A well-earned break and a birthday too!

It’s Easter Sunday, and I’m currently on day four of an 11-day break from work; a break made possible by a combination of the long Easter Weekend, and my revised working hours. The beauty is I have only needed to use two days of my annual leave entitlement in order to achieve this 11-day break. Thursday, and Saturday, were spent doing domestic stuff, which included the food shopping, but also allowed me to crack on with my garden projects.

I’ve probably mentioned the greenhouse renovation I’ve been working on, and whilst this isn’t quite complete, we do now possess a fully functional glasshouse, for nurturing seedlings and growing tender plants in a frost-free environment. So, with a few shop-bought tomato plants, plus a couple of trays of runner beans, waiting to sprout, we’re off to a flying start and, most importantly, the weather is warming up too. 

The warm weather caught me by surprise yesterday morning, as I set off to join a group of CAMRA colleagues, from Maidstone branch, on their annual Good Friday Ramble. I had seriously mis-judged just how hot the day was going to be, which meant the warm fleece that was appropriate on Thursday, was totally inappropriate a day later, but never mind.

I’ll be describing the ramble in detail in a separate article, although it does receive a mention later on, but the beer started flowing on Wednesday evening, when I attended an event, organised by own CAMRA branch. The occasion was to present the landlord and landlady of the Nelson Arms, in Tonbridge, with a certificate commemorating the Nelson being awarded West Kent CAMRA Branch Pub of the Year.

Known in CAMRA circles, as the PoTY, this is not a term I care to use, even though in the Nelson’s case, it was an achievement that was well deserved. April 13^th, also happened to be my birthday, although unlike some I could mention, I don’t make a huge fuss over what, when all is said and done, is just another day!

Son Matthew accompanied me for a few birthday beers, as we took a stroll down to the pub, arriving shortly before the presentation was about to begin. There were a half dozen or so members present, that I knew, along with a contingent who had travelled over from Tunbridge Wells, who I didn’t, and we just had time to order ourselves a drink before the speeches were made and the certificate handed over.

The extensive beer range included two beers from Ramsgate brewers, Gadd’s. I opted for a pint of the lower strength No. 5, with the plan being to move up to the stronger No. 3 later in the evening. That plan didn’t work, as the latter ran out, before I had the chance to sample it, but for the time being there was the presentation to watch, and the certificate was presented by a friend of mine, along with a suitable speech. Licensees Matthew and Emma, then received a second certificate, this time in respect of the Nelson being voted branch Cider Pub of the Year, as well.

Both speeches paid tribute to the hard work put in by Matt, Emma, and their staff, along with the steps taken by the pub to continue serving their customers, throughout the pandemic, by offering home delivers meals plus draught beer to take away.  It seems like a distant memory now, but it is only, just over a years since the Nelson was allowed to re-open, following the last lock-down, and even then, it was table service in an outdoor setting only!

Once the speeches, the handing over of certificates and obligatory photos were over, landlord Matt very kindly bought us all a drink. As mentioned, the Gadd’s No. 3 had run out, so instead I had a pint of Collusion, a strong, pale, and fruity beer from Surrey Hills Brewery, with an abv of 5.2%.  The final beer was a pint of Harvey’s Armada, a brew that is rarely seen outside the brewery’s tied estate, and one that I hadn’t sampled in ages. It was a good beer to finish the evening on, even though it was one of those sessions where nobody wanted the evening to end.

As mentioned previously, Friday was MMK’s annual ramble, an annual tradition that began in 1977, and one which remained unbroken until Covid-19 came knocking on the door. This meant that Friday’s walk was effectively the ramble originally planned for Easter 2020. It was a day of perfect weather, and also a day of catching up with old friends, most of whom I hadn’t seen since before the start of the pandemic.

The walk was a circular one, that was just over six miles in length, and took us through a lovely part of the county, to the south of Maidstone. Starting at East Farleigh station, on the Medway Valley Line, we walked along the towpath, to Tovil, on the edge of Maidstone. From there, our route took us up through the picturesque Loose Valley which, until quite recently, was a centre of paper making. Despite having lived in the county town for five years, I never really explored the Loose Valley, and neither had I appreciated how picturesque it is. I had though, previously visited the pub where we stopped for lunch.

This was the Chequers, a former 17th-century coaching inn, situated on the old road to Hastings, by the side of a trout stream, in the picturesque village of Loose. The landlord and his team were expecting us, and those wishing to eat had already booked, and pre-ordered their selection from the menu. This was arranged by walk organiser/leader, Peter. For the record I had haddock and chips, which was well-cooked, quite filling, and good ballast for an empty stomach. I also enjoyed a pint of each of the following beers – Rockin Robin Reliant, Musket Muzzleloader and my personal favourite, and most enjoyable beer of this trio, Harvey’s Sussex Best.

We spent around two and a half hours at the Chequers, before heading off along a route that saw us climbing out of Loose, and into and across orchard country. We then gradually descended back towards the River Medway, missing the opportunity of visiting the Horseshoes and the Bull (both at East Farleigh, but a mile or so apart). There was just time though, for a swift half of Whistable Bay Pale, at the recently re-opened Victory, on the other side of the river, and sufficiently close to the station to enable a last-minute dash for the train.

I will finish here, as there’s lots more I’ve got to write about, and there are still seven days left of my mini-break.