November 2026. London.
It’s 15:57 in Kensington last Sunday and I need to catch the 17:20 from King’s Cross.
Let’s walk it. Google maps says 1hr 27,
so I’ll need to get a move on if I want to make random stops on the way to take photos of the drawing man in “Real Time” at Paddington,
the “Brewers’ Tudor meets Truman’s faience tiling” of Fantasia Grill House,
and whatever architectural style they decided on at Edgware Road’s Hilton Metropole.
I had to buy a bow tie to wear for an aforementioned awards ceremony here in 2012, a trauma that made up my mind about retirement, anyway.
At least work meant a lot of trips into London, a place I could happily wander aimlessly forever.
It’s nice to be able to break a long walk with a pint, more so if it’s a Paul Mudge approved Proper Pub like the King’s Head on Westmoreland Street.
Oh, look. A “Wesley Woz ‘Ere” plaque. Can’t be more than a thousand of them.
Most of the new entries in the Beer Guide are, inevitably, going to be pokey micros, so a spacious corner pub with historic interior in the backstreets of Marylebone (which I always want to write as Marleybone) is a joy.
Even more so, when it turns out to have just two (2) beers that you’ve heard of, one of which with original ’60s/’70s pump clip will thrill Paul.
“Keep it simple, use pins” says a landlord who may be in line for my awards issue, as the 6X is a chewy joy (NBSS 4.5).
Proper bench seating, an oasis of calm without the distraction of Liverpool v Arsenal on the telly.
Depending on your perspective, either my worst, or best, photo of the year.
The sort of pub you stay for a second pint, even at £6.80, but I’ve got to dash towards the BT Tower and St Pancras.
An exciting train ride back to Cambridge North (closest for my Orchard Park Travelodge), with the key line;
“We’re in the bathroom phase so we can’t pin ANYTHING down“,
and a nice chat about King’s Lynn/King’s Cross with a cellist from Phoenix, Arizona and her agent Tristan.
I love the cello. Mrs RM should really get hers down from the loft. It’s never too late.
