The second new tick in Poole was the “attractive old all-rounder” that is the King Charles.
More locals than tourists. beers you’ve heard of, pub grub, Willie Nelson cover of “Ghost Riders on the Storm“, you know the type. In Cambridge it would be the Baron of Beef, I guess.
Poole only has the 3 GBG entries (blame the micros in the ‘burbs), down from half a dozen when I first visited. Getting out of What Pub and into the GBG proper is like getting out of that Group of Death that Scotland are always in.
An attractive stock of Proper Pubs (e.g. the Waddies pub round the corner) has been supplemented by all the chain places you could possibly not want, including a B&K that’s possibly the only one not to make the Guide this year.
No dining pub/homebrew horrors in the Charles, and Professional Drinkers keeping a safe 10 feet apart so they can have a shouted conversation and you can see the bar.
Secretly, don’t we all long for a beer range of Doom Bar, Sea Fury and Landlord ?
Yes, it really does say 30p for a sample, either to allow tickers to tick pubs and rare beers like Doom Bar easily, or because folk you ask for a taster are massive *****.
Two lads in their mid-20s came in, stared for a while, and “played it safe with Doom Bar“.
I ask the chap at the bar with a menu what he’s just ordered as the (exceptional) barmaid scuttles off
“What’s that, mate, Landlord”
“No it’s Timothy Taylor“
Your dull is someone else’s rarity.
I order a seafood stew and take my exceptional (left to condition) pint of Landlord (NBSS 4) to the table with the best view.
For £12 I get superbly fed and watered, and a little bit of comedy just for my benefit.
Often it just involves asking for things that aren’t on the menu, but occasionally you get real gems.
“How many children you got Bill ?”
“Five. That I know of, obviously. One in every port.”
Loads of unrepeatable stuff about Trump, holding hand with Theresa May, aliens and the lady who’d fell off the cruise ship.
“Obviously she floated. She’s a woman”
“What would you do if you fell in Len”
“I’d drown”. I bet he wouldn’t.
Great pub. And they said “Cheers my dear” when I left.
retiredmartin 
That is a fine looking pub. We do not have those in my neighborhood.
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You’d enjoy that one, Dick. Presume beer has improved to get it in the Guide. Landlord a bellwether pint.
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I am appreciating Landlord more and more with each trip. NBSS 4 would be nice to encounter.
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Whereas Doom Bar is a bellend pint.
Wahaay !
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If Britain had more pubs like the King Charles the world would be a better place.
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👏
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That doesn’t look like the Olde Vic! I thought that was the typical English pub.
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Very perceptive.
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That 30p 50ml sample is illegal. No question. End of.
This is the pub I chose to visit in Poole as it was in the GBG – otherwise it would probably have been the Poole Arms. Nice olde-worlde pub, but I had a dull and tepid pint of Landlord.
You missed the Bass mirror!
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I seemed to spend August complaining about beer in places other folk had enjoyed it, and now the exact reverse. Cask ale lottery.
I assume, er, someone took the Bass mirror.
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So this was your second visit?
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Only if my memory is very poor.
Oh, it is.
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Definitely: 1/3, 1/2, & 2/3rds of a pint and multiples of 1/2 pint measures above, only
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Do laws apply in Dorset ?
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Obviously not. What you should have done is to contact the local trading standards. The contact details are always in the back of every CAMRA magazine. Whether they actually have trading standards in Dorset is another matter.
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The only crime here is the encouragement of sampling culture, the scourge of the Western world.
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“Secretly don’t we all long for a beer range of Doom Bar, Sea Fury and Landlord?”
Err no, nice pub though, when I was there in June It had both the Sharp’s beers and Tribute in place of Landlord, and like mudgie’s pint of Landlord the quality of the Tribute was rather poor.
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It was actually a bit cooler on my trip. Wonder if the summer was to blame again ?
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Citra,
In Cornwall this week it wasn’t just Doom Bar and Sea Fury / Special but all sorts of local Sharps beers including their cask Honza Lager.
You’d love it there !
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Has PD2 forgotten to get dressed ? Looks like he has still got his pyjama bottoms on !
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Excellent spot, Fred. I guess he has better things to do with his time than get dressed. My youngest son has been exhibiting similar tendencies.
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Never seen the 30p sample before and note PC’s comment so may not see it again. Liked the Group of Death but! Been to this pub twice, second time when Maltmeister needed it. Poole has had so many in the GBG over the years. Keep hunting for those 2019 stickers….
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Totally unfair Group of Death ref, congratulations to Scotland Women.
And on Poole, I recollect loads of back street pubs in the early 90s, but only Brewhouse survives.
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“and Professional Drinkers keeping a safe 10 feet apart so they can have a shouted conversation.” –Had a good chuckle over this, I can just picture it!
Thanks for always reporting the little salutations like “Cheers my dear”. The sheer variety of them is impressive. 🙂
This is my first time hearing of Sea Fury. Is it a good one?
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It tasted ok to me in the 3 Kings in Haddenham, where Si also had it recently (I think), like a less sweet version of Doom Bar. Not sure if there’s a market for it as you often see Tribute instead.
I do like those little sign-offs.As Mudgie has noted, the only human interaction some old folk get 😞
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Shouldn’t be allowed to put a proper beer like Landlord on the same list as factory produced muck. I have to applaud your courage though. There is no way I would try a pint of Landlord down south. Not only is it notoriously difficult to keep properly (hence some of the comments above), I wouldn’t fancy it drawn without a sparkler, how it is meant to be. And don’t so many southern pubs just serve their beer a touch too warm? Certainly to my taste anyway. This all the draws the obvious question as to why they didn’t have a Locale on?
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Certainly brave, and in general I agree. There used to be a Landlord serving pub in Soho (poss the Madonna and Guy) that got loads of praise but never impressed me for quality.
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It just shouldn’t be served southern style, end of. Whereas something like Summer Lightning is perfectly acceptable as it’s meant to be served like that, and indeed I would prefer it so.
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From memory, and the photo, that Landlord was served with a proper head. Landlord could have come from Wakefield for all I know 😉
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Do you mean a tight head or just some foam on the top like most southern pints? The action of the beer engine itself creates some froth.
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Fresh pint of Landlord, cellared for the right amount of time, straight out of the cask, that’s where it’s at – so much flavour it could pass for craft 😉
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Only Wetherspoons can decide what is “craft”, of course, Chris.
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Autovacs probably don’t get as far south as Dorset.
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Shame.
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“What Americans think all pubs look like”
There’s a bit of truth in that. 🙂
“Historic sign consigned to the wall”
Did that inspire Mr. Washington’s crossing of the Delaware?
“PD 1 shouts to PD 2”
Is the person centre frame wearing pajamas?
“30p samples”
And why are the samples in mls?
““No it’s Timothy Taylor“”
We have similar over here. Back in the 80s folks would ask for a Molson’s… rather than an Export, Golden or whatever. 🙂
““Five. That I know of, obviously. One in every port.””
I didn’t know Poole was one of the Cinque Ports. 😉
Cheers
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Yes, pyjamas. Don’t be so judgemental, Russ.
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A “COFFEE ROOM” could be nearly as good as a Coffee House like what they’ve got in Somers Town.
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