“A few hints on how things work”

July 2023. Cheshire. Real Cheshire.

Before I start, guess what’s behind the (frankly pathetic) swing at my next pub. Answer at the end (DON’T LOOK YET DAVE !).

A third pub in an hour as we whizzed through posh Cheshire (just north of Middlewich),

and the inevitable reacquaintance with Messrs Brunning & Price at Bostock Green.

What is this monstrosity of a chair ?

Is there a B & P that hasn’t made the Guide yet ? I doubt it very much.

Folk always tells you that Wetherspoons are identikit, but despite their conversions of a myriad of old buildings your Brunning & Price will ALWAYS have floral displays like this;

and that passive aggressive sign at the door (top) telling you how to behave,

and the fittings manufactured on an industrial site in Wrexham.

The beers are familiar, too.

I only got Mrs RM a half of the house beer, which I see is now from Brightside, but it’s what we professionals call “end of the barrel” because it sounds more refined than saying “****”.

I seem to be getting the beer from the bottom of the barrel quite a lot these days.

To his credit, the guvnor (I think Brunning & Price managers are called “guvnors”) sniffs it, tastes it, says “Oh” and recommends the Weetwood as the closest alternative. I think that’s where most of Weetwood’s custom comes from, being the closest alternative to something you actually want.

Sounds dreadful, and I balk when the guvnor asks if I have a reservation as no-one is moving Mrs RM on now the WiFi has connected (pleasingly quickly, apparently).

What I do like about B & P is you can go in at 3pm and get little plates of chicken wings and salt and pepper squid, unlike those “country” pubs in North Yorkshire where the chef goes home race whippets at 1.45.

And the Weetwood was pretty good (3+) too. Just like you’d expect in the GBG.

But really, what is this obsession with tractors ?

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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.

20 thoughts on ““A few hints on how things work””

  3. Why do you think there are so many B & Ps in Cheshire? It’s to cut down on transport costs from the Wrexham Brewery Tat Factory.
    Talking of Wrexham, it’s our first game back in the sunlit uplands of the EFL today, at home against the pure evil that is MK Dons. COME ON YOU BEAUTIFUL REDS! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

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      1. Born and bred in Wrexham, stood on the Kop under the pigeon loft back in the 70s. Drank Border Bitter, the whole bit.

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  4. “How things work.” Head to the bar if you want a drink. Really?? Like teaching your grandmother to suck eggs. (Strange expression, btw.)

    What a patronising load of twaddle. Fortunately, there aren’t that many B&P pubs, in this part of West Kent.

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  5. I don’t know that B&P establishment Martin, but Oxted* isn’t somewhere I frequent. It did however, prove a useful start/finish location whilst walking the North Downs Way, last year.

    * Change stations, at Edenbridge – a 25 minute walk, in itself.

    Returning to B&P, for a minute, the White Hart at Sevenoaks, is their nearest outlet. A few years ago, the pub was a favourite destination for wining and dining visitors from Japan to our factory, but was a bugger to get to by public transport.

    Dare I say it, I used to get a taxi!

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  7. Couldn’t think of a single B&P pub I’d been in, but on checking their list, The Armoury, Shrewsbury would be the only one. Also, since when was Harrogate in the North West (according to B&P pubs list).

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