My favourite photo (above) from Leeds tells all you need to know about why pubs are so great. Can you imagine looking so happy sitting in your London flat drinking 330ml bottles of Pumpkin sour in your striped underpants watching Poldark ? Don’t answer that.
It took me ages to construct our crawl map so I’d better use it again. From C to D. From Calm to Delirium.
Next up was the last unreconstructed Leeds boozer that survives in the GBG (there’s plenty that don’t grace the Guide like the Duncan).
But first up our merry bunch of Real Ale Twats had to weave through hordes of young people enjoying open air indie pop and keg along Merrion Street. Oh to be young.
In honour of Old Mudgie, who was saving himself for Bradford, I did consider popping in Mean Eyed Cat , but Richard said that even with 72.6% Revitalisation you can’t get in the Good Beer Guide offering tequila.
What a gorgeous boozer the Templar is.
- Officially a Proper Pub
And aren’t World Cup flags seen through pub windows great ?
It was bustling, busy for a city centre pub on a Sunday. But just like Scotland’s cricketers, canny Pub Men always find a way to bag a table for five with a view of Alan Shearer spouting the obvious.
We surveyed a sensible range of beers.
A great half hour of pub life ensued. Dick and the bloke in the top photo tried to out-do each other with their knowledge of US states, and most of us enjoyed some top beer that wasn’t Tetley.
Along with a more famous one in an alley. this was the busiest pub of the evening, and a pub worth travelling from Cambridge to experience with likeminded Pub Men.
Not that we talked about beer, oh no. I imagine we talked about Simon’s dress sense, or the Outlaw in Bewdley, or the USA chances in the World Cup. Who knows ?
But then Dick took his beer back. And Dave’s as well.
Kirstall Three Swords (I think). End of the barrel, it happens. Don’t these Americans know it’s supposed to taste like that ? etc etc.
Anyway, both replaced with good grace, unlike one Kent pub that subsequently dropped out of the Beer Guide. Know your rights. All three of them.
retiredmartin 
The Templar? Where the Hell is that? I must look it up next month. It looks ace. I must have passed the Duncan a hundred times by the way, but never deared to go in. Old man’s pub no. 1 in Leeds when I used to live there. I didn’t even know it was a Sam Smith’s!
LikeLiked by 1 person
In the second to last picture with the announcers on the TV, the three beers on the right are all the same beer with one looking a bit cloudy. That is my Three Swords. To the left is Dave’s Slightly Foxed, the other turned beer. As RM said, replaced with grace.
LikeLiked by 1 person
And from here on the night begins to get fuzzy for Dave…
LikeLiked by 1 person
You were still impressively unfuzzy the next morning 😀
LikeLiked by 1 person
And me ;-))
LikeLike
Never been to the Templar – will have to remedy that some time.
That flag of Saudi Arabia may have subsequently been removed.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh, good spot Sir.
LikeLike
Aye, mustn’t offend all their Shia-customers!
LikeLike
“Don’t answer that.”
Pfft. Like we’re going to listen to you. 😉
All I’ll say is that in the RATs interview he mentions going to the pub solo in order to listen to the conversations around you. I’d say you lot going in a group is basically a bunch of ‘solo’ folk listening in on conversations. 🙂
“Mean Eyed Cat is to the right of Verve”
What the bloody hell prompted the entire town to turn out?
“Officially a Proper Pub”
Love the chalkboard sign. (LOL)
“Wot ! No Tets ?”
It’s on keg. 🙂
“Identify that green football shirt”
Sorry, wot? I was busy looking at the free drink sign in the corner.
“Anyway, both replaced with good grace,”
Good for them. 🙂
Cheers
LikeLike
The RATS guy is basically BRAPA, isn’t he ? It’s much harder writing up these group trips where you’re too busy talking to listen and record.
LikeLike
The paragraph ending with “Don’t answer that” is surely one of your all time greats. Really did laugh out loud at that one!
LikeLiked by 1 person
As you’ll have seen I took Simon to our local pubs this week. Just being asked by a West Ham fan to identify the number 4 had me in hysterics, which says a lot about my sense of humour.
LikeLiked by 1 person
“What a gorgeous boozer the Templar is” but surely that’s what you might have expected from Greene King. .
LikeLiked by 1 person
You can rely on Greene King.
Did they even have their own beers on the bar ? Pub ownership is so much more confusing now than it was in 1990.
LikeLike
Nice little Clash song lyric reference at the end there! Do I win a prize? That picture at the top is pub life in a microcosm…fantastic!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes you win 10 points, great spot. Most point at year-end gets a free pint of Doom Bar at a Hungry Horse of my choice on New Years Eve.
LikeLiked by 1 person
What’s the runners up prize?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Two pin…
LikeLike
I’ll claim that!
LikeLike
Two pin badges saying “Aston Villa – pride of Brum”
LikeLiked by 1 person
Very good! You sucked me in there and I fell for it hook, line and sinker!
LikeLike