July 2023. South Kirkby.
Apologies for the unexplained absence. I’ve just had an emergency removal of a painful part of my person by a skilled professional in Liverpool. But then, if you’re one of my patronised readers, you’d have seen the delicate operation in real time already.
On Friday lunchtime I was debating my options. Half a dozen new GBG ticks on Merseyside, or a sympathy visit to a new West Yorkshire micropub that won’t be in the Guide till the 2025 edition, earliest.
Obviously I chose Moorthorpe, jumping on the 12:05 heading to Leeds with 2 seconds to spare.
The slow train to Leeds takes you through the unheralded former mining towns made marginally more famous by Geoff Boycott and “Brassed Off”.
But if I don’t herald the unheralded, who will. WHO WILL ?
The Mallard, of which more later, sits on the Moorthorpe/South Kirkby border, with the pub sharing a notice board with the local MP, possibly a first.
A Guide entrance for the Mallard would be a first for the area in my ticking lifetime, and a look at What Pub is a game of “Spot the cask“.
That’s eight (8) keg entries in a row, not quite a record but certainly impressive.
The Mallard opened in half an hour, time enough to bring you South Kirkby’s treasures.
Cask or keg, hill or fens, everywhere has merit, if you search hard enough.
The inscription on the church seems to be a a dedication to the war dead,
a theme continued on the neat little collection of statues around the village town pond.
The colliery (closed in 1984) is celebrated (top),
though the main legacy is that collection of social clubs dominating the main street, including this one which is hard to tell apart from the row of houses.
Actually, hair and nail salons dominate the main streets, just like in Ebbw Vale.
It’s a pleasant town, trim and tidy, with one of those old style fish and chip shops with a chimney,
Hardly any of the What Pub entries have been visited, even the stately looking Northfield, the best looking of the bunch.
In fact, I couldn’t find ANY reviews of the Northfield, anywhere. What is the point of Pubs Galore again ?
retiredmartin 
I wondered. Hope you’re feeling better!
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It’s gruesome Dave. And the sound of the cutting equipment. Needed two pints in quick order afterwards. Photo to follow.
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We look forward to the details. Many theories out there on the internet.
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EEK! Hope you’re OK and not too sore.
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Less sore than before the operation.
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Far better to have that sort of thing behind rather than in front of one.
And I do so hope that you haven’t gone soprano, Martin.
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Glad to see I’ve led you all down the long tracks completely….
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The brewery section been surgically removed then ?
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Would “sorry for your loss” be appropriate?
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It’ll grow back.
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“What is the point of Pubs Galore” is perhaps a little harsh. I’ve cut back on my visits to pubs that don’t sell real ale this year, but I do intend to visit the pub on Moorthorpe station and had mapped out a route – bus and walk – round all the pubs in South Kirkby and South Elmsall, some of which might even be worth a visit. Probably leaving the Junction Pub, as it is labelled on Google, until Hallam FC’s visit to Frickley Athletic in January.
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I was feeling harsh. Perhaps we need to clone another Alan Winfield.
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My doctors are trying to get me to cut down on the beer. I don’t think they’d be impressed if I started drinking as much as Alan did, visiting over 20 pubs in a day.
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A pint of lemonade in each then.
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Not that it proves anything but I refer to Pubs Galore occasionally but haven’t bought the GBG for years.
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