The event ended up at Parliament Square and after listening to a number of rousing and passionate speeches, I jumped on a train to Tunbridge Wells, and spent the evening working a shift behind the bar at the very busy, and well-attended, Spa Valley Railway Beer Festival. Boy was I knackered the following day.
On Saturday, I’m meeting up with members of Maidstone & Mid-Kent CAMRA, for a trip, by vintage bus, to Romney Marsh, before moving on to the charming little town of Hythe. MMK are the neighbouring branch to my own West Kent group, and I know quite a few of their members following joint socials over the years, along with the fact that I lived in the county town from 1978 - 1984. I’ve also been on several trips to foreign parts with a group of them; notably to the Czech Republic the Rhineland and Franconia.
The pub's nickname comes from it former, legendary landlady, Doris Jemison, who sadly passed away in April 2016. The Red Lion is now run by Doris's daughter Kate, and her partner. The pub is believed to date back to 1540, but unlike many old inns of a similar age, the inside has not been modified and still has a series of inter-connecting rooms. It has been run by the Jemison family since 1911 and, except for the odd lick of paint, has not been redecorated since 1890.
Our party will then move on to the Bell Inn at Ivychurch, another tucked-away village on Romney Marsh. I'm pretty certain that I have never set foot in this 16th Century inn, which lies in the shadow of the parish church. This is despite having grown up just outside the nearby town of Ashford.
The next stop takes us to the small town of Hythe and to the Three Mariners, which is situated close to the Royal Military Canal. A visit to this attractive, corner pub will be another first for me, as whilst I remember driving past the place with my parents when I was a child, I have never set foot in this traditional, side-street local.
The final pub on the tour is way "off piste", as the bus will be taking us to the tiny village of Coldred, which lies to the north-west of Dover. This is real unknown territory for me, although looking at the map, I see that my friends and I passed quite close to the village last summer, when we walking a section of the North Downs Way.
It is described as a community pub plus a place for conversation and good fellowship. It sounds a pretty good pub to finish up at, and a full report, along with photos, will follow in due course.
10 comments:
Oh dear, wasting your time going on that pathetic march for anti-democratic sore losers. And 700,000? In your dreams. Police estimate was 200,000 tops.
That was another nice read, thanks Paul, and you have whetted my appetite for another visit to Kent, and to its often-exceptional pubs.
I'm only sorry, that for business reasons we weren't able to swell the seven hundred thousand rather further. Even if there's some dispute over numbers, there were rather more there, than the twenty-five or so, who turned up in Manchester, to support Yaxley-Lennon, or whatever he calls himself, and the EDL.
Those who claim that that silly little Cameron-election-gimmick vote in June 2016 was a once-and-for-all one, are exactly like the fanatical islamic militants, who say that once there has been a vote to become an islamic state, then it can never be reversed. The irony is, of course, lost on the humourless half-wits of both sorts.
I’m pleased you enjoyed the piece Etu, unlike our rather angry pro-Brexit troll, who used the first paragraph of my post to go off on one. As someone who was actually present in central London on 20th October, I can safely say the numbers were way in excess of the 200,000 claimed by our rather bitter little troll.
How I choose to occupy my time, is my business, and my business alone, but as someone who cares deeply about the United Kingdom and its future, to stand aside and allow a populist riff-raff, spurred on by power-hungry politicians and right-wing newspaper owners, to destroy our economy, lower peoples’ living standards and deprive UK citizens of the many rights bestowed on them by our membership of the European Union, is an anathema to me.
For the British government to pursue a policy which will make us poorer; as evidenced by the results of the many “Impact Studies” they have conducted since the referendum is not the mark of a responsible government, but rather one of a collection of self-serving individuals who are putting party and self above the best interests of the country. I would have been far more responsible to have carried out these studies first, but then politicians don’t do “sensible” and many don’t live in the real world either.
Whatever happens, I can place hand on heart and say, “I was there”. History of course, will be the judge in the end, but at the moment, the rest of the civilised world thinks we have taken leave of our senses.
ps. Yesterday’s bus-trip to Romney Marsh, (the “Fifth Continent”), was most enjoyable, and a pleasant reminder of all that is good and worth preserving in these challenging times. As promised, a full report will follow, in due course.
Just a brief point if I may, Paul.
If people want to dispute numbers, well OK, fair enough.
So from that angle, let's discuss Farage's much-vaunted "March Of The Hundred Thousand", to the Supreme Court, when Gina Miller's case - that the rule of law must prevail - was being heard. Remember that?
So how many turned up? Almost none, and why not, might one ask?
Well, all I can assume is, that it was because there were not public toilets every two hundred metres along the route.
Please keep your personal political comments out of your beer blog, as if not you will losing a number of your regular readers. Thank you.
Well, anon, I like the detail and the perspectives given on these blogs. It makes them what they are.
It also explodes the myth that the world of beer and pubs - Proper Pubs, say - are, or should be, Safe Spaces per se for the ignorant, to mouth off their ill-informed and often unpleasant views, and to expect only agreement.
It's not something repetitive anyway, after all, is it? The event that the writer attended was exceptional, and these are unusual times in general.
If people are such namby-pamby wet lettuces, that they can't even bear to read such things, then heaven help them.
I’d like to get a few things straight, particularly in relation to a couple of comments received on this post. This blog is primarily about beer and travel, and the enjoyment of both; especially where they interact. I have followed this pattern since I started the blog, 10 years ago, and intend for it to remain this way. However,I make no apology for the odd occasion where I have voiced my concerns on certain issues; political, or otherwise.
So whilst I appreciate your advice anonymous, it's not something I need or intend to take notice of. I’m not sure exactly who you claim to speak for, apart from yourself, but I have no intention of changing the general direction, or indeed the content of my blog.
Like many other bloggers, I write this blog largely for my own amusement, and not to attract attention, or build up a following. It is a blog, and NOT a Twitter account! So if you don’t like the occasional topical comment, then don’t bother stopping by. Also don’t purport to speak for other readers, as I’m sure they are more than capable of making their own minds up about what appears on the blog.
ps. Definitely unusual times Etu, and not encouraging ones either!
"The pub's nickname comes from it former, legendary landlady, Doris Jemison, who sadly passed away in April 2016."
I read about her on one of the other blogs if memory serves. She sounded like quite the gal.
"has not been redecorated since 1890."
Now that's a good way to keep the beer prices down. :)
"I'm pretty certain that I have never set foot in this 16th Century inn,"
16th Century? Maybe in a former life. ;)
"A visit to this attractive, corner pub will be another first for me,"
That's the problem over there; too much choice! :)
"an unspoilt, two room, 18th Century pub "
Ah. One of the more modern of the bunch. :)
"and a full report, along with photos, will follow in due course."
Which I will read in due time.
Cheers
PS - "which is just as well as we will be stopping there for a per-booked lunch,"
I could be wrong but I think that should be pre-booked.
Russ, the line should have read "pre-booked". It has now been duly corrected.
Romney Marsh, (the “Fifth Continent”), rarely disappoints, especially on the pub front.
Seems that the Greater London Authority (which can hardly be regarded as a pro-Brexit body) has analysed the attendance at the Losers' March and estimated it was nearer to 250,000 than the 700,000 the organisers claimed. What a pathetic waste of time.
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