Pub 2 on the Rugby Crawl was but a few yards from the Seven Stars. In fact, a look at my original schedule (being auctioned off in July) shows how close the pubs are together. You could visit eight in less than an hour, if you had Bob Hawke’s drinking prowess.
The tourist signs are a bit reticent about proclaiming Rugby as a great pub town, I notice.
If I was their Tourism CEO I’d be much more inclined to promote pubs like the Alexandra Arms, which I shall no doubt misspell as Alexander on this blog.
You can rely on a pub getting its Molson Coors delivery, and which seemed to be serving Carling from the jug. Just for Carling Pete.
Apart from that rarity, the beer was reassuringly well-known.
One of our group, probably the Yorkie, asked if there were any more beers round the other side of the bar. “Hope not !” said the wag of our group.
The official B&PF group had the front bar to itself, some Fairport was playing just for Mudgie, away from the riff-raff at the back.
I joined the riff-raff in the garden.
“Hello” I said.
“I know some good words“ said the drunkest of the happy mob. Oh yes.
“Imprucity” I think I wrote that one down wrong.
“And Petrichor. That’s a great word.” It was.
I put a quid in the excellent jukebox and chose five tracks.
Here’s my five picks;
Rush – Spirit of Radio
Low – Majesty
Sandy Denny – Listen, Listen
Bruce Springsteen – 4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)
Maria McKee – If Love Is A Red Dress, Hang Me In Rags
My new best friend came round to say hello and (no doubt) complement me on my music choice.
“Are you the landlord ?” someone asked.
“I’m just a dickhead” he said, but he certainly wasn’t.
retiredmartin 
Didn’t someone use the ” I’m just a dickhead ” line a few blogs ago ?
Or have I had too many Amarillo hops-based beers today. ?
I certainly know I had a gallon of them just in time to happily snooze all the way through the Eurovision Song Contest Mrs PP-T insists on watching every year.
I woke up just as she shouted ” Fuck off it should have been Sweden ” at the TV.
For a moment I thought it was the footy and we were being booted out on penalties by the Germans yet again.
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Probably because Richard and I have already mentioned it in our blogs.
It’s like the Three Pub Gospels of Rugby – but mine is definitely Mark because it’s the most succinct and the first to be published.
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Whose is the Book of (Proper) Job ?
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T’other Mudgie,
I sometimes offer the first report of our Proper Days Out but mine doesn’t count because
(a) it’s on the Beer and Pubs Forum rather than my own site,
(b) it doesn’t include photographs, and
(c) it’s usually only about 500 words, and not even 200 this time.
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Very good. Mine is the Disney Version, of course.
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Beauty and the Beast ?
When Mrs RM joins you on your travels ?
Wahaay !
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P P-T,
1967 was when I last watched the Eurovision Song Contest.
There’s nothing any good on television these days.
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I know – Mrs PP-T says I barely lasted through the first song and the takeaway Chinese before dozing off.
I rarely watch the TV these days.
I’ve never seen IACGMOOH,Love Island,X-Factor,BGT,TOWIE,Big Brother,any ITV show in the past 15 years and most BBC political output.
In fact cricket and footy and the Sky News paper review are just about all I ever watch.
And election nights.
Next week should be fun …heah,heah,heah.
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P P-T,
Yes, election nights but I didn’t have a television just for them before I was married.
You’ve got cricket and footy but the last TV sport I watched was the 1966 World Cup final.
You’ve got the Sky News paper review and I get by with the BBC News website.
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I listen to the radio a lot.
LBC,Radio Paradise,WSM Radio,WWOZ New Orleans,BBC Radio 6 at a push and,of course,TMS.
I used to be a Radio 4 man but it’s dreadful now. About as interesting as a Change UK rally and with similar politics.
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Only LBC for me. In fact only Nick Abbot really.
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Aw, come on, Paul. That Exit Poll, at 10pm on June 8th June 2017 has my sides aching still.
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Etu,
When you realised that we might not be getting “a strong and stable government”?
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Did you enjoy the Australian election results, Etu?
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I was only vaguely aware that they were having one, TBH. Hadn’t been following it. I like what’s just happened in Austria though 😉
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Umbrosity – the quality of shadiness, but did you know that the word “outrage” has nothing to do with “out” or with “rage”, and rather, is from the French “outre”, meaning “beyond”, from the Latin “ultra”?
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I reckon those in the back bar had been on that 7.5% Moonshine Cider since opening. I note you mention the Molson Coors van, but none of us mentioned the Molson Coors bloke in branded clothing sat at the table to the right of the door doing absolutely nothing for the whole time we were in the pub?
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Was he waiting for one of the beers to settle ?
Or waiting for us beer buffs to leave before offering to buy the Atomic Brewery ?
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He’s too late Wolverhampton & Dudley Brewery bought them ages ago. The Brick ____ house in the garden is just a facade. All their beers are now brewed in Wolverhampton.
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Oh, I’d have had that Atomic Strike if I’d known.
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… rather than the flat Carling?
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Ghost of Carling past.
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Hello ?
7.5% cider ?
***Suddenly perks up ***
I love me some rocket fuel occasionally.
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I think it was a traditional, real version of White Lightning – includes real apples and creation of alcohol by natural fermentation.
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My least favourite of the ‘beer pubs’ in Rugby, not least because they got rid of the skittles table a couple of years ago. Last time I was in the Citra was poor, and if you can screw-up an Oakham Citra you can screw-up anything in my view. The custom is strong and pickly though, and one of those most likely to engage in conversation with you, whether you like it or not…
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Some of the customers are pickled onions, Mark?
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Pickled Cabbage some of them…
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Sounds about right.
I expected the homewbrew to be dull but to be fair it was decent.
I like folk to talk to you, as long as it’s not about BREXIT.
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You don’t often find Low on a jukebox.
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I don’t think it was a vinyl jukebox playing dusty 7″.
Think I could have had Shostakovitch 10th with a bit of effort 😉
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