Real Ale, Real Music

Friday night was damp, murky and miserable. The traffic was slow, the M62 having had long delays between J25 and J26, and arriving in Leeds, despite the sat-nav getting us close to the venue, we struggled to find it. Still, having won a couple of tickets to see Belinda O'Hooley and Heidi Tidow I was not going to let these frustrations undermine my underlying good mood. All Hallows Church is situated in that warren of streets between Burley Road and Hyde Park, where you can be yards from where you want to be - as we were - but alleys and walls conspire to block your route. We finally made it after a few minutes circling the streets, spotting a larger, lighter modern building. We walked in to a large airy room, which acts as place of worship, meeting room and, as in tonight's case, concert venue. We were immediately made to feel very welcome, a far cry from some other, larger venues. Our hands stamped, we trotted over to the bar, bought a couple of pints of Elland Brewery...

" The rain falls hard on a humdrum town" The Smiths, 'William, it was really nothing" . I thought of these lyrics the other Monday when I decided to take a tour round Manchester's Northern Quarter and the city's more gritty next door neighbour, Salford. I'd stayed in the Premier Inn on Dale Street and wandered through the Northern Quarter, stopping off at Trof. Now this is a venue with gigs and a bourbon bar, but it was the fact it does breakfast - very nice ones too - that drew me there. It was there that I decided I would try to find the Salford Lads club, which was pictured on the inner sleeve of The Smiths classic album 'The Queen is Dead' and featured in the video for 'Stop me if you think you've heard this one before'. I was inspired by Phill Gatenby's excellent little book 'Morrissey's Manchester' which is like a Rough Guide to places in the city and around frequented by the quiffed one and fellow members of ...

The first thing that strikes you about Craig Finn, the lead singer with The Hold Steady, is that this guy doesn't look like he's in a rock band. Indeed, short, bespectacled, and with a thinning thatch, he looks bookish, maybe an accountant, or an IT guru. A more than passing resemblance to Woody Allen and football manager Martin O'Neill, you might think. Indeed, the bookishness extends to the lyrics of the elaborate stories contained within the songs. What other band would have the crowd singing along to a chorus of "Sub peoned in Texas, sequestered in Memphis"? But don't let this fool you. The Hold Steady can rock with the best, as last night's gig at Manchester Academy 2 demonstrated. I first came across the band back in the mid-noughties, Shaun, a guy I knew from Stalybridge Buffet Bar, sadly no longer with us, rated them. The title track from their 2008 album 'Stay Positive' then became something of a mantra as I had a bad time that year....

One of my favourite places is the area of Wharfedale around the beautiful village of Appletreewick. Something of a bolt hole, it is only an hour's drive from home but feels like a different world. Situated on the opposite side of the valley to the Bolton Abbey to Grassington road, you turn off by Barden Tower and drop down towards the river, crossing over the narrow 17th Century Barden Bridge, follow the road round for another couple of miles or so, and you're there. I visited the area today, taking advantage of the early Autumn sunshine to walk a few miles alongside the River Wharfe. As usual when it's a year or two when you've visited a favourite place, you get the same sense of wonder that you get on your first visit. Surrounded by some lovely wooded countryside, Appletreewick is overlooked by Simon's Seat, part of an extensive hillside but with a distinctive rocky summit. Appletreewick, Wharfedale The two pubs in the village, the New Inn and the Crav...

People often ask me why I use Facebook. Today something happened that exemplified why.  A former work colleague, many years younger than me, fell victim to cancer. This tragic loss of life, meaning that kids have lost their Mum and a husband has lost his wife, would have passed me by completely had we not been friends on Facebook. This is where Facebook can be a force for good, it means people can keep in touch, pay their respects and share in the sorrow, albeit to a minute extent of what the family are facing. It enables family and friends to keep in touch with those who have moved away to far-flung corners of the world, or simply another town. Or it helps the lonely, the old, the retired and the infirm to keep in touch with people they haven't seen for ages. Those people who are still busy, involved, active, or in a similar situation to themselves. In the old days, people moved on, there was the odd meeting-up, the occasional letter, followed by the infrequent phone call. I...

Sat in the Sun Hotel, Coniston. And I'm feeling pretty pleased with myself. Today I walked up my first proper Lakeland fell for a few years. Pleased because I had sort of given up. OK, recent company had not been up for it, and I suppose I used it as an excuse for not doing anything too strenuous.  Along with my age, my weight, any excuse, you name it. But today, as I drove to Langdale to 'look at the view', I saw those fantastic fells and the old desire took over. I needed to give it a go again and so it was that I  parked up at the Old Dungeon Ghyll Hotel. Upper Langdale I decided to do Pike O'Blisco because I'd done it several times and with the weather at that point being showery I didn't want to try anything too 'ambitious'. Passing the farm at Stool End, with the slopes from the Oxendale valley looking ever steeper, I began to question my decision. Walking, huffing, and puffing up those steep slopes, I realised I had lost my marbles complet...

Last night I went to Holmfirth to see the 'Bard of Barking', Billy Bragg at the Picturedrome. A lovely sunny evening, I caught the 310 from Huddersfield Bus Station and after a surprisingly pleasant journey through the heavily-wooded Holme Valley, arrived in Holmfirth, which is gearing up for the Grand Depart, as indicated by the many little yellow bicycles and posters around the town. The great thing about Holmfirth is the compact nature of the centre. Within a hundred yards or so of the Bus Station there are pubs, places to eat, and the town's main venue, the Picturedrome. A former cinema, it hosts a regular stream of popular and often established artists. Coming up in the next few months are acts like Gary Numan, the Levellers and Ian Hunter and the Rant Band, interspersed with names like Think Floyd and Let's Zep, who, I assume, are tribute acts.  The Picturedrome, Holmfirth First things first. A pint of Spotland Gold at the Brambles, pleasantly quiet for...