retiredmartin

31st January 2023.

Well spotted, Andy Holmes, our mysterious new commentator.

Yes, next stop, last tick of the month, is the legendary Plough & Harrow in tiny Monknash, one of Glamorgan’s top dining pubs.

One of those unmodernised ones,

with ORIGINAL dragon on the door.

I’m not scared of your silly dragon, but I am scared by dining pubs, and by the likely beer quality in a pub that seems to have yo-yo’d in and out of the Guide.

Butty Bach, HPA, Jemima’s Pitchfork. Oh dear.

Hang on, what’s that on its lonesome ?

“Is your Bass on ?” I spluttered to the young chap in charge.

“Yes, from the barrel“. A good day getting better.

And a perch at the end of a long table that would have seated 10 with a couple at the far end. It would have been stupid NOT to sit there, even without asking, but a few years back I did just that in a Worthing micro and got a scowl that still sends chills. Five years old and I still hold that grudge.

I didn’t take to the “Pretend it’s 1995” excuse for not having WiFi, which should really allow you to pay £1.70 a pint,

but that apart it was wonderful. Ten diet coke drinking diners munched fish and chips unobtrusively while I stared longingly at my amber marvel.

The couple at the end of the table clearly recognised a weirdo at this point, decked their HPA and scarpered.

It wasn’t quite Bath Star, but a flat and rich NBSS 3.5 put it in the Top 100 Bass pubs, and the Guvnor told me he gets the Bass Old Boys in at 4pm every night to drink their statutory three pints, which’ll do for me.

“You can take some away in a bottle if you want ?” he said.

Not the same, is it ?

I followed the finger to the outside loos,

where I could have done without the cartoons if I’m honest, but I’m sure the great Mark Crilley would appreciate the effort.

Is the Plough & Harrow one of the last of my “How have I not been here before ?” pubs that either evade the GBG or flit in and out. I guess there’s the Drewe Arms, in Devon, but how many more ?