September 2023. Hoxton. You left me in the queue to see Alix Page at Colours (aka Lux) in Hoxton, ANOTHER new east London gig venue for me. I’d unwisely joined a queue at 7pm, as the ticket (a tenner) said doors at 7, and I wanted to discover the rich joys of the Colours beer… Continue reading “I’m a back door man. The men don’t know, but the little girls understand.” Alix Page in Hoxton.
Month: September 2023
CALLING BEER TWITTER….
September 2023. Hoxton. A pub and music double in London in the last glimmer of Summer; hard to beat. Just like teenage dreams. In truth, two pints was plenty pre-gig, despite the lure of Hackney, so I just gaped in awe at the glories on the way from Tower Hill to Old Street and hoped… Continue reading CALLING BEER TWITTER….
PRIDE DRINKING WELL IN TOWER HILL’S SHIP
September 2023. Tower Hill, London. A second randomly selected City of London pub before my Hoxton gig, and an annual chance to go “Wow” on the walk from Aldgate north of Tower Hill to the Ship. It’s that clash of modern and medieval that always gets me. Quiet on a September Monday in the City;… Continue reading PRIDE DRINKING WELL IN TOWER HILL’S SHIP
BASS MIRRORS IN FARRINGDON
September 2023. London. The first London trip of the new Beer Guide year is a season’s highlight, like Southampton away or a crispy beef and Singapore rice in the campervan in a town beginning with “Z”. Last year that first trip to the City didn’t happen till November, so 18th September is an early treat.… Continue reading BASS MIRRORS IN FARRINGDON
COMPLIMENTARY ROASTIES AND YORKIES ON THE BAR AT THE THARP ARMS
September 2023. Chippenham, near Newmarket. Honestly, it is near Newmarket, though the map is indignant that it’s on High Street, Ely, and Chippenham is a last refuge in that weird bit of Cambridgeshire that encompasses the smart horsey villages. I know this because the Waterbeach MP lives there, and you have to live in the… Continue reading COMPLIMENTARY ROASTIES AND YORKIES ON THE BAR AT THE THARP ARMS
DOWNTOWN TO GRANTHAM
September 2023. Great Gonerby. I know many of you were very excited by my recent series on “Pubs Close To The Southern Grantham Relief Road“, and here to thrill you today is the excitingly named Recruiting Sergeant in Great Gonerby, north Grantham, which I’m fairly sure none of you have heard of before. How had… Continue reading DOWNTOWN TO GRANTHAM
LIVING THE DREAM IN DEEPCAR
September 2023. Deepcar, Sheffield. Thursday saw the arrival of a new Good Beer Guide. Obviously I can’t reveal anything about that or the CAMRA folk pay you a visit to withdraw your 50p vouchers and I can’t be having that. So read nothing into my visit on Friday to the King & Miller in Deepcar,… Continue reading LIVING THE DREAM IN DEEPCAR
LEMON TWIST
September 2023. Scarborough. I meant to send my mum a postcard from Scarborough but a) I forgot, b) a first class stamp is £1.25, c) couldn’t find a Post Office anywhere. I did see loads of hotels though, including the Grand. rated “Passable” on Booking.com (i.e. dreadful), the Adelphi of the North. But take the… Continue reading LEMON TWIST
THE BEST PART OF COMPLETING THE BEER GUIDE IS BEING ALLOWED TO DRINK PINTS IN PUBS LIKE THE SCHOLAR’S
September 2023. Scarborough. Well, you can’t spend the equivalent of 13 and a third pints of OBB on your rail ticket getting to Scarborough and just do the two ticks. If I’d turned up a few days earlier I could have seen Glamorgan grind out a draw to keep Yorkshire in their rightful place at… Continue reading THE BEST PART OF COMPLETING THE BEER GUIDE IS BEING ALLOWED TO DRINK PINTS IN PUBS LIKE THE SCHOLAR’S
SHAZAMMED IN SCARBOROUGH
September 2023. Scarborough. 2:45 hours to reach Scarborough from another Yorkshire city seems a long time, but you get to see the glories of Goole and Brough and Driffield so not all bad. First time I’ve arrived in Scarbs by train in years, it’s a bit of a tip at the moment, but redeemed by… Continue reading SHAZAMMED IN SCARBOROUGH
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