2nd February 2020 Now Walton gets interesting, a bit like The Waltons gets interesting when John-Boy joins CAMRA in the 3rd series (it’s on Netflix, check it out). Part II of my Elmbridge evening, rather more exciting than the first half as Dire Straits make their customary appearance. There are 1.2 million people in Surrey,… Continue reading “WE’RE THE WALTONS, WE’RE THE WALTONS OF SWING”
Tag: Surrey pubs
ARTFUL TEASING IN CHIDDINGFOLD
The odds of me headlining my last Surrey post with posh hand lotion were high, perhaps 88%. The alternative was this one. But you don’t want to lead with a toilet sign too often. So, back to Chiddingfold, a year after this atrocity; Both that horror in the Winterton Arms, and a previous pint… Continue reading ARTFUL TEASING IN CHIDDINGFOLD
“I’VE GOT THE GOOD BEER GUIDE, ON TOP OF BOX HILL”
Yes, a bit of blog title PUNK for you next, courtesy of your favourite country gent and butter expert. 1min 30 secs in for all you lazy types. To think Simon wasn’t quite two when John Lydon ascended Box Hill. Ah, youth ! I was headed to Box Hill & Westhumble for my penultimate Surrey… Continue reading “I’VE GOT THE GOOD BEER GUIDE, ON TOP OF BOX HILL”
ASKED FOR TASTING NOTES IN REDHILL SPOONS
As you’ve asked (you really haven’t) here’s the pics from my inadvisable 20 minutes trip to the Spoons in Redhill. 20 minutes isn’t much, but it was long enough to get from the station, barging past 417 schoolchildren to the Sun, order a pint and chicken dippers, and still get back for the train to… Continue reading ASKED FOR TASTING NOTES IN REDHILL SPOONS
REDHILL TICKING TOWN
(with apologies to Bono). My extensive spreadsheets show the Garibaldi was my sixth Guide tick in ravishing Redhill. Which is odd, as I can only remember stopping there once. In 1998, on the way to Gatwick for a work assignment in Zimbabwe memorable for jacaranda trees and bayonets rather than Harare pubs. Actually, I jumped… Continue reading REDHILL TICKING TOWN
SURELY NOT HORLEY ?
“What makes a Great Pub ?”, asks one of those interminable polls in Beer Twitter Land. Stuff your pub cat (not literally), your ten homebrewed ales, your Michelin star. I say any pub with a copy of the 1981 Royal Wedding Album on the shelf is a cast iron classic. But we’ll come to that… Continue reading SURELY NOT HORLEY ?
EVENTUALLY, EPSOM EXCELLENCE
It’s always good to end a county on a high. Particularly an unsung one like Surrey. So a nice little trip out on the E10 to the bucolic bit of Epsom, probably labelled as “Stamford Green” next year. By huge coincidence, the Cricketers is next to the cricket green. Which was about to turn… Continue reading EVENTUALLY, EPSOM EXCELLENCE
WHAT’S THE POINT OF SURREY ?
That’s a genuine question, not an invitation to a duel on Woking High Street, or whatever is the epicentre of Surrey culture. I just can’t see it as a proper county. There’s no League teams (the support is all for Chelsea), their cricket team plays in South London, their breweries are tiny, all the… Continue reading WHAT’S THE POINT OF SURREY ?
NO ROOM FOR CHRIS TAVARE ON THE CRANLEIGH WALL OF LEGENDS
Looking back at two days of Surrey photos, it’s fairly clear the new GBG pubs were decent enough, apart from that first one. Even better, most of them were in places I’d never heard of. And Cranleigh claims to be “nearly England’s biggest village“, which makes my ignorance shameful. Pubmeister may correct me, but… Continue reading NO ROOM FOR CHRIS TAVARE ON THE CRANLEIGH WALL OF LEGENDS
WHY DO I NEVER LEARN NOT TO GO FOR THE LOCAL BEER
You’ll notice a theme in this blog; the more I learn, the less I learn. Having been served beer soup with scum in it in the name of localism, I really should have taken the hint and stuck to mega brews. There were enough of those in the Sun in Dunfold, a pub with… Continue reading WHY DO I NEVER LEARN NOT TO GO FOR THE LOCAL BEER