August 2023. Ely. Literally next door to the Royal Standard, up the little lane from the car park that used to lead magically to a Woolworths which a podgy pre-Retired Martin used to frequent in the ’80s, sits a craft beer bar. Looks more like a tea shop, but that’s Ely for you. Ely was… Continue reading NOW, EVEN ELY GOES MURK
Tag: Ely
£10.40 ? FOR TWO PINTS !
August 2023. Ely. My sister continues her market gardening business near the Chung Hwa (Beach Blooms), but has moved house to just off Ely waterfront, which gives me an excuse to visit her for a beer when I get bored of Waterbeach. (“bored of Waterbeach ! Surely not ?“). Ely isn’t over-pubbed, considering its population… Continue reading £10.40 ? FOR TWO PINTS !
I KNOW WHERE THE ESB HAS GONE, SIMON
I visited the parents the week after The Completion, as much to make sure the Waterbeach takeaways were surviving as to check up on Mum and Dad. And I popped in to help Sis sell flowers and veg down the field, mainly by keeping out the way. That week after the Queen died, before the… Continue reading I KNOW WHERE THE ESB HAS GONE, SIMON
ANYTHING GOES IN PRICKWILLOW
My older lad James is recovering from being locked in a Sheffield flat for 6 months by taking bracing walks round the Fens with me. I’d like to think I was planning trips to Corfu with my mates at his age, but the truth is rather different; I was taking a bus to Peterborough… Continue reading ANYTHING GOES IN PRICKWILLOW
ELY – WAITING FOR THE BOATS TO GO OUT
Yes, just some pictures of baby ducks in Ely for you. You get the pubs re-opened, I’ll visit them for you. Look how much of Page 123 of the Navigator I’ve done. Perhaps I should start swimming the rivers and colour those in. I popped in to Ely to make sure my parents didn’t fall… Continue reading ELY – WAITING FOR THE BOATS TO GO OUT
LITTLE THETFORD – (REPLACEMENT) HIPS DON’T LIE
March 2020 Day 2 of the “World Without Pubs“, and the latest in my series of increasingly desperate attempts to sell the Fens to you as a holiday destination, should you ever be allowed to leave Paisley or Maidstone or Bridgend. If you’d assumed Little Thetford was next to normal Thetford on the A11 to… Continue reading LITTLE THETFORD – (REPLACEMENT) HIPS DON’T LIE
WE WISH YOU A BRAPA CHRISTMAS
Only two days to the 25th, when I was really hoping to have caught up on the blog so I could start my extended highlights package, which this year will include a special award for the best pashmina (or male scarf, I’m no sexist). First up, here’s my thoughts on the most recent BRAPA burst… Continue reading WE WISH YOU A BRAPA CHRISTMAS
MARVELLOUS MILD BY THE MINSTER
You left me in Ely, leaving a second pint in a Greene King newbuild diner, the sort of pub that you can usually rely on. I headed back to the station past the Cathedral, needing to get the taste of sour beer out of my mouth. I gave Greene King a chance to make it… Continue reading MARVELLOUS MILD BY THE MINSTER
MISSED PENALTIES & A RETURNED OTTER IN THE ISLE OF ELY
By Saturday lunchtime I’d realised the postman wasn’t bringing my new Beer Guide, and as I’ve mentioned my nearest GBG18 tick was by now 210 minutes away in Wales. Sure, I could have finished Boak & Bailey’s 20th Century Pub, but I’d only been reading it for a year and you can’t rush a… Continue reading MISSED PENALTIES & A RETURNED OTTER IN THE ISLE OF ELY
ADVISING THE REVEREND AT ELY MINSTER
After a disappointing Landlord in Little Downham on Tuesday, I thought I might as well stop and enjoy the downpour in Ely before getting squashed against bikes on the train home. Ely Cathedral really is a wonder now they’ve taken the scaffolding off and put live ammunition in the cannon. As Paul Bailey wrote when… Continue reading ADVISING THE REVEREND AT ELY MINSTER
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