheery town pub with a lot more smartly dressed young shoppers than you’d find in your average town at 3pm.  More like Stamford than Stafford.

A soundtrack including “Landslide” by the Mac seemed appropriate given our slide down the hill earlier.

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It’s Sweden

As a husbandly concession,we walked back via Fishpool St and St Michaels to save Mrs RM’s high heels, and she kindly pointed out where a former boyfriend lived.  What a gorgeous street this is;

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Both those are shut, but elsewhere St Albans remains impressively and diversely pubbed.

CAMRA may have achieved much in the last 45 years**, but the absence of the epitome of our brewing heritage from CAMRA HQ is surely a national disgrace.

 

*Note for Mum. “Oh do stop your silly timewasting you naughty Saints” a typical rant.

**Without CAMRA, there wouldn’t be Wetherspoons. Think on that.

 

Published by retiredmartin

Retired NHS, doing long walks around UK and the world to record the great bits. Focused on Good Beer Guide pubs and live music.

16 thoughts on “VEXED BY A BASS VOID IN VERULAMIUM”

  5. Pretty much all the cask-focussed pubs in St Albans (Six Bells, Mermaid, White Hart Tap, Boot, White Lion, Farmer’s Boy, Lower Red Lion) do indeed stock Oakham at all times. Only a few have the Boom Dar. Great post Martin. Sorry I chose to be in Watford during your flying visit.

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  6. “And the landslide took her down”

    I was going to hint at a musical reference but you confirmed it further down.

    “Sainted pub tickers through the ages”

    Ok, that made me laugh. 🙂

    “CAMRA demonstration”

    And that (picture) made me shudder.

    Cheers

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  8. Bass was always on in The Boot until a couple of years ago; but increasingly seems to have drifted to an occasional. Not seen at all on most recent visits – whether coincidence of bad timing on my part, or victim of change of policy? Blame Protz ;-), he drinks in there.

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