1665. Sat 23/12/23: The Black Horse, Luton

Beer: Tring Colley’s Dog 5.2%

Busy, it is, down at TBH this festive Saturday afternoon. Andy H is back in again, that’s good – he appears to have wangled a time-share season ticket window from Dominic from Luton. I think it’s from Dominic from Luton. I’m not sure Dominic from Luton goes under the name of DfL anymore… but I’m pretty sure that’s who Andy has borrowed his season ticket from – and that the artist currently or formally known as DfL is a Hatter. Andy H moves in these arty circles, he does.

Not that we don’t do culture, oh yes – I extol the virtues of Richard’s House of Games (on the telly) and John says that Slow Horses is very good. Stick with it, is JtcfH’s suggestion.

Steve H, meanwhile, goes off on a tangent and starts riffing off about “drugs”. Drugs, eh? One does find tales of narcotic dabbling tiresome, usually. Steve carries it off with some aplomb, naturally. I’ll stick with booze for my personal dubious habit, thank you. That, and football. 

1237. Sat 26/2/22: The Black Horse, Luton

Beer: Tring Colley’s Dog 5.2%

Pre LT v Derby. It’s a pleasant day, it seems that spring has sprung; the football, meanwhile, acts as a merciful distraction from giant marauding bear on the continent… until I bring the war up in conversation. It seems that nobody knows what the f*ck is going on.

Me brother and CJ decide to talk Dostoevsky, thus FREEZING me out of the conversation. It’s a cultural cold war, that’s what it is.

There’s Six Nations rugby (to ignore) on the telly.

In town there are large numbers of police and, preaching in George Streets environs, quite a few Christians. Not seen any Derby fans, but I’m sure there’s a few about.

Anyway, though these are troubling times, the fine weather – company – booze and the match to go to, are all quite comforting.

1255. Sat 2/4/22: The Black Horse, Luton

Beer: Tring Colleys Dog 5.2%

Pre LT v Millwall. Pub quite full. The Wkd boys are in, looking like they’ve aged a bit.

Steph fell down the stairs at home yesterday morning, and broke both her wrists. Apologies, this shouldn’t be in a pub blog but, effin ‘eck, wasn’t a good thing… gawd bless the NHS, natch. She’s at home today, in plaster.

Beautiful bright, but cold, day. It’s nice. It’s nice, frankly to step out of the carer role I’ve taken up in the last 18 hours or so. I’ve got plenty of weeks of that to look forward to; and a new (real) job as well.

Atmosphere, pre-Millwall match, is surprisingly tension light. There’s not much tension as regards the Town’s promotion push either. If we win, all well and good. If we don’t… do we really want to go up to the Premier League? We don’t seem ready for that jump… but will we ever?

Anyway, I’m going straight back home to my ailing partner after the match – so details of the post-match imbibing down the Brickies will make up episode 1255b, by me brother.

1536. Sat 1/4/23: The Black Horse, Luton

Beer: Tring Colley’s Dog 5.2%

LT v Watford. Early kick-off. Morning pints.

Huge game, natch. I do hope we don’t lose.

I’ve gone entirely deaf in my right ear. Very odd (and very, it turned out, temporary). Have doused the offending orifice with olive oil this morning and am hoping for the best – and having to explain that I really can’t hear what you’re saying, sorry.

I catch some chat: it’s of birds and pubs and red dots (have you seen our map?), and of Watford fans forced to make the journey on Harry Potter liveried coaches… not the most dignified way to travel to the local rivals. Funny, mind.

Teams are pinged to devices. The consensus is that our team looks good. I do hope we don’t lose.

Johnny H gets wistfully nostalgic over his DJ stints back in the day, and specifically Sunday morning jazz in pubs. There is something, John suggests about the sound of jazz bass reverberating round floorboarded rooms – of sunlight streaming through windows and of the sweetly stale smell of last night’s beer. Beautiful bit of evocative prose from the Crazyfish, he’s another bona fide poet on the quiet, is John.

By 12:05pm the pub has almost cleared. It’s not a noon kick-off is it? No, the Kenny bound crowds on Telford Way put minds at ease. Hope we don’t bloody lose.

1257. Fri 15/4/22: The Black Horse, Luton

Beer: Tring Colleys Dog 5.2%

Pre Town v Notts Forest – noon kick-off, LIVE on Sky (the bastards).

Get to bid the barstaff a “good morning” again.

First in, so grab a table.

John in, telling of his new Ukrainian lodger – and good for him. Paul in, then CJ, then SW and AJK.

Daffs in a little Cognac bottle vase sits on the table, somewhere betwixt flowering and dying… but, hey, aren’t we all?

Unsurprisingly the pub isn’t as packed as it would’ve been in the afternoon, but there’s a decent amount of punters in.

Town lost at Huddersfield on Monday, and Forest are the team in form at the moment. We seem to be limping our way to the playoffs. Nobody seems overly optimistic about the outcome today

1552. Tue 16/5/23: The Black Horse, Luton

Beer: Tring Colley’s Dog 5.2%

Straight out of my town central working environs to TBH. I’m here first. Prior to LT v Sunderland play off second leg. It’s busy. Not packed, but all the seats are taken… apart from that horrible little table by the lavs. I commandeer that.

Guys arrive. GUYS! Steve H and CJ first in. They start talking about the differences between dinosaurs and birds – and the differences between dinosaurs and birds and mammals. It’s all about blood. It’s all in the nucleuses. Of course it is. Bloody nerds. I love these people.

Banal chat and jukebox picks prick the tension bubble quite nicely, thank you. Good, the pub, innit?

1046. Mon 31/8/20: The White House, Luton

Beer: Tring Colleys Dog 5.2%

Summer Bank Holiday. The last “Eat out to help out” day. The eateries of central Luton are doing a marvellous trade. So too the JDW. It’s not rammed full, but it’s clearly busier than normal. Dealing with the extra trade seems to have compromised bar cleanliness somewhat – loads of glasses of lager, apparently discarded, on the bar. The shuffling incoherent rigmarole of the covid bar service queuing system also seems an irksome extra bother when it’s busy.

I’m in bank holiday fug myself. Left to my own devices on these days, I tend toward the anonymity of this cavernous, uncaring pub. Here I can get quietly soused, have an early night – and be up and ready early in the morning to get to the gym before work: in a job which latterly has more than a whiff of the temporary about it.

Anyway, all that said, and typically of the Spoons’ and Tring Brewery – the beer is excellent.

877b. Sat 24/11/19: The White House, Luton

Beer: Tring Colley Dog 5.2%

The Filmstock reboot may only have taken place over one weekend, but I’m filmed out. Having tried to cling onto a Milford Graves documentary, I flee at the prospect of the awards ceremonies. Don’t like ‘em. Not because the people involved don’t deserve a pat on the back, but there’s too much risk and a sense of summation, which I always associate with an ending. Sometimes, endings are welcome. Not so Filmstock.

That said, and before the last film, I need a detox.

The Whitey’s doing a pretty good trade for a Sunday night. I find a long table where no one else has sat. The hubbub is indistinct. A good enough setting for me to get through what’s been a pretty challenging book. It, along with my google eyes over the last few days and everything else has left me feeling a little spacey. 

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.

892. Sat 21/12/19: The Black Horse, Luton

Beer: Tring Colley’s Dog 5.5%

Pre-Town v Swansea. Pub reasonably full but me brother and Andy W and Steve H have the table at the front. On stage is the painted backdrop of the annual one-off BH panto (last night). Helen was in it this year and invited us via messages on devices… which I didn’t pick up until this morning.

The Black Horse panto is something of an institution in this part of the town, and maybe we should deign to cross the tracks and give it a look. Me brother is losing faith with this (All the pubs) project, rather bemoaning its diary/self-referential style. It’s a pertinent point: the whole subjective/objective argument. Write subjectively and why should anyone care what I think/do/drink? But try and write objectively and what do I know?

It is never the same beer. That’s an essay I should write up anon.

In the meantime, he seems a little keen that I photograph his new beard. It’s nicely done, nicely grey, but what can I do with that pic? Well, it’ll be under consideration for the Dec 2021 calendar if I do one, but it won’t be Christmassy enough. It won’t be eligible for posting on the web blog, if that’s still going, ‘cause it is too personal/referential. It may well get printed up for the scrapbook edition of this blog… this project works for me in some respect because it is multi-faceted; there’s the writing, the blogging, the photography and the scrapbook/moleskine collection.

I suggest that by all means, he ought to change the style of his reports whenever he sees fit. Poetry, morse, braille… whatever floats his boat at the time.