TOWN AND GOWN

Let’s start the local posts, then (groan).

Cambridge, starting at my usual free parking place in Chesterton.

Chesterton

What a lovely sky, almost as if the good weather follows me around, eh ?

Cambridge seems busier than in the first Lockdown, even though nothing is open. Not even Primark, which I always assumed was the very definition of essential if you need socks.

But the outdoor market IS open, so King of Wraps can sell harissa chicken delights (£6) to students unable to cook for themselves. Seems fair.

It was pretty good, enjoyed on the wall outside King’s College, with the other classy diners.

No sign of takeaway pints from BrewDog and the Pint Shop; that’s all been banned, sadly.

The most exciting thing I saw in town was the new livery for McMullen’s Town & Gown (ex-Baroosh), and that’s the first time anyone has used “exciting” and “McMullens” in the same line since 1847.

Lovely view down the alley down the T K Maxx ex-Borders, too.

Sadly, I fear Stolen Liquor (ex-D’arry’s, ex-Cambridge Arms) is irredeemable, as is the whole of the King Street Run.

Roll on the 2nd December. Even a pint of IPA in there might look appealing by then.

Published by retiredmartin

Retired NHS, doing long walks around UK and the world to record the great bits. Focused on Good Beer Guide pubs and live music.

24 thoughts on “TOWN AND GOWN”

  1. If that market was open nearby, I think I’d be there 7 or more days a week. Maybe take along a box of records to flick through for old time sake. We’ll probably know by the end of this week whether this latest uniquely English lockdown (ie.not really a lockdown) is doing enough to save unfettered Christmas pub boozing. I strongly suspect not…

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  2. Mark,
    Yes, “(ie.not really a lockdown)”, not a proper lockdown and I recently read that “Having a National Lockdown whilst keeping the schools open is like having a designated pissing area in a swimming pool”

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    1. Indeed! The only hope we have for a pubby Christmas is that the Moron in Chief will be so desperate to dangle a distraction carrot in December he’ll stick to ignoring the science and order the pubs open in some limited capacity. Would you want it though…

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      1. Indeed they were. It was the preferred haunt of us Jesuans, run by an ex policeman from Plymouth. What a contrast to the keg Tolly’s on offer at the Kings Arms opposite.

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      2. And there was the Salisbury Arms with a bar billiards table and convenient for the railway station but pressurised Whitbread long before it was bought by CAMRA Investments.

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      2. A short-lived early 2000s music themed venture named after the U2 album (not making this up). I never went in; in fact haven’t been in since the ’90s when it was the Cambridge Arms and very dull.

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  5. “Pub & Theatre”

    Well, at least they got the billing right, which reminds me of the Western in Leicester – good ol’ Steamin’ Billy.

    There’s a colourful doorway, a bit like the one that you show, on the junction of High Pavement and Weekday Cross in Nottingham too, I seem to be reminded, but I can’t quite recall the premises in that case. Is it a thing now?

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  6. “What a lovely sky, almost as if the good weather follows me around, eh ?”

    Makes sense. The weather knows it can’t force you into a pub by being inclement, so why bother? 😉

    “Not even Primark, which I always assumed was the very definition of essential if you need socks.”

    Darn it!
    (see what I did there?) 🙂

    “But the outdoor market IS open,”

    In the photo above… what the bloody hell is THAT!

    “so King of Wraps can sell harissa chicken delights (£6) to students unable to cook for themselves. Seems fair.”

    I have a few guys who buy something extra off of our lunch truck to take home for dinner.

    “It was pretty good”

    That looks like a chicken donair.

    “that’s all been banned, sadly.”

    (sigh)

    And that seems a bit unthought out so to speak. I mean, really; having a falafel or other spicy food and you can’t buy something with a bit of ABV to wash it down with!

    “The most exciting thing I saw in town was the new livery for McMullen’s Town & Gown”

    I misread McMullen’s and thought of this:

    https://www.mcmenamins.com/eat-drink

    Portland, Oregon (when it’s fully open) is a great place for pubs (North American style of course). I’ve been to the Kennedy School one. It actually is a converted school. The detention rooms made for great faux snugs. 🙂

    “Roll on the 2nd December. ”

    Fingers crossed!

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    1. The good news, Russ, is that Lockdown lifts at 00.01 on the 2nd December not the 3rd as I thought. Not even a whole 4 weeks. I need a 00.01 opener.

      “That” thing in the market place is a sculpture of Snowy Farr, a famed charity fundraiser. Long white beard, one man band, tame mice in that sculpture (honest).

      WHAT is chicken “donair”. We call it donor. Or some say donna to be fair.

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      1. “WHAT is chicken “donair”. We call it donor. Or some say donna to be fair.”

        I should have added the ‘East Coast’ bit (did not realise that till now). My wife does a chicken version of the East Coast Donair (Canadian East Coast that is). She does chicken rather than beer partly because chicken is slightly cheaper, and it gives her a better balance between beef and chicken choices.

        https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/211191/the-original-donair-from-the-east-coast-of-canada/

        Cheers

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