Here we go then, the final stretch of Dorset 2018.
Day 5 for BRAPA, Day 3 for retiredmartin.
The most anticipated tick of the day, the brewery tap on a converted stables. Like a micro pub, but with homebrew ! What’s not to like !
The WiFi ran out on entering the mythical city of Cranborne, where the Sixpenny Tap had moved in search of bright lights and less complaints from farm animals. Simon wasn’t much help by this point, but I feared an attack from Martin the Owl if I gave up.
Luckily I headed for a farm and struck lucky, if that’s the word.
No doubt the outside bar will appear, Lady of Mann like, as a separate entry called the The Joy of Sixpenny next year, open only when it rains.
More special treatment for your canine friends, I see.
Inside it was a micro pub bingo wet dream.
- Hops from the ceiling
- Locals hiding the handpumps
- A bloke in a Norton jacket
But it gets better.Look at these classic handpumps.
Classic anti-lager humour, but cider ?
But then again, how often have you seen a billiards table in a Thanet micro ?
That table was taking up half the room, and with nowhere to sit we were getting a bit grumpy about life.
But then we saw a spare table in the corner, the billiard blokes said “Help yourself to the cheese, lads” and the whole feel of the place changed instantly. We felt welcome.
Then Martin the Owl spotted the old Beer Guides.
I asked Si if he recognised the painting below.
But halfway into Pint 6 he was struggling with distinguishing his Manet from his Modigliani.
The billiards table then became home for chess, cheese and pickles. We settled for cheese, possibly getting back the price of the pint in free scran.
Just to put the icing on the micro cake, the evening entertainment then turned up unannounced. It’s possible they’d mistook the Tap for the Sheaf of Arrows in the village square, but I wasn’t going to tell them.
The (short) video tells you all you need to know.Listen out for our star of radio right at the start.
I think it was their re-interpretation of “Summer of ’69”.
Job done, I delivered BRAPA back to the bus stop in Wimborne, still muttering about some pre-emptive micro before bedtime.
retiredmartin 
If a Bar Billiards table “was taking up half the room” a pool table would have filled it.
Ah, yes, 1980. I remember it well,
Of Stafford’s nine GBG entries then one is a homeless hostel, one an Indian restaurant and the other seven are a free house (Greyhound), a Draught Bass outlet (Railway), an Enterprise £2 a pint pub (CoachAndHorses), two Marstons pubs (Chains,Holmcroft) and one each of Titanic (Sun) and Black Country Ales (ShrewsburyArms),
Wasn’t “Help yourself to the cheese, lads” “the icing on the micro cake” – a bit like sausage rolls in the Circus Tavern ?
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Yes, very similar to the Circus, except that’s a Proper Pub.
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More micros like this please!!!
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Cranborne doesn’t look to be more than a junction and yet it has a nice place like that. Life can’t be bad there.
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MW,
Well, it’s not everywhere you can “Help yourself to the cheese”.
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I’ve never seen many woks with a lid, let alone anyone trying to play one.
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It’s different down south.
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Isn’t that the eco-friendly method? Don’t use fuel, just bash away at it until enough energy passes to cook whatever is inside.
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Does it not say Norton on the back of Simon’s motorbike jacket?
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And ‘Hook’ on the front ?
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Or Ed.
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Not Graham?
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Has he started hosting tribute nights in Cardiff?
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Cranborne is the setting of a well-known pub-related poem by Rupert Brooke. However, none of the two inns he mentions seem to be still in existence.
http://www.opcdorset.org/CranborneFiles/CranborneOde.htm
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I expect we might discuss that poem in Tim’s Rupert Brooke during the morning of Friday 3rd May.
My first address in Stafford, from 1973 to ’74, was 45 Brooke Court which was named after that poet.
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The scary thing is that when you say morning you mean morning, Paul !
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Yes indeed, MORNING MEANS MORNING.
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What have businesses got against serving-hatches in pubs, with a polite “will customers please move away after service” notice?
It’s a far more efficient use of space, and requires less memory as to who is next on the part of bar staff.
Someone could start a campaign.
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Or maybe the man in the Norton jacket is a Honeymooners fan?
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There I go again, being anonymous!
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You’ll never be anonymous to me, Dick.
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I sense a cultural reference too far for me, Dick !
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I think it means you’re going to be the official BRAPA transport provider when the expansion of micros will result in a trip To The Moon!!
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Such an honour. I bet BRAPA could offend the Man in the Moon.
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After he picks which crater to pee in first
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Ooh, I missed that 1980 Guide on my visit. Are the Dorset/BRAPA posts now available as a podcast with a bonus interview from Radio Silent?
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The bonus interview is available for Patronised readers on BRAPA’s website as part of the scratch ‘n’ sniff subscription.
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“Help yourselves to the cheese, lads” – Tony and I (the Bar Billiard codgers) must have had a few if we were this friendly and welcoming!
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We appreciated it !
Incidentally, there’s a good blog about pub bar billiards if you’re interested.
http://barbilliards.proboards.com/thread/9747/dorset-bar-billiards-bournemouth
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