PRIDE DRINKING WELL ENOUGH IN CHISWICK

July 2023. Chiswick, London.

Train tickets are so expensive these days (£40 Travelcard from Waterbeach) that you feel you need to get a full day’s value out of London. I remember making Mrs RM walk miles from King’s Cross when the Super-Off Peak ticket was £16.60 to save the cost of the tubes.

Sensible people would take “getting full value” to mean a hike round the British Museums, or John Soames, or a visit to the Mousetrap (never seen it, does the mouse survive ?), so why do I end up heading towards over the Thames and towards Ealing ?

Actually, I didn’t really want to head to Ealing; I’d jumped on the wrong branch of the District line (the green one) and suddenly needed the loo as the train skipped Gunnersbury and stop-started to Acton.

It was BRAPA’s fault; I’d been comparing notes with him since Victoria and he distracted me. How does he maintain focus after SIX (6) pints ?

Chiswick Park provided the loos at Sainsbury’s, a meal deal, and some weird shoe repair art,

but Chiswick itself looked as dull as ever and apart from decent schools I struggled to see it’s enduring appeal.

You can tell a place is dull when I resort to photos of grass and flowers;

Under-pubbed too; the last pub here was in Acton. Mrs RM had digs in Acton, which shows he has good taste.

At least my mile and a bit walk to the Steam Packet gave me a chance to see suburbia in all its glory.

The Russian Orthodox church on Harvard Road is the undisputed gem.

I was sorely tempted to pop in a Fullers pub to see if the Pride was drinking well,

but the discipline that saw me through to Guide completion last year kicked in at the sight of the Thames and I pressed on my tick.

Apparently this is a Brunning & Price,

but apart from the furnishings,

and (I guess) the bile beans adverts in the Gents, it had far more of a local feel to it than any B & P I’ve had the, er, joy, of visiting.

A more limited beer range (top) made the choice of Pride easy peasy, resisting the Taytos was harder.

“My colleague will serve you” said Chap 1.

Chap 2, asked whether he preferred card or cash, told me that card was definitely preferable thanks, and I appreciated that clarity.

Only 1% of takings was cask, a few mustard-blazered colonels paying their £5.0 for a pint in exact change.

And £5.60 seemed decent value for a smart pub on the riverside, between Kew Gardens and Brentford FC.

I just wish the Pride had been a teeny bit cooler and crisper (NBSS 3), but who am I to complain about NBSS 3 beer in West London ?

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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.

22 thoughts on “PRIDE DRINKING WELL ENOUGH IN CHISWICK”

    2. As catchphrases go, it’s perhaps up a notch from “Ooh, me bifocals” or “Didn’t she do well?”

      Such were A Thing once, to folk of a certain age.

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    3. “Why do people keep going on about the Pride drinking well?”
      It’s what Richard English of Parsons Green said to a youngster in the Horsham Wetherspoons and has unexpectedly proved to be one of the most popular catchphrases of the past several years.

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      3. Yes, I’ve been to Parsons Green for the White Horse, then probably Bass Charrington’s best known London pub though many assumed it was a free house, but never been to Partridge Green.
        I’d expect there to be a “fine dining” pub somewhere called the Parson and Partridge.

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      6. Yes, the Partridge was the brewery tap despite it being some distance from the Dark Star Brewery which I only knew when it was in a Brighton pub cellar long ago.

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      7. Thank you for the answer Stafford Moggie. I have a lot to learn on my real ale journey. I must say I have never heard of this Richard English character. I will research him in the extensive library of CAMRA books my grandad left me as an inheritance. He sounds like a bag of laughs.

        I tested out the phrase on my mates at the weekend. I must say they just looked at me like I was dumb. But they are not real ale fans.

        Anyway, the pride was drinking well and that’s all that matters.

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      9. Richard English is best known for dominating the CAMRA Forum from January 2009 until the end of March 2017 when it was replaced by Discourse. Few people knew if he was “a bag of laughs” as he rarely got beyond the Partridge in Partridge Green and the Lynd Cross in Horsham and didn’t attend branch meetings as he couldn’t get on with the local members. I meant to get to that part of Sussex for a pint or few with him but sadly never did.

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      1. Just had a look, too. Lots of rural and outdoor stuff – just up my street, so will add a 🔗 link from my blog.

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  4. “Train tickets are so expensive these days (£40 Travelcard from Waterbeach)”

    You do know about the Network Railcard, don’t you? £30 per year and would probably have saved you about £14 on that trip alone. Covers quite a wide area, from quite a stretch on the south coast to as far as Worcester in the north west to King’s Lynn in the north east.

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    1. Mrs RM and I have a Two Together railcard we normally use. Not sure I’d make enough use of a Network one as well but thanks, Paul. Cheapest option is to end all journeys in Didcot, I believe.

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