I can only report what happens, you can censor it yourself by applying a Bass filter or something. But I’m afraid this post starts with Vimto Piss. No, not the legendary punk band from Louth (No. 41 in the 1987 Festive 50 with “Oi, get off my tractor“), but the subject of debate amongst two… Continue reading SMOG, PARMO, VIMTO P***
Month: July 2018
BANKING THE BASS
After the Wasp I checked in at my “value B & B” at 26 Outram. You can see my Booking.com review via that link, and speculate what I’m hinting at when I warn that shower rooms and bedrooms aren’t labelled. Highly recommended, and my car had been returned to its same position in the morning.… Continue reading BANKING THE BASS
PARMOLAND
Sorry for the gap between posts. I’m just back from the Isle of Man, which has wonderful coast, cask and cockles (well, Queenies), but cruddy internet. Resuming my chronology, I finished Durham’s GBG entries in Stockton-On-Tees, one of our greatest towns. You may disagree with that, but I doubt you’ve been. Or possibly you just… Continue reading PARMOLAND
BAPS & BOMBARDIER
Baps. Or Cobs. Or rolls. Or whatever you call them. But never muffins. One of the best indicators of Proper Pub, along with mobility scooters and stolen goods, is a supply of baps behind the counter, available throughout the day. On that basis the Black Horse west of Durham City scores highly. You even get… Continue reading BAPS & BOMBARDIER
THE SUN GOES DOWN (ON THE A689) (LIVING IT UP)
One of the most contentious issues in the pub blogging world is what makes the optimal music selection in a Proper Pub. This is very different from what constitutes good music; I don’t expect to hear Car Seat Headrest or Bo Ningen in a Sam Smiths pub, or Bruckner’s Eighth in a Brewer’s Fayre. I… Continue reading THE SUN GOES DOWN (ON THE A689) (LIVING IT UP)
MOTOR BIKIN’ TO MIDDLETON-IN-TEESDALE
Two days at home then off on Sunday to Durham, a trip which will culminate in this… Be very excited, Bass fans. But first, I went chasing waterfalls, and the end of the Durham chapter of the Beer Guide. Every week brings a new county to a close these days. My sixth trip up to… Continue reading MOTOR BIKIN’ TO MIDDLETON-IN-TEESDALE
A LATE LUNCH IN LEOMINSTER
BLOGGERS TIP: Never pass up the opportunity for alliteration, even when you’ve no actual pub to write about. Having failed to decide on lunch in Monkland (the Cheesesplaining incident), we stopped off at Leominster (NOTE : NOT pronounced Leo’s minster). past the point of caring about food provenance at 3pm. Leominster suffers a bit against… Continue reading A LATE LUNCH IN LEOMINSTER
HEREFORDSHIRE BRONZE IN THE GOLDEN VALLEY
For completeness, a short review of the three pubs we visited in west Herefordshire to complete the county in the Beer Guide. Our ticking took us into the Golden Valley, strikingly highlighted on Bing Maps by the blue line from Ewyas Harold to Bredwardine. You may remember that Anthony Hopkins and Debra Winger pre-emptively… Continue reading HEREFORDSHIRE BRONZE IN THE GOLDEN VALLEY
TOP 100 PUBS – BARRELS, HEREFORD
Yes, No.288 in my Top 100 series. So sue me. A third visit here in ten years, and heaving every time. Given what I wrote last time about how quiet Hereford was on Thursday night, that probably says it all. To be honest, it was never a good idea to finish at Barrels, after two… Continue reading TOP 100 PUBS – BARRELS, HEREFORD
A HEREFORD HOP
Only one new Guide entry in Hereford, whose three GBG choices are slim pickings for a county town (there’s six in Tewkesbury, for comparison). But quality over quantity; I’d given previous entries high marks for beer and pubbiness. And this is a town that knows how to celebrate promotion from the Evo Stik League South.… Continue reading A HEREFORD HOP
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