October 2023. Hitchin, Herts.
Yes, finally into October, and an immediate return to the new GBG for an unexpected entry in That Hitchin.
We were married in Willian, lived in Letchworth and Hitchin for a decade, endured (well, Mrs RM did) the birth of James at Stevenage Hospital and I’m sure, sure, I visited ALL the pubs roundabouts.
I was sure, but I couldn’t be certain, that I’d set foot in the Albert, barely half a mile from our Hitchin home.
It used to be the “old man’s pub”, back when I was 29, and I’m sure it served Tetley and had spittoons.
But now it’s in the Guide, with words like “charming” and “excellent food”.
We turned up on Sunday evening just after the excellent food (including squid) had ended, damn it.
But they had beer, an unexpected double of Side Pocket for a Toad and Butcombe with a paper clip.
I will wager that’s the first time Side Pocket has shared a bar with Butcombe in a pub with lights dangling from the ceiling.
Below you can see the pub’s clientele on a Sunday evening.
Mrs RM consults her phone (it’s a Facebook page ridiculing people who overpack), and two young folk in the corner wear headphones, presumably to block out the QOTSA soundtrack.
Oddly, I rather liked it, and not just because the barman calls us “guys”.
The giant tub of mint sauce is a winner, that Tring is a cool, fruity NBSS 3.5, Mrs RM enjoys her Hammerton (who ?) keg and asks why I didn’t get her a pint,
the garden has a sign saying “We’re all mad here” (they’re not, this is Hitchin, not Baldock),
and the handbasin over the toilet bowl is a design classic.
That’s in the Ladies; I’m not even sure there was a ladies loo in Hitchin in the ’90s.
If they’d banned ladies altogether I in Hitchin (the vote was defeated 52/48) I wouldn’t now have Mrs RM taking the **** out of me as my trousers slip down walking back to the town centre.
retiredmartin 
Those toilets must have been designed by a French person of the Rationalist School, I’d (almost) wager.
The hand-painted hanging pub sign is a winner, whether real or repro though.
Yes, I quite liked it too Martin, even second-hand.
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It’s EXACTLY the same sign as I remember from 30 years ago, anyway !
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Yes, I can remember stuff from 30 years ago too. It’s yesterday that’s sometimes a problem, Martin.
Today, on the other hand – this marvellous Second Indian Summer – has been a delight. Chapter, here in the ‘Diff, now stocks Beers You Have Heard Of and theres no s***t on tellies (whether the s**t is r***y or f******l makes no odds to me ;-D)
Along with Beers You Have Heard Of I’d include Crisps You Have Heard Of too. To go with the grapefruit murk, we seem to get these crisps, or rather, potato scratchings – thick, hard, dark, bitter, sharp, mouth-lacerating “artisanal” offerings – and Chapter has yet to catch up there. They do have All Gender toilets whatever…
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I’m very keen on Side Pocket For a Toad. If they changed the name to Tring Bitter it would be perfect.
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Excellent suggestion.
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I agree. Not sure where that ridiculous name came from, but it does a disservice to an otherwise excellent beer.
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It’s definitely been one of the more consistent beers I’ve come across in the home counties, Paul. Much more so than, say, Otter or Butcombe further afield.
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