tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6722137562852954269.post345047842341138335..comments2024-03-28T12:16:58.318+00:00Comments on Paul's Beer & Travel Blog: Fumbling around in the darkPaul Baileyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09678639237696546268noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6722137562852954269.post-3172658422981727282018-03-03T16:58:22.135+00:002018-03-03T16:58:22.135+00:00Thanks Andrea. I'm afraid I'm guilty of no...Thanks Andrea. I'm afraid I'm guilty of not supporting pubs as much as I used to, but on cold winter's nights, it's much easier, and more comfortable, to stay home, in front of the fire whilst enjoying a beer or two. <br /><br />I do wonder how some pubs survive, but with changing habits and changing lifestyles, pubs also need to adapt in order to survive; as does CAMRA. I'm not sure what the outcome of the much vaunted "Revitalisation project" will be. It may be too little, too late, or it could mean the end of CAMRA as we know it; if it alienates the crusty old diehards within the Campaign. (You know the type of people I am talking about!).<br /><br />I agree that a small number of committee members are doing all the work, but you would have thought that with over 600 members in the branch, a few others would chip in to help; even if it's only occasionally.<br /><br />ps. Looking forward to next weekend's mini-bus tour.Paul Baileyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09678639237696546268noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6722137562852954269.post-26905741534073935822018-03-03T10:18:42.034+00:002018-03-03T10:18:42.034+00:00Yes, you are probably correct Paul although I'...Yes, you are probably correct Paul although I'm one of the culprits too. Also, think the campaign needs to focus on keeping pubs open, modernising, re-branding, etc. etc. Think we may lose another pub in our village soon. Trouble is, we don't have many volunteers to do all the work involved. In fact, a couple of people have voiced their opinions (to me) that a lot of the work one or two committee members do (D. of course), is a waste of time because 'nobody gives a toss!' You raise some interest points on this post and previous ones. Cheers, A.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6722137562852954269.post-74651639027064433052018-02-28T10:27:39.870+00:002018-02-28T10:27:39.870+00:00An interesting parallel, Russ. I remember from sch...An interesting parallel, Russ. I remember from school geography that places located on the western edge of a continent (certainly in the northern hemisphere), had a maritime climate; hence the similarity between your part of Canada and the UK.<br /><br />We had a further major snow dump last night, followed by extremely low temperatures (for England, at least). It was minus 7° Celsius as I drove along Tonbridge High Street this morning, and minus 11° out in the country, where our factory is located.<br /><br />Possibly this was too cold for the salt/grit mixture to work properly; certainly the roads were covered with snow and ice.<br /><br />Stay warm. Cheers, Paul! <br />Paul Baileyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09678639237696546268noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6722137562852954269.post-23656878607951670442018-02-27T22:13:14.303+00:002018-02-27T22:13:14.303+00:00"(a light dusting by Canadian standards, I’m ..."(a light dusting by Canadian standards, I’m sure, but enough to cause travel chaos, here in the UK!)"<br /><br />As someone who has lived in various parts of Canada I no longer scoff at a light dusting causing problems. :)<br /><br />I live in a place where the weather is very similar to that of the UK. Before we moved here my wife and I used to laugh at the folks in lower mainland BC and Vancouver Island with regards to problems driving in the snow. But now that we've lived here on Vancouver Island for over 10 years we have a better appreciation.<br /><br />Elsewhere in Canada once winter hits the temps never really get over freezing. So the snow becomes nicely hardened and is not that bad to drive on. However, in lower mainland BC and Vancouver Island the winter weather usually goes above and below freezing on a daily basis. Snow at these temps can cause utter havoc as the roads are just too damn slippery to drive on. I'm sure that's what the UK experiences so I feel your pain. <br /><br />Cheers!Russtovichhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11493687426847380993noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6722137562852954269.post-78610565665207662192018-02-27T14:02:23.921+00:002018-02-27T14:02:23.921+00:00Martin, back in the day when we all carried around...Martin, back in the day when we all carried around little paper scorepads, I never bothered much with scoring beers, but Whatpub is a godsend. It’s so easy to input scores, and with given your extensive travelling, I’m sure the local branches concerned would really appreciate your input.<br /><br />You are correct though, in saying that a lack of active volunteers will eventually kill the Beer Guide. This also applies to the people tasked with inputting all the information. As I’ve said before, a thankless chore; especially when forms are submitted, half complete, or without a basic grasp of English grammar.<br /><br />Hi Steve, thanks for your input. I am not party to the information about where NBSS scores come from, but I always make even more of a point in scoring pubs on another branch’s patch, as information from outside the branch should be much more objective.<br /><br />Russ, thanks as always for spotting the typo. I will correct it this evening, after I’ve battled my way home through the snow (a light dusting by Canadian standards, I’m sure, but enough to cause travel chaos, here in the UK!)<br />Paul Baileyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09678639237696546268noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6722137562852954269.post-53257646644433568152018-02-27T12:08:54.289+00:002018-02-27T12:08:54.289+00:00As Pubs Officer of the adjacent North East Sussex ...As Pubs Officer of the adjacent North East Sussex branch NBSS is a subject close to my heart. Our new Membership Secretary has, through her hard work, doubled the number coming to our socials. However the number actually scoring NBSS is still much too low.<br />In her next newsletter she will explain how GBG pubs are selected and more importantly how to score. I spoke to one member, new to our socials last week and he did not know it was even possible to score!<br />So an uphill task I think.<br />I checked the NBSS download for our branch and scores were submitted from members of 26 different branches.<br />So the importance of scoring when in a pub of another branch cannot be dismissed.Stevehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07813335124505827184noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6722137562852954269.post-63604576309917978782018-02-27T02:36:59.604+00:002018-02-27T02:36:59.604+00:00Although I don't live over there even I know f...Although I don't live over there even I know from my perusal of various pub blogs over the last few months that this is an excellent suggestion. <br /><br /><br />Cheers<br /><br /><br />PS - I could be wrong but;<br /><br />"but also allows them to amended out of date information."<br /><br />I don't think amend needs the added 'ed'.Russtovichhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11493687426847380993noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6722137562852954269.post-796011089433394892018-02-26T10:39:45.950+00:002018-02-26T10:39:45.950+00:00Excellent points, Paul. Sadly, I'm as guilty a...Excellent points, Paul. Sadly, I'm as guilty as anyone. I always note my score in blogposts (as do you) but rarely then do it on WhatPub. Lack of active volunteers will kill the Beer Guide eventually.retiredmartinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15429804437739227082noreply@blogger.com