Crowded House - Don't Dream It's Over

I found myself in Central London on Saturday afternoon. I was in the capital to attend an event, details of which I might disclose later, or possibly not! The long and the short of it was I had some time during the evening to enjoy a few of London’s finest pubs, although what I hadn’t bargained for was the crowds. The West End was absolutely heaving, so much so that my original plan of knocking off a few more pubs from CAMRA’s National Heritage list, went straight out the window.

I managed a first though shortly after my arrival in the capital, by taking a ride on the recently opened Elizabeth Line – London’s latest, and most ambitious underground rail line. Conceived originally as Crossrail, and then re-named in honour of Britain’s longest reigning monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, the line runs from Abbey Wood in the east all the way to Reading in the west. On its way the line line’s twin tunnels bore their way far below central London, connecting a number of important underground interchanges in the process, as well as Heathrow Airport.

The project was criticised for coming in way over budget, but doesn’t always apply to the majority of civil engineering projects?  The line isn’t open in its entirety, and whilst I only journeyed two stops between Farringdon and Paddington, I’m pleased to report that the Elizabeth Line appears to be everything it planners envisaged.

And now to the pubs. I’d transcribed a list of 10 Heritage pubs, all classed as having interiors of national importance, and all conveniently situated in the centre of town, chiefly Soho, Bloomsbury, and Hatton Garden. The event I attended, finished around 4.30pm, and I then joined the throng of people making their way back along Whitehall, passed the heavily fortified entrance to Downing Street, before eventually opening out into the equally frenetic surrounding of Trafalgar Square.

Another rally was taking place in front of the National Gallery, in support of a free Iran. It had attracted a stronger police presence than the event I had just been at, but by skirting the back of the square, I managed to avoid most of the crowds. I hadn’t eaten since breakfast time, and apart from a couple of flat white coffees, hadn’t drank much either. The sensible thing would be to find a pub where I could eat and drink, and this time around I went for sensible and headed for the nearest pub.

The Chandos wasn’t quite the nearest hostelry, but it was one I am familiar with, and one where I knew I’d be able to enjoy a decent cooked meal along with my pint of OBB. The name of that beer ought to give a clue to the name of the owning brewery, who are none other than Samuel Smith of Tadcaster – Yorkshire’s oldest brewery and a deeply conservative one at that! Man will be familiar with Humphrey Smith, the company’s autocratic owner, and chief executive, and will have heard of some of the equally eccentric policies which he enforces throughout Sam Smith’s tied estate.

Probably the most notorious of these, is the ban Humph has imposed on the use of mobile phones, and other electronic devices, but I witnessed plenty of quite flagrant flouting of this restriction, particularly in the upstairs bar, which was where I gravitated to in search of an evening meal. I even engaged in a spot of defiance myself, by using my phone to capture a few shots of my meal, as well as checking in a couple of beers on Untappd.

I definitely made the right decision in terms of both beer and food, by choosing the Chandos, and whilst it wasn’t quite the National Heritage pub I’d originally has in mind, it certainly ticked all the right boxes. I’d been a little sceptical as to whether cask would be available in the upstairs bar, but needn’t have been concerned, as Old Brewery Bitter was certainly on offer, along with many of the other Sam Smith’s beers (all keg, of course). I even opted for a glass of Pure Brewed Lager, as my second pint of the evening.

I’d been lucky to get a seat, and a table, too, but fortunately a kind lady, who was waiting for her partner to turn up, took pity on me and allowed me to squeeze into a space at the end of the corner table she’d bagged. This enabled me to claim a spot, by dumping my rucksack, and going to the bar to order my food and drink. My steak and ale pie, with mash, carrots, and gravy, arrived pretty quick, and was just what I needed after traipsing around Piccadilly and Whitehall.

Feeling suitably refreshed, I set off with the vague intention of scooping a couple of heritage pubs, but as I said at the beginning of this piece, I was soon thwarted by the sheer volumes of the Saturday evening crowds.  My intention was to head up towards Oxford Street, grab a pint at the National Inventory-listed Flying Horse, and then wander into Soho, where there are several more National Heritage pubs, including the legendary Coach & Horses, aka “Norman’s.” I took the Northern Line from Charing Cross to TCR (Tottenham Court Road), although I allowed two overcrowded trains to depart, before jumping onto a third, that looked much more comfortable in terms of room to move.

Any chances of a quiet drink at the Flying Horse though, were scuppered by wall-to-wall people, so after sticking my nose in briefly, I abandoned thoughts of a drink there, and walked off in the direction of Soho. Unfortunately, the Dog & Duck – another Nicholson’s house, and the first pub I came to, was also heaving, with drinkers spilling out onto the street outside. Realising I had made a serious error of judgement by attempting to visit any central London pubs, let alone Heritage ones, on a busy Saturday evening, I headed off back to Charing Cross, although this time on foot.

Emerging back onto Charing Cross Road, just north of Leicester Square, the mixed crowds of oriental tourists, young people, plus anyone else in search of a good night out, made for slow progress. I also had Mrs PBT’s warning about rising rates of Covid infections and mingling with people in crowded situations. We’d both had our shot of the latest Covid-booster, a couple of weeks before - warning, don’t sign-up for the combined Covid and Flu package that many surgeries are offering (one shot in each arm), as we both felt like death warmed up the following day, and with this in mind I wasn’t too concerned, but the sheer volume of people, queuing to get into the latest trendy noodle or sushi bar, didn’t make for a pleasant experience, irrespective of any Covid risk.

On my way back to Charing Cross station, I made one further attempt at a final drink, and this time I struck lucky. The Harp, which is just a short hop away from the Chandos, is a pubs that needs no introductions to beer and pub lovers alike, and whist it is now part of the Fuller’s estate, it you look beyond the company’s beer, and those of their Dark Star subsidiary, you can sometimes be rewarded. The beer gods must have been smiling on me, last Saturday for there, right in front of me on the bar, was a pump dispensing Railway Porter from Five Points Brewing.

It was just the right beer to end the evening on, and there was just enough room for me to stand at the bar and enjoy this excellent dark ale.  I didn’t stay for another, as even the Harp was starting to fill up, possibly because of people like me who were gravitating towards the terminus and their train home. I was pleased to see the place doing well, though.