SLAPSTICK COMEDY IN DEAL SPOONS

June 2023. Deal.

27 minutes round the coast from Broadstairs to delicious Deal, and a penultimate Kent GBG23 tick.

First time in Deal in 5 years, after seemingly spending most of the mid-2010s in pubs on that east Kent coast.

Smugglers Record Shop provided that little bit of opening hours peril that a micro-cum-record-shop provides, and we needed something to calm our nerves before the promised 3pm start.

And some lunch at the first place you hit leaving the station.

Deal’s Spoons is 10 years old, and is a 2023 of the JDW renaissance over the last year, packed with value diners.

Mrs RM isn’t happy with the prospect of “value dining“, and grumpily peruses the on-line menu while I peruse an incredibly dull line-up for my meal deal pint.

It’s not a big Spoons, and groups of mates are moving chairs and tables about around us, which at least reveals the beauty of the carpet. This one reminds me of a Kajagoogoo 7″ sleeve (“Big Apple”, NOT “Too Shy”);

There’s a big crash, as a member of staff drops a plate on the way back to the kitchen. We ALL cheer, a nation that celebrated Norman Wisdom will ALWAYS cheer someone falling over.

Against all odds (NOT a Phil Collins reference), the gourmet burger and pint of Spitfire (cool, slight strawy twang, NBSS 3) for a tenner is OK, and Mrs RM is complimentary about whatever muck is on her plate, but she may have been swayed by the extra large glass of Chardonnay I bought to help wash it down.

Shame about their fluffy, indistinct chips. That bottle of vinegar was in high demand, I can tell you.

The milk runs out, causing consternation at the coffee station, another opportunity for bonding with gentlefolk.

“You don’t get coffee machine drama in pubs in the Balkans” I say, sagely, and Norman Wisdom, celebrated in Albania, would surely agree.

Just as we finished, some staff turned up with power tools to start to dismantle the tables around us, I suppose when you’re open from 8am to midnight you have to carry out your pub refurbishment during trading hours.

Time to tick.

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Published by retiredmartin

Retired NHS, doing long walks around UK and the world to record the great bits. Focused on Good Beer Guide pubs and live music.

18 thoughts on “SLAPSTICK COMEDY IN DEAL SPOONS”

  1. £ 1.82 for a pint! Certainly not my favourite, but I suppose it goes down well with OAPs and their like.

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  4. We go to Deal a lot but have never been in t Spoons -last time we looked it was heaving so didn’t bother.We don’t arrive by train ( a bit of a pain from Maidstone -better to drive & stay the night ! ) so we are not usually at that end of town & tend to stick to pubs nearer the front.I just love it there -Winter is good

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  5. The translators at the European Parliament caused some mirth amongst the then UK MEPs by translating “L’industrie laitière Francaise était sauvée par la sagesse Normande” as “The French dairy industry was saved by Norman wisdom”.

    I read it so it must be true.

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    1. I read that too somewhere in the last week or so. Was it in reference to the debate about Llangollen International Eisteddfod considering changing its Welsh motto because of what its English literal translation is if you put it into Google Translate?

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      1. Eek! Although to be fair, the word “Gwyn”, although literally meaning white, in this context means pure or blessed.🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

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  7. Hi Martin, I have descended to the ranks of ‘annoyingly infrequent commenter,’ but that doesn’t mean I don’t deeply enjoy reading your posts, as always I have. And this one is extra special, as you don’t often find that anyone anywhere is reminded of a Kajagoogoo 7″ sleeve. 🙂 (Even the members of Kajagoogoo, I reckon!)

    I must say I chuckled but also grimaced a bit at “a micro-cum-record-shop”; I mean, I’m sure it can be done well, but the odds are not stacked in its favor, are they?

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    1. It’s always great to hear from you, Mark, and I know you’ve been busy with book launches (congratulations !).

      I have an awful feeling it’s not Kajagoogoo I’m thinking of but a very similar 7″ sleeve, but life’s too short to go through all my Thompson Twins and Kissing the Pink records to check !

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