“BEWARE THE LOW BEAMS !” FLEUR DE LYS, LOWSONFORD

August 2025. Lowsonford.

Into the heart of middle England now, an England of canals,

wonky roofs on country pubs in tiny villages,

and pies.

HOW much !

The Fleur de Lys is the home of the eponymous pies, a style I’ve never heard of but no doubt one of you will inform me.

These are the high beams under which you can munch on your Gluten Free Veg Balti pie,

but all the warnings at the bar are of low beams, which I dutifully connect my bonce with on collecting my pint of Landlord from a pleasingly dull range.

I momentarily considered hogging this prime table,

What’s the little stool for ?

before joining the hordes in the sprawling garden by the canal, where the staff were doing a supreme job of keeping tables clear of pie debris and Madri glasses.

“I thought this was a BEER blog ?” you ask.

Oh yes. Landlord, cool and chewy, started off a 4.5, drifted to a 3.5, decent gastro effort. Why don’t CAMRA address the issue of NBSS “drift”, rather than obsessing over “independence”, yeast strains and finances ?

Unknown's avatar

Published by retiredmartin

Retired NHS, doing long walks around UK and the world to record the great bits. Focused on Good Beer Guide pubs and live music.

6 thoughts on ““BEWARE THE LOW BEAMS !” FLEUR DE LYS, LOWSONFORD”

  1. I remember Fleur de Lys pies as something you got in a chip shop, not a style as such although they seem to have originated in the eponymous pub
    Didn’t cost eighteen and a half quid though.
    The problem of “drift” extends to lager, which I am confined to in my Shetlandic exile. The first few swallows of a pint of Tennents are divine, then mediocrity takes over.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    2. Eighteen and a half quid for a pre-made pastry container, filled with stew, and topped with a puff pastry lid? (Guessing, excuse me if I’m wrong.)

      Who says that irony is dead?

      (Thirty-five pence at the fish and chip shop as I recall)

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply

      1. Yes, 35p sounds about right. On a related subject, I bought a quarter of boiled sweets today. One pound bloody ninety! Remember when they were 3d (old money, kids)

        Liked by 1 person

Leave a comment