I mentioned I had two pubs left to do in Norwich. Actually, only one, as a bit more detective work revealed that the Lord Rosebery was merely the newly ennobled but still wonderful Rosebery.
So, just the Golden Star to visit and I could wobble back to Cambridge, hopefully remembering to change at Ely, as successful as the City team would surely be at Carrow Road two days later.
Many cities seem to have run out of new city centre pubs for the Guide, but Norwich has more solid looking corner pubs (472) than medieval churches (471).
Not a lot in the residential north-western quarter, bar the White Lion, and I’m not sure I’d noticed the Golden Star on one of my many attempts to get lost in the Fine City over the decades.
Regular readers will immediately identify this as a “marvellous pub“.
But how does a Greene King pub get in the Beer Guide in The City Of Ale in 2019 ?
No, not the Chip Menu.
And hopefully not just because of the ale choice.
Tempting to have my 100th Greene King IPA of the new GBG year, but instead I say;
“You recommend one”
“It depends what you like“
“No, just recommend one”
Just to confirm your prejudices, that exchange makes me look a prat.
But I get the joy of a top class Lacons Legacy in a Proper Pub on Thursday afternoon, so I’m winning at life.
There’s plenty of pot plants, but none of them are needed.
Our soundtrack is something called “I Love Disco“, which includes this rarity;
Stay at home drinking Beavertown in your underpants with Netflix on and you will never have a conversation over whether it’s Sheila B Devotion or Sheila and B Devotion while enjoying marvellous cask.
With or without the halloumi fries.
retiredmartin 
Does it still have the Bar Billiards table?…
You did look for the Bar Billiards yes?…
The Bar Billiards Table out the back…
Oh! You ‘didn’t’ look for the Bar Billiards (sigh!)…
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m fairly sure I took the wow2 photo coming back from the room with the billiard table in it.
LikeLike
Bless you!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Some wise words there. Pubs really are great.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Your Wow photos (1 and 2) make me aware of the benefits of a semi-reflective surface on the ceiling: lovely lighting effects as the windows mirror off of it.
Thanks as always for noting the music playing, and even providing a YouTube link so that we might hear it for ourselves. Makes me wish I could tell the members of “Gary’s Gang” about how their song came to be heard by the likes of me, all these years later. 🙂
LikeLike
Mark,
I remember one town centre ‘barn’ with a carpet that over time had get beer sodden and then worn to such a smoothness that it acquired a semi-reflective surface similar to that ceiling.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Having lived in Norwich for about five years in the 70s,I remember this pub when it opened as a free house – I’m not sure who had it before but in Norwich a good guess would be Watneys. It was called Turner’s Golden Star at one time. The owner set up a brewery there in about 1976 and one of his first beers was Wifebeater Bitter. The pub was duly picketed by the UEA wimmin’s society, led by a lady large enough to block the doorway by wedging herself in it. The name was quickly changed to something more prosaic. I don’t remember the beers as up to much and the brewery fell into disuse, being revived for a short time in the early 80s.as the Star Brewery and then the Tap Brewery. It closed in 1984 and the pub was acquired by Greene King – by then I had moved on but GK beers were still well regarded at that time..
LikeLike
What goes around comes around. Maybe it’s time for a return to inflammatory beer names like “Brexiter Thumper” or “Remainer Smasher”. People would know for sure which pubs to choose then – as if the flat roofs weren’t clue enough (but not in Scotland).
LikeLike
Surely the halloumi fries swung it re GBG?
LikeLiked by 1 person