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 which ar