retiredmartin

March 2026. Stansted Airport. Essex.

Dave (not that one) from Chicago was mildly astonished at the beer and breakfast trade at my local Spoons the other week. Goodness know what he’d make of the drinking at Stansted Airport at 7am this Monday.

I’ve resisted the lure of a pre-flight pint since 2018, but what else is there to do at Stansted on the rare occasions the security scanners are working and you get through the half mile of duty free with 90 minutes to spare ?

So, admire the way “Spoonies” have skilfully converted the Roman ruins into a delightful runway side bar,

read the informative panels that seemingly have nothing to do with anything,

throw your minimalist luggage on the one spare seat, and wonder which festival beer to order.

All cheaper than your lager favourites, anyway. Carlsberg and Guinness your tourist favourites.

Sadly, the festival ales didn’t show up on the App, and I couldn’t be bothered to queue at the bar for the Fyne Ales, so Abbot (£5.15) it is. A bit rough (NBSS 3), but adequate enough for Mrs RM to finish it while I wasn’t looking.

Yes, a pint artisanally matched with the Freedom Breakfast. As George sang, I don’t want your Freedom; a breakfast without Eggs Benedict (scrapped) is a poor deal. That said, Spoons must be knocking out 1,000 plates of egg and bacon and hash browns an hour, and it’s hot.

But Mrs RM rates the coffee from the shiny new Lavazza machine, less watery apparently, a vast improvement from 2018.

Two hours later we were landing in a city of small glasses.