A well crafted pub sign is part of the experience of visiting a pub, and often carries local significance. Pubs have long carried sporting links and cricket figures prominently on signs in England. The Bat and Ball in Hambledon, Hampshire is probably the most famous, the village being home to a club that was founded…… Continue reading The Unknown Cricketers
Kissing Gates in Sussex
No doubt about the highlight of this year’s Sussex Good Beer Guide entries. The Kissingate brewery specialises in dark beers that were simply spectacular. It’s run by Gary and Bunny Lucas and is accessed down a narrow country lane a few miles from Horsham. Just after your satnav loses faith you turn into Church Farm…… Continue reading Kissing Gates in Sussex
The Great Sheerness Relay
The next leg of our Kent trip saw a pass the parcel session in the micropubs of Sheerness, the parcel being the Maltmeister and myself. Definitely excess postage involved. Sheerness is an interesting place. It’s the most populated town on the Isle of Sheppey, bridged to the north coast of Kent. 40,000 people live in…… Continue reading The Great Sheerness Relay
Ales in the Dales
Just as Nostradamus said it would, November has become the peak month for pub ticking. Only five centuries earlier the boy from Provence predicted it would be an optimum time as most publicans wouldn’t take holidays in the run up to Christmas and the roads wouldn’t be clogged with holiday makers. They were just clogged…… Continue reading Ales in the Dales
The Wellington in Feltwell: Pub of the Year Material
The Wellington is a Norfolk pub named after the bombers that launched wartime missions from RAF Feltwell. The base is now home to US servicemen stationed at nearby RAF Lakenheath. Since refurbishment in 2014 landlords Chris and Chris have developed a manifestly high quality pub, the last in the village after two other, relatively recent…… Continue reading The Wellington in Feltwell: Pub of the Year Material
Self-service Beer in Nottingham
This is the Taphouse, a self-service bar in Nottingham. When I posted this picture on Twitter a number of people thought it was a urinal with tv screens, shrewdly anticipating the next big thing in the East Midlands. The twitter post also promoted an informed (apart from me) and lengthy discussion about the merits and…… Continue reading Self-service Beer in Nottingham
