Real Ale, Real Music

I have just been back to the iconic and much-loved Puzzle Hall in Sowerby Bridge for the first time since it re-opened after lockdown. Here's what I found.... The reports had been good. The Puzzle was more like it used to be, the beer was good. Even my brother, who lives in Sowerby Bridge and who can be a glass half-empty man when talking about beer and pubs, was positively effusive. The only thing to do was to go check it out for myself, although previous attempts to get there over the past month or two had come to naught. So finally, on a damp December Saturday evening, the opportunity arose. I was with my other brother and we walked down from the parents' house high above Sowerby Bridge in the suburbs near the park, reacquainting ourselves with half-forgotten streets and cut-throughs from our childhood intermingled with the buildings and dead ends that had arrived over the intervening decades. The ghosts of our childhood flickered here and there. Dams had been filled in and ...

The draw for the 2nd round of the FA Cup saw Halifax Town playing away at Kidderminster Harriers, which provided a first opportunity to call in some of the town's pubs prior to the game.... The anticipation had been building up ever since the draw was made, as victory would take Town through to the 3rd round of the FA Cup for the first time for years, with the potential to draw one of the Premiership big guns. What if we could emulate the team of 1979-80, who beat Manchester City from the old First Division on a gluepot of a pitch at The Shay. What's more, we had also been drawn against a Midlands team in Walsall in the 2nd round that time too, finally beating them after two replays. The omens were there. What if? We could dream.... And so, after a breakfast at The Shay Cafe a stone's throw away from the Shay Stadium, our group of 8 set off from Halifax in two vehicles to Kidderminster, with yours truly a des. I had never stopped in the town before but I had passed through ...

A short hop across the Pennines to Rochdale, which as I discovered on a cold and blustery November day is now home to a thriving pub and bar scene.... Storm Arwen was doing its best to disrupt my plans. Overnight gales and snow had led to a flurry of train cancellations and delays. My intention was to visit Rochdale, based on strong recommendations from some friends who had visited recently, and indeed I had seen one of them the previous evening and he had again extolled the virtues of the town.  I set off from home, undecided as to whether to risk it in the light of the disruption to the trains or settle for a more local option. I headed to Halifax, which gave me the opportunity to visit the recently reopened Square Chapel Arts Centre whilst I decided where to go, it being only 5 minutes walk from the station. The bar is now being managed by Jack Griffiths, a familiar figure in the town having worked in a number of different places over the year. The bar features 4 handpumps whic...

An early evening wander through the streets of Leeds featuring a classic traditional pub along with a number of more recent upstarts.... The Adelphi is a venerable old Leeds boozer with a striking frontage which, although currently at the back of some extensive and noisy roadworks, still stands out as a thing of beauty. Built in 1901 by the former Melbourne Brewery, it was designed, like the Cardigan Arms and its neighbour, the former Rising Sun, on Kirkstall Road, by local architect Thomas Winn in the style of a Victorian drinking palace. To visit the Adelphi today is to be taken back in a world that has largely been lost to the passage of time and redevelopment. Many of the old buildings that stood close by have long been demolished, with those spared from the wrecking ball emerging as apartments or trendy cafe bars or creative spaces, whilst a backdrop of new glass and concrete edifices continues to rise up above the urban landscape. The Adelphi is a true survivor in a changing cit...

Yes, it's out! The 2022 CAMRA Good Beer Guide, the 49th edition of the real ale drinker's guide to the best beers and pubs was released on November 12th, leading to a flurry of excitement amongst the real ale community. And the first brand new pub featured in the guide I visited was in a location that I had not expected to be visiting when I woke up that morning.... I had arrived home one evening the other week and found a parcel had been delivered. I couldn't think of anything I had ordered other than the odd CD, and even though the current shortage of cardboard has seen deliveries arrive in all sorts of shapes and sizes, it felt a lot heavier than a CD. I opened it up, and it turned out to be the 2022 Good Beer Guide, delivered before its official release date as I had signed up for the CAMRA Privilege Club a couple of years ago. This gets you a discounted copy of the Guide every year, but the price you pay though is you are required to keep quiet about what lies within i...

The second of two blogs based on a recent trip to Glasgow, where I had had a slightly underwhelming first day followed by a more promising start to the second. You left me on the subway having just left Ibrox station from where I was travelling the few minutes to Bridge Street.... The train came to a stop, and I headed up the steps out of the station into the still rainy weather. I looked around, the bridge over the Clyde was off to the left, whilst across the road was a junction beside a low railway bridge. Diagonally opposite across the road was the low building that was The Lauriston , one of the pubs I had on my list. It hardly looked open though from the distance, hard to tell if the lights were on, or if the door was open. Better cross the road to take a closer look. I pressed the traffic light button, a double decker bus gleefully splashed the contents of a large puddle in my direction as it turned the corner, and I waited. A guy was shuffling down the pavement on the other side...

This week the COP26 climate summit is taking place in Glasgow if you hadn't noticed. Purely coincidentally, I recently made my first proper visit to the city and discovered a fascinating place with plenty to see and do, some great pubs, and some friendly people. Here's the first of two blogs on my visit.... Despite having been to Scotland many times over the years, one glaring omission was Glasgow, where I had only been a couple of times for work, a quick change of trains, and one hectic lunch stop many years ago, so I had hardly explored the place. So I decided I would put things right and booked myself a stay for a few days so that I could explore Scotland's biggest city and former industrial powerhouse. I had decided to go via train from Halifax via Preston and then onwards to Glasgow Central. In less than 4 and a half hours I would be in Glasgow. Well, that was what was supposed to happen. What actually  did happen was that due to a broken down freight train just north ...