retiredmartin

Astonishing.

In June this year I’d never been to a pub (or anything else) in any of the eighteen Chalfonts in bubbly Bucks.

Now, thanks to Mrs RM’s good fortune in having a Head Office in Maidenhead (!), and the weirdness of the GBG, I’ve been to St. Peter and St. Giles in the space of six months.

St Peter has the bigger population and the teleport.

St Giles is about Waterbeach size, but has no residents as famous as Mrs RM and myself.

The toilets are the best feature.

Other St Giles highlights are Jordans, centre for Quakerism and porridge, and the ancient holiday home of Welsh wizard Merlin, of whom more later.

By an extraordinary coincidence, the parish church is also called St Giles. I suspect collusion with a betting syndicate.

Merlin’s Cave, now a gastropub, is a destination pub for over-60s i.e. the population of Little Chalfont.

The pub sign is Merline’spriginal hat, which makes a change from “Greene King pub : Merlin’s Cave”.

So how has what looks like an upmarket Charles Wells/Marston pub (rare in Bucks) a coveted Guide place.

Clearly the pub badger helps.

The actual “pub” bit is confined to a bench seat by the fire, safely away from the open kitchen and Prosecco.

Polite music from First Aid Kit, polite staff, polite beer range.

This was my week of living dangerously, so I had the collaboration brew which keeps popping up in the Wrestlers in Camnridge.

First one pulled or not, it was gorgeous. Cool and fruity, a worthy NBSS 3.5.

Is it possible that Mid Chilterns choose pubs for the GBG on the basis of beer quality ?

It’ll never catch on.