Farewell to January

The second half of January has been rather hectic, especially on the work front, featuring a supplier audit, followed by a major re-certification audit. The latter took place over two days and was conducted by three auditors from three different countries, on behalf of our notified body, TÜV Süd. Fortunately, we ticked all the right boxes, and our CE accreditation was renewed for a further two years. We can therefore continue selling our products to the rest of the world. 

Did the Johnson administration seriously think industry would go along with their ridiculous, copy-cat UKCA Mark accreditation?  Especially given the additional costs their “world-beating” scheme would impose on UK companies? Leaving the EU was supposed to be about removing “red tape," not adding an extra layer! Unlike my previous position, as head of Quality Control, I wasn't involved with the audit, although I still ended up pointing my successor, plus our Regulatory Affairs Manager in the right direction, a few times. There’s life in this old dog yet, as well as proof that there’s nothing like the experience of nearly two decades in the job!

Following on from the audit, we had visit from our Japanese directors. They were here primarily for a board meeting, but also to go over our plans for expansion and see for themselves the alterations and site improvements carried out since their last visit. I’ve been heavily involved in both the planning and implementation of these improvements, and I’m pleased to report the visitors were impressed by what they saw. Despite not being involved in the meetings, I was still invited out for a farewell meal on Tuesday evening, along with a handful of fellow managers. 

Our Japanese colleagues do like to let their hair down, once the business is over, and we all enjoyed an excellent meal at the Hare, Langton Green, just outside Tunbridge Wells. The Hare is a large former Courage pub, which is now a Bruning & Price outlet, and as our visit the other evening was the first time I’ve set foot inside the pub, I’m unable to say what it was like under its previous owners. 

It’s obviously a popular place, as when I arrived with a colleague the car park was already full, leaving us to park some distance away, down a side road. The interior was spacious, and quite palatial, with a number of different rooms radiating out from a serving area. I'm glad the company was picking up the tab because items on the menu were quite pricey, although I have to say the quality of the food was beyond reproach. But what about the beer I hear you ask? I ended up having to drive to the Hare that evening, even though son Matthew had quite valiantly offered to run me over there and pick me up afterwards. This would have meant four car journeys for him, so I declined his kind offer, particularly as I’d rather chivalrously offered a colleague a lift to the pub.  She was unable to drive, due to a badly sprained wrist, so was pleased at being able to attend the event.

The choice on the bar was the usual Greene King line up of IPA, and Ruddles Best, along with two guest. These were Purity Mad Goose plus an offering from By the Horns called, Stiff Upper Lip. I opted for the Mad Goose, as did most of my colleagues along with our Japanese visitors. I ticked it on Untappd as light, crisp and refreshing and was the right choice for the two fish courses I’d selected from the menu. It was also my sole beer of the evening, but a couple of colleagues who weren’t driving, decided to give the By the Horns offering a try.

The look on their faces spoke volumes for the quality (or lack of it) of Stiff Upper Lip. Our General Manager passed his pint across for my opinion, and one sniff was enough for me to to confirm the beer was way passed its best. This action amused my French colleague who didn't realise you could sniff beer as well as wine. I told her that using one’s nose was an equally good guide to the quality of a beer as it is to wine, and in this case the sharp taste of the beer confirmed it was off. 

The beer was changed with good grace, although I didn't check afterwards. to see whether the pump-clip had been turned round. The clue though is in the type of pub we were in, and as many people know Bruning & Price is an upmarket, gastro-pub chain, patronised by what Retired Martin would describe as well-to-do “gentlefolk.” Despite this minor hiccup, the staff were friendly and the service exemplary.

I've now got four very welcome days away from the office, although today’s midday, visit to the Optometrist did rather eat into the day. However, it is important to check that my glaucoma-related, "pigment dispersion syndrome" is being kept in check, and that my eyes are functioning normally. Yes they are, although I’ve been asked to return in six months’ time, rather than the usual twelve.

On the beer front, Friday and Saturday night, sees Tonbridge Juddians Rugby Club holding their annual Winter Beer Festival at the clubhouse. There are 20 different casks to choose from, but with matches from the first weekend’s play of the Six Nations Championship showing in the bar, the clubhouse is likely to be rammed.  For this reason, I’ve decided to give the event a miss especially as I've rather gone off beer festivals. Last weekend’s Dark & Delicious Beer Festival in Crowborough was an exception, being a pub festival although I'm still of the opinion that too much choice leaves one wanting less.

My recent post about my first ever brewery visit, which just happened to be Marston’s at Burton-on- Trent, attracted a lot of comment, but more so with people trying to guess the pub selling Bank’s Bitter that our coach party stopped at, on the way back to Salford, from Burton. 50 years on I'm unable to recall the name or location of this pub, and despite the best efforts, of some of the most knowledgeable pub goers in the area, I'm still not convinced that we cracked it.

The trouble is we tend to recall events or locations far better when there's something memorable or worth remembering, and whilst I’m confident that the beer was good, (pubs were shifting much higher volumes of cask back in those days), there was nothing that memorable or out of the ordinary that jumped out in front of me. So, try as I might, the only recollection I have is the pub was close to a roundabout and on the very edge of a town, somewhere between Burton and Greater Manchester.

Another thing I've been doing over the past few weeks, is laying some tentative plans for some days out by rail.  Initially I wanted to take advantage of the government's Great British Rail Sale promotion, and whilst there were a number of bargain, half-price tickets available, none of them were to places I wanted to go. Furthermore, if they were, they were at the wrong time or on the wrong date. Despite this I have pencilled in a day trip to Newcastle upon Tyne – a city I passed through several times on journeys to Edinburgh, but have never spent time at, or taken time to explore.

Other places on my wish list include Leeds, plus a few Midland destinations, including Tamworth, to visit this year’s CAMRA Pub of the Year, winner, (see below), plus the Black Country Walkabout, postponed from last August, due to my third brush with COVID. A lot has been happening as well on the brewery front, although other bloggers have covered these events far better than me. Pride of place here goes to Chris Dyson, whose latest post on his very readable, Real Ale, Real Music site – History Repeating Itself, is well worth looking at.

Moving on, the news that Tonbridge’s Nelson Arms failed to scoop the top award in CAMRA’s National Pub of the Year, is probably old hat by now, although the pub did make it to the final four. The Tamworth Tap, in the town of the same name, picked up the top award, for the second year running, so the pub must be doing something right. I haven't been to the Tamworth Tap, although I'm seriously contemplating paying it a visit. Having seen the pub’s website and taking in all that the Tap has to offer, I appreciate the features which must really have appealed to the judges. 

I haven’t spoken to Matt at the Nelson, since the award was announced, and whilst the pub would obviously have been disappointed, reaching the top four in the country was an achievement in itself. That's it for the time being, and there should be plenty to follow in February which, as I’m sure you’ve realised, has already begun.