A CASTLE OF COMFORT

Whizzing through these Somerset posts now, thanks to Gatwick WiFi this morning. Whether I dare head back down the A303 till the Glasto cleanup is complete (2021) is another matter.

Anyway, it’s about time I showed you the Bear in Wincanton, my bargain (£30) room for the night.

Free upgrade

You were expecting something tiny, weren’t you ?  I get so many bargains, they should let me book accommodation for the BBC. I’d get 20% off your licence fee overnight.

Real pub, real life

The Bear is the locals pub, with reminiscent of the King’s Arms in Penryn or my own local.

The Old Boys at the bar tried to suss me out, shouted directions to the rooms, and then got on with the serious job of drinking.

Tempting

I didn’t join them at the bar, like our BRAPA did in his Cornwall base. It’s fatal. One Doom Bar leads to you doing all four pumps,and you end up drinking sambuca at 1am. Duncan knows what I mean.

Early nights make the best tickers. Or something.

Wincanton 24 hour party city

The Castle of Comfort was, sort of, a Proper Pub too.  Roadside pubs with their own marking on the OS map always raise expectation levels;

Castle of Comfort
Definitely NOT East Harptree though, GBG

 

Er, solid

Eddylevel from Glastonbury says “a little scruffy and off putting but lovely staff“.

Bang on, Eddie.

Of course,you have to negotiate a particularly impressive slalom of Young Lads to reach the two staff who fight over serving me a half.

Bar blocking at its best

When a man and woman say “How can I help ?” simultaneously, who is it most woke to speak to first ?  Simon is the expert on wokeness.

Now here’s a beer range to warm too !

Why did I go for the Cheddar ?

As you’ll see, it’s an unpretentious dining pub (“Basic fare” says Trip Advisor Andrew, £2.70 off-peak presumably) with proper seating.

Missing beer mats

My notes say “gorgeous“, which may seem a bit generous based on these photos, but they were playing this one, for fans of glitter balls everywhere

Zoom helps my apple-like Cheddar to scrape a  3

The Cheddar was quite tasty, even if that taste was cider.  Still, it’s all the same, isn’t it (NBSS 3).

The young lads, possibly Young Farmers or Young Conservatives, brought the pub up-to-date with the damage caused by a tractor hitting WiFi cable.  Great free entertainment.

I never knew WiFi came through cables.  You learn so much in pubs.

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Published by retiredmartin

Retired NHS, doing long walks around UK and the world to record the great bits. Focused on Good Beer Guide pubs and live music.

13 thoughts on “A CASTLE OF COMFORT”

  3. I once watched a failing Frank Sinatra from the wings of the London Palladium work an audience in such a way that I knew I was in the presence of a genius.
    And I poured a large vodka into the glass of Francis Rossi and gave him a toke of my spliff a couple of minutes before Status Quo walked out to open Live Aid with an electrifying set.
    So I thought I’d seen the cream of showbiz.
    Until tonight.
    His name is Colin Jay.
    A Butlins-style old-school entertainer who was performing to 30 or so holidaymakers with nothing more than backing tracks on a laptop and a keen awareness that the audience were more interested in the Lionesses on the giant-screen TV behind him.
    He performed a blistering set with a magical voice that blew the place away in a way I haven’t seen since Mott The Hoople took on an audience of hostile rednecks in Birmingham,Alabama and had them eating out of their hands.
    Apart from costume changes for Elvis,Roy Orbison and Dolly Parton he asked me what I’d like him to sing for my birthday after Mrs PP-T primed him.
    Anything,he said.
    Born Free,by Matt Monroe I replied.
    So he tapped a button on his laptop and sang it beautifully.
    While blowing up balloons in the shape of an island with a palm tree which he put on my head as the music faded.
    As I say,I’ve seen the cream of showbiz close-up but this guy was the absolute dog’s bollocks.

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      2. Citra,
        Some time between 1984 and 1997 an elderly member of the Stafford Constitutional Club confused him with her MP Bill Cash – and that’s the sort of person who will now be choosing our next Prime Minister !
        ( with apologies for a slight mention of politics )

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  4. “Free upgrade”

    The towels on the beds should have been made into swans or some such.

    “and then got on with the serious job of drinking.”

    Which is why the sign says ‘nobody gets out sober’.

    “and then got on with the serious job of drinking.”

    Perhaps. But the other way would make for better stories. 🙂

    “Definitely NOT East Harptree though, GBG”

    Google Maps (and their own website) would beg to differ. 😉

    “When a man and woman say “How can I help ?” simultaneously, who is it most woke to speak to first ? ”

    Oh that’s easy! You ask the man to pour you a pint and the woman to make you a sandwich. (LOL)

    “Why did I go for the Cheddar ?”

    You wanted something with a bit of a bite? 🙂

    “for fans of glitter balls everywhere”

    Are you referencing Mr. Bean’s Bags again?

    “I never knew WiFi came through cables.”

    Technically, from what I understand, the WiFi starts where the cable ends (coming into your home or business). Otherwise it would be cell towers and your data plan. 🙂

    Cheers

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  5. “The Bear Bitter, brewed in Burton” – I wonder what that is and who makes it. I always avoid house beers; I’m surprised they still exist – they tend to be seen in a certain sort of old-fashioned pub.

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