Wild Idle

Not put off by Martin’s taxi surcharges in Llandudno – which he called a Cymru tax – I recruited him again in West Yorkshire. But this time the news was bad.

He had been to Idle the day before – the ultimate professional, he insists on doing a dummy run to every pub – and found it closed. The owners had taken a break for three days. He was wild, well mildly displeased. Ok then, philosophical.

I asked what he did instead, given he had walked two miles to get there. “I went foraging in Idle” he said. “What did you find?” There was a pause. “Three rosehips and a Turkish Delight” he admitted sheepishly, wiping away the remains of the latter from his upper lip.

Anyway he swept me through the delights of Pudsey, where the Citra in the Manor was quite glorious, and we returned to Idle half an hour before the scheduled opening and peered through the shutters. A few seconds later a we heard a cheery hello from Louise and an invitation to come in.

She introduced us to Jim, both the model of welcoming hosts. They were people with a plan and they were making the plan happen. The Idle Draper – close to the Idle Working Men’s Club, the subject of many a joke – is on two levels in a former draper. They have retained some of the old signage and even a mannequin.

It was really rather charming. Then Jim, a joiner to trade, acquired the building across the yard. He turned the ground floor into a 100 litre capacity brewery. On our visit two of his beers were on, including the fruity Cascade and the Gold, both 4%.

On the upper floor of the brewery he had created a cinema which is booked for community use and also hosts a men’s group, as they wanted to address men’s mental health issues in their community. The first time they showed a film one person turned up. Now there twenty five or more attend on a regular basis.

The whole place was a delight. Just not a Turkish one.