Real Ale, Real Music

Yesterday was an amazing emotional roller coaster ride. Against all predictions, my team, Halifax Town, triumphed in the FA Trophy at Wembley yesterday. We were the better team on the day, opponents Grimsby Town had won last week in the Play-Off Final to get back in to the Football League, but their big guns - Padraig Amond, Omar Bogle - never got going on the day. When your team has just got to Wembley for the first time in their 105 year history, it all takes some taking in. Yes, we were the better team. Yes, player of the year Scott McManus - who sadly had to leave the field later having picked up a suspected cruciate ligament injury - scored a brilliant goal, a sublime curling shot from his right foot to put us 1-0 up. We never looked back, and despite some pressure from Grimsby, we didn't buckle. So Town - every player performing out of their skins - emerged as winners. But it was still hard to believe, even when the cheers went up as the game ended with To...

This weekend, for the first time in their 105-year history, Halifax Town, yes, my club, are appearing at Wembley. They have reached the final of the FA Trophy, where on Sunday they take on Grimsby Town. This has created a tremendous buzz around the town, with sales of shirts and other merchandise going through the roof. 10,000 or more are expected to go to the game, including wives and girlfriends who have never set foot in the The Shay! There is even a Wembley song, by Simon Conway, featuring The Rainey Street Band's Andy Garbett on cajon! Aside from the football, this trip gives us a great opportunity to try some of the ales on offer in the pubs of London. This is one of the great benefits of following your team away from home. You see, real ale and football go together so well. Before every game at the field of dreams, aka The Shay, we meet at one of Halifax’s real ale pubs to discuss tactics. Post-match analysis is also conducted at one or more of the same venues. Many...

This wasn't the original plan. Months ago,  I'd booked a ticket on the recommendation of Kirsten and Lorraine to see the Treacherous Orchestra in Bury. Some friends of mine were also playing the same day at the Holmfirth Folk Festival, but obviously I couldn't be in two places at the same time! However , when I realised that, due to the times involved for both events, I could call at the Holmfirth Folk Festival and catch both Roger Davies and The Rainey Street Band, and still have time to get over to Bury, I thought, why not, let's do it! They were both on at Holmfirth Parish Church, and with Roger starting around 4.15, I left home before 3 thinking I'd have plenty of time to park up and have a leisurely wander around the place first. Wrong. Holmfirth was rammed, with the sunny weather no doubt having an influence, and after a 15 minute wait to get through the lights in the centre, I ended up parking near Compo's Cafe on the road to Greenfield! So a bit of a...

Lindley is a suburb in the northern reaches of Huddersfield, which, despite only being a few miles from my home in Brighouse, is not a place I have visited very often. It actually still retains many of the features of the hillside village it no doubt once was, and has a number of quality restaurants, pubs, and local shops which serve to add to its character. I went over there yesterday as friends had tipped me off about a new brewery that had opened up with a pop-up bar. I had a few errands to do, but after a visit to the local garden centre I headed up to Beer Ink, which is located on Plover Road in Lindley. Situated in a former garage, the premises nonetheless have history as a brewery. Indeed, it was the site of the original Mallinson's Brewery, which was then taken over by Hand Drawn Monkey after the Mallinsons team upped sticks and moved to Lockwood, close to their effective tap, The Star, at Folly Hall. I tracked it down via the wonders of satnav and as I headed up Plov...