retiredmartin

April 2026. Royal Tunbridge Wells.

An evening in a sunny Pantiles,

mainly spent in the subterranean bar of the Mad Dog, and again we’d forgot to eat. I’m sure the Pantiles has many dining options,

most outside our budget, so we headed back up the hill for a minute before Mrs RM dived into the Youngs dining pub.

Five minutes later I’d placed an order, possibly drunkenly as I’d never have ordered a half pint of Estrella.

Ten minutes later a hugely apologetic barmaid broke it to me that because it was so quiet the chef had closed up at 8pm. 8pm !

I couldn’t be upset, she was so nice, but things got farcial as the card machine declined my refund and the manager had to be summoned to give me £48.32 in guineas and sovereigns, just like when Youngs were a brewery.

It was a shame, as the White Bear was pleasant, the customers confused haemorrhoids with asteroids (with disastrous consequences) and was playing “Ride Like The Wind” by Chris Cross, and the Queen Mum was pulling the pints.

So we pressed on towards the centre,

which inevitably means the Spoons.

As Pub Curmudgeon would often say, when all around you is chaos, you can rely on the Wetherspoons being open, and selling decent cask for under £2 with those little bit of paper that CAMRA advertise as the main reason to join in their new TV advert.

Yes, it’s meant to be that colour. But it’s also supposed to be a bit crispier (NBSS 3).

It’s a lovely building, and they still put on opera in the Opera House.

It’s the whole Ring cycle next year. You’ll be able to get through the 3 plates of beige for £14.99 during Wagner’s epic.