Back to the ghastly gastros I’m afraid. I’ll keep it short.
10 minutes on from the Oak, via Stoke Mandeville, is the Harrow, a pub you could almost see Prime Ministers visiting from Chequers.
Mrs RM said ” be quick” and a first look revealed I wouldn’t be loitering here.
“Will Sir be dining with us tonight” asked the greeter.
“Er just a beer, please “
Here’s the thing. They were SO nice, I felt almost guilty about just having a half.
Here’s a video of me being polite.
I searched for somewhere pubby to sit, and failed. But most tables were reserved, so they don’t need me anyway.
They don’t really need cask either, I sense, but those handpumps still give a country pub a sense of tradition, just as antlers and Chesterfields do.
Duffy sang “Mercy” to no-one in particular, but it could have been my glass of Chiltern, which was barely a 1.5.
A setback. But will things improve?
retiredmartin 
Bizarre given that Chiltern in the brewery is so good. How can a pub go in the GBG with a ‘ is sir dining welcome’.
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No problem at all with any pub in the Guide if the beer you get is fine. Bucks and Surrey wouldn’t have much of a GBG allocation if the dining pubs were kicked out !
You’re right by the way, I had a fantastic pint of Chiltern once, but if you’re selling one pint an hour you’ve no chance !
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I like a welcome, though being referred to in the third person would piss me off I agree. But surely a pub in the GBG should be able to look after the bl**dy beer properly, and if they can’t why are they wasting “sir’s” time (or perhaps more importantly, Christine’s) by making them drive the length of the country to have a beer there?
Perhaps I’ve misunderstood, as usual.
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In “Will Sir be dining with us tonight” I wouldn’t object to “Sir” as much as to “with us”.
It’s not “with us” as if at a friend’s house but “for us, for us to make money out of your visit”.
They’re disingenuous twats that don’t deserve our custom..
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If you’re touchy about these things then maybe best avoid Italy, where the polite form is to address you in the third person female.
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There’s only one way I wish to be addressed and that’s “Martin” (and no shortening of it, either”. I call everyone “mate” though as I don’t remember anyone’s name apart from Will.
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