12th January 2020
I need to get a move on. 28 pubs from the West Country to come, two of them retiredmartin Top 10 entries.
But first a second trip to Ramsgate in five days, leaving me to stare longingly at the sole gap on the Kent map at Charcott. Wherever that is.
I’d popped down to Thanet to say hello/goodbye for now to Nick of Erlanger Nick fame. Nick was a great host while in Germany and a bit of an expert on Thanet’s 837 micros, bless him.
His journey from Erlangen to Ramsgate is probably best left for Nick’s book, if I’m honest, but I sent Sunday night hearing the edited highlights which make BRAPA’s blog seem like the Arsenal 1994-95 Season Review.
By a stroke of misfortune the GBG micro was closing. At 6pm.
So we met at the Artillery Arms, which cruelly isn’t even in the GBG these days.
But what a cracker.
The reassuring sight of smokers at the door (sorry Nick), pints left unguarded at the bar, and a busier Sunday crowd than anywhere in Newbury or Maidstone or Cambridge.
Waiting for Nick and Crystal (woof !) on the bar stool I had chance to read the mission statement, which makes a lot more sense than most NHS mission statements ever did.
The keys words there are “hub of the locality” and “fun“. Compare that to the list of “Thou shalt nots” nailed to the front of a “Proper” micropub.
The beer is rather secondary to the fun.
By the time Nick arrived I was two pints of Gadds up/down, the Dogbolter edging out the No.5 by 3.5 to 3.
I found us a nice table on the homely raised section of the pub where Nick could feed Crystal and watched magic happen.
Perhaps it was the impact of the rhubard cider (NRCSS 4),
but I had one of those “Wow” moments you get once a month in a pub if you’re lucky.
Arthur Brown’s Fire gave way to a Mozart concerto (I think Crystal identified that one) and “We Have All The Time In the World” took on special meaning as Nick talked through life, love and loathing in Vegas.
It was what pubs are there for. I wish it had ended there after five pints, but it never does, does it ?
retiredmartin 
My favourite in Ramsgate. Good atmosphere in there; nice looking pub as well. Those that have that as their local are lucky.
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Good news that Nick is back. Has he now realised his dream of settling in Thanet?
Artillery Arms, always a good bet, although several years now since my last visit.
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Sadly, no, I was driving him to Heathrow to return to the States. He really is your Thanet expert.
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Not sure if I’ve commented on it before, but I had a poor experience in here, being given distinctly sub-standard beer that they quibbled about changing. I seem to be a bit out of step, but I wasn’t impressed in general by Ramsgate’s pubs. The Rose of England and Great Tree were also disappointing.
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You did mention it, and I agree that a quibble about changing beer is always a downer.
I had five different beers here, my longest stint in one pub for many years. The first was a bit off my Gadds standard, the others progressively good or better.
Perhaps the characters of pubs here trumps beer quality a bit, and I veer toward the scruffier end of the market in my tastes. I always preferred Spread Eagle and Tiviot to the Arden Arms in Stockport 😉
Ramsgate does it for me, particularly when the sun is out. The pale red and blue of those basic Thorley Taverns pubs are especially appealing.
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This presumably is why it’s cruelly not in the GBG…
Concerned that Nick is back off to the USA – can’t see that ending well.
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Life is cruel, John. I couldn’t comment on whether the Thanet GBG selection process is as robust as Stockport’s 😉
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New owners, who have drunk there for over 20 years, the place looks amazing & so is their love for it.
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Always good to have owner who have drunk there ! Good luck to them.
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I see that Gadds ( any relation to Paul Gadd ? ) have taken up the Dogbolter name once a common sight in David Bruce’s Firkin pubs.
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Don’t think Eddie has ever admitted to any familial connection. He was the brewer at the firkin in the Hague before setting up his own brewery.
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“safe, and secure environment” doesn’t really scream fun to me. Couldn’t you find the local version of Legendz?
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Closed until after BRAPA visit in 2025.
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Reminds me of getting told off in a Corfu Taverna in 1987. ‘No. Sit down. The impromptu Greek dancing hasn’t started yet”.
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I now have this mental image of Mrs. RM being wooed by the Retired Martin mating dance.
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5 years before Mrs RM. Our mating dance involved a comparison of annual earnings that would make Dickens era courtship seem racy.
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The Dance of the Seven Actuarial Tables.
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I trust that the good author meant safe in the physical sense, and not necessarily in topics of conversation or in humour, Scott.
But some people like hanging around with gangsters and with hoods, on the other hand.
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You’ve met Tom Irvin then?
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No, but I have entered the wrong pub before now.
Ones named after local boxers seem not to be a good idea.
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I first read this on my phone at work & for some reason the photos weren’t showing -I thought Crystal was a young lady who made you go “Woof ” ,like Lord Flashheart or something. A lovely pooch by the way
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How good is Ramsgate?!!
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Very.
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Hi Martin, I’ve only just seen this online, I’m Hayden the landlord, my parents are the owners. (Dad’s the one dancing In the video lol). What wonderful comments you gave the place. We’ve drunk in the Arty for 20 odd years always loved the pub & the regulars, the welcoming the regulars give to new faces. 3 years ago we had the opportunity to buy it. Since then we have put the love & care it needed to get it back to how it deserves to be.. Again thank you for the wonderful review.
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Hi Hayden. Thanks for your comments. While I travel a lot Ramsgate is one of the greatest places in the world and the Arty one of the things that makes it great. All the best to you and I’m sure you won’t spoil it !
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