Things are certainly not easy at the moment in the world of pubs and beers, but even amidst a difficult and uncertain backdrop, it is heartening to discover that there are still some good news stories.... We have become used to hearing about pubs and breweries closing down ( only in the past couple of days it has emerged that long-established Cornish brewers Skinners have called in the administrators ), but even in these difficult times there are still some good news stories about that lift the spirits and gladden the heart. In the last few days, news broke that a much-loved brewery that had closed earlier in the year has been bought and will start brewing again, whilst I have been along to a couple of pubs that for different reasons had closed, but have re-opened in recent months, reinvigorated and raring to go. Shockwaves were felt across Sheffield and way beyond the South Yorkshire city when the closure of the much-loved Kelham Island Brewery due to financial pressures was announc
I recently took a short trip across the Pennines to visit one of the largest towns in Lancashire and check out some of the pubs in an area with a rich and fascinating history. Here's what I found.... Oldham doesn't generally get a load of great press these days, but I have to say I have always had some affection for this former cotton town which sprawls across a large area to the north east of Manchester before it climbs towards the Pennine hills. A proud town, with solid roots borne out of the Industrial Revolution, the mills and associated industries that grew up around them gave the town some heft in the 19th and well into the 20th century. For a time, it was the world centre for cotton manufacturing: in 1871 the town had more spindles than anywhere else in the world other than the United States but having reached its peak in the 1920's with up to 360 mills in operation, the industry began a slow decline through the rest of the 20th century, although it continued to attr