Real Ale, Real Music

A friend of mine mentioned the other day that he had been on the Real Ale Trail the previous weekend and how much he had enjoyed the beer and the atmosphere at the Buffet Bar at Stalybridge Railway Station, knowing it was somewhere I visited on a regular basis. I have been visiting the place for almost 11 years now, as I only work a short distance away and it makes an ideal stop for a post-work pint.  I have always enjoyed the craic when I visit, the conversation can veer from the erudite to banal, hilarious to serious within minutes, and provides a great place to de-stress after a busy day.  But, that said, I suppose when you visit somewhere regularly there is a tendency to take things for granted and forget that this is such an iconic place. So when my mate went in for the first time he was greeted by a friendly pub, chock full of railway and other memorabilia from years gone by, with a bank of handpumps and taps, and a blackboard featuring the day's food specials. The f...

"Oh, all the comrades that e'er I had They're sorry for my going away...."   The Parting Glass. Trad It was my birthday last weekend, and so on Saturday, I headed over to Huddersfield with some friends for a few drinks and a curry. We met at the Kings Head on the station as we were meeting a few of the group who had gone to watch Town play at Stalybridge. The Kings Head has been undergoing a slow renovation over a year or two and it was the first time I had been in the newly-opened side room, which now offers a more intimate alternative to the cavernous main room, which would benefit from curtains and other soft furnishings to soften the echoes. The beer was spot on and good value as ever, with Magic Rock Ringmaster or Bradfield Farmers Blonde the choice of most of us. The rest of the group arrived, moaning and fed up as Town had lost 1-0. We moved on to The Corner, the Mallinsons Tap House that has fitted seamlessly into the Huddersfield town centre scene. I alwa...

Starting the new year with a cold has not been the best introduction to 2017, but it doesn't take away from the fact that I had a good Christmas and New Year, spending time with family and friends, and enjoying some excellent beers in some wonderful pubs. I visited most of the usual haunts, but I also tried a few different places too. On Boxing Day, our Tom and I had a local walk to visit the Red Rooster at Brookfoot for the first time in a while. This was a regular port of call for me for many years, originally when it was under the auspices of Jim Wright's TFC Group, when John and Maureen Tillotson were landlord and landlady, probably 30 years ago now. Over the years I continued visiting, when Tom and Brenda had it, then Elaine, but we had decided to visit following the return of another previous landlord, Eddie Geater, who had been there for a couple of years back in the noughties. There was a reasonable afternoon crowd in, a good atmosphere, and the beer was on top form. ...