August 2026. Frome.
A long, long, day in Frome moves towards its conclusion with an actual NEW Beer Guide pub west of town,
away from the cutting-edge art and scary shops,
and neatly kept courtyards.
The Royal Oak is your roadside pub on the way to (checks map) to Vobster and Mells,
the pub with bowls of peanuts on the bar and beers you’ve heard of,
the sort of pub folk don’t think CAMRA put in the GBG these days.
By virtue of a short cut and long legs I beat the official group by 5 minutes and nap the big table by the window. Due to popular demand, you get a pic of Pub Men knees (which can YOU identify ?).
Proper Job a cool, crisp, beer of the day for some of us, attention already turning to plans for a next trip.
Hopefully by then I’ll have worked out how to focus on Will’s face, rather than his lovely face.
retiredmartin 
…rather than his lovely handwriting, of course is what you meant.
I’m not sure what I was doing with my right hand in that photo. Perhaps practising clicking my fingers in case I decide to take up village cricket.
LikeLiked by 2 people
The finger clicking doesn’t really work unless there’s 18 stone of lard going into the click …
LikeLiked by 1 person
For the avoidance of doubt, I too would have been happier if Martin had managed to focus on my scribbled list of pubs with timings to get me back to the station in time for my train north.
No one wants to see my face in clear focus, and it’s about time Martin borrowed Christine’s clearly superior camera.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Have you seen Christine’s photos with her new camera ? They’re a bit “art”.
It’s amazing how photogenic Pub Men look when they don’t raise a pint glass to the camera to the camera and go “cheers” (ugh, ugh) but go about their normal business of playing with children’s toy kitchenware.
LikeLike
I was regretting that my grandson is too young to appreciate that kitchen in the Ship’s play area. He’s into tractors and aeroplanes, but give him time and a kitchen range will be an appropriate present.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Small children will play with almost anything, Will. In my day etc. etc.
LikeLike
Photogenic? I was just glad to get a decent pint at last, after grinning maniacally through that half of Worthington Creamflow.
LikeLike
Likes like individual bowls of peanuts these days unlike the communal ones gaining more bacteria by each hand dip.
LikeLike