February 2025. Chichester. The obligatory “culture between the cask” post back in Chichester from Emsworth. The West Sussex county town has always seemed to me a modest place, the Bedford of the South. But we caught the centre on a day when blue skies emerged from hibernation, the streets clean, the entire genteel (and rowdy)… Continue reading CHICHESTER CATHEDRAL
Month: February 2025
TOP 100 PUBS – THE COAL EXCHANGE, EMSWORTH
February 2025. Emsworth. Leaving Emsworth in Hampshire 7 years ago I wrote; But now I’m back, showing US Dave what a Top 100 pub looks like. I couldn’t actually remember if it was just that tiling I loved a decade or more back, but one step into this single roomer with proper fire, low key… Continue reading TOP 100 PUBS – THE COAL EXCHANGE, EMSWORTH
“How do Southern pubs differ from Northern pubs ?”
February 2025. Emsworth. I’d wanted to show Dave the exact spot I ate that Salt & Pepper Chicken by the Lord Raglan in 2016, but Mrs RM wasn’t walking that far and my Emsworth GBG newbie the King’s Arms was in the other direction. So we walked round the promenade, as lovely as any Essex… Continue reading “How do Southern pubs differ from Northern pubs ?”
THREE PUBS IN A ROW. EMSWORTH RIVALS MANCHESTER
February 2025. Emsworth. Hampshire. I’d persuaded Dave to join us on a walk round Emsworth, a small town easily missed on your Philip Navigator Map of Great Britain. Joan sat this pub crawl out, but no doubt she’ll get another chance. A 10 minute jaunt from Chichester Station, itself a delightfully old-fashioned place where trains… Continue reading THREE PUBS IN A ROW. EMSWORTH RIVALS MANCHESTER
AMERICANS. COMING OVER ‘ERE, DRINKING OUR BEER, PRAISING OUR TRAINS
February 2025. Hunston. Chichester. It wasn’t just Mrs RM and I “Catching Up With With The Southworths” (repeats available on Dave TV) this month. A great photo* of Pub Men smiling (well, a smile by Dave’s standard) with the Pride drinking well in Chichester, and the positivity shines through Joan and Dave’s posts from the… Continue reading AMERICANS. COMING OVER ‘ERE, DRINKING OUR BEER, PRAISING OUR TRAINS
POSH BOGNOR – THE FOX, FELPHAM
February 2025. Felpham. Bognor Regis. We’d headed down midweek to meet Joan and US Dave, two folk who could temporarily convince persuade you there are pockets of near sanity in America. By coincidence, we’d pick a similar self-catering style apartment south of Chichester, though our Boat House looks from the map as if it’s sited… Continue reading POSH BOGNOR – THE FOX, FELPHAM
HSB DRINKING WELL IN PULBOROUGH
February 2025. Pulborough. After duties to parents were fulfilled in Kent, and a solemn promise there’d be a Chinese takeaway from Meows next time, we took the first motorway to the coast, just like Don McLean in ’73. Blimey, it looks very green, doesn’t it ? I thought the South-East was a concrete jungle ?… Continue reading HSB DRINKING WELL IN PULBOROUGH
TOP 100 PUBS – THE ROCK INN, CHIDDINGSTONE HOATH
February 2025. Chiddingstone Hoath. Kent. You left us out in the gorgeous, straggly, villages west of Royal Tunbridge Wells, cheering up an octogenarian who’s not allowed out much except to have medical interventions and rehearse Handel’s “Messiah”. My last commenter (commentator ?) writes “You should have walked 30 minutes along the road to The Rock,… Continue reading TOP 100 PUBS – THE ROCK INN, CHIDDINGSTONE HOATH
CHIDDINGSTONE
February 2025. Chiddingstone. Kent. Another trip down to cheer up the father-in-law, recovering from being poked about in East Grinstead, a terrible place to be poked about. Michael always perks up when we visit, particularly when we head to the pub. We started with culture, us being cultured and all. Chiddingstone village is owned by… Continue reading CHIDDINGSTONE
“FFS, not the craft bar !”
February 2025. Sheffield. Consternation in CAMRA-land at the imminent closure of Torquay’s Hole in the Wall, pretty much the only pub worth leaving the upcoming Members Weekend. Luckily for Paul Mudge, I have found an alternative “venue” to take him to during the interminable discussions on the definition of real cider or another pointless change… Continue reading “FFS, not the craft bar !”
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