New blogging territory for me this time around as I headed over to Merseyside and what a great day I had in a town with some excellent community pubs that were chock full of superb beer and lovely, welcoming people.... My visits to St Helens have been very few and far between over the years. Indeed, my previous visits had all been to the former home of the town's rugby league team, Knowsley Road, back in the days in the 1980's and early 90's when I watched Halifax RLFC regularly. My most recent visit to the ground though had been in early summer 2008 for my then-boss's 40th. He was St Helens rugby-mad and had booked the executive suite at the ground for the event, which I remember principally for the fact I'd virtually completely lost my voice, the sales manager who fancied himself as a nightclub crooner claiming the mic during the karaoke and destroying various songs for what seemed like an interminable period, and repeated plays of Valerie by the Zutons which has...
A bit of a mixed bag this time around with some thoughts on rural pubs and a visit to a classic example of one that is still flourishing, a visit to a local beer festival, and some further consideration on beer scoring. It is actually better than it sounds, so please feel free to read on.... There was a piece in the local paper the other day under the headline ' Characterful countryside Halifax pub which dates back to the 19th century for sale ', which naturally piqued my interest. And where could it be, I wondered, as the numbers of countryside pubs within the Halifax area have declined significantly over the years. I read on. The listing on Rightmove stated that the Crossroads Inn, a popular countryside inn at Balkram Edge, Wainstalls, was for sale with an asking price of £450,000. Described as a ' characterful pub ', with 7 letting rooms, a bar area and three separate seating or dining areas which can accommodate up to 90 people. And more bigging up: ' These ar...