This blogpost may be useful to the many millions of Londoners currently fleeing for the safe harbours of The North. I was one of you once.
“Pray God to survive one more week
Ah, but are they happy?
You’d be surprised… between the bed and the booze and the shoes
They suffer least who suffer what they choose“
David Ackles – American Gothic
Frankly, all I’ve got to write about at the moment is Mrs RM’s shoes, derelict pubs, take-outs and hills.
But we’re happy. Loads to explore locally, and that’s even before I get on the tram. Which I’ll probably save for now.
When friends heard we were moving to Sheffield they asked 2 things;
“Sheffield ? But isn’t that, The North ?“
“Will you have any pubs close by ?”
Er, yes.
We live a minute’s walk from the Blind Monkey, five minutes from the Walkley Beer Co, ten from Kelham, and with twenty pubs within a mile.
Actually, that map extract from What Pub contains loads of dead pubs. You have to tick a box to get the live ones, but it’s still a rich seam.
Half a dozen actual or future Beer Guide entries too, and a few are authentic middle-of-terrace boozers.
On my first sweep I missed the Raven entirely, possibly because it only replaced the Palm Tree last year. Sheffield Hatter likes it, so it must be good.
But more than the classic ale houses, it’s the community pubs I’m aching to get back in.
Like the one beer Florist.
They serve local beer, but I’m sure I’ll find SOMEWHERE that serves Doom Bar eventually.
retiredmartin 
What a funny question. “Are there any pubs near you?” I am quite curious why anyone would think there are less pubs in the north than the south? I understand the north\south question since I see that mentioned a lot. The pub one is quite odd to me.
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There are many places not near any pubs here Dave – the vast residential tracts of north and west London, and plenty of the countryside too for instance.
I don’t think that it was a north-south question for that reason, but for all the others 😉
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That’s a good point about London. I guess the question is more a comment on my pubgoing than any ignorance. Incidentally, we could live in several parts of Cambridge without a pub within 20 minutes walk !
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My routes always seem to see a lot of pubs😀. I never thought of the question meaning as it would mean when posed to you. That makes more sense.
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Etu,
There are indeed many places not near any pubs, especially in suburbs.
Pubs were built alongside inter war houses. The pubs, built on large plots recently ripe for redevelopment, have gone but the houses remain.
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I’m enjoying a couple of pints of Kelham Best at the local pub. If only. But still fresh from the local and very good.
Have a lovely birthday period and heres to a better ticking season in 2021.
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Just imagine what a Whatpub extract for the same location would look like before CAMRA saved Real Ale. About double the numbers of pubs, each with one or two ales at most, and they’d practically all be long-time local beers (and Bass, probably).
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Before CAMRA saved real ale ticking, you mean.
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A lot of those Stones pubs would have served tank beers served under top pressure, ie not real ale. I don’t know about Wards or the Tetleys that was the third commonly available beer in Sheffield.
Of course it’s all gone downhill since I arrived in 1997.
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Sheffield Hatter,
I drank most Stones in the Globe, “a cosy pub” too small for tank beer.
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The Globe on Howard Street, Paul?
Mrs. E. and I spent a few evenings in there about ten years ago, in the heart of studentland.
It was pretty uproarious and great fun as I recall. They had a cask ale on – Pride perhaps – and the students were drinking it too.
I think that there might have been an old Stones lamp, or some such…
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Etu,
Yes, that’s the one, convenient for the railway station.
So students well drinking Pride ten years ago then.
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“But we’re happy. ”
(nods) We’ve had to cancel our plans to spend Christmas with our two boys (and grandson) owing to harsher restrictions being imposed due to, you know, thingy. Obvs a bit bummed at first but we’ve decided to enjoy some quiet time alone, just the two of us.*
* – And if I do wind up drinking beer at home in my underpants it will only be due to the fact that we’ll be playing strip cribbage some time over the holidays and I tend to get distracted and start losing once my darling wife has to remove her top. 🙂
“Er, yes.”
LOL!
“and with twenty pubs within a mile.”
Now it’s my turn to be jealous!
“Sheffield Hatter likes it, so it must be good.”
Hats off to that!
“They serve local beer, but I’m sure I’ll find SOMEWHERE that serves Doom Bar eventually.”
Indeed. That’s a great reason to keep doing what it says at the top of each blog post. 😉
Cheers
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I can tell you’re a true #PubMan as you’re so cheery, Russ. Stay cheery.
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To paraphrase:
‘A chunk of cheese; a glass of beer; and my wife… in her brassiere.’ 😉
Will do Martin. 🙂
Cheers!
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“Beer, beer everywhere…”, the Rhyme of the Ancient Ticker.
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