1052a. Fri 18/9/20: The White Hart, Arundel

Beer: Harveys Best 4.0%

Day trip to Arundel from our holiday base in Chichester. Everything’s posh down this way, though there’s no denying Harveys Best is a solid, decent pint. 

The White Hart is charming and has made the best of what looks as if it was either an old car port or drive round to the back. It’s now a more than acceptable garden space, and for a mid afternoon on a Friday, there’s a pleasant ambiance, aided by the informative bartender.

A break between the castle and train journey home. Anj’s phone is telling us there are no trains for at least two hours. I could see the damned things walking down the hill. Who’s the smart one, eh? Me or Samsung?

I keep the question to myself.

Otherwise, the highlights of the visit are the aforementioned bartender, who rushes out to one of the punters with a bag of barbecue stuff he – the punter – had left indoors. Presumably at the bar. And there’s an Irish fellow, smoking a fag, checking dinner arrangements and sorting out a £30 on a 3/1 bet in the last race at Newbury.

(I checked. The last race’s favourite seems likely to be Irish’s horse. Inclyne’s betting closed at 11/4, though the horse finished in third place, two lengths behind Pledge of Honour and a length and a half behind second placed Kattani).

1048. Fri 4/9/20: The Bricklayers Arms, Luton

Beer: Massey’s Golden Bitter 4.1%

Back from a Friday night wander over the tracks to the newly reopened Black Horse, we retire to the Brickies with Ginger John in tow.

We’ve somehow lost Leighton, who has gone to The Black Horse looking for us. After a further exchange of text messages we catch up with each other. Both front and back bars are quite well populated so, given that there’s no smokers in – we go to the smokers’ area. It’s fine there. The outdoor furniture is a bit rubbish.

Leighton explains that he’s been called a “Roadman” by his daughter – and is keen to know what a roadman is. It’s apparently a drugs term. Arsenal fanman Iain has those facts at his fingertips, and can also explain the vocational reporting structure of the contemporary urban drug supply concern. It’s interesting stuff although, personally, not very.

We talk about piles too – which is far more pertinent, but no more interesting.

1049. Mon 7/9/20: The Castle, Luton

Beer: Robinsons Trooper 4.3%, Wychwood Hobgoblin 4.5%

Late afternoon on a Monday, The Castle is a great old boy – and old girl – boozer. There’s quite a few in, apparently taking a break from shuffling round the Arndale. Tables full of pensioner topers. I sit outside, where a small group of CAMRA old timers are holding court. Noisily.

I plug into a podcast to drown them out: The Fighting Temeraire edition of In Our Time.

The Trooper isn’t great.

The Hobgoblin is appreciably better.

The music, back in the pub, is rather too loud – and appears rather too catered for the pub’s traditional Friday night crowd: who are generally (though not uniformly) younger than those folk populating the pub now.

Still, to their credit, they’ve got a decent covid compliant queue and track and trace and one way system.

I follow the arrow; shuffling back outside, to listen to Melvyn and his guests enthuse over JMWT.

1051a. Mon 14/9/20: The Shore Inn, East Wittering, Chichester

Beer: Langham Hip Hop 4.0%

A walk up the south coast, from the sandy beach of West Wittering to the pebbles of East Wittering. It’s hardly a marathon hike or anything, but we’re in need of refreshment and The Shore Inn is handily placed.

Not a bad pub. Could do with a little more character, but this is a big place catering for passing holidaymakers, one suspects, more so than for the locals. There’s food, queues, a low ceiling and cackling, but also a bit of space. The beer clip looks a little iffy, but the Hip Hop is pretty good.

Anj may or may not be on the lookout for local celebs. Keith Richards lives round these parts. The table next to us – from where much of the cackling originates – covers a few topics, most notably old copies of The Beano and Private Eye which one of the blokes has knocking around in the loft. His wife (I assume it’s his wife….) tells him she’d have sold them had she known about them.

1047. Fri 4/9/20: The Black Horse, Luton

Beer: Tring Colleys Dog 5.2%

Erstwhile landlord Chris has left The Black Horse but it has opened up post-lockdown, which is a relief. Tuesday now runs the pub. They’ve painted the walls from green to white, which seems a good move. Only one beer on tonight, but it’s a goodie.

Me brother and I wander down, across the tracks and through town.

The pub is quiet but Helen is in – as is Ginger John. Lovely to see them too.

Helen’s made some keyrings, which are excellent: apparently Steve W has bought us all one – so that’ll be nice.

It’s a good convivial start to the evening – we’re off after a couple to meet Leightron at the Brickies. I don’t make many notes: though John’s aversion to The Who, and specifically their Quadrophenia soundtrack, is documented.

1048b. Sun 6/9/20: The Three Blackbirds, Flamstead

Beer: Tring Side Pocket for a Toad 3.6%

Bike stop. I’d wanted to try The Rose and Crown in Trowley Bottom, though it looks closed. As does The Spotted Dog. I’m not sure why, but I feel a little defeated settling for The Three Blackbirds – I’ve never been to any of Flamstead’s drinking establishments, but this one always seems the least promising.

Things looked reasonably ok as I was locking my bike up. I caught the conversation of a couple, her telling him she rode horses but couldn’t cycle, because the type of balance you needed was different.

Inside is busy and the barmaid is distracted while serving me. I hesitate over a seat indoors, but end up outside, too close to a loud family. Mum’s voice carries the farthest. She’s extolling the virtues of legs of lamb, though not without qualification – while usually you can feed ten on one leg, on one occasion, she had to throw the whole damned thing away, for reasons I didn’t quite catch.

One of her kids wears an Arsenal top. Number seven. Mum comes to collect him on the family’s way out. She looks kempt and has long, blonde hair. Very different to how I had imagined her.

1050a. Fri 11/9/20: The Bricklayers Arms, Luton

Beer: Leighton Buzzard Vimy Bomber 4.3%

As normal a Friday night as we’ve had, so far since lockdown. Chat is a little gloomy to start with – economic prospects are rotten. We try and play the quiz machine. It’s drunk and badly aligned – we have to stab to the left of where we need to stab and hope for the best. Games of skill are off limits, so we have a go at the quiz games.

We don’t win against the caricature computer generated couples, one of which has a broad shouldered guy with withered arms, and the other we’ve long suspected are in a very happy, fairly highbrow same sex lady-affair. Lesbians. There, I’ve said it. Lesbians.

AP joins us. The quiz machine often draws him, though we’re long done this time. He and I chat about how he got into music. A similar story to mine, though a few years later. Not many, but it might as well be. AP’s far more clued up on alternative bands and what have you than I am, and he and L8s are soon yabbering on about projects embarked upon by drummers of obscure Scottish bands that perhaps only the two of them have heard of.

1055. Sat 26/9/20: The Chequers, Caddington

Beer: Fuller’s London Pride 4.1%

Town were losing 1-0 at Vicarage Road when I left the gym, but didn’t listen in on my walk over Stockwood Park.

Once I’d done all the covid checks and sat down in the Chequers, I logged into my Ipad to see that Chris and Paul – who had bought a match pass – were quiet enough to suggest, deep into stoppage time, that nothing had changed. Then a barman (who’d be serving folk outside) came back into the pub announcing “they’ve equalised” to his colleague behind the bar. I was momentarily enthused, and was about to ask him – then it becomes clear he’s talking about Man Utd at Brighton… typical bloody Caddington.

I’ve pre-haircut time for two pints. I play on my device for the first, before making any notes, and then Carole and Roy arrive. Carole is in the village for a hair appointment, while Roy has been watching the match at Gill’s (Gill, Carole’s sister, lives in Caddington). Town, he says, were rubbish. Our talk is basically on the restrictions the ongoing pandemic is having on us all. They’re concerned over my redundancy risks – I assure them that I should be alright but, even if I’m not, I should be alright.

They’re drinking cokes. They offer me another pint, but I have to be gone. Service, though, is very good – I have, for the first time in my life, I reckon, in this country, a (two pint) tab.

Pay that, nick off, take an exterior snap of the pub, and head over the green to the hair salon.

1054a. Fri 25/9/20: The Bricklayers Arms, Luton

Beer: Slaters Premium 4.4%

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Beer: Slaters Premium 4.4%

In just very slightly later than normal. We’ve been to The Horse, but closing time’s at 10pm, so there’s a degree of urgency.

Just me and TPK out. I’ve pinched a mask from him on account of forgetting mine. There’s not much going on; a few familiar faces are in and I try and work out from AP if there are any decent pubs in Barton (sounds very likely not). We chat about the meaningless game in the week, where the Town lost 3-0 to Manchester United. Meh. Also, the Town are playing Watford in a first derby for ages. Herts Finest have locked Watford down and brought kick-off forward to 12.30. All of which kills any excitement we’d be feeling right now.

I miss out on the opportunity to buy take out. Too late; too dozy. Al and Nick keen to get the pub clear, so we’re out well before 10. 

1052. Fri 18/9/20: King William IV, Cockernhoe, Luton

Beer: Parkway Urban Myth 4.7%

On my last post-lockdown (pre-redundancy consultation) enforced holiday. I’ve spent most of the morning in bed with a cold. Was happy enough, having gone through initial Covid paranoia, that I didn’t have sinister symptoms; but, anyway, not exactly an ideal holiday.

The afternoon was reasonably pleasant though and, when up and about, I suggest to Steph that we take a walk to Mangrove Green. My Fitbit tells me that I need the steps.

Lovely walk. It’s starting to get a little chilly under the bright blue autumnal skies.

The KWIV is quite covid compliant – there’s a queueing system and a book to sign and, looking over at the handpumps, they’ve got Doom Bar on… but, mercifully, some other beers too – brewed by Parkway Brewery. Never heard of them before – but their beer’s fine.

We sit outside for the first. They used to play cricket on the field out the back. It looks to be back on arable detail now, but we should’ve made an effort to come in the summer… or was it last summer? One dodgy pint, way back when, has kept us out of this pub (latterly listed in the Good Beer Guide) too long.

The outside space is charming, but it’s getting cold so we go back inside. There we sit on a makeshift table near the door and adjacent to the old fireplace – where I take to photographing some of the old brasses on the ancient beams.

Over by the lavs a TV screen runs through ads for upcoming football matches – and the availability of hand sanitiser. It’s all quite laid back and pleasant – albeit in at atmosphere which seems like the calm before a renewed pandemic storm.

We discuss redundancy fears – and if/when we’ll ever get to Spain and The Czech Republic again.