792b. Sat 14/9/19: The White House, Luton

Beer: Tring Citra Session 3.9%

The now-becoming customary pre-Bear check on the JW cheap pumps and Luton’s Spoons’ massive. It’s fairly quiet. It’s fairly early, after all, and St George’s Square is all lively and full of a Polish Festival. So, a Polish Festival and a hefty line up of UK jazzers down at The Bear, getting together to compose, perform and record brand new music. And it was Roald Dahl day in the library. For a dead end town where nothing ever happens, quite a lot is happening.

I order, hand over a 50p CAMRA/Wetherspoons voucher and the bar man calls me ‘friend’. I never know how to deal with such familiarity. Why has the barman called me friend? It doesn’t matter and is nailed on (pretty much) that this ‘friend’ is a figure of speech. But still, has my CAMRA association warmed this chap? He doesn’t really look the age or type.

The beer’s fine. Not so long ago, I’d’ve avoided a sub 4% beer for fear of lack of taste. And, yes, for potential lack of effect. I’d also have baulked at ‘Citra’, for fear of having an all out fruity assault on the old taste buds. This pint’s fine, however. I sit at the disruptive family table. Happily the disruptive family, who were very much here last time, aren’t this. 

797. Tue 24/9/19: The Black Horse, Luton

Beer: Derby Brewery Co Business As Usual 4.3%

See Steve H on Bute/Guildford Street Arndale exit, and join him for the meander up to Hastings Street. The pub is by no means full (neither was The Brickies on the way down), but there’s an acceptable midweek smattering. It’s Town v Leicester in the League Cup and expectations, since losing 3-0 at home to Hull on Saturday, have plummeted.

Anyway, Luke and his brother Mark are already in… John and his son in-(common) law next – then Paul… quite a crowd really. Exciting chat of the evening is that Luke’s thinking of taking up the running of a pub in Hitchin… he fields our excited/stupid ideas, questions and opinions with good grace. I’m extremely jealous of that aspiration – given its apparently casual viability…

New dog, chocolate lab, is all over us… no treats yet, but my bag did have roast chicken in it earlier.

Early evening light, this early autumn, is melting away. This stage area is a suntrap in the daytime but, without additional light, becomes steadily darker in the gloaming. It’s all quite nice and atmospheric, then someone turns the lights on.

796a. Sat 21/9/19: The Floating Bridge, Dartmouth

Beer: Exeter Brewery Ferryman 4.2%

Our first full day in Dartmouth this holiday. Bella, our dog, has gained her sea legs with her first trip on the Kingswear – Dartmouth ferry, piece of cake. Had a full English at a dog friendly caff (called Alfresco’s) where each dog gets a free sausage. 

Just a bit of pottering around, very busy with trippers doing the Paignton – Dartmouth steam and ferry boat combination. We had a quick stop at the Floating Bridge Inn for a half which is opposite the lower car ferry. The ferry runs on cables and it’s pulled along from one side to the other, hence the name of the pub.

Only a half as we were going to go on the little boat trip to Dittisham up the Dart. However, the weather took a slight turn for the worse so ditched that idea. Got the ferry back, some provisions from the local shops then back home and now chilling and keeping an eye on the Luton score updates.

813. Wed 9/10/19: Deutsches Haus. Av. Madrid, Benidorm

Beer: Warsteiner Premium 4.8%

We’re on the front at Benidorm for an afternoon paddle, like you do. We stroll along, marvelling at the deeply tanned and tattooed torsos all around. It’s HOT here in Benidorm in the first week of October.

Eventually we retire to this bar because A) Stephanie needs to use the facilities and B) German beer will make for something of a change won’t it?

The German beer does make for something of a change… but we don’t get so much change out of the German beer. It’s more expensive than the watering holes in the ex-pat part of town. It’s also just a tiny bit nicer in here; geared slightly, maybe, for the German tourist – but still very Benidorm.

782b. Thu 5/9/19: The Crush Bar, Luton

Beer: Backyard Brew Shedhead 4.6.%

Last Utter!, at least for a while, at The Crush Bar. It’s been fun.

No Lee Nelson tonight. The resident host is out and about, flaunting and preparing for his spot in the following night’s re-opening of the Hat Factory, the local arts centre. Gravesend James steps in on compere duties and does admirably.

This evening’s acts are a mixed bag. One of them may have suspected me of diddling her at the bookshop. (For my sins, I run the bookshop). The Former Deputy Mayor buys a copy of her book, has the writer sign it and gives me the money. I’m not sure the writer sees me handing the ex-DM’s change back; for a moment I think she thinks I’ve trousered it.

Oh well.

A few familiar faces and a few newer folk, here to cheer their buddies up on the stage. There’s a pretty relaxed vibe and atmosphere, which not even Lee can disturb on his return. The assembled throng seems to scatter pretty quickly, at the end of the evening.

797a. Wed 25/9/19: The Seven Stars, Dartmouth

Beer: Exeter Brewery Ferryman 4.2%

OK, I know my beer choices on this holiday aren’t varying much but Ferryman is such a good beer. I’m sure it would be a favourite of the other contributors to this blog and fellow drinkers – it’s brown, it’s bitter and it’s 4.2%.

Was recommended the pub by the owner of a nearby art gallery, he said it used to have a bit of a reputation but was under new management. I had a nice steak and kidney pie and chips. 

Oh, the holiday has been a disaster. Thought our dog Bella would enjoy her first holiday away with us but she has been ill with the squits and sickness pretty soon after we arrived. I have been sleeping downstairs with the dog (downstairs it’s laminate while upstairs it’s carpet, need I say more?). Trips and overnight stays at the vets, extra £900 cost to holiday.  Weather has been fairly poor too. Anyway, we decide later that day to go home early as we think it better that Bella is in familiar surroundings. 

The painting in the pub is of note, rather gloomy, fit our mood at the time.

800a. Sat 28/9/19: The Bricklayers Arms, Luton

Beer: Hook Norton Autumn Ways 4.2%

Back from Blackburn and an excellent, unlikely and very welcome 2-1 win. Everything looked a lot tighter and The Town kept Rovers at bay.

Good, again, to get off the Bobbers coach, though by now, the weather’s taken a huge turn for the worse. TPK and I pop into The Bricks for a quick one to round the day off. It’s not massively busy and nice and empty out back. I’m too hasty choosing beer, given TPK’s unfavourable review of two of his drinks the previous evening. HNAW was one of these. The new barmaid has trouble coaxing the damned stuff out of the pipes. It’s not in tip tip condition.

But no matter. We’re tired and pleased with the day’s football, especially on hearing that both MK and W*tford lost. Some chat about Millwall’s Just before leaving, I spot a stooped guy, with a canvas shoulder bag with headphone wires coming out of it. It’s like a mirror image.

A quick wave to our new Bobbers/Blackburn chums on the way out, into what’s now become flipping horrible rain.

794b. Fri 20/9/19: Pedras De Rainha Lido Bar, Tavira

Beer: Unicer Super Bock Original 5.2%

Holiday. The beginning of my annual readathon and catch up on rest and relaxation. Limited wifi in the complex and the need to keep up with various blog postings drives us to the hotspot areas. Bar or reception – the decision isn’t difficult.

There’s an eerie, end of season quiet about the place. The swimming pool gurgles and the Southampton versus Bournemouth game’s showing on the medium sized screen. The few people in are similarly coupled and gawping at devices. We sit for a while, before I take matters in hand. I get up and approach the waiter. He sees me coming and scurries off. The barman seems jovial enough and skilfully deflects and tries to correct a couple’s cheery destruction of the fundamentals of the Portuguese language through a phonetic Phrase Book mauling of some hapless phrase or other. 

799a. Sat 28/9/19: The Black Bull, Darwen

Beer: Three B’s Doff Cocker 4.5%

A relief to get off the Luton Town supporters bus. The Bobbers is a fine institution, though these journeys TPK and I occasionally pick are long and can feel claustrophobic. 

No better antidote, then, to stroll purposefully, out of Blackburn proper, uphill and in ominous looking weather, leaving the A666 behind us and speeding quick as we can past a closed and boarded up Methodist chapel and into The Black Bull.

We thought we were lost. I feared we may be claimed by witches, then with the pub covered in scaffolding, The Black Bull closed. Or taken over by supernature and builders. It wasn’t. The Bull, despite its out of the way location and possibly because of its glowing entry in The Good Beer Guide, is favoured by real ale football fans. It’s friendly, has a brewery out back, and a spare table – again unlikely – to which our new friends from the Bobbers invite us. They’re a lovely couple who we’d overtaken on the dash to the pub and who said they were following us….. 

Chat, inevitably, about football. We all fear defeat, would all take a draw and all wonder why the midfield has been rebalanced in recent games and the defensive muscle of Jacob Butterfield and/or Pelly Ruddock Mpanzu removed. It’s all very convivial. We can see the rain moving over the moors as we get ready to leave for the ground, which is tucked away, out of sight, but not so far away.

Excellent pub. TPK suggests I was a bit gushy thanking the barman for as much. He has a point.

Postscript – The Town won!

790. Thu 12/9/19: Temple Brew House, London

Beer: Essex Street Brewing Co Porter 4.5%

Post-Lord’s meander around town. It’s too hot to meander around town, but in town we are and I head us toward the Temple Brew House – a pub I’d visited, and been very impressed with, last Monday (see #782), on an early evening when I felt otherwise reasonable hot, bothered and generally peeved.

I’d been expecting to be less impressed this time round. Wasn’t. This time was better still. It’s a brew pub, and they had a brew on – smelled lovely in there. The beer is good, nay excellent, and at £4 a pint, cheap by London standards.

Ashes cricket on the telly. England are collapsing gently at the Oval. England is disintegrating woefully at Westminster.

Our tables are reserved at 17:30, which is fast approaching. I begrudge that, but not too much. We’ll stay put until Joe and his apparently sizeable party (he’s booked a number of tables) arrive. Joe Root? Anyway, five thirty comes and goes and no sign of Joe nor his pals.

Still, on the understanding that he’ll turn up sooner or later, we only have a couple. Shame… this is a very decent pub.