Real Ale, Real Music

An exciting new venture opened this week in the West Yorkshire market town of Elland, so naturally I went along to have a look. Here's what I discovered.... It had been a long time since I had enjoyed a teatime pint in Elland. Way back, in fact, to the days when I lived in the town and used to frequent the Barge and Barrel, which was at the time one of the top pubs in the area, although now apparently up for sale after years of dwindling sales. And so on Friday, when I called in at Elland Craft & Tap, it must have been the first time I had enjoyed an early evening pint in the town for almost 20 years. Anticipation had been building locally for a few months, ever since a planning application was lodged by Elland Brewery with Calderdale Council for a new bar in a former building society branch on Southgate. With Elland having lost so many of its pubs over the years, not surprisingly there was overwhelming support for the bar amongst the townspeople, with only one objection. An...

A couple of great finds in Newcastle, a wonderful brew-pub in County Durham, and, at last, a Wetherspoons worth writing home about.... It was sunny when I set off on my latest trip to the North East last week. Having enjoyed Rolling Blackouts the previous night at Leeds Stylus, I naturally stuck 'Hope Downs' on the CD player, and as their ringing guitars and catchy hooks filled the car, I made good progress as I made my way along the M62. All was good in the world...all, that is, apart from the fact that I'd woken up with a streaming cold! Mouse about Town..... So as I sneezed and streamed my way up North, I decided I needed to make a stop. I had hit County Durham in good time and headed off the A1 to Spennymoor. I needed some fuel, and from the petrol station it was only a couple of miles to the Frog and Ferret which, despite having a name like a Spoon's or one of David Bruce's former Firkin chain, is a "friendly, traditional family-run free house"...

It was the first-ever Halifax Festival Of Words last weekend...and what a wonderful occasion it was. Here's a look back at some of the events that took place.... Plenty of places up and down the country have festivals based around books and writing. Cheltenham Literature Festival is the grandaddy of them all, going all the way back to 1949. And then there is the annual Hay Festival, which since its humble beginnings in 1988 in the small Powys second-hand book shop town of Hay-on-Wye, has grown to become a massive international event and is dubbed the 'Glastonbury of Book Festivals'. And if crime stories are more to your liking, then head to Harrogate, where every July for the past 14 years the Crime Writing Festival has been held at the Old Swan, the hotel where Agatha Christie stayed under an assumed name when she disappeared from the bright lights of London for a short time. All of them have their own different angle. And so, when the idea of a Halifax Festival was firs...

It was the local CAMRA beer festival in Hebden Bridge last weekend, so naturally I went along to check it out along with a number of other special beer-related events that were taking place in the town.... A glass on its own.... I had a frustrating start last Friday. For one reason or another, I got myself behind schedule. Then I discovered that somehow the settings on my phone's camera had gone all weird, so I was faffing about trying to sort them out(which I eventually did). Then I stood watching as I mistakenly thought the incoming train at Halifax station was Huddersfield-bound rather than going through Hebden Bridge (which it was), resulting in a wasted half hour hanging around on the platform till the next train came along. Still, I was able to take advantage of the the sun beating down, belying the fact we were in the dying days of September. I finally arrived at Hebden Bridge, where I decided to have a quick pint at Vocation and Co. The board behind the bar was domi...

An excellent few days in the city of Brunel and Banksy, a most fascinating, vibrant, and welcoming place for a visit.... Bristol Marina A tortoiseshell cat greeted me as I walked into the pub. I went up to the bar and ordered a half of Forzai, from North Wales brewers, Heavy Industry. As I handed over my money, the cat was at my feet, purring. And as I went over to grab a stool, it beat me to it, but then vacated it quickly so I could sit down. I sat down, looked around, and I realised it wasn't the same cat. They were everywhere. There was one in a basket by the window. There was one on the bar. They were under tables, perched beside customers. There was also a load of house rules for on the chalkboard, peppered with some pretty colourful language! I was in the Bag O'Nails, a quirky traditional pub at the bottom of a steep road in the Hotwells area of Bristol. Love's 'Forever Changes' was on the turntable. Andmoreagain. A kitten skidded in from the back. The...

It's that time of year again.... Every September, there builds up a great and eager sense of anticipation in some circles as the new Good Beer Guide release date approaches. To many though, this feverish excitement felt by these people completely escapes them as their lives carry on as normal, blissfully unaware that to some the publication of this guide is more eagerly awaited than Christmas, or the birth of a new child, or the release of the new season's football fixtures. It is a time when hopes can be realised, dreams shattered, or years of hard work called into question. Pages are eagerly-turned, favourites sought out to see that they have made the cut. And likewise they are scoured for those places that are now in, maybe a favourite, maybe one you would vehemently oppose. For some, whose life's work is to complete every pub in the beer guide, it is the start of a year to plan. More gaps to fill in, more trips across the length and breadth of the country, maybe i...

A first visit to one of Leeds' most rural pubs, followed by a re-arranged gig from one of the best of the new wave of bands coming out of South London.... With there being another Saturday of industrial action affecting Northern Rail, I had no option other than to drive over to Leeds for the evening's re-arranged gig at the Brudenell Social Club from rising Sarf Landon indie band, Goat Girl, whose original date back in April had been postponed due to drummer Rosy having had an accident hours before they were due on stage. So on the way I decided to visit one of the pubs in the Leeds area that I had not visited before. I thumbed through the Good Beer Guide and spotted the Abbey Inn at Newlay, which was only a mile or two away from the Brudenell. The pub is situated at the end of Pollard Lane, about a mile off the B6157, as it runs through the west Leeds suburb of Bramley. Pollard Lane starts off with houses on both sides, but then open country appears as you drop down into t...