retiredmartin

April 2023.

Yes, a flood (slew ?) of mini-posts for you this week, even though Mrs “Jen the IT Manager” RM broke the internet* at the weekend and I’m (checks instruction) using a tethering device.

Still in Oxford, over to Headington, once home to one of the Football League’s most characterful grounds. I used to be able to walk from the Manor Ground to the central 6X and Youngs pubs in 18 minutes; now it takes 19 minutes on the bus.

Headington has the hospitals, but mainly it has the shark.

I was trying to think of other workaday towns and suburbs famous for singular reasons. Falkirk has the Kelpies, St Albans the HQ of CAMRA, and Aldershot has its Ghurka restaurants.

What a shark it is.

No idea how it got there, but I suspect it has something to do with an Ian Clarkson clearance at an Oxford v Northampton encounter in the ’90s, most things do.

The Tile Shop Ale House has a hanging basket outside but it’s too high for tipping NBSS 2 beer.

Luckily the Collys Dog from Tring isn’t quite NBSS 2, and it’s a pleasingly formed little pub with proper seating and a high tat count.

Beer from the barrel, too. Sometimes that works.

It’s never great being the only customer though.

There’s one of those signs that say “No WiFi. Pretend it’s 1995 and talk to each other“.

But there’s no-one to talk to and the amiable barperson has returned to his novel. I don’t blame him.

Far too quiet for me. But at least I had time to consider whether WWII memorabilia in a pub might be fostering a “discriminatory environment” to pacifists and Germans (not mutually exclusive to be fair).

Perhaps I’ll do a poll.

*she doesn’t like to talk about it.