Real Ale, Real Music

A trip into the deepest parts of the East End of London which involved visiting a couple of classic pubs, then some football glory, plus a stop-off in Farringdon a few minutes down the Hammersmith & City line from Kings Cross.... It was a bright blue sunny morning as the train pulled into Kings Cross, the temperature several degrees higher than when we'd left a cold and frosty West Yorkshire a few hours earlier. Shortly afterwards we were heading east on the Hammersmith and City line, with a plan to pay a visit to Wapping, the riverside area which once was a thriving hive of maritime activity and where several historic and interesting pubs are situated. However, when we arrived at Whitechapel, whose shiny, modern interchange belied the lowly status given to the area on a Monopoly board, we were unable to access the relevant platform of the Overground by which we were going to complete our journey to Wapping ( it turned out later that there had been rather limited services opera...

Changing routines and economic pressures have reduced the times that pubs are generally open these days. But looking back, the times when it was possible to get a pint were once much more tightly restricted than they are now.... Monday. The start of the working week for so many people. But for many too, a day they don't work due to their shift patterns, or it's their designated day off, or they are retired, or they are on holiday. A day then for many that might fancy a pint to take the edge off a gruelling return to the working week, or a chill out before the return on Tuesday, or simply to enjoy a relaxing drink. But in many places, getting a decent pint of real ale on a Monday ( or indeed a Tuesday ) is frustratingly often not as straightforward these days as you might expect unless you happen to be in a city centre or a popular tourist area.  But hang on a minute. Didn't the 2003 Licencing Act, which actually came into effect in 2005, allow pubs to open for 24 hours? Wel...

News has broken over the past few days that Elland Brewery, famous for their 1872 Porter which was voted the Champion Beer Of Britain in 2023 have ceased trading. And with other breweries also struggling, the upheavals I wrote about last month are showing no signs of letting up.... I was out with some friends last Saturday afternoon, celebrating one of our number's birthday. With the drinks and conversation flowing as we enjoyed a most enjoyable catch up, we were joined by another friend who mentioned that he'd been out a little earlier and had heard a story from a good source in one of the local pubs that Elland Brewery who, a mere 6 months ago had won Champion Beer of Britain at the Great British Beer Festival for their flagship 1872 Porter, had gone bust. During a break in the conversation, I scoured Google for news about Elland Brewery. Nothing, apart from that win at the GBBF last year. I mentioned it to a couple of people when I was working at the Meandering Bear in Halif...

In which I venture on a whistle-stop tour around some of the finest pubs that are to be found in this beautiful and historic North Yorkshire city.... I have visited York twice in the past month. First time was on a day out from Halifax with the team from the Grayston Unity/Meandering Bear on a beautiful winter's day with bright sunshine, blue skies, and bitterly cold temperatures; the second was an overnight stop to see one of the country's top up and coming indie bands, with grey skies on the first day and heavy rain on the second. Whilst due to the number in our party we were only able to visit two or three pubs on that visit, the second did give me the opportunity to do a trawl of several of the city's finest pubs, although it has to be said that because of the number of pubs there are in the city it can only be a snapshot view of  some of them. And as I was reminded, whilst there are several great pubs in the city centre, it is important to bear in mind that it is in th...