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Macclesfield Beer Festival 2011

2011-05-08T09:02:00.016+01:00

The review of the Macclesfield Beer Festival 2011 has moved to Tumblr.

Is real ale healthier?

2011-04-18T21:58:00.001+01:00

What are the facts of the matter? Please read more about it here.

Question: Beers

2011-01-30T09:05:00.002Z

On the pub view, should mypubguide ask which beers are on offer at each pub?

Drinkaware change their Drink Diary

2011-01-30T08:49:00.001Z

As a registered Drink Diary user, we’re emailing to let you know about our new online tool: MyDrinkaware. It’s a bit special, as it not only lets you record what you’ve had to drink, it also gives you in-depth personal feedback on how drinking could be affecting different areas of your life. With MyDrinkaware you can:

* See how much less you’d need to drink to shift a few pounds.
* Track how much money you spend on booze.
* Set personal drinking goals and targets.
* See how long it would take to run off the calories in a typical night’s drinking.

And much, much more!

MyDrinkaware will replace the existing Drink Diary from January 31st, but don’t worry, any data that you’ve previously entered will be automatically moved across. Just log in to MyDrinkaware using your normal Drink Diary login details to continue your account.

MyDrinkaware will be available on your smartphone too, helping you record your drinking while you’re out and about. We’ll be in touch with more details on how to access MyDrinkaware once it’s up and running.

All the best,
The Drinkaware Team

Catholic Club on Flint Street, Stockport

2011-01-09T18:57:00.001Z

This is just a quick note. Recently, going out for a drink has not appealed to me too much. I find that writing software and spending time with the family can easily as relaxing. I took a ton of vitamins last night. By this afternoon, I had decided that I fancied a drink. I had a few sips of ginger wine on my quick walk. I had to hurry back because our lass needed to leave for work.

I enjoyed the short bus ride. Shortly after, I took my son to the Catholic Club on Flint Street, Stockport. It is more child-friendly than anywhere else in Stockport. It does not serve real ale on draught but I have almost dispensed with listening to the Camra con. I had a few Robinson’s smooth bitters and a bottle of Newcastle Brown Ale. Newcastle Brown is a different drink to what it used to be. It is now drinkable.

Shortly after completing seemingly overdue work and a trip to the new Cooperative on Wellington Road, I put a magnificent meal together. It contained Angus beef mince, paprika, white pepper, oregano, chopped plum tomatoes, a touch of Philippine BBQ sauce, garlic, new potatoes, and added the crème fraiche in the last couple of minutes. I served this with Yorkshire Puddings. Kids love Yorkshire Puddings. I have enough food left to take to work tomorrow. Oh, my drink of choice was Hobgoblin.

Masonic Lodge, Stockport

2010-10-28T17:43:00.002+01:00

It was an excellent venue last weekend. There was a beer festival, with a lot of staff from Wales. It had an affiliation with Fancy a Beer Mate.There was a traditional Bavarian band, probably from Warrington. These chaps even played Thus Spake Zarathustra. I only wish I gave it my support sooner.

Breakfast Beer for the weekend

2010-10-23T09:13:00.002+01:00

A thought for the weekend, when there are: no customers to meet, no stoic colleagues to endure, no driving to be done, and a life to be enjoyed at your own pace, it is the right time for a breakfast beer. Although, the repressed Anglo-Saxon is repulsed by the idea, it does not stop the more civilised Bavarian. It is an excellent idea to combine a beer and a mountain-biking ride. Why not use the paths until you reach the wilds? Please steer well clear of roads, especially main roads. You might even want to visit a few pubs.

Coming soon - myPUBGUIDE on Android

2010-10-22T19:21:00.002+01:00

We have decided to create a myPUBGUIDE mobile phone application. We plan to launch this in the new year.

Ancoats fails the family friendly challenge

2010-09-06T15:38:00.005+01:00

Click here to search for pubs in Ancoats

This visit (on 5th September 2010) was supposed to be a family friendly day out. This part of Manchester city centre is particularly non-family friendly. Ancoats is probably the worst area for family friendly pubs that I have been in the world.

The Castle on Oldham Street and the Swan Street pubs (The Crown and Anchor, the Fringe, and the Smithfield) do not allow children. The Smithfield did at one time; I have seen a child play at the back of the Fringe. It seems that the policy has changed in Ancoats.

Especially in an age of pub closure, I would not expect these putative public houses to refuse business. The corollary of this is that publicans would rather see a pub close than accommodate families, much like publicans do everywhere else. This gives me an idea for an amusing reverse discrimination experiment: to open a public house that disallowed those of an anti-family opinion. For example, it could disallow single men over fifty or homosexuals. These groups (which are not mutually exclusive) seem to constitute the majority of customers in real ale houses.

The Angel is open on an inconsistent basis. Therefore, it would be difficult to determine, if children are allowed in that establishment. Nonetheless, the Marble Arch still allows dining families. The only other public house that appears to serve real ale is the Marble. As the Marble is overpriced and often crowded, it leads one to think that a restaurant, supermarket, or takeaway, would be a cheaper and a more accommodating option. Thankfully, the Travelodge on Swan Street, Room 106 was a spacious room. There is a bar on the ground floor. The staff could not do enough for us.

Sheffield

2010-09-05T09:37:00.004+01:00

Click here to search for pubs in Sheffield

I think it can take up to three days to appreciate what is on offer at this city. You could easily spend a whole day near Fulwood and the Abbeydale Brewery; another day could easily be spent around the Kelham Island area, with its museums and pubs. Another could be spent around Sheffield centre itself.

I do not recall writing up about the last time I was in Sheffield. It included a visit to the Kelham Island Tavern, the Rising Sun (the flagship pub for the Abbeydale Brewery), a rock pub with questionable opening times, and a few other places. I intend to write about that visit on another occasion. Instead, I will write about the most recent trip on 24 August 2010.

Typically, the East Midlands Trains had not put out the ticket reservations on the Liverpool Lime Street to Norwich service. So when I joined the journey at Stockport, this resulted in me asking someone to move. At the same time, a hoard of people had already boarded the train. One obnoxious woman protested that I took her space while I waited for the chap to move. She was one of those who pretend to be disabled. Thankfully, all was settled within five minutes or so. Oddly enough, when I arrived at Sheffield, the woman who claimed to be “less mobile” than me appeared to challenge me to surmount the forty-five or so degree gradient to the top of the polytechnic. She almost won too; some people invent disabilities to either avoid employment or escape the dismal jobs that exist because politicians have drafted them into direct completion with the third world.

I intended to make my way to museums at Kelham Island. Unfortunately, he rain in Stockport seemed to have followed me. Dressed in short cut trousers and a rugby shirt did not seem such a great idea against the downpour. So I made my way to the Lloyds No. 1 Bar. I had two Bishop’s Finger and an Abbot Ale. Those Camra vouchers came in useful. I ate the Steak pudding too. The wifi access enabled me to keep in contact with the known world. I now have the F# samples from Oliver Sturm as a result of this free service.

Given that the museums are only open until 4pm, I decided against going to Kelham Island after the rain had settled. Instead, I took photographs of the cathedral, a relic of a lost civilisation. Inside, amid the magnificence, it was adorned with war paraphernalia, such as swords and scruffy Union flags. It gives mixed messages; I could never understand the Anglican Church. Outside were the usual drug addicts, prostitutes, and zombies. So after taking photographs, I made my way passed the Bankers Draft. It is the only reliably way that I know to get to Sheffield Central Travelodge.

From the last time, I remember the Travelodge being near an overpriced kebab house, called Nazi or some anagram of that word (Niaz Kebabish, as I recall). There is also an anomalously wine shop nearby, which stock Lindisfarne mead (in 70cl bottles), Phillips Alcoholic Cordials, as well as a few other scarce drinks. A little further down is the butcher shop, with its impressive pork sandwiches at £2.60. Of course, I bought a sandwich, a couple of bottles of mead, and a Shrub Phillips cordial.

The next day I went to the Kelham Island Museum, as well as had a look in at the Fat Cat (Kelham Island brewery’s flagship pub) and the Kelham Island Tavern. Top marks go to the Kelham Island Museum for its free entry fee and to the Fat Cat for its perfect pint of Pale Rider. Surprisingly, it seems to win few awards. The Kelham Island Tavern is a bit of an anomaly in that it continues to win awards. But then again these are Camra awards which seem to be awarded more on a political basis than on an objective basis.

Kelham Island, Sheffield

2010-08-23T12:13:00.006+01:00

Click here to search for pubs in Sheffield

Tomorrow I get the chance to visit Kelham Island, Sheffield. There are a few museums of interest in the area. Also, there is the Kelham Island Brewery. Finally, there are a couple of world class public houses: the Fat Cat and the Kelham Island Tavern.

Dudley Revisited

2010-08-08T17:03:00.005+01:00

Click here to search for pubs in Dudley

As I said last November, I arranged to revisit Dudley with my family. So this time, the emphasis of this post is family friendly public houses.

We travelled down to Wolverhampton train station on 29 July 2010 (from Stockport platform 2 to Bournemouth). When we arrived in Wolverhampton, we discovered that the bus station had been pulled down to build flats; that’s progress? Buses we wanted were only around the corner, 126 or 558, to Dudley town centre. The single ticket price was £4.35 for two adults and one child. Be warned that Midland Travel do not give change.

The 126 bus stops near The Court House on New Street (opposite the police station). I found this public house appealing the last time I was there. Last November, this public house was not cheap by any means, whether for good or drink. Anyway, this time I refused entry; I was with a child. Typically, no apology was offered and I did not ask. I have given up on anti-children attitudes in English public houses (not experienced elsewhere). So, we walked back out. A customer at the door suggested the nearby Malt Shovels (Banks’s public house).

The Malt Shovels had a great drink of Ringwood’s Old Thumper for £1.50, slightly over 5.6%. All meals were advertised to be less than £3. It is pretty inexpensive by any standard. It is better value for money than anywhere I know in Stockport. We all sampled the food; just about everything with chips. It stopped me from turning into a skeleton for a few hours at least.

I wanted go to the Zoo or the Art Museum but the family want to get back to the hotel. The taxi was £6.90 from the bus station, which is same as it was last time. We had a look around Aldi before checking into the hotel (Travelodge, Room 32).

The next day, we took the 246 bus into Dudley centre, which was £4.25. We visited the Art Museum first. The dinosaur exhibition is now permanent. The Saxon galleries were quite impressive too. I took a few photographs of exhibitions when I was there last. So, I did not take any more photographs this time.

The Priory (Banks’s public house) on New Street had increased the price of its steak pie and pint by 10p since November to £3.60. It is still more than a bargain.

After eating, we went to visit the zoo and the castle. The admission price for two adults and a child was £29.50. It’s pretty good zoo with lots of events. These included an impressive owl handling display and ghost tour.

There is not much weight on the castle. The ghost tour was not until around 5pm, by which time we had run out of things to do. The Grey Lady (Banks’s public house) inside the grounds, advertised as open, was not. This was supposedly closed due to the weather; whatever this was supposed to mean was not forthcoming. Also, the land railway did not run either. Despite this, there was no reduction in entry price. Instead, I was asked if I wanted to make an additional contribution to charity.

The next day we took the taxi to The Black Country Museum (which is a lot like Beamish in Durham). Entry for us was over £30. I am not going to say too much about the place, except that it has a public house onsite. It is called the Bottle and Glass. It was moved brick-by-brink from Briefly Hill (five or so miles from its original site) to the museum. The public house itself was established in 1770s. It had ghosts. The beer was £3 per pint. The bitter on offer was Hanson’s (supposedly an Isle of Man Brewery) bitter. It also had a Weston’s cider on offer too. None of the pump clips were on display. You were disallowed to eat your fish and chips inside the pub. There are two chip shops contained within the museum grounds, one that used animal fat (the more expensive of the two) and the other uses vegetable oil (for skinflints).

There was a diminutive version of the public house at one of the exhibitions in the museum main building. It had an array of old beer containers with botanic printed neatly upon them (of course, ‘botanic’ was later reinvented as ‘organic’). There was video display showing spectators how to make groaty pudding, an old public house special from the Black Country.

Travelling back had slight complications which turned out for the best. I would advise anyone leaving the museum to travel north on the train to walk half a mile to Tipton railway.

Customer Announcement

2010-03-06T12:40:00.002Z

Dear Customer,

We are willing to add and change your listing details. We do not ask you to administer your own public house listing. Incidentally, you might want to reveal that Sunday lunch is available or even featured nights. Do you have a food menu, wine list, or list of beers? Why not tell us about these. You may even want to tell visitors to your listing about a friendly ghost at your establishment. You might want to include extra contact details such as an email address. Why not tell us that you have job vacancies? It is up to you. If you already have a web site we can include a link to it. This can help bring more people to your own website.

There is a small administration fee to add or change your pub view page. We may waiver this fee if you advertise your public house with us. For example, you might want to advertise your public house on our festivals page, our home page, or even every page.

Why advertise with us? You had no problem finding us. Your new customers shall not have a problem either. Unregistered public houses may have problems. In this climate of pub closure, it is promising that there are simple advertising services such as ours.

Advertising with myPUBGUIDE.com is the simplest and most effective way of reaching thousands of prospective customers.

Thanks,

Phil

Thatched House, Stockport

2010-03-06T12:35:00.002Z

I used this public house. They will be missed. I came across this quote:

Firstly I would like to thank you all for your support over the 6 years I have been here and for the good times we have had. Cheers.

YES, as you have probably heard through the Stockport rumour mill Jo and I are presently looking for someone with enough funding and drive to take over the thatched, enjoy the challenge, ride out the recession and with a bit of TLC realise the venues potential. If you think that’s YOU then contact me ASAP to discuss it. We don’t have much time.

NO, we are not closing. We will be leaving shortly and I am sure Punch will appoint a manager until they find a buyer for the building which presently is available to the lease holder at a price I will disclose to the prospective lessee. Regarding the bands etc during this period your guess is as good as mine.

Thanks again Alex and Jo.

Things to do

2010-02-02T20:26:00.002Z

July is a quiet month. Thankfully, there is a great deal of beer festival action in September. When September arrives, you are spoiled for choice: Northwich, Nantwich, Southport, Tamworth, Lytham (Blackpool), Burton, Shrewsbury, Keighley, Saltaire, Birmingham, Ascot, and Grantham.

I usually pick four from those (each corresponding to the four ... Read moreSaturdays of September). I attend those with the fewest train changes; those towns easiest to get to that are sufficiently different from Stockport in terms of proper beer and aesthetics.

Doncaster

2010-02-02T20:04:00.006Z

On Sunday 24th January 2010, we had no trouble getting to Doncaster. Parent and child can travel an outward journey for marginally over five pounds from Stockport. Realistically, I would allow for the train to arrive at the destination twenty minutes later, as it was on this occasion.

I was amazed to discover that some of the best public houses are within two minutes walk of the train station (and I do mean two minutes). For example, we have the Railway, which is only the length of the car park away from the station itself. It certainly serves ales but unfortunately it had no hot food. The polite barman advised the Corner Pin. I had no idea where that was but knew it must be nearby. Nonetheless, I thought I would just find the first pub where we could eat, Corner Pin or not.

After leaving the Railway, we walked to the next pub. The sign on all the doors stated that children below the age of ten are not welcome anywhere on the premises. I have only encountered such hostility toward children in UK. So we continued to walk, to serendipitously notice the Corner Pin.

The Corner Pin had an array of people smoking outside. We went inside and were made welcome. There were cooked meals and ales. My son ate the beef dinner; whereas I had I chose not to eat but did drink Jennings’ Snecklifter and Copper Dragon’s Golden Pippin. I was surprised to find that the pub had overcome recent challenges to destroy it and replace it with a park and a single tree. Councils are irrational!

Contact us here

2010-01-01T09:31:00.002Z

We haved stopped responding to all email contact enquiries from the myPUBGUIDE website. This is due to the high volume of queries we receive about missing public houses or advertising. We intend to replace this with a simple means of capturing and responding requests, e.g., facebook page, ticket system. Meanwhile, initial queries will be dealt with when you post a comment on this webpage.

Dudley Beer Festival

2009-11-30T17:15:00.000Z

Click here to search for pubs in Dudley

I have arranged to visit Dudley again in the summer. Supposedly, the Northeast, Sheffield, and the Black Country share similar demographics. These demographics reflect a preference for stronger beers than elsewhere in UK.

Before I left, I spent an hour in the morning writing a document that would allow the project I was working to continue in my absence.

It did not take long to pack. I had gathered the information on where I would stay several days beforehand. I always compiled a single document that contained information on accommodation (Travelodge in Dudley in this case), transport, etc.

I travelled down to Dudley Port railway station on 26 November 2010, via Wolverhampton (change at platform 5) from Stockport (platform 2 from Stockport to Bournemouth). Incidentally, there is a Chinese chip shop near Dudley Port station. It was possible to buy burger, chips, and curry for under £2.

To reach the venue (Dudley Concert Hall on James' Street, near the library and the art museum), I took the 74 bus to Dudley centre. Buses in Dudley work on an exact change principle. So ensure the correct change. The ride was supposed to be £1.20 but I gave £2.

I checked the date on my CAMRA card, which had expired. A new one was supposedly dispatched in October. I never received it but I had an email which I intended to show at the door, should there be any contention over my membership (to save a few pounds for the myPUBGUIDE.com fund).

I was in the Griffin, getting directions to the beer festival venue. The drinks were Banks's. I paid £2.20 for a pint of bitter. There was 3.75 hours left to go for the festival to start and four weeks left to Christmas.

As well as the concert hall, there are other attractions in Dudley: a castle, a zoo, and several museums (including one like Beamish). The Black Country Museum sounds like a favourite (too far and hard to find). My family had not joined me on the visit. It was a bit of shame really. My son would have enjoyed the zoo but he attended school instead.

The festival could have done with more chairs (Stoke was the same). It had the same kind of local government and local brewery politics; people were standing tables and the floor area was cleared a little for the Morris Dancers.

The range of drinks including IPAs was extra strong. I started with a half pint of Acorn IPA. Then I tried Beowulf, Brewdog (punk), Crown's Ring of Fire, and Banks's Old Ale. I left my guide there because I became distracted. I got talking to someone about how non-representative of the population CAMRA events are and that it has not moved on to reached out beyond the converted. He gave an example of how whiskey events were far more representative. He considered that the master brewer could play an active role at the beer festival, instead of running a binge drinking assembly hall.

I did not remain at the festival for too long. I found the appeal of The Court House on New Street (opposite the police station) more appetizing. The beer in the Court House was in better condition than the festival. It has an alluring Black Country Ales sign on the door. I was impressed by the sixteen draught beers. These included Fireside (5%) and Downton IPA (6.8%), at around £3 per pint.

I had a fair few. I followed this with a kebab and taxi. The taxi that night was £6.90 from the bus station. I did not get back until around midnight.

The next morning, I left the Travelodge at 0945 (Room 32). The bus (246 exact cash) was £1.70. I was ready for it this time because I went to the shop near the bus stop first, to obtain change. It is near the Blue Brick and an Aldi.

I made my way to the Priory (New Street, DY1 1LU) near the police station and the Court House. I drank Banks's Original (cask). The steak pie and pint was £3.60; a pint on its own was £2.15.

I took a look around the Art Museum too, just opposite the beer festival venue. It is as an impressive any art museum of its size.

I became bored with the idea of the festival. So I decided to have a few 6.8% IPAs at the Court House instead. Meanwhile, I spoke with the locals about the ghostwriter in the pub. One of these chaps introduced me to a book on Dudley (see www.nedwilliams.co.uk for details). He also advised that I take the bus into Wolverhampton instead of making my way back to Dudley Port station.

When I travelled back on 27 November 2010, I ditched the idea of travelling to Dudley Port first. Instead, I travelled directly to Wolverhampton, using the bus service. The day saver from West Midland travel was £3.30 and too around forty minutes.

Derby Beer Festival

2009-07-12T19:30:00.001+01:00

Click here to search for pubs in Derby

On 11 July 2009, I made a trip to the Derby beer festival. I intend to travel there again shortly.

Typically, I travel there from Stockport station. The journey was straight-forward, with only one change at Sheffield. I saw a few people that I recognised from Stockport. I spoke with them and walked a short distance with them, as they were not going directly to the festival.

Finding the Assembly Rooms on the marketplace, the location of the beer festival, was painless. It is a simple case of following Victoria Street onto the Strand.

There was a neglibable entry fee to the festival, a building with many floors. It had one of the best layouts that I have seen. Stalls and rooms were clearly marked.

Before I travelled down, I asked the festival organisers if I could take my son. Children are not encouraged to attend the festival. His response was such that I could take him. However, I would need to keep him in the foyer area. He never explained the size of the foyer. The foyer was wide and spacious. It contained a large seating area. He would have been quite comfortable there.

I spent much of my time in foyer area. I had taken my laptop with me but I did not find much scope to use it as I was engaged in conversation for much of the time. I did not remain there for the full duration of the Saturday afternoon session.

I had a few plans to visit an ale house such as the Brunswick or the Alexandra Hotel. Oddly, in the Alexandra Hotel, I met-up with the same chaps from Stockport that I had met earlier. After a period, we all returned on the train back home.

Stafford Beer Festival

2009-06-15T13:33:00.003+01:00

The Stafford Beer Festival spans three days. It is to be held at the Gatehouse Theatre in Stafford. I will attend the evening session, 1800 to 2300 on Saturday 27th June 2009.

Tickets are easy to order from their website. There are no discernable free sessions. The entry fee for a member of the public is £2, with an additional £1 if you want your tickets posting to you. I am still awaiting my festival tickets through the post.

Thankfully, my train tickets arrived this morning. Typically, I ordered these through National Rail. There is still time to obtain advance tickets (£4.50 each way from Stockport, in my case). It is preferable to pay £9 instead of £30. I travel from Stockport at 1535 and leave Stafford at 2144.

The Gatehouse Theatre appears to be only fifteen minutes walk from Stafford railway station.

Anyway, I intend to post more on this topic nearer the event.

Visit to Chester

2009-06-12T18:23:00.003+01:00

Being familiar with Chester I thought it might be an idea to post about the child-friendly pubs that we used when we stayed there earlier this week. Typically when we arrived, we ate at the Forrest Arms, a Wetherspoons. It was clean. Staff were helpful and pleasant. The other customers were not tramps and general drunks, as some people might hint in their online articles. Beers were in excellent condition and more than reasonable in price.

After some sightseeing, it was time for the Marlbororough Arms. This building is well-known for its misspelled sign and a ghost story associated with that misspelling. I expect that it might receive a mention, along with other haunted Chester public houses, on GhostPubs.com shortly. Nonetheless, the beer, a choice of three Stonehouse Brewery brews, was around £2.50 per pint. The Wheeltappers (a wheat beer) was particularly notable.

The next morning, we had breakfast around 9:30am at the Forrest Arms. We did not fancy any alcohol at that time of the morning but do not let that stop you. Breakfasts were better than expected.

On the way back from the Wall remains, we ate at the Bear and Billet. This public house can fill up rather quickly, which is not surprising considering the food and ales on offer. I tried all the draught ales to settle for a roast hops brew. This went well my with the lamb and potato pie.

Orwell's Moon Under Water

2009-06-01T16:55:00.007+01:00

posted by David Ruaune

Thought folks might enjoy this - it's Orwell on his perfect (imaginary) pub - there's a Moon Under Water in Manchester but it's named as such in tribute to Orwell, by Wetherspoons, I believe.
I wonder how much of this you'd agree with? He seems to want food but without a restaurant feel.
There's a touch of old-fashionedness to Orwell - do pubs have to feel like something from an earlier era?
I definitely know one contributor to this blog will like what he says in favour of child-friendly pubs...

The Moon Under Water
by George Orwell
Evening Standard, 9 February 1946

My favourite public-house, the Moon Under Water, is only two minutes from a bus stop, but it is on a side-street, and drunks and rowdies never seem to find their way there, even on Saturday nights.

Its clientele, though fairly large, consists mostly of "regulars" who occupy the same chair every evening and go there for conversation as much as for the beer.

If you are asked why you favour a particular public-house, it would seem natural to put the beer first, but the thing that most appeals to me about the Moon Under Water is what people call its "atmosphere."

To begin with, its whole architecture and fittings are uncompromisingly Victorian. It has no glass-topped tables or other modern miseries, and, on the other hand, no sham roof-beams, ingle-nooks or plastic panels masquerading as oak. The grained woodwork, the ornamental mirrors behind the bar, the cast-iron fireplaces, the florid ceiling stained dark yellow by tobacco-smoke, the stuffed bull's head over the mantelpiece —everything has the solid, comfortable ugliness of the nineteenth century.

In winter there is generally a good fire burning in at least two of the bars, and the Victorian lay-out of the place gives one plenty of elbow-room. There are a public bar, a saloon bar, a ladies' bar, a bottle-and-jug for those who are too bashful to buy their supper beer publicly, and, upstairs, a dining-room.

Games are only played in the public, so that in the other bars you can walk about without constantly ducking to avoid flying darts.

In the Moon Under Water it is always quiet enough to talk. The house possesses neither a radio nor a piano, and even on Christmas Eve and such occasions the singing that happens is of a decorous kind.

The barmaids know most of their customers by name, and take a personal interest in everyone. They are all middle-aged women —two of them have their hair dyed in quite surprising shades—and they call everyone "dear," irrespective of age or sex. ("Dear," not "Ducky": pubs where the barmaid calls you "ducky" always have a disagreeable raffish atmosphere.)

Unlike most pubs, the Moon Under Water sells tobacco as well as cigarettes, and it also sells aspirins and stamps, and is obliging about letting you use the telephone.

You cannot get dinner at the Moon Under Water, but there is always the snack counter where you can get liver-sausage sandwiches, mussels (a speciality of the house), cheese, pickles and those large biscuits with caraway seeds in them which only seem to exist in public-houses.

Upstairs, six days a week, you can get a good, solid lunch —for example, a cut off the joint, two vegetables and boiled jam roll—for about three shillings.

The special pleasure of this lunch is that you can have draught stout with it. I doubt whether as many as 10 per cent of London pubs serve draught stout, but the Moon Under Water is one of them. It is a soft, creamy sort of stout, and it goes better in a pewter pot.

They are particular about their drinking vessels at the Moon Under Water, and never, for example, make the mistake of serving a pint of beer in a handleless glass. Apart from glass and pewter mugs, they have some of those pleasant strawberry-pink china ones which are now seldom seen in London. China mugs went out about 30 years ago, because most people like their drink to be transparent, but in my opinion beer tastes better out of china.

The great surprise of the Moon Under Water is its garden. You go through a narrow passage leading out of the saloon, and find yourself in a fairly large garden with plane trees, under which there are little green tables with iron chairs round them. Up at one end of the garden there are swings and a chute for the children.

On summer evenings there are family parties, and you sit under the plane trees having beer or draught cider to the tune of delighted squeals from children going down the chute. The prams with the younger children are parked near the gate.

Many as are the virtues of the Moon Under Water, I think that the garden is its best feature, because it allows whole families to go there instead of Mum having to stay at home and mind the baby while Dad goes out alone.

And though, strictly speaking, they are only allowed in the garden, the children tend to seep into the pub and even to fetch drinks for their parents. This, I believe, is against the law, but it is a law that deserves to be broken, for it is the puritanical nonsense of excluding children —and therefore, to some extent, women—from pubs that has turned these places into mere boozing-shops instead of the family gathering-places that they ought to be.

The Moon Under Water is my ideal of what a pub should be —at any rate, in the London area. (The qualities one expects of a country pub are slightly different.)

But now is the time to reveal something which the discerning and disillusioned reader will probably have guessed already. There is no such place as the Moon Under Water.

That is to say, there may well be a pub of that name, but I don't know of it, nor do I know any pub with just that combination of qualities.

I know pubs where the beer is good but you can't get meals, others where you can get meals but which are noisy and crowded, and others which are quiet but where the beer is generally sour. As for gardens, offhand I can only think of three London pubs that possess them.

But, to be fair, I do know of a few pubs that almost come up to the Moon Under Water. I have mentioned above ten qualities that the perfect pub should have and I know one pub that has eight of them. Even there, however, there is no draught stout, and no china mugs.

And if anyone knows of a pub that has draught stout, open fires, cheap meals, a garden, motherly barmaids and no radio, I should be glad to hear of it, even though its name were something as prosaic as the Red Lion or the Railway Arms.

George Orwell

found at http://www.netcharles.com/orwell/essays/moon-under-water.htm

Specials

2009-05-31T18:43:00.000+01:00

I think it is great when public houses offer specials on drinks, whether real ale or otherwise. I wanted cold drinks and the temperature of real ale in public houses does not come close to the coldness I require today. I was happy to enjoy three WKD (different flavours) for £5 this burning afternoon. I did not release before now that percentages of these drinks differ slightly. That iron brew is 5% but both the red and the blue originals are 4.5%. I just had to take advantage of such a deal. I was not much tempted by the Stella or the Budweiser. It was probably put my taste buds in shock.

Family Friendly Festivals

2009-05-30T10:41:00.001+01:00

I expect over the next day or two that my posts shall refer directly to the Stockport Beer Festival, at the risk of sounding one-dimensional. Of course, one does not need to live around the Stockport area to relate to what I write. It has implications for the other beer festivals as well as wider topics.

Yesterday, I attended the Friday afternoon session or what I have dubbed the family session. It is free on entry, starts early, and finishes early. I was surprised at how many of my friends had taken the day off work to attend that particular session. In some cases, they were deliberately attempting to avoid the higher fee of the Friday evening session as well as the crowds that come out on Friday evenings, whether to that session or not.

Also, I met Curmudgeon in there. We debated for around twenty minutes. We certainly did not agree on every issue. We did agree that debate is useful to produce a higher level of consensus and that the medium of blogging helps attain that. I shall leave aside areas of disagreement for another time. It was interesting to speak to the chap nonetheless and we would have credibly spoken for longer if we did not have other people to appease at the time.

Perry lists

2009-05-30T10:14:00.000+01:00

I am enjoying the Stockport Beer Festival. I have attended two sessions so far. It would be pointless to make a list of the beers I have consumed. So I am not going to do that. I was pleased to find that the beers I expected to be on sale (as per the festival website) are actually on sale.

When it comes to ciders and perry, the Stockport Beer Festival website only lists brand names. It does not list product names, as it does with the beers. One might understand this when it comes to perry. I say this because a perry product can vary widely from batch to batch. Cider, however, is more consistent. Nonetheless, if you want a list of both then simply attend the festival as lists are available at the cider and perry stall.

Festive Beers for Stockport Friday Lunch Session

2009-05-27T21:32:00.003+01:00

Mild: Marble's Mild of the Times @ 3.60%

Bitter: Summer Wine's Helios @ 4.00%

Premium Bitter: Dunham Massey's Cheshire IPA @ 4.70%

Special Beers: Brew Dog's 77 Lager @ 5.00%, Cellar Rat's Rosie Rat @ 5.80%, and Marble's Woolpack Festival @ 4.90%

Stouts and Porters: Fullers' London Porter @ 5.40%, Pennine's Pitch Porter @ 5.00%, and Sierra Nevada's Porter @ 5.50%

Old Ales: Oakham's Oblivion @ 5.70% and Thornbridge's Jaipur IPA @ 5.90%

Mysterious emails from the Ignorant

2009-05-26T18:02:00.004+01:00

Sometimes I wonder just how much revenue a public house loses by not keeping its information up to date on a pub directory, such as, myPUBGUIDE.com. The main website receives over a thousand unique human visitors per day, not from Google Adsense but from real high street British companies. It is a free resource, wholly funded by advertising. So there is nothing for publicans to pay.

We receive emails from users, i.e., prospective punters, who think that our email address is that of some pub or other. We get requests for menus, questions about whether we have an open fire, etc. We even receive CVs. I just do not understand people at times. Fair enough that someone must have a radically underdeveloped sense of reality to mistake our contact details for that of a pub house. However, in these days when pub owners are crying poverty, I would expect that they take every opportunity to promote their business. I do not understand people at times.

GhostPubs.com share story on Blackpool

2009-05-25T18:46:00.003+01:00

Who would have guessed that there is a ghost story associated with my favourite Blackpool haunt?

Blackpool Trip

2009-05-21T20:00:00.003+01:00

Click here to search for pubs in Blackpool

We went to Blackpool. Not everything went according to plan. Of the four public houses on my original list, I visited one: The Pump and Truncheon. Nevertheless, I did still stick with four public houses. There is far too much to do in Blackpool to sit around pubs all day.

The Pump and Truncheon was not the only public house that we found that serves real ale. There was one more: Uncle Peter Websters. It is, however, difficult to find real ale pubs in Blackpool. I did keep my eyes open too. The only other public houses we entered were the Counting House and the Hop. These were chosen out of convenience at the time.

The determining factor of whether we had any refreshments at any establishment was largely over if it was child-friendly. Impressively, Uncle Peter Websters advertises that it is child-friendly until 9pm. The Counting House allows children if parents buy meals. The Hop does not normally allow children. It was early so the barmaid made us welcome. Sadly, the Hop does not serve real ale on draught. This did not prevent me from drinking Strongbow, Guinness, and Green King IPA (smooth). These were sold at shockingly low prices.

Plan for Blackpool

2009-05-18T19:01:00.009+01:00

Click here to search for pubs in Blackpool

Stockport can become a bit tiresome. I always find that the best value for money pubs are in the Hillgate-Churchgate area. However, there is more to life than Stockport. When I visit Blackpool, I intend to try the following public houses: The Auctioneer, Churchills Bar, The Pump and Truncheon, and The Saddle Inn. These four pubs serve real ale. It is a mixed selection though. I will judge these pubs for friendliness toward children as well as the usual.

Strongbow: The best a man can get

2009-05-14T18:55:00.005+01:00

Life is full of surprises. I left work early for an appointment with a GP. Apparently, both my cholesterol and blood pressure are fine. This comes as no surprise really when I consider my diet of freshly prepared food and proper beers when I when get the chance to drink. So I wanted to celebrate slightly, starting with the chippy. Then I headed home, passing several public houses and off-licenses in the Offerton area of Stockport. I kept thinking to myself that I have tried all those places and none were too spectacular, as I had tried those establishments before. I thought, I would save my efforts for the off-licence nearest my house, as none of these sell proper beer. I did entirely that, only to find that the off-licence just around the corner no longer serves beer. In fact, the shopkeeper informed me that even the John Smith’s goes out of date. Previously, I had bought some of the finest Three Rivers from there. I ended-up with a bottle of Strongbow and a few other items. It was £3.29. Are such places really likely to put proper beer pubs out of business? I wonder if the chippy I went to complains to his customers when they tell him that they buy oven chips from the supermarket.

Is the Stockport Beer Festival less than three weeks away?

2009-05-11T19:39:00.002+01:00

I have already booked off Friday 29th May for the Stockport Beer Festival. Usually I wake up around 5am. Therefore, I might be ready for a drink on the lunchtime session. The admission is free (to non-Camra members too). It runs from 11.30am - 3.30pm. It has no entertainment, which for me is a bit of a bonus. I confess that I do not mind folk music. However, I am not a fan of those often cheesy bands that play at beer festivals. The entertainment manager asserted that this year, there is entertainment for everyone. Whether this is the case or not, I am not coming back for the evening session. I have a child to look after. I may take him to a Saturday session. He seems to enjoy playing with Lego at these often peaceful events.

Free Ale but No Thanks

2009-05-10T21:24:00.002+01:00

The Stockport Heritage Trust have teamed up with Robinson's brewery to exclude children from one of their events. Actually, I am only kidding. The free Lantern Show at Staircase House on Friday 15 May 2009 is for adults only. Here adults get to sample cheeses and Robbie's beer at the end of the event. I would have appreciated the opportunity to trot down there. However, I may not attend, as I need to look after my son on that very evening. For those of you who are lucky enough to grace the place, I hope you enjoy yourselves. Just watch out for the ghost of Robert Owten.

Token Schemes

2009-05-10T16:24:00.004+01:00

One might guess from the previous post that overall, I enjoyed the Macclesfield festival. However, the use of tokens strikes me as odd. This offered a disincentive for me as unused tokens would not be refunded. Indeed, as no cash exchanged hands beyond the reception area, I only bought two lots of tokens, at £5 each. I might be able to accurately predict the number of drinks that I may buy; or maybe not. In any case, I cannot easily know presciently the number of soft drink or sandwiches that my son may request. I have attended quite a few festivals in my lifetime. It just seems strange that I have never encountered such a scheme before. It feels almost dishonest, especially considering the historical use of non-convertible token schemes.

My Macclesfield Festival Selection

2009-05-10T13:15:00.012+01:00

These are drinks that I selected from the Macclesfield festival list. Needless to say, I did not drink a pint of each. I make my preferences quiet clear in the following descriptions:

Beer

Allendale’s Wolf: an excellent hoppy beer but no apparent trace of blackcurrant
Beartown’s Ginger Beer: an amazingly refreshing and noticeably gingery beer
Dunham Massey’s Chocolate Cherry Mild: a semblance of chocolate porter mouthwash with a hint of cherry and an aftertaste of dog breath
Hammerpot’s Madgwick Gold: an unpleasantly indistinctive and sweaty oral experience
Milestone’s Raspberry Wheat Beer: an exceptionally uplifting wheat beer with an overpowering taste of raspberry essence
Prospect’s Big Adventure: a clean and magically hoppy floral beer with a most pleasant resonance
Saltaire’s Hazelnut Coffee Porter: an easy nutty coffee roast porter
Traditional Scottish Ales’ Highland Fling: a non-distinct clammy beer

Perry

Hecks’ Blackeney Red Perry: a remarkable and refreshingly sweet strong perry

Cider

Westons’ Old Rosie: a heart warming and strong cider

Macclesfield Beer Festival

2009-05-09T09:52:00.004+01:00

It is the weekend of the Macclesfield beer festival at the rugby club. I am running late this morning. So I had better keep this short.

There are two session today, with the first being 1200 to 1530. I have opted for this because I can happily take my son along and it is free. For the other sessions, tickets are needed, which are incidentally not free.

Walking and bus from for Macclesfield Rail Station to SK10 4AF:

Walk from Macclesfield Rail Station to Lord Street (Corner) (on Park Street) to catch Bus 4. This goes to Fallibroome High School (Opposite) (on Priory Lane). It is less than a minute walk from there.

Facebook Fan Page Launch

2009-05-09T02:17:00.003+01:00

We have just launched the myPUBGUIDE fan page on Facebook. Please take a look as there is activity already.

Spoons

2009-01-21T19:27:00.005Z

With all this talk about Spoons and cheap beer, it is wise not to lose one's grasp. At the risk of repeating myself, I would say: I like a quiet pub unless it is a rock pub. Spoons is fine if quiet, usually before lunch due to 9am opening. At all other times I avoid the place. It is rare to see, anywhere else, a place chock-full of lumpen proletarian scumbags and failed middleclass creatures. Sometimes I wonder if this organisation has a contract with the prison service and other undesirable institutions.

Happy New Year

2009-01-01T08:29:00.010Z

Happy New Year – This is the time of year when everywhere is closed, except for a few pubs for a handful of hours. Of course, many of these pubs are reserved only for those who have a local accent or have never been in the pub since they were barred last New Year. Both in some cases. Too many pubs are like badly run council estate pubs, irrespective of whether these establishments are even near a council estate. I can frequent a pub for a year, sit in the smoke room with a laptop and buy more drinks than three thick scroats in the bar. It is shocking how my custom is unwanted at this time of year. Meanwhile, Camra (microbrewery poor-me attitude support group and anti-consumer sovereignty bastions) wonder why pubs are closing and becoming Ghost Pubs! If I had more time I would be tempted to author a 101 reasons type of article. Incidentally, Tesco is open whereas my most cherished public house is not.

Christmas

2008-12-27T04:25:00.005Z

I had Christmas dinner at home, with a mulled merlot, an Ardmore single malt, and Weston's organic cider. It is not often that I drink beer at home. Therefore, I have managed to spend a few hours in my favourite pubs over the past few days. My list of favourites rarely changes. I believe that is because so few these establishments have little to offer in terms of service.

Also, we might notice ghostly goings on over at Ghost Pubs. They have released a ghost story that references one of my favourite haunts: Ghost Pubs Blog: The Drunken Prole

Merry Christmas from Your Office Licence

2008-12-20T11:13:00.003Z

An office licence cannot legally sell alcohol before 8am. One place even refused to take payment for a bottle of single malt, with the suggestion that she tilled it after 8am. Is there any reason for such draconian and inflexible attitudes? It can be a little annoying if you want to buy a present for a colleague before travelling into work.

Who Drank All the Real Ale?

2008-12-20T11:09:00.002Z

Why is it that whenever I pick-up an odd copy of Opening Times (a Camra magazine) that a fair few of the pubs mentioned in there do not serve any real ale when I visit?

Binge Drinking

2008-12-14T08:16:00.016Z

This seems to be a topic that is not going to disappear at any time soon. The bottom line is that certain organisations use this phenomenon to line their own pockets. There is always an ulterior motive! For example, Camra use it as part of their misguided strategy to lambast brewing giants who supposedly offer volume discounts to supermarkets. Volume discounts on brewing giant brands seemingly crowd out the demand for real ale, as well as the demand for such beers in real ale public houses. So it is not deemed to be in the interests of Camra, at least not to their investment club shareprices. Of course, these chaps usually ignore discounts on real ale by the same supermarket; or that brewing giants may even provide real ale products. Instead, Camra present an unrealistic and fragile image of the microbrewery and the pub for that matter. This is an aside, your stereotypical binge drinker only drinks beverages from the brewing giant - how convenient? I guess there is no such thing as a disorderly real ale drinker.

Let us hark back, the answer to binge drinking is simple; there is nothing wrong with drinking per se. Anyone stupid enough to risk their physical health is entitled to binge drink. The UK still enjoys a little freedom. Again, UK citizens are entitled to healthcare (free on the point of entry). I do not like the idea of funding people who have become alcoholically intoxicated but that choice is not mine to make. I can imagine that these same people may object to certain of my behaviours. However, I cannot assess the economic (or social) cost of these to people I do not know.

On the subject of social cost, binge drinking is putatively immoral. UK is pretty much a puritanical state. Many behaviours are deemed to be immoral here. However, the war in Iraq is on the average supposedly acceptable. It is difficult to discern the comedy of the Anglo-Saxon from his reason at times.

Where does the issue really lie? If someone becomes intoxicated then it is a matter of those who enforce law and order to do their job. Fines to disorderly people can be a sufficient deterant. The idea of setting minimum prices for alcohol sales in supermarkets is silly. Disorderly behaviour is a matter for the police and law courts, not successful retailers.

GhostPubs.com

2008-12-06T23:04:00.008Z

We are underway in our development of GhostPubs.com - It is scheduled for release in early 2009. Ghost Pubs is a website that is dedicated to haunted, closed, abandoned, and demonlished public houses, hotels, etc. I had better not give too much away.

Calling All Pub Guide Providers

2008-11-10T18:32:00.001Z

MyPubguide.com has been approach by several other pub guide providers. If you run a pub guide website of your own and you are interested in sharing datasets, webservices, APIs, etc., then contact us. We have some unique datasets that we could make available.

Ask the Landlord?

2008-11-10T18:09:00.006Z

Frequently, we receive emails from your prospective customers asking for menus. We would easily be able to pass on these but we usually do not have your email address. From time to time, the pub phones numbers are incorrect and people tell us the phone number is actually a residence. Just think of how much revenue a landlord must lose as a result of not waking up to the internet. This could be a matter of urgency with Christmas around the corner and complaints that the Great British is dying.

Sometimes we get complaints from landlords that the comments on the websites are not overly kind. In seriousness that is not our problem; we encourage honesty. If a pub landlord is not making much of an effort then what else might one expect? However, when these comments are made in error then we try our best to correct such mistakes. Unfortunately, most landlords do not contact us; some do not even get back to us, despite it being of their interests.

We also get requests to promote public houses. So, if you are a landlord and you are not happy with how your pub is represented on this website or there is something we could do better then why not contact us?

Beer tax hope for pubs

2008-10-27T20:21:00.002Z

Camra warns that without Government action this is the bitter taste things to come. Industry insiders acknowledge that the credit crunch, smoking ban and heavily discounted supermarket booze, "ruthless" large pub companies who have replaced the breweries in pub estate ownership, have all had an impact.

Such hypocracy! CAMRA were actually in favour of the smoking ban. How can such an organisation survive with its doublethink? Anyway, let us hark back to the actual article: I am all for reducing the tax on draught beer. However, I cannot see this coming off in today's credit climate. After all, the tax payer is going to receive a handsome bill to pay for the part nationalisation of UK superbanks. We can hope!

CAMRA urges councils to help save communities

2008-10-27T20:13:00.002Z

CAMRA are telling their fairytales again. They have a romantic view of pubs. Also, they conflate the idea of a local as the hub of a community. Such pubs were the exception. Let us not give way to false memories and hysteria.

Chronicle probe reveals short pub measures

2008-10-27T20:08:00.000Z

Chronicle probe reveals short pub measures
Source: www.chroniclelive.co.uk

A simple solution: If you don't get what you've paid for and feel that deeply about it then do not go back to that pub. CAMRA often talk a load of nonsense much of the time.

Our Data Quality Depends on Your Comments

2008-10-20T12:25:00.002+01:00

Let us consider the data that MyPubguide.com keeps. How do you ensure that pub details are up to date? This is a tricky question. There is no guarantee that this can be attained 100%, with the current availability of information on the internet. So what sources do we use? How do we know that a pub has closed?

One source of data could be other online guides for pubs, restaurants, beers, etc. Unfortunately, all of these possible sources are subject to the same data quality issues as those experienced by MyPubguide.com. Presently, the main way that we get to know about a public house is from you, our users.

In future, another information source could be on the way. Indeed, one of the implications of Licensing Act 2003 makes local councils responsible for maintaining a list of licensed premises. Only a fraction of local councils currently make this available online. Some of the information is out of date. In addition, so far, there is no standard gateway or format of this data. This makes it difficult to query and transform.

So, it is down to you, our users, to tell us of any changes.

Codger Contra Camra

2008-10-19T12:11:00.007+01:00

Thanks Damien for inviting me to contribute.

Codger Contra Camra

by David Ruaune

I find Camra’s call for minimum pricing on supermarkets (i.e. putting the price of alcohol up) quite angering, even shocking. Surely it is obvious that it is the pubs which overprice, partly because of taxation. Also, that many pubs are wanting in all sorts of respects - I have in the past stood in the centre of Stockport, wanting to drink in a pub and having the disposable income to do so, but not fancied any that came to mind; and Stockport is better served than many places.

I'm not, on the whole, pro-market or anti-interventionist, but for Camra to call on the government to intervene to put prices UP is madness, especially in the present climate when rising prices are crippling people, especially the poor.
Camra are directly operating against my interests - effectively, they want to make me poorer.

I think it is the expensiveness of pubs that is anomalous. Supermarkets pushing prices down and persecuting suppliers? My main concern would be animal welfare, which I don't think applies to hops! Any further, and we're into complex economic arguments. If Camra expect the government to intervene on behalf of suppliers in a way which would have the effect of pushing ALL prices up (no exception could be made just for brewers - there's a better argument over food because of animal welfare) especially in the present economic situation, then Camra must have been on the loopiest of loopy juices.

The community argument - I agree there is a social cost to losing pubs, but if so, the government should intervene in a way which supports pubs, not in a way which penalises competition. I'm not sure that the social cost is so great, either, so I can't see enough of an argument for a special case on social grounds.

Okay, in general “community” is a good, though fairly abstract, thing. But should people have alternatives to such community cut off to force them to be communal if they fancy a drink? Who gains from this? Also, there are other forms of community – meetings of friends at one’s home to watch the match or a good film on today’s widescreens with some quality bottled beer is admirably communal and civilised.

There's a nasty oppressive moralistic edge to their argument here, as if one is obliged to support such rackets as the breweries and pubs because they represent "community."

For years, pubs and breweries have not given a good product / service / value for money, and are now getting their come-uppence, and that's coming from someone who's put a lot of money over bars in his life. This is a factor independent of supermarkets. As well as cheap beer, many supermarkets also offer a great variety, and many pubs do not.

A lot of pubs haven't moved on from something very ‘fifties or older, or where they have, the change has been bad. They thought they had a monopoly, and atrophied. Now, it's boo hoo hoo. (I must add that I do still patronise pubs, and have great respect for the service and friendliness of my favourites.)

The "pubs means less binge-drinking" argument is irritating bullshit. Home drinking is relatively safer drinking, for all sorts of social reasons too wide to go into here.

Loss leaders? Nothing wrong with. Ban happy hours, on that logic.

Alcohol in bars is a lot cheaper in a lot of other countries. Why? There has been a long-term collusion between the taxation authorities and the breweries. If pubs are arguably in many ways a social good, as Camra seem to say, why doesn’t Camra focus on the demand for a lowering of taxes on alcohol sold in pubs?

What if the government could intervene to put off-licence prices up and pub prices down, proportionately? I'm still not sure I support this; I think I AM a bit of a free marketeer on this specific argument!

Camra claims that "Large concerns such as supermarkets can force out small concerns like pubs." But they are not in the same business - it is up to pubs to capitalise on what they have which the supermarkets cannot provide - community, society, etc., as a selling point, not as a load of New-Labour-targeted moralising and whingeing.

I ought to mention that one would expect and accept some difference in price between supermarket and pub - one is supposedly and in many ways actually receiving a higher value of product and associated service with a pub. The overheads that are part of this should not be a problem.

Regarding the might of the retailers putting pressure on suppliers – there is some truth in this, but doesn't this happen right across the board, and isn't there to some extent a circularity here? Suppliers are consumers, and consumers are suppliers, so prices have to have some relation to incomes.

Perhaps the problem is the other way around - the suppliers of pubs, the breweries, are not subject to enough pressure to keep the prices down because they have some sort of rigged set-up, like a monopoly, through the ownership of premises. A possible solution may be to allow pub landlords and managers more freedom to buy from whom they will, if necessary backed by government power.

The last I heard, the Robinson family had a big house in Wilmslow; shocked to hear they're doing so badly now.

Also, what of the little guy struggling to get by with his off licence? Is he exempt from these enforced price increases?

NOTE : The loss-leader dynamic is separate from the supermarket-power-over-suppliers dynamic. The former does not hit the supplier (though it does hit pubs), the latter hits both. To force supermarkets to minimum prices might not help the suppliers, as it would presumably affect supermarkets adversely, and they would be likely to try to pass at least some of that cost onto suppliers.

David Ruaune

Here is an article from Foodbev http://foodbev.com/ArticleDetail.aspx?contentId=1510
together with my notes on Protz’s argument –

CAMRA calls for Government action to save pubs
Published date: 15 September 2008 Forward article Print article
The Good Beer Guide from CAMRA provided 4,500 full pub descriptions
At the launch of the Good Beer Guide 2009, CAMRA (Campaign for Real Ale) is calling on the Government to introduce measures to prevent supermarkets selling alcohol as a loss leader. In response to the announcement that 36 pubs are closing every week, with a gloomy outlook for many more British pubs, the UK consumer group

-------- self-appointed -------------

is urging the Government to introduce minimum pricing to reduce the gap between supermarket and pub prices.“Cheap beer in supermarkets – often sold at less than the price of bottled water –

---------- bottled water is an expensive middle class fad anyway – it often charges at over a pound for a pint --------------

is killing the British pub,” said CAMRA Good Beer Guide 2009 Editor Roger Protz as he launched the 2009 edition.“Over 150 pubs a month are closing,” Protz said. “And the main reason is simple: people are abandoning their locals because they can buy cheap supermarket beer at a fraction of the price charged by pubs.”

-----------Could it be that pubs overcharge?-----------

CAMRA claims that well-run community pubs provide a perfect environment for adults to enjoy alcohol responsibly,

----------this is core – and meaningless-----------

but as small businesses, they are unable to absorb tax and cost increases and cannot demand the wholesale discounts enjoyed by supermarkets. Pubs are no longer able to compete on a level playing field.Industry statistics show that off-trade beer prices have fallen by 1% in the last year, while pub prices have increased by around 4.4%. Since 2002 Off-trade beer prices have fallen by 7% while pub prices have increased by 24%.

---------- So why are pubs upping prices like that? ----------

As a result of the 10% beer tax increase in this year's Budget, prices in pubs have increased by 4.4% in the last year and the average price of a pint of lager in a pub is now £2.82. In contrast, prices in the off trade have fallen by a further 1% as a result of price promotions.

---------- But the same tax applies to supermarkets.----------

CAMRA believes Government action is required to help pubs as they are the best place to enjoy alcohol responsibly in a regulated and socially controlled environment.

---------This statement needs careful study.---------

In a recent CAMRA pricing survey, research found drastically drastically here means good value low figures in the off-trade with mainstream global lager bands on sale for as little as 57 pence a pint.Examples of price deals found in supermarkets in September 2008:
Sainsbury's: Foster's lager – 3 cases of 440ml cans for £20. That's the equivalent of 57.4 pence per pint.
Asda: John Smith's Smooth Bitter – 3 cases of 440ml cans for £20. That's also the equivalent of 57.4 pence per pint.
Morrison's: 24 cans of 440ml Stella Artois lager for £15.47. That's the equivalent of 77.9 pence per pint.
Lidl: 8 cans of 440ml Carlsberg lager for £4.49. That's the equivalent of 56.9 pence per pint.

--------- Dividing a multi-packs down to get the price per pint is a bit naughty - the customer is committed to buying that bulk. (and as Damien pointed out in conversation with me yesterday, a similar argument applies to loss-leaders, as the customer is buying a whole basket of goods)----------

Mr Protz commented: “When a pub closes the community’s heart is ripped out and dies. It's a particular problem in rural areas, where the village pub is the heart of the community. People go to pubs for friendship, conversation, to enjoy an affordable meal, or just quietly read a newspaper. ”

---------- So don’t try to charge them over the odds for it-------- .

“And pubs are regulated licensed premises. Publicans who permit bad behaviour such as heavy drinking will lose their licences.“Supermarkets face no such restraints. They have no idea what happens to cheap alcohol once it leaves their stores. In too many cases, it's passed on to under-age drinkers. It's the supermarkets, not pubs, that encourage binge drinking, with their massively discounted sales of alcohol. ”

--------- Illegal behaviour or bad behaviour is an ill, and that is all that can be said. If someone goes to a pub and gets tanked up, the landlord does not follow them home to make sure they are out of harm’s way; they simply make a profit. Anyway, it is not for any self-appointed real-ale gurus to start using binge drink arguments to support their spurious ideas of protecting pubs. ----------

--------- Actually, I’d go back to what I said – Camra arguing that government-enforced price increases on alcohol will help stop binge drinking is bullshit.-------

Roger Protz describes the relationship between big brewers and supermarkets as, “the economics of the mad house. Coors, the American giant that now owns the former Bass breweries in Britain, has seen its profits halve in recent years – mainly as a result of the deep discounts demanded by the retailers.

------ When a monopolistic giant gets its profits reduced by the demands and choice of customers, it is “the economics of a madhouse.” Roger must be furious when those great friends of ornery folk, the breweries, get subject to the market. His “economics of a madhouse” bit seems either badly edited from a fuller article, or is weak; actually, I think it's just weak - and in defence of frigging Coors! Cheeky so-and-so using a lefty cliche to defend Coors profits!---------

“One solution is for England and Wales to follow the example of the Scottish government and consider a minimum pricing policy for alcohol sold in the off-trade. Urgent action is needed to help save that great British institution – your friendly, neighbourhood local. ”

-------Nobody that I have spoken to in England would support any such campaign.--------

Foodbev http://foodbev.com/ArticleDetail.aspx?contentId=1510

comments between hyphens by me.

David Ruaune

Google Con

2008-06-14T07:24:00.001+01:00

Anyone wishing to earn money through Google AdShare, please be aware that they can take you in and spit you out without warning. Although there was nothing untoward with the MyPubguide account, they decided not to pay us for advertising. Unfortunately, the Yahoo scheme does not operate without a United States social security number. Therefore, it is not an option to non-Americians.

Nonetheless, we do not depend upon scruffy banners to fund our great website. We might seek other sources of advertising income. In no way does this affect prices or policy.

Most Common Pub Names

2008-06-07T13:04:00.001+01:00

The actual counts for pub names are in brackets. Of course, counts include derivatives. So, it might be likely that some pubs have 'Inn', 'Arms', etc., after:

1 Red Lion (482)
2 Royal Oak (439)
3 Crown (431)
4 Rose and Crown (317)
5 White Hart (293)
6 White Horse (257)
7 New (244)
8 Plough (230)
9 Swan (223)
10 Queens Head (223)
11 Kings Head (214)
12 Prince of Wales (197)
13 Wheatsheaf (191)
14 Black Horse (180)
15 Bell (174)
16 Coach and Horses (173)
17 George (164)
18 Fox and Hounds (152)
19 Ship (146)
20 Railway (146)
21 Rising Sun (144)
22 White Lion (142)
23 George and Dragon (139)
24 Hare and Hounds (138)
25 Kings (134)

Interview with John Clarke, CAMRA

2008-06-07T12:40:00.001+01:00

An exclusive interview with a spokesman for CAMRA:

Damien Crowley said...

On CAMRA’s website, we see their position on pub houses. It states as its first aim that CAMRA is committed “Conservation of our existing pubs”. It then continues: “While planning permission is needed to convert pubs into homes, full planning permission is not normally required to demolish a pub or convert a pub into a shop or restaurant. CAMRA wants to prevent pubs being demolished or converted to another use without planning permission. It is after all only right that local people are given a chance to object to the loss of their local pub.” Why do CAMRA have unconditional support for "local" pubs?

John Clarke said...

Indeed I helped formulate the proposal, adopted a few years ago, that campaigning for pubs should be put on an equal footing as campaigning for real ale. I'm not sure whether you think this is a good thing or a bad thing. I would say that we generally support good local pubs - I'm sure that we could both list some local pubs that leave a great deal to be desired. And of course, our remit is real ale, we won't be banging the drum for pubs that don't sell it - although we will, were appropriate, encourage them to do so.

I don't know about CAMRA nationally but all I can say locally is that we certainly do not have unconditional support for all local public houses (see some of the less than kind comments in the Stagger articles for example).

I think I should just mention that we do sometimes mention less than ideal (or even keg-only) pubs if we are trying to prevent, say, the unnecessary alteration or demolition of an important heritage pub.

Damien Crowley said...

There can be good reason for the demolition or conversion of a building, especially with jarring housing issues. However, I fear that conversation would take us well outside the remit of real ale.

John Clarke said...

There is of course often a good reason for pubs closing. However on the other hand, particularly in rural areas, many perfectly viable pubs have been the subject to sudden and arbitrary change of use applications by people who have bought them not with a view to running them as pubs but to convert them into housing. Sometimes this can be the last pub in a community and I see nothing wrong with trying to prevent such losses where it is appropriate.

Just because we have a policy of general support for "the pub" it does not mean that we will actively campaign for the retention of every pub everywhere - there are many local examples of pubs closing where we haven't made any sort of fuss at all. I think it's fair to say though that almost any pub closure must be a cause for some regret - a poor pub can always improve but a closed pub is (usually) gone for ever. On the other hand though, there are some area that are clearly overpubbed and the winnowing out of the weaker ones may boost the chances of the remaining, usually better run, establishments. It's not always a black and white issue.

Damien Crowley said...

You hit upon the idea of a ‘Good Pub’. There are other factors that need to be taken into consideration, such as, whether the bar staff act reasonably or responsibly. I grant that it is necessary that a pub must sell real ale for it to be good pub. A good pub also has a lot to do with bar staff customer interaction and, say, family friendly policies. Incidentally, why does Opening Times award "pub of the month" to public houses that do not have family friendly policies?

John Clarke said...

Pub of the Month is awarded locally to licensees who we consider are working hard to run a good pub. The award is discussed and voted on at our monthly branch meeting (that's Stockport & South Manchester branch). Some will have family friendly policies and some won't. Pubs, good and bad, come in all shapes and sizes.

Damien Crowley said...

I agree; however, I have also noticed a tendency for the best pubs to be family friendly. Of course, there are exceptions to the rule. For example, Porter’s Railway is an exceptional pub but it has a no children policy. This is an aspect that I find to displeasing but other than that, the pub is flawless.

John Clarke said...

Generally speaking I don't think anyone locally who would disagree with anything you say here - I certainly don't.

Damien Crowley said...

The Stockport Opening Times for Stockport & South Manchester branch of CAMRA is rumoured to have Robinson's bias. Surely, this cannot be true?

John Clarke said...

That statement does not match the facts. There is no Robinson’s bias; taking the two years from January 2006, Pub of the Month awards have gone to the following:

Hydes - 6
Pub Cos (various) - 7
Robinsons - 3
Marstons - 1
Cains - 1
Porters - 1
Holts - 2
Free Houses - 2
Wetherspoons - 1
There are in fact only three cask Sam Smith pubs in the branch area. The last time one of those was Pub of the Month was November 2005. (In fact we only have four Wetherspoon too; one of those was Pub of the Month in August)

Robinson’s is one of our local family brewers and it produces large amounts of cask beer which is sold in some excellent community locals. I am quite happy to plead guilty in promoting all of that.

Damien Crowley said...

Thank you, interesting statistics – Those distributions show no Robinson’s bias.

Quick Metropolis Search

2008-04-20T10:39:00.002+01:00

With a little bit of thought, one might realise that there are less than seventy cities in UK and only a few more metropolises. The idea of navigating through countless towns and counties seems odd in retrospect. All anyone needs are links like those founds on our home page.

Wetherspoon 2008 festival

2008-04-01T23:16:00.001+01:00

More later on Wetherspoon 2008 festival

Happy Easter

2008-03-23T15:37:00.002Z

Happy Easter to you all – I am feeling fatigued for some odd reason. I have not been over doing it with the beer. I have been taking it easy for a while. I would be tempted to venture out to a public house but it is Local Fool Day. This is the day when all outsiders (regulars or not) are excluded in favour of those who have not entered a pub since they were barred this time last year. This collection of splods often includes only kith and kin of those who work behind a bar. With such discrimination as this, it is no wonder that so many pubs are closing their doors.

Under New Management

2008-03-14T12:54:00.002Z

My Pubguide is under new management. We have agreed to continue the option to curse a public house. This option is available for each public house on our website. We hope that you have fun using this option.

Cinema Listings

2008-02-08T20:55:00.001Z

It is now possible to view what is showing at the cinema from the details page of any public house. For example, this is what you can see when you click the cinema link, when in the railway public house in Portwood, Stockport: Cinema Link.

Manchester Beer Festivals

2008-01-20T19:11:00.000Z

Yesterday, I went into Manchester. There were several beer festivals, namely, the CAMRA’s National Winter Ales Festival and the one at the Smithfield. Red Rat was available, as well as beers from Bank Top. It is worth mentioning that Smithfield festival was admission free.

My experiences at the Winter Ales festival were rather mixed. There were a few people worth talking, but there were too many students at the event. They were sprawled all over the floor in the hall downstairs. One young Cockney chap even attempted to steal my glass.

Students paid less for admission than I did myself. Price discrimination is frankly unjustified. In fact, considering the price of the beers, even an admission fee was unjustified. The stewards were particularly unhelpful too.

To hark back, most beers appeared overpriced, particularly the foreign ales, despite that there were no fruit beers on draught. I find £3.20 per pint to be rather excessive. It is a shame that CAMRA do not endorse a fair pricing policy. However, Otley brewery had their O8 available; needless to say that it is an 8% percent beer. O8 and good conversation made the Winter Ales festival a worthwhile visit.

User Specific Accounts

2008-01-17T09:04:00.000Z

In April, we will add user-specific accounts but retain the ability for anonymous users to comment on public houses. With the new user accounts, users shall be able to personalise their accounts, i.e., re-skin or re-theme pages. We are especially conscious that different users prefer a different feel to a website. We recognise that preferences are important to our users. Users will be able to change the feel of this website for themselves while browsing.

Interview with CAMRA Spokesman

2008-01-11T00:51:00.001Z

The first article of 2008 is an exclusive interview with John Clarke from CAMRA Stockport and South Manchester branch. He addresses what CAMRA means by support for public houses as well as other topics.

Pub Tags

2008-01-04T22:51:00.001Z

Soon we will add the ability to tag a pub house, with tags, such as: rock, student, real ale, etc.

Affiliate Programme

2008-01-04T22:45:00.000Z

In March 2008, we launch our Affiliate Programme - We will include more details on this topic within the month.

Proximity Search

2008-01-04T22:26:00.000Z

With geo-coordinates for each postcode stored in our database, it was easy to add a "nearby" proximity search feature. This feature is available from each public house page. Here is a simple example: Howard Arms.

Geograph.org.uk API

2008-01-04T22:10:00.000Z

We have applied for the Geograph.org.uk API. It would allow our developers to embed photos direct into MyPubGuide. A filter can be applied to only show pictures that are relevent to each pub or show the area.

Area Statistics for Public Houses

2008-01-04T22:04:00.000Z

It is always beneficial to be safe when entering an area about which you know little. I have not ventured across an online pub guide website which considers whether a public house is in a good or bad area. This information is available, if one knows from where to obtain it. Over the next week or two, this information will be included per public house page on approximately 90% of the pubs registered with MyPubGuide. MousePrice.com could provide house prices in the postcoded area. However, we deem this to be excessive.

Weatherbonk.com

2008-01-04T21:46:00.000Z

Having examined the Google API, MultiMap, and the forthcoming OpenSpaces, I noticed that they provide the means to directly display a map for each public house. However, googlemapsmania were instrumental to inform users that of mashups. Mashups available through organisations, such as, weatherbonk offer maps with more features. We opted for these. Now, a map-weather mashup is available on each pub page.

List of Distilleries

2008-01-04T21:39:00.000Z

Happy New Year - It has been noticed that many pub guides online do not include as much as a list of distilleries or producers of liquors. It is out intention here to include such searchable website links and the like within MyPubGuide. Please feel free to check this site again at the end of the month for the inclusion of this feature.

Merry Christmas

2007-12-25T06:54:00.000Z

Christmas has arrived; the MyPubGuide website has been alive for less than five days. The website traffic has been magnificent. I would like to than you all. I have exciting plans for the new year too. Here is a feature that rarely appears on other pub websites, it show the latest pubs to be add to the MyPubGuide database - Enjoy!

Pub Search Works

2007-12-09T12:19:00.000Z

The MyPubGuide.com website is almost complete. It will be released on 20th December 2007. Pub search and comments facilities are functional. Please test them!

In the Language of the Real Ale Twat?

2007-11-10T22:28:00.000Z

We all love Viz magazine and their Real Ale Twats strip. However, the following is a rough list of phrases used in beer reviews. It is surprising that the language used is unsophisticated. I have plans to employee someone to write an application for Pocket PC, which transposes questions in each of category (below) into Real-Ale-Speak.

Constitution
------------
(heroic) full-bodied character

Smell
-----
(inviting) hop aroma
malty aroma
delightful floral aroma
citrus hints on the nose
hop flower nose
subtle hoppiness
(strong) hoppy aroma
citrus notes in the aroma

Colour
------
Light
(full) golden / amber colour
straw coloured
(very) dark
red hued
pale coloured
reddish colour

Flavour (Dominating)
------------------
(biscuity) malt flavour
roast flavour
full (malt) flavour
fresh spicy hop notes
nutty palate

Flavour (Underlying)
--------------------
hints of caramel
hints of chocolate
hints of citrus
hints of fruit
hints of malt
underlying hoppiness
fruit notes
hints of citrus on the palate
subtle hoppiness
subtle bitterness
zesty notes
smoky flavours

Aftertaste
----------
(dry) hoppy finish
(dry) bitter finish
bitter aftertaste
nutty finish
malty finish
(dry) moreish finish
fruity aftertaste

Aftertaste (Duration)
---------------------
long-lasting
long
slight
lingering

Other Keywords and Phrases
--------------------------
quaffable
satisfying
refreshing
(satin) smooth
easy-drinking
rich
complex
deep
beautifully crafted
glorious
distinctive
well-balanced
surprisingly uncomplicated
crisp
delicious

Counting Down

2007-11-10T18:43:00.000Z

Excellent! I have a few minutes to spare. I have a few thoughts running through my head at the present. I think the Hobgoblin from Wychwood Brewery that I am presently drinking is helping. It has been a hectic week, as one might expect when balancing several projects at once.

The MyPubGuide.com website is due to be finished sometime next month. If you have not had the chance to take a look at it yet then you might benefit from having a brief look at some of the services on offer. I have been looking forward to the launch for almost a year now.

Free The Hops

2007-11-10T17:50:00.000Z

Asheville Beer Blog has been instrumental to mention that Alabama still has a few draconian laws on the percentage limit of alcohol (6%). Free The Hops is an awareness group that has been set up against such unjustifiable nonsense. I wish the best for their campaign.

What else is new? Chris is out to save the world with his new book on coffee beans - Brian gives advise to lager brewers - Brookston Beer Bulletin gives its brief analysis on the successful re-launch of the Stella Artois website - Flossmoor Station win third prize - The chap at Hail the Ale tells us about the man who dialled 911 because he had run out of beer.

Wetherspoon Beer Festival: So Far So Good

2007-11-04T18:11:00.000Z

On Thursday 1st November, I thought that I would take the opportunity to join in the JD Wetherspoon beer festival. Not long after 9am, I was enjoying two of my old favourites: Old Disreputable from 3 Rivers Brewery and Jouster from Goffs.

Later that day, I tried the Sneck Lifter from Jennings and Terra Firma from Everards. Despite the image of Wetherspoon being a public house chain with a wholly lumpen proletarian clientele, this was certainly not the impression that I experienced while at one of their establishments, the Stockport one.

The next day, I added the Banks's Salute and the Flying Shuttle from Thwaites Brewery. These are two excellent beers. However, this morning, I indulged in Old Slug Porter from RCH Brewery Centurion's Ghost from York Brewery. You might find a story about the centurion's ghost itself on a previous post of mine, failing that do a search for the old treasury near York Minster.

RCH Old Slug Porter - The slug has an endearing face. It looks a little that creature from farscape. It just had to have one after I had already drank two of prize beers. I am supposed to meet someone at the big Protestant Church but I have this thick and enticing dark beer in my midst.

Bloody Shocking

2007-10-28T19:43:00.000Z

An odd story to follow: serendipitously while in an auction, I bought red wine and red after shock. I intended to mull the red wine. However, sadly I discovered that I had no mulling syrup left, which I normally buy from majestic. I attempted to make do with some muslin sacks of mulling spices but the wine was not sweet enough. As a last resort, I put the red after shock in with the wine. I was amazed at the results. I have called the drink “Bloody Shocking”. Please feel free to try it and you shall see why.

Three Days in UK Viking Capital: York

2007-10-14T14:03:00.000+01:00

Written 27 January 2005 in the Days When People Could Smoke in Pubs

Precursory Decisions

Not possessing a driver’s licence is not exactly a disadvantage. The idea that it gives a person considerable freedom is one that anyone could challenge. However, it does leave one at the mercy of the railways.

Given experience of travelling by train, we stayed at a guesthouse in York for two nights. This seemed more preferable than travelling back and forth. Factors considered were comfort, price, child-friendliness, and proximity to the city centre of York itself. We opted to pay £117, for two nights of bed and breakfast for two adults with a child.

Having arranged the accommodation, I booked tickets through The Trainline. At present, one might obtain a return train ticket from Manchester Piccadilly to York for as little as £16.50. Neglecting the time it takes to travel into Manchester, the journey there took over two hours. It took even longer to return. Albeit the driver professed to apologise on the part of First Transpennine, he gave no apology. Moreover, despite that, one might reserve seat, the company did not physically display reservations notes for seats. From personal experience and those of others, it appears to be a typical practice for this organisation.

First Impressions

When we arrived, there were no queues for taxis outside of the station. I was pleased to see the array of taxis and suspected that at least one driver would know the way to the guesthouse. We walked to the front of the fleet of cabs. I asked if the driver knew the particular street where we were destined. He almost looked insulted that we might expect him not to know. I continued to explain that in Manchester, it is not untypical to find drivers who do not speak English let alone know the area. In fact, on many occasions, I have been at pains to give directions street-by-street to a so-called cabbie.

As we drove, I felt at ease with the aesthetics of the city. Before I saw the guesthouse, I noticed the rubbish and graffiti opposite. However, inside is faultless. The host was helpful to provide us with a map and other information. Of course, we did not want to stay around the guesthouse for too long, as we wanted to see the sights that attracted us to York in the first instance.

First Meal

Facilities in the locality of the guesthouse were an important factor. The general store over the road contained child provisions, such as nappies. Adjacent to that shop was a bank with an ATM.

As we walked, I almost immediately noticed a choice-looking café. In fact, it appeared to be below the standard of eating establishments, to which I am accustomed. Most notably, it allowed people to smoke. Not only is smoking particularly filthy, it is considered, at least, to be unhygienic where food or children are concerned. Of course, we could have continued until we hit another café. Instead, we chose to stay, as the last of the smokers disappeared.

Saint Michael-le-Belfrey

After eating, we went into the centre. The cafe is on a main bus route. Bus tickets were 90 pence each and the vehicle was fully accessible, which means buggy friendly.

As soon as we saw the Bootham Bar, we decided to get off the bus. The Bootham Bar is quite striking. Nonetheless, several pictures of the Minster (not the cathedral) were in order.

However, we went inside the church, Saint Michael-le-Belfrey, where Guy Fawkes was baptised. It is free on entry (unlike most of the attractions in York). One of the hosts at the door had visited my home city and commented on its surrounding beauty.

In Michael-le-Belfrey, I espied a sculpture of a couple. The male in the structure resembles a chap who I used to drink with when I lectured at the University of Sunderland. Of course, there are traits of Isaac Newton in artwork of that era.

York Minster

A combined ticket for two to York Minster is presently £14. However, there is no
real accessibility to the crypt area. We were misled explicitly about it. The crypt area is rather disappointing. We spent all of five minutes down there. Nevertheless, the ground level is beyond aesthetically pleasing.

Nonetheless, considering centuries of efforts to build the Minster, there is nothing spiritually enchanting about the place whatsoever. This does not stop a person from enjoying the artwork and spending £15 or so in the gift shop after one’s visit.

We ate again in Wildes Wine Bar for under £20. I particularly wanted to eat at that point because I intended to attend the Ghost Walk that night. When I travelled back for the Ghost Walk, the weather was notably cold and wet. Therefore, I telephoned number advertised on the Ghost Walk poster. The answering machine states explicitly that the walk would happen whatever the weather. The Ghost Walk arrived in his top hat. However, he did not tour due to weather conditions and the modicum of people who had attended the event. Nevertheless, he distributed complimentary tickets for those who wished to attend the following evening. I did attempt to hide my disappointment.

Ghost Walk to York Arms

Considering the ghost man refused to tour, I went into the nearest public house, the York Arms. It is a Samuel Smith’s pub and serves Ayingerbrau D. Pils at £2.03 (5.9% alcohol).

Just before I ordered my drink, I noticed that the ghostly guide had arrived in the bar area. I invited him across and offered to buy him a drink. Immediately, he set about apologising for not running with the ghost walk.

However, he began to tell me stories over his ½ pint of cider preserve. I also gave him some information concerning themes that he had mentioned, e.g., Celtic Christians who buried people in walls, etc., as well as, locals who murdered large dogs to guard cemeteries. Moreover, I mentioned similarities in the stories who had told with those of the pubs in Altrincham and elsewhere. Nevertheless, he told me that the very public house where I was seat contained an often helpful ghost, not unlike the Cauld Lad of Hylton Castle.

He claimed that the most haunted public house in the city is the Golden Fleece. Naturally, I walked there and spoke to the staff about its ghosts. They professed that it is a body of nonsense.

More on Jorvik

Before the next day, I had found myself snipping at my hair. I thought that it would be an idea to book an appointment at West Row. I booked the appointment for midday. I spent over forty minutes in there. My tea was already cold before I felt like drinking it. However, it is the first proper haircut that I have had in the last year. The total price was £24.

The Cornish pasty shop was impressive, with its pasties priced at marginally under £2. I particularly fancied the beef and stout one, with reserving a cheese and mushroom one for later. I entertain that those pasties must be the most appetising outside of Cornwall itself.

This all led to a trip to John Bulls (I am sure that this is not the John Bull that Crowley scribbled about in Moonchild) and Culpeper on Low Petergate. We especially visited the Earl Grey Tea rooms on the Shambles. The cinnamon tea is second to none. However, it is an irritation that the tea in its loose form is not on sale to the public. I intend to track it down on Google at some point in the near future.

The Viking Jorvik Centre is excellent. Again it is far from free, £14 for two adults. I must confess that the mock Viking village is excellent. Some aspects of it are done in the most amusingly bad taste. In addition, I am sure that I saw Aleister Crowley in there:

When one leaves the village, he gets the chance to dress as a Viking. I ended-up looking like a moron. No-one bothered to tell me that there was a Viking backdrop behind me so that I might stand directly in front of it. It was fun nonetheless.

We managed to have a quick look at the grounds of York University, before we left for the guesthouse once more. I must confess that those grounds are well maintained and thankfully have toilets accessible to the public.

Ghost Walk at York Minster

When I returned to the centre, I noticed a crowd of people gathering for the Ghost Walk. The man I had spoken to the previous day was not there. Instead, I could see a female dressed as he was. Her attire resembled that of the Artful Dodger, considering the Dodger was male, this ensures that she shared similarities with the appearance of the stereotypical feminist-lesbian. I did not laugh at such a realisation. Instead, I set myself to enjoy the ninety-minute Ghost Walk. She covered stories on The Kings Manor, York Minster, The Treasurers House, Bedern, St. Saviours, and The Shambles. Afterward, I went back to the York Arms, where the barman later recommended a Chinese take away.

Last Day in York

The past two days had been spent on the North side of the river, without the slightest hint at crossing the River Ouse. In fact, most attractions on maps that we possessed seemed to be centralised to the Northwest of the city. It turned out to be an excellent idea to visit the rest of the city.

I settled bill guesthouse bill, £117 in total. We did a shortened version of the ghost tour, before eating again at the Earl Grey Tea Rooms on Shambles. As we left that part of the city, we noticed the shortest street in York, Whip-ma-whop-ma-gate. I had to laugh at the seemingly unpolitically correctness of such a street name.

We stumbled across the Merchant Adventurers’ Hall. It was not free on admission. Therefore, we declined to enter the hall itself, to enjoy the gardens. As we began to stray out of the tourist areas, we start to encounter vandalised areas of the city. In addition, someone had locked St Margaret’s church. It did not look safe enough to take pictures to take pictures around Walmgate Bar.

The place we visited in Walmgate before returning was St Lawrence's church. This place appears to be more likely to be visited by drug addicts than tourists are, as one scruffy chap, we saw there, could testify.

We also ventured over the other side of the River Ouse. We noticed the boat trips, which according to information contained in pamphlets we read are not supposed to be running in January.

We cut up by a church to find ourselves at the Tanner Row Inn. I asked for directions to the railway station, where we noticed the York Model Railway. I did not enter, as my son would probably have wrecked the place. Shortly after, we ate near Micklegate Bar for under £10. We arrived back at the train station of a typically delayed
train.

Beer Festival Report from the Duke of York, Romiley

2007-07-22T09:42:00.001+01:00

The beer festival at the Duke of York was lacking. The Cherry Bomb (6%) has already gone before we arrived. This meant that the only five percent plus beer was the “ghostly brew”. This tasted watery and below the standard of what I would expect even from a makeshift garden party. When the steward was confronted, he gave a gibberish answer over the condition of the beer. Apparently, it is difficult to “brew a hop beer without it being [watery] like that”. I will avoid beer festivals at this venue in future. Nonetheless, the drinks sold behind the bar in the public house itself were of their usual exceptionally standard.

Stockport Beer Festival

2007-06-03T08:52:00.001+01:00

The Stockport Beer Festival was exception. I managed to catch the event on the Saturday. That day of events was sponsored by the Porter Brewing Company. The array of real ales and ciders were second to none. Not only that, David Porter even provided a series of mini buses to take guests to his exceptional public house, The Railway, on Portwood.