Real Ale, Real Music

A look at a trio of classic traditional Bradford pubs which seem to have always been at the forefront of the scene in a city that has lost some mighty fine pubs over the years. Here's what I found.... A couple of guys blocked my entrance into Jacobs Well in Bradford, staring at a notice pinned to the wall. They stepped aside so I could go through and get to the bar. I noticed a few more similarly staring at pictures and other features in this traditional pub a stone's throw from the city's Interchange, each clutching a piece of paper, with much stroking of chins and scratching of heads. Undeterred but curious as to what I had walked into, I ordered a pint of Abbeydale Deception and retreated into the small room at the side of the bar. I sat there quietly nursing my pint, a young guy listening to his headphones with a couple of suitcases at one table, an older guy sipping a pint at another. The guys from the doorway came into the room, and looked over the top of the older g...

My time has been a bit limited recently for venturing too far afield, so last weekend I made the short journey to Elland to check out a few of the town's pubs and bars. Here's what I found.... Elland is a small market town in West Yorkshire, located between Halifax and Huddersfield beside the River Calder. It goes back a bit, being recorded as Elant in the Domesday Book of 1086, and over the centuries the town grew as a result of the woollen industry, with the town becoming home to several large mills. The coming of the Aire and Calder Navigation and the railways further helped the growth of the town. The subsequent decline of the woollen industry in the town meant that there were a number of empty mills left standing, and those that didn't burn down were put to other use, such as the home of Gannex, the now-defunct textile company whose raincoats were worn by the rich and famous, including former Prime Minister Harold Wilson. More recently, several mills have been converte...

A classic pub in Newcastle has re-opened in the last few weeks after a long spell of closure due to you-know-what. And guess what, I've been along to check it out, along with visiting another favourite pub in the area, and a brewery taproom. Off we go.... The Crown Posada is, by any yardstick, a thing of beauty. Situated in the Quayside area of Newcastle on Side as it winds its way up to Grey Street, its solid stone exterior with brass plate and solid blue doors and wrought iron gate suggest it may have been a bank in a previous life, but you'd be wrong, it has always been a pub, being re-built in 1880, and has been in the ownership of the Sir John Fitzgerald Group since 1901. The pub was originally called the Crown, with 'Posada' - which is Spanish for resting place or inn - being added to the name a few years later. It was painted on a blue stone on the outside wall, maybe to attract Spanish sailors who would disembark from their ships yards away on the River Tyne wh...