retiredmartin

August 2023. Bognor Regis.

I’ve said it before and every month brings fresh confirmation; the CAMRA Good Beer Guide 2023 is a gem, packed with Proper Pubs that give a lie to the belief put about on Discourse that the GBG is all micros and brewery taps these days.

Two new entries in Bognor Regis, a cheapish rail trip from Billingshurst. Perhaps they charge you more if you jump off earlier somewhere nice like Barnham ?

I did offer Mrs RM the option of remaining in Billingshurst while I ticked Bognor; the fact she came is the measure of the woman.

But she drew the line at a half hour walk out to Felpham for the George,

opting instead for the glamour of the Bingo Hall

wi-fi at the Spoons.

She missed a treat. Hotham Park, with it’s pizza recommended by LBC’s Nick Abbot is a model park with miniature railway (don’t worry I airbrushed the driver out, it’s not driverless),

with some lovely art. Before you ask, this one isn’t Mrs RM shouting at me.

Felpham keeps a slightly snooty distance from Bognor, despite having Butlins on its doorstep.

Even the knitted house on the post box is thatched.

Gorgeous church,

Proper Pub.

Not quite as busy as you’d hope in summer, just a few Old Boys contemplating life.

I couldn’t see any hand pumps, no wonder the kidz have a problem with cask. The charming landlady guides my attention to the clips behind the bar.

“Ah ! Of course !” I say.

The beer is all from Goldmark (who ?), and the one called Dave tastes a bit like Dark Star Hophead and is cool and rich (NBSS 3.5), just like US Dave.

Billy Ocean is your soundtrack. In Cambridge it would be “When The Going Gets Tough“, in Sheffield it’s “Red Light Spells Danger“, in Bognor they’re more exotic.

There’s a very West London/Surrey borders feel to it, it’s a happy place, and the saucy postcards are so gentle they’re almost woke compared to what you’ll get in Lincolnshire.

It’s a reminder of simpler times, perhaps the summer of 1979 when a podgy (un)retired Martin came to Butlins (and hated it) but probably drank hot chocolate from a machine like this;

Some day that will end up at an Antiques Roadshow in Petworth House and folk will gaze at it in wonder.