March 2026. Shepherd’s Bush. London.
Half an hour till my Shepherd’s Bush gig, ought to squeeze in one GBG revisit, surely ?
Not a lot of choice in W12, the Defectors Weld has really fallen from grace, but the Crown & Sceptre is one of those glorious backstreet Fullers gastro (Thai, again) pubs that are a bit too open-plan,
but at least the tat is of a local theme.
Queens Park Rangers,
and “Minder“, which left little impression on me in the late ’70s.
Unlike Rodney Marsh.
Oh, beer, yes. A half of Fuller’s ESB, an undemanding NBSS 3 under £6 a pint. The bloke standing next to me ordered a bottle of ESB. Why ?
The “bants” are of “Resourcing and constant crunch culture“, your soundtrack is Fleetwood Mac’s “Everywhere“, my highlight is a girl of about 8 who orders two glasses of water so eloquently she’s in the running for my PubMan of the Year.
“Born to Run” starts up, does West London ever leave the ’70s ? They’ve even got a branch (?) of A. Cookes pie and liquor shops.
Goldhawk Road is a minor gem. I’m sure Max Shutters is a euphemism for something, but I’m far too innocent in these matters.
I’m at the Empire early,
a beautiful venue with rubbish sound,
but California’s Madison Cunningham (No.8 in my Marvellous Music for 2025 chart) somehow cuts through the fug.
Please don’t ask me what the beer range was at the Empire.
retiredmartin 
The bloke standing next to me ordered a bottle of ESB. Why ? – The bottle version is stronger, could be a reason.
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Also unlikely to be affected by quality issues which the cask could be. My Dad said one of the reasons him and his mates used to drink Light & Bitter back in the day was that if the Bitter quality were poor, you could at least mask it by adding the Light Ale.
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The last time I was in the Bull & Bladder a bloke opposite me was drinking bottled Batham’s bitter.
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