Dick and Dave are keen to see my Halifax piece, which makes three of us then.
The last time I visited, to drop my parents off at a wedding near the Big 6, I was rather blown away by Halifax.
25 years ago, the year the Shaymen first dropped out the League, it felt shabbier than Bradford, no mean achievement in 1993.
Nowadays there’s a spruced up market hall, high quality tourist attractions (Eureka ! and the Piece Hall), live music venues, and those all-important budget hotels. I reckon it’s one of our Top 6 budget nights out (Stockport, Kidderminster, Hull, Ramsgate and Newport the others, since you ask).
My bargain hotel is next to the railway station and the Minster, home to some of the finest cobbles and gothic interior of any church in England.
The Imperial Crown (£31 for a Friday night) managed to undercut the Travelodge and Premier Inn, quite an achievement. And it gives you free biscuits and WiFi. That’s a bargain, and there weren’t many unmentionables under the bed either.
I turned up a month too early for Nik Kershaw and Cutting Crew; I bet Mark Crilley wishes he was there on the 2nd.
I was here mainly for the two new micro pubs, but also to see the revitalised Piece Hall, which looked at its best at dusk.
Gorgeous. I wasn’t quite sure what it was for, but in the morning I would find out.
Rule No.1 of GBG – don’t get diverted from the ticking of new pubs by classic looking town boozers at 5pm. Sorry, Union Cross Hotel. Bet the Black Sheep and Landlord are decent there.
I’d already popped in the Pump Room micro once, but last September it was too busy to get served. I think.
It was no quieter on Friday. In fact, no free tables so it was a high chair again, which is no fun.
More Scandinavian craft bar than Kent micro;
You should never pass up the opportunity of Titanic Stout, even in Yorkshire.
The beer was cool and tasty (NBSS 3.5), as always in Halifax, and the crowd were mixed, but it’s hard to enjoy a beer perched on a stool. Reminiscent of the Samuel Oldknow in Marple.
I know you like poetry, so here’s a poem about the Pump Room and it’s strict adherence to the Herne Rules.
Well, it may say “Laughter is the only music you’ll hear”, but I definitely heard the definitive version of “In the Air Tonight” playing. And no, it wasn’t even 3 minutes to midnight on New Year’s Eve.
Very new wave of micro, very quirky, but quirkier was still to come…
retiredmartin 
Two people just added the Minster and Piece hall to the Itinerary. That micro is actually a nice looking one.
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Catch it on a quieter time and it’s better. Another corker coming right up.
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“That micro is actually a nice looking one.”
As long as you don’t get stuck on a stool. 🙂
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The Piece Hall is magnificent.
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If it was in Guildford or Maidenhead people it would get 10X the attention.
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“Gorgeous. I wasn’t quite sure what it was for, but in the morning I would find out.”
Agreed. It does look quite nice. I take it your next post will enlighten us?
“Pump Room”
I see their window etching says “ESTD 2016”. They’re in it for the long haul then. 🙂
“I can only read DIPA”
The Titanic looks like a good choice. 7 quid for DTs? I hope that’s a pint. It’s 8.5% if I remember, and the DIPA on that board is only 5 pound 50 @ 8%. Sheesh.
And I’m assuming the ‘spoons’, ‘weather’ bit in the poem is a bit of a dig? 😉
Cheers
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I’m sure it is a dig. The Spoons (Barum Top) is fantastic, a Beer Guide regular, and loads of interesting characters !
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Funny place Halifax. It’s the sort of place you don’t go to unless you have to. Not been for years and it’s only what … 25 miles away. The Piece Hall alone is worth going for. The rest of it is like it’s Football and RL teams – second division, well 5th, or is it 6th for Halifax Town? Nice to see the pubs are going strong. Still not convinced with the synthetic taste of Titanic Plum Porter … like when did that syrup they put in it last see a plum, and where?
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Halifax is Premier League, mate, really is, Take a look around the restored mills and the market and be astonished, then walk up the hills to the Cross Keys and west to Big 6.
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“It’s the sort of place you don’t go to unless you have to.” Not true for everyone!
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Richard is just jealous he lives the wrong side of Leeds, Dave ! Mind you, he lives opposite a cracking Sam Smiths beer boozer you’d love.
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Maybe Richard needs to join us on our Halifax visit.
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“When 2 Dicks go to Fax, a tick is all that you can score” I can see the Blogpost title now.
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See, it works in so many ways.
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I must say I didn’t take Nik Kershaw very seriously back when he was having hits in the 80s, but then I listened to this interview with him a few years back and was rather impressed with the guy: https://www.sodajerker.com/episode-23-nik-kershaw/
You and Simon have got me questioning the whole high stool/posing table thing, I may have to rethink my views. I deliberately choose them sometimes since they sort of announce to the server “I’m not going to order food, so don’t get your hopes up.” 😉
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That last point is really interesting. If you pull up a stool in a Vegas or Berlin bar it does indeed mean “I’m just here for a drink”, but I guess that’s because if you pick a table you’re expected to eat. That’s not true of all Germany, of course, plenty of proper seating in Lubeck last year.
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Nik Kershaw was a marginal figure in the mid-80s pop scene, though “The Riddle” sounded quite substantial at the time. He was no Howard Jones 😉
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