July 2023. Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent.
Nice aerial shot of central Burslem for you, with our two GBG pubs in the bottom left.
Used to be Guide pubs all over town. During lockdown I noted “Burslem is awash with small pubs now, called Ale House, Otter’s Tears, Hog Noggins, Johny’s Micro and Chilz“.
Now, I’m not sure some of those weren’t made up*; (spoiler) you can’t trust everything Retired Martin writes.
It had taken Johny a while to get his micro in the GBG, and now I found that the pub was recovering from a fire the previous week, and projected Friday opening times of noon (Facebook), 2pm (What Pub and Google), and no idea (physical inspection).
I’d phoned Johny, on an actual phone line, but got no reply. Then I walked the cultural mile and bought a cheese salad cob/roll/bap and Walkers cheese & onion crisps (sorry Pipers) from Wrights bakery,
during which transaction I was culled “Ducky” three (3) times.
Where does “duck” stop and “ducky” start, I wondered.
Burslem has provided a nice bench to eat your lunch,
but no loos. And what I assumed was the Town Hall seems to be a school, so best I don’t nip in there.
Johny returned my call, said he’d be open around 3.30, which gave me the exciting prospect of a further 75 minutes exploring Burslem. And a pressing need for a wee.
I decided to hang around, and popped across the yard to the pub.
A minute later I had this in front of me;
You won’t recognise it from the top, but you will from the side;
Yes, it’s the Titanic flagship, a wonderful pub last visited on the night that Robbie sang, the week after the Manchester Arena bombing.
By fate, the chap I got talking to, John from Windsor, had a daughter who’d been at the Arena that night, and our conversation that afternoon about fate, family and Parkinsons disease was one of the most touching interactions of the year, and a good example of the reason we go to pubs.
Which isn’t beer, though the Plum Porter was majestic and the lovely Landlord a fount of lovely knowledge.
And just then, from across the road, Johny sent a text message.
*Oh, actually, it was true. They did all exist.
retiredmartin 
Great looking place to visit.
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Definitely worthy of a place in the list. Good to see the bar billiards table still there. Nice one, duck
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duck or ducky ?
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That built-like-a-brick-shit-house building behind the nice bench to eat your lunch on was originally the Town Hall and then, funded by the Millennium Commission, from 2003 housed Ceramica, a visitor centre showing the artistic and industrial heritage of the Potteries, but it closed in 2011 as not many people get to the Potteries.
I must admit to only having been to Burslem about three times, most recently for a party in the Leopard on 14th October 2011, and that’s more often than I’ve been to Tunstall, Fenton or Longton which is strange really as they’re only about twenty miles away.
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Where’s the “before and after” slider on that aerial shot of Burslem?
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Unfortunately there has been a change of licensee at the Bulls Head. The new “landlord” is a Conservative Councillor of the Jonathan Gullis persuasion and his wife has form for racist social media posts.
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