Real Ale, Real Music

I had a couple of days away last week in a quiet part of Shropshire, tempted by the prospect of trying a few new pubs in and amongst having a look around.... It hadn't been the best of journeys. A 2 hour-plus drive from home, most of it seeming to be spent following a mandatory, interminable, 40 mph speed limit on the M62 towards Warrington, followed by miles on the A49 through the leafy Cheshire countryside led by a slow-moving convoy of tractors and trucks which conspired to make Whitchurch seem further and further away with every passing mile. I finally arrived in Ellesmere, in the north of Shropshire, a few miles from the Welsh border, in the middle of the county's own mini lake district. I parked up, and made my way to one of the town's two Good Beer Guide-listed pubs. The entrance was clear enough. A pile of assorted clutter next to a doorway in an otherwise ordinary street. I was at the Vault, which is based down a flight of steps, a quirky two-room cellar b

It seems that since they were allowed to re-open in early July, recovery from lockdown has generally been slow for most pubs and bars that have decided to do so. Meanwhile, a welcome return to outdoor live music and events can't mask the fact that this has been, and continues to be, a particularly difficult time for musicians, venues, and those who enjoy going to gigs.... It has been great to see some live events recently after such a long time. I have seen 3 or 4 so far, all at my regular haunt of the Grayston Unity in Halifax. All outside, round the back with only a tarpaulin sheet and some additional polythene providing protection from the elements. Name and number requested, plenty of sanitiser on hand, a one way system, screens on the bar, and social distancing tape and warnings, and every gig has felt very safe and comfortable. Although the disappointing weather of July gave way to some tropical sunny weather last week, it wouldn't really have mattered if it had been

A first overnight stay away from home since before lockdown took me back to Newcastle, with the aim of re-visiting some favourite haunts before catching up with family.... A familiar sound was in the air last Sunday afternoon when I left my hotel and walked down the riverside towards the Tyne Bridge. I was in Newcastle on my first trip away since February. Up above, the kittiwakes were back, nesting on ledges and in the nooks and crannies of the high bridges and other tall buildings along the Quayside. This is the world's most inland breeding colony of this medium-sized gull, with the urban architecture of the Tyne riverside replicating the cliff tops of their usual habitat. They return every summer, a screeching backdrop to this special riverside scene, with their presence requiring a daily high-pressure hosing down of  the streets and chares around the Quayside. It was, though, a reassuring sound, a reminder that the lockdown hadn't changed everything. Around the cor