Happy Birthday to me! I get to do 10 minute posts in Starbucks near St Asaphs.
Back to the Grand Tour of the North.
You can just about see South Shields in the top right hand corner of the map I used last time, so it’ll do again.
A quick search of my own blog reveals I was last in Shields during the Beast from the East that threatened to wipe out the whole of humanity but sadly didn’t.
Shields was cold and drizzly rather than icy cold and white on Wednesday night, and the council have kindly spent the social care budget lighting up the town hall so it looks better in my blog.
It’s a grand old town, faded at the edges but with plenty for the lover of curry, cask and Christmas.
Tragically, the Spoons is closed for refurbishment over Christmas (why?).
So I used the loos in the magnificent Museum and Art Gallery.
A truly great record of Shields life, enough to take me through to opening time at Cask Lounge, whose neighbouring vinyl cafe was just shutting to deny me the chance of a Dana LP. My mum likes Dana.
Usual micro shopfront exterior, wonderfully cosy interior.
I’m a sucker for Christmas beers aren’t I.
This was silky and sherberty, a 3.5 to savour.
And who could fail to love this living room styled seating.
Well, BRAPA for one. Sometimes he’s wrong. 
You’re not the Bass Messiah, you’re a naughty plum porter partaker.
Happy Birthday and enjoy the well thought out family gift of a New Year’s Day guided tour of Donnington Brewery (unlimited beer included).
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Looks like the Beast from the East accounted for a fair amount of the local population, not many people in evidence.Speaking of the whole of humanity , where are the all the Spoons locals now its shut?
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There’s plenty of £2.50 pints of Smooth!
Not many places for a cheap lunch though.
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Liquid lunch then, Smooth, hold me back.
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Birthday greetings, Martin. I’m sure you’ll have a good one.
Will come back to the post, once I’ve dropped the neighbours’ cards round to them – Mrs PBT’s said I had to do it, or I won’t get my roast lamb dinner tonight!
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Left you a message on the Forum. In your patch on boxing day
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You really are bullied!
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Not really. We both know she doesn’t mean it, but writing out Christmas cards for people we don’t see from one month to the next, strikes me as a serious waste of time!
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Christmas is a complete waste of time. Doing anything you don’t enjoy when your days on earth are limited is daft.
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We have one in our family too
https://www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/society/selfish-asehole-has-december-birthday-20191205191436
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Sounds like me.
Noel Edmonds today, too.
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Happy birthday Martin.
I post this ‘cos you might share the comparisons between northern pubs and London micros in it, y’understand:
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/dec/22/only-aamon-the-demon-is-fit-to-replace-jeremy-corbyn
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I read that and thought “Oh, there’s ONE writer at the Guardian I can still feel some love for”.
And it’s Stewart Lee. Hero.
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There’s John Crace and Marina Hyde, mind.
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😕
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http://www.southshields-sanddancers.co.uk/tyne_and_wear_pubs/tyneside_bars.htm most are my photos taken by myself
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Lovely photos. Thanks Bill.
What’s your favourite pub in Shields?
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I know how much you love modern dining pubs on retail parks so let me suggest a half of Brains at the Morfa Rhuddlan not far from St Asaph
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I visited a pub in Rhuddlan last night, Bill. Sadly not that one 😕
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The blog that offers all kinds of everything.
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I’ve a story about when my mum was trying to describe a record she’d heard and wanted me to buy. I thought it was “Food for Thought” by UB40 but it was something by Dana. She was disappointed.
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Does seem odd for a pub of any kind to schedule their refurbishment for Christmas– they’re missing out on the single most important time of the year for trade, no? But when the need for refurbishment is really dire I suppose it doesn’t matter!
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The single most important time for trade is when BRAPA visits. Oh, he already has.
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Belated birthday greetings 🍻🎉 I’m assuming you are still approaching middle age?
North East is a place I’ve not really done pub wise but never fails to disappoint
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I’m still immature, if that helps.
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That made me chuckle out loud!
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Not convinced that you’ll know that many people who are pushing 110, to justify this only being middle-age!
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I can walk faster than any twenty year old, particularly if the pubs open. Mind, that makes Stafford Paul a teenager.
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😄
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