I’ve no idea where the day on Wight went. Mainly hanging around at bus stops, feeling sick on buses and then finding pot plants to dispose of below-par beer. Admit it, you’re jealous. Another half hour on Ventis to Wootton, joined by shoppers and schoolchildren dreaming of their trip to the mythical land of Portsmouth. … Continue reading FRAMPWOOD MAC, retiredmartin HAS TO COME BACK
MEMORIES
I needed seven pubs to complete the Isle of Wight. Three around Sandown in the bagn, two back in Ryde, one in the centre in Arreton, and the most difficult down at the bottom on Niton. My plan had been to take the bus via Newport down to Joe’s. Only two things were in my… Continue reading MEMORIES
BEMBRIDGE – SOUR CREAM, OLD EMPIRE
In theory, my first three Wight pubs were a doddle, two in Sandown and one just over the hill in bucolic Bembridge. Four miles between Culver Haven and the Village Inn, says Bing Maps, ignoring my bravery in ploughing headlong down the Down, and towards those horns at the top. I escaped their attention by… Continue reading BEMBRIDGE – SOUR CREAM, OLD EMPIRE
THE VIEW FROM CULVER DOWN
Good Beer Guide geography is a source of amazement to the Royal Society of GBG Tickers. Exhibit A. Magic Rock Tap, Huddersfield. Half a mile from Huddersfield Station But listed in the GBG under Birkby, to the amazement of the residents of Birkby, if there are any. Exhibit B. The Culver Haven Inn, Culver Down,… Continue reading THE VIEW FROM CULVER DOWN
SORCERY AND SICKNESS IN SANDOWN
I could have taken the train to Sandown, but the combined travel tickets condemned me to the dreaded Vectis buses. At least the hovercraft stomach churning was over in ten minutes. The bus was 30 minutes of hell. Good job they had those little USB sockets to recharge my phone, eh ? I jumped off… Continue reading SORCERY AND SICKNESS IN SANDOWN
A (HOVERCRAFT) TICKET TO RYDE
Mark Crilley must be in Britpop heaven, with me following the Spandau Ballet reference with a pun on our favourite Northwestern chiming guitar moptops (Oasis, I think). With two nights in Pompey, I made Tuesday “Isle of Wight Day“, just edging out “Southampton Micro Day”. Southampton will always be there, but Wight is probably drifting… Continue reading A (HOVERCRAFT) TICKET TO RYDE
KING STREET BLUES
More short posts. With more great Portsmouth backstreet pub tiling, but unfortunately more slow-selling beer. A rare Wadworths house in the Beer Guide, it looked irresistible at dusk. And with the blues playing and a menu starring “lobster or lobster & pulled brisket loaded fries served up truffle alioli”, I thought it might be the… Continue reading KING STREET BLUES
TONY HADLEY IPA – “YOU ARE BRONZE, BRONZE…”
Yes, I really aim to draw you in a post with a Spandau Ballet pun. It’s that bad. Next up was Swanwick’s Elm Tree. in the Neverlands between Southampton and Portsmouth. Loads going on here just off the M27, with Air Traffic Control, Beacon Bottom and the mysterious “Balancing Pond“. That Ember Inn (top)… Continue reading TONY HADLEY IPA – “YOU ARE BRONZE, BRONZE…”
THE TRAIN FROM FRATTON
A few short bitty posts now as I rush back and forwards between the laptop and the annual charity sale, where I attempt to sell tat to folk at deflated prices. So bit of a rush through the pubs. Which will please some of you who think I should always be in a pub. This… Continue reading THE TRAIN FROM FRATTON
PROPER POMPEY LANDLORD
You left me in Southsea at the Auckland, having just visited a non-GBG pub in error. As Costello sang, “It was a brilliant mistake“. So I walked the ten yards round the corner to the Apsley, a different but equally cosy looking local. I suspect some of you are ahead of me here. Yes, it… Continue reading PROPER POMPEY LANDLORD
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