retiredmartin

I have no real rules for blogging, beyond ensuring that I upset someone, hopefully someone too far away to hit me.

But I reckon 400 words and ten pictures is tops. It took me over 3 years to read Moby Dick, a book that could easily have been condensed into 358 words.

Back to the map(s).

Bing Maps suggests a weird route to get to Dundonald and Kilmaurs; it’s a good job Duncan knows his way round.

Auchans is a smart village dining pub. Not that you’d know it from this pic.

Smart staff, vegetarian haggis pakora, an old Barcelona match playing on multiple TV screens, and a beer other than Kelburn.

I was losing the plot a bit by now, but just alert enough to note this was a decent gastro with Avalanche served very cool in those dreadful handled jugs but still edging beyond NBSS 3.

The common link to all these pubs is that no-one else was drinking the cask, of course.

Same in the Weston Tavern, ten minutes away in pretty Kilmaurs.

Yes, it was back to dreich weather by now.

And back to the basic boozers, alternating with Brunning & Price wannabes and Spoons in the Guide.

Probably my favourite of the day, with a vibrant 3pm crowd and the loudest rock jukebox in Kilmarnock. Creedence Clearwater Revival, but you knew that.

A lot of beer being sold, presumably little of it cask if the bemused look and adequate half of Jarl was anything to go on.

Oh. CAMRA card accepted. We all know what that means.