May 2025. Derby.
Well, where to start ?
Life After Football had curated a top quality pub crawl, all your old Derby favourites on a circulat route minimising walking.
But I’d reckoned you couldn’t skip the Woodlark, in and out of the Guide after I described it as “perfect”,
a pub performing the same function as Leicester’s Cherry Tree.
But before we reached that mobility scooter above, our host says “I’m going in the Maypole“.
And across the road he shoots., me in pursuit.
The rest of our group pursue What Pub,
see “REAL ALE not available” (despite the CAMRA Discount Scheme sign) and leave us to it. Will had form;
Pubs Galore and Bing Maps reckon it’s now a café bar, but it’s all pub. Lively pub.
I thought about challenging LAF to a game of table football,
but then remembered we were on a mission.
At the bar, I felt a slap on my a**e (US : a**) and a local suddenly with my phone. Just putting in my missing Untappd scores I thought, focusing on ordering a half of 1664, which probably identified me as CAMRA.
I look forward to Life After Football confirming that incident, which was obviously satisfactorily resolved as I must have took this pic on my phone a minute later.
Not actually my first ever 1664, but good enough. Is it brewed in Burton ?
Talking of brewing history, in a week we remember one of the great beer historians, it’s good to see the true derivation of “IPA” in the Gents.
Right, best catch up with the other six at the Woodlark.
retiredmartin 
Isn’t every beer in the world brewed in Burton now?
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A good looking pub list, but no Flowerpot?
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I wondered that, too, Mick. I’ve missed that off my own solo trips. Things got a bit chaotic after this, possibly someone did pop in.
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But in recent years Mick someone we know has got Flowerpots inherently linked with beer so bad that it must be poured away.
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Anyway, Flowerpots were Wednesdays, Woodentops or Woodlarks are for Friday.
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Flob a dob. Was that the Flowerpots ? Or Bill and Ben ?
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Bill and Ben were the Flowerpot men.
Weed was the Flowerpot Woman.
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Flowerpots Brewery in Cheriton is just down the road from where Mick lives as well !
I suggested to Mick we should organise a Proper Day out round his was. Sadly Hook and Basingstoke don’t offer much though I’d think Reading or Alton might appeal.
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Reading , Alton or Farnham are possibilities near me.
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Not sure why I’m suddenly annonymous?
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Word Press automatically anonymous folk who slag off Bass, Mick 😀
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Farnham for me, I’ll canvas support on the Beer and Pubs Forum but if you’ve any preferred days/dates let me know Mick.
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I get confused between Farnham, Fareham and Wareham.
Probably my age.
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That’s Farnham in Surrey, rather than Dorset, Essex or Suffolk, I guess?
Here are 10 pubs either in the GBG or with recent scores suggesting that good real ale might be available there: https://camra.org.uk/trips/23449852-2244-425a-b1c5-0d3836c06842 Some of them quite a long way out of town, though.
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Or Farnham, Paraguay.
Yes, I think it might work, Will.
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You’ve got legs.
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Yes there are legs in this, a Friday would be best for me, either in July or September, away for a chunk of August, considering Farnham & Alton are 12 minutes apart by train I would put forward the possibility of a double header , say four pubs in each. Anyway we can speak later on other platforms.
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I must really hate that Bass, came over all anonymous again!
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