One more post before the September Stocktake, which for a change will be virtually up-to-date.
We had real fun finding a hotel close to the coast, eventually getting an apartment (wait a minute) on the edge of Eastbourne. I’m with holding judgement and reviews till I get the deposit back.
Golly, ideally placed for two new Guide ticks. You couldn’t make it up.
Not a lot new at all in East Sussex, actually, and the Dinkum in Polegate (avg. age 62) is a Proper Pub.
Named after Dame Edna Everage’s barnstorming show at the Eastbourne Empire in 1984, I suspect this is the only Dinkum in the Beer Guide, though clearly the expansion of the GBG to Melbourne following BRAPA‘s recent efforts may change that.
Mrs RM is hungry. At the door two tourists are perusing the bar menu. We sneak past, grab the corner table in the Public, and order a pint. Five minutes later the tourists decide that nachos and flatbreads aren’t what they want and bring the menu back in.
It’s a blokes pub. Note, though, they’re all civilised enough to not be barflies. Well done.
Well, it’s the Best, isn’t it ?
I’m still DES so Mrs RM guzzles down her Harvey’s (cool, foamy, spot-on, 3.5) with impressive haste. At least, the Old Boys seem impressed.
They’re reading papers, humming along to Ace of Base and chatting about a mate with “the bladder of a racehorse” and trying to make out what’s going on the games room.
One chap gets up to go with his non-licking dog, sees the deluge approaching, and thinks better of it.
At regular intervals the young lads come in to the Public and give updates on Blades v Scousers; they’re all southern Liverpool fans of course who greet the latest jammy Reds winner with unbridled joy.
As much unbridled joy as greets our flatbread and nachos, which is the last junk food we will eat ever, ever, we declare.
Just a well-run local. But here’s the thing. They all said “bye” to us as they left, and we said “bye” as we left. How often does that happen?
retiredmartin 
I believe you meant to write, average age: young
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Good point, well made. I really wish my WordPress stats gave the age of readers as well as their bank account details.
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Didn’t realise railway weeing still resulted in a one way ticket to Botany Bay.
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According to WhatPub, its original name was the Polegate Arms. The description also mentions “couch seating”, by which I presume they mean bench seating.
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Can t beat Harveys!
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Among all the DFLs, you still find loads of real people in Sussex. Good pubs with Harveys, and good weather.
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I agree with that. Classic Pubs in Hailsham and Newhaven.
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Yes, quite a few of them come from London too.
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Coincidentally, the Daily Mash today writes:
“…Man who lives in tiny village accuses Londoners of ‘living in a bubble’
A man who lives in a village with a population of 72 has accused people who live in a massive cosmopolitan city of being somehow separated from the real world.
Norman Steele, 60, claims that all eight million people who live in London are part of the ‘metropolitan elite’ and think exactly the same as each other, whereas he and his four mates in the local pub have many diverse opinions, despite having spent every evening together since 1989.
Steele said: “In London, everyone spends their time eating avocados with chopsticks and laughing at us. They never go anywhere else, unlike me who drives 12 miles to the nearest town every two weeks for a bit of shopping.
“They haven’t got a clue about the rest of the country, whereas I know everything that’s going on because I read it in the Daily Mail and then discuss it with my neighbour Jim. He went to Croydon once.
“Londoners are too busy having sex with sourdough croissants to understand the lives of real people like us.”
Londoner Tom Logan said: “Am I imaginary?”…”
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I could have recommended staying in Harvey’s Victoria Hotel in Eastbourne.
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The licensee seems to have set the bar chairs up in homage to the sandbag defences in Zulu. “Don’t serve them until you see the whites of their eyes…”, or is it designed to give that bit more time for staff to spot the CAMRA membership card coming out before the money…
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The line of stools at the bar with backs does seem to be a classic South-East pub feature. If all occupied it’s virtually impossible either to see what’s available or to get served.
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Nice to see them not occupied!
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I can’t remember which pub it was quite recently but one such seat was not occupied and I moved it several feet from the bar to get served and then was not minded to put it back.
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Vandal.
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Does its average age of 62 mean it is quite a hipster place in Uttoxeter?
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