Once you start you can’t stop.
After the Orchard I should have gone straight to Mick’s Hut for the curry and called Mrs RM to report on Matt’s Move.
But you can’t walk past an open door, can you ?
Particularly this one;
The Black Horse has perhaps the most recognisable bar front on Pub Twitter, even without an appearance from Matthew Lawrenson, who I seem to have called at unearthly hour inviting him out for a 10pm pint.
A magical place, even with only half a dozen in a pub that’s best with sixty squashed in.
But what decisions to make !
Plum Porter (NBSS 4) in a Unicorn glass, that’ll do to finish the night (?).
It’s a proper pub, folks, the sort you used to get in Stockport before they failed to get an ACV for Winters and let that town drift upmarket.
“ANOTHER bag of Snyders !”
“You don’t do Cheese and Onion crisps you savages !”
“Why you getting so f*****g paranoid, there’s only 4 of us in“
“He can’t count to 7″
“I only come in for the pies and you don’t do them anymore”.
And on and on…
“Clearmint toothpaste“
“Eric says your oral product isn’t up to scratch“
Right, off to Mick’s Hut before they start closing at 10.30 or something.
Ten minutes ? you say, time for a last half pint in the Old Vic. It’s the law.
Don’t expect much recollection of this one, though the table opposite had a last drink of the holiday feel, bit like me in fact.
The Phoenix Arizona seemed to cost £2.80 (can that be right), and was sparkling. Glaswegian accents, Rangers v Celtic from 2019 on the TV.
Surprisingly, I didn’t wake up at 4am with a throbbing head in the curry, but I did have enough Chicken Tikka left for several breakfasts.
There might be a choice of 758 different beers on any night Sheffield is going to have to go some to compete with Preston pubs, I can tell you.
retiredmartin 
I do-do-do hope and pray those hortible stickers that are vandalising beautiful floors like that everywhere come off easy enough when this arse-demic finally gives us back our pubs.
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I can understand why someone would want to open a micropub. I still can’t see what they offer me as a customer over the Black Horse. What a beautiful place to sit and enjoy a pint.
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Dave,
Yes, very few pubs are better than that Black Horse, and it’s very close to the £30 a night Sun inn where I stayed thirteen months ago.
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The Black Horse is a gem. We saw a bunch of great pubs that day in Preston/Stockport.
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Think I’d have been better off at the Sun Inn, but at least you know you can tip up at Premier Inn at midnight and know the WiFi won’t work.
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Preston feels an incredibly friendly city. I may be mistaken though. I don’t live there 😞
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You’re losing that argument aren’t you?
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Against my wife?
No hope for me.
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Dick,
Yes, I was expecting a day in Preston but half a day each in Preston and Stockport worked very well indeed.
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Why are there so few – relatively – micros in villages and communities which would otherwise be publess?
Seems the obvious place to open them to me.
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Good question.
Most are in small disused shops in dumpy towns with a perfectly serviceable Greene King or Sheps diner nearby.
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Etu,
It’s those who like space that move out to villages and they wouldn’t be seen dead in a ‘poky’ micropub.
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If there were passable ale on hand pump or by gravity a short walk away, then I’d cheerfully put up with “poky” if the next choice were a ten-minute drive, Paul.
I haven’t moved out to a village though. On the other hand, nor have quite a few who grew up there, so I’m still curious. Maybe the Countryside Alliance could shed some light?
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Etu,
Yes, and only very very rarely have I driven to pubs.
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Only ever been to Preston once but have fond memories of it. Went to see PNE v Bristol City in the promotion season 89/90 only to find it had been made all ticket at the last moment. Jobsworths at the turnstiles and ticket office wouldn’t let us in. A friendly copper pleaded with the turnstile bloke to let us 50-odd ticketless fans in to no avail. So he got on his radio and in minutes an Inspector rocked up magnificently on a horse and commanded the turnstile geezer to let us in. Had a soft spot for Preston since then.
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I am a member of a facebook group called “Doorstep Mosaics ” They would go mad with excitement I posted a photo of that wonderful floor !
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No longer a pub, but still visible during office hours:
http://www.stockportadvocacy.org.uk/history/the-building/
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Really don’t like one in-one out toilets. The possibilities for creating awkward and embarrassing situations do not need to be spelled out.
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“Particularly this one;”
That’s more enticing than Marilyn Monroe over that subway grate.
“But what decisions to make !”
Ha! Ya big tease!
“that’ll do to finish the night (?).”
Are you going for Si’s record of 9?
“And on and on…”
Is that what you lot call ‘bantz’?
“though the table opposite had a last drink of the holiday feel, bit like me in fact.”
We’ve all been there.
“The Phoenix Arizona seemed to cost £2.80 (can that be right)”
For a half? Hmmmmm.
“Surprisingly, I didn’t wake up at 4am with a throbbing head in the curry”
Here’s me being all decorous and not lowering myself to sly innuendo. 😉
Cheers
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“Decorous”? You?
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Admittedly it’s only once in a blue moon… whilst commenting. 😉
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