retiredmartin

April 2024. Sheffield.

Back from the Blake, Mrs RM headed up the (other) hill to the Blind Monkey to meet a mate,

leaving me to do the shopping down at the supermarket. We only needed a pint of milk for the campervan, but “just milk” actually means “and some chocolate“, doesn’t it ?

It’s so easy to get distracted in Sheffield, particularly with unheralded pubs like the Queen’s Ground across the road from Morrison’s, tempting with its Wards windows, Cask Marque sign and another change of management.

Despite Sheffield’s reputation as the City of Cask (ugh) there’s actually a vast majority for keg outside Kelham, so we should celebrate pubs like the Queen’s which offer bench seating,

a full-sized snooker table,

a friendly welcome and a couple of local real ales. Or two halves of Carling if you prefer, as most do.

Hey, is that Carling banked ?

£3.05 my pint of Acorn Barnsley, I hand over £3.10 and say “Don’t worry about the 5p” and the landlady says “I’ll put it in the charity box my love“, which makes me feel both humble and a bit tight.

The Barnsley had been vigorously pulled through before serving, great to see albeit a little disconcerting if that really was the first pint of the day. Oh, to be fair, it only opens at 4.

A solid, chewy pint (NBSS 3+), perhaps better in the taste than the presentation, and the pub’s custom is the star, a real mix of age and sex and species.

And while I’m in there I order my Singapore Rice and Spicy Squid from the Sang Lung, great as always.

Only when I get back, swinging my bag vigorously up the hill, do I remember the milk…