April 2023.
I had to leave Sheffield to visit assorted parents, in-laws and caravans on the Sunday of the CAMRA AGM and therefore missed an (I’m sure) riveting debate about paper and whether opening times should be in the GBG, even if they’re wrong.
By the time that was being argued we were in Sevenoaks, the least pubby town in Krazy Kent.
Look how dangerously close the Miners Arms is to the in-laws.
Strictly, this the S’oaks suburb of Dunton Green, a place famous for its medieval streets lying unrepaired since 1969.
The pub name commemorates the area’s little-known role in the mining industry, and the beers on the bar could come straight from a pub in Coalville;
No ! Not THAT pub. Look at the smile on the face of that chap top left. This is a happy place.
My happiness turns to euphoria as I actually clock what’s on the bar. Draught Bass ? In Kent ? Why did the Wickingman not know about this* ?
In fairness, the wonderful landlady (“Hello darling !“) didn’t seem to know she had Bass on either, turning the clip round to check. Twice.
I assumed it must be a guest, as I didn’t notice it was a Bass glass till I’d rotated the pint a dozen times looking for the triangle.
A solid NBSS 3, I thought, though it improved as the richness came through and ended up a 3.5. No, it really did.
At the bar, a local Old Boy unexpectedly switched from lager to the Musket as “the bitter is cheaper“, which is good reason indeed.
No-one was showing any interest in a Brighton v Man U FA Cup semi even though those are the two local teams, perhaps because this was playing over the top of it;
Some bloggers would bring you tasting notes, or pictures of the beams. You get a shot of the Gents,
and the toilet roll holder.
and the chopper on the wall.
Don’t ask me why there’s a chopper on the wall.
*Well, his list does now, of course, after I told him.
retiredmartin 
As I don’t buy it I abstained on “whether opening times should be in the GBG” but that motion was carried.
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Will say “Pub open from x to y where x and y are unknown”.
On Thursday I visited a brewery tap in Chelmsford whose Facebook proclaims “open from 2”, a fact repeated by the GBG app. A handwritten note in the brewery door says 4. An hour and a half wait in the rain then. Didn’t even open at 4.
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Nearly all the pubs I use have opening hours that are as reliable and unchanging as four or more years ago.
But nearly all the pubs I use aren’t likely to be candidates for the GBG.
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It’s certainly the case the pub chains are far more reliable than the free and easy houses.
The only way I’d have known the correct opening time for this brewery tap is to wall to their front door.
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Glad you enjoyed your visit to the Miner’s. The current owners have worked hard to improve the pub, and finding Bass on draught is a real bonus.
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“The pub name commemorates the area’s little-known role in the mining industry”.
There’s definitely a tendency to see coal mining as an industry that only existed in the North, Midlands, Wales and Scotland, but as you say the Kent coalfield was an important part of it, and in union terms a militant area in both the 1984-85 strike and World War II: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/1942_Betteshanger_miners%27_strike
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I think it’s the impact of films like Brassed Off and BBC documentaries centred on South Yorkshire and Wales that make you miss the importance of the Midlands.
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