Pre-loading at Fuggles, prior to the firm's Christmas bash, results in an unexpected encounter

 

I had one of those rare chance encounters in a pub on Friday evening, which apart from being a surprise was one of those experiences when you start questioning did that really happen? So, what exactly is all this about? Well Friday evening was the night of my company’s Christmas party, which this year, took place at a venue in the St John’s area of Tunbridge Wells, called the Shuffle House.  It was an unusual setting for our festivities but as it happened it worked out really well, but you will have to wait for the appearance of the still to be drafted article, to discover exactly what made our party at the Shuffle House, so good.

I left the house early and set off for Fuggles to enjoy a pre-party drink - a quick “one for the road” so to speak. It was interesting seeing the different Christmas lights sparkling on people’s houses, and shining out through their windows, as I walked down into the town. Tonbridge’s medieval castle was also lit up and looking suitably festive. I had two interconnected reasons for calling in at Fuggles, the first being to tick off a new beer on Untappd, whilst the second was to get another stamp on my Fuggles loyalty card. 

This is a promotion run by both beer cafés specifically to promote cask beer, the idea being each time you buy a pint of cask you receive a stamp on your loyalty card. Collect 10 stamps and you can then exchange your completed card for a free pint. The offer is not applicable to lager, keg beer or foreign beers and is only applicable to cask. As such the scheme lends a helping hand in raising the profile of cask ale. So, by treating myself to a pint of Northern Monk Festive Star Porter, I effectively killed two birds with one stone.

There would still be plenty of time to catch a bus over to Tunbridge Wells and my rendezvous with work colleagues at the Shuffle House. Fuggles wasn't too crowded when I arrived, although it was still humming with the atmosphere that only comes with the end of the working week, but almost as soon as I'd walked into the pub, my glasses misted over following the change in temperature. I approached the bar and couldn't see whether the beer that I wanted was still on. The attentive staff asked me what I wanted, so I had to say, “you're going to have to read them out to m,e or wait until my glasses have cleared.” The young man was quite understanding, and when I mentioned the words Northern Monk, and the fact there was cinnamon and chocolate in the beer, he knew exactly which beer I was after.

Pint duly pulled and paid for, I stood at the bar savouring this excellent, winter porter, when someone I didn’t recognise at first, walked in behind me, before making his way to the bar. He turned towards me and said, “Hello Paul.” Wondering at first, who the hell he was, I suddenly recognised him as a former regular, customer at the Cask & Glass off license, that my wife and I used to run. I’m still not 100% sure, but I think his name is Ian, so that’s what I shall call him for the duration of this article. Ian would call in, a couple of times in the week, to pick up a four-pint jug of whichever of the 3-4 cask ales that we had on tap.

I remember him as a tenant farmer, running a small farm that I think was centered around fruit growing. He was always pleasant to chat with, and we would often talk about local pubs and what beers they were selling. I had actually seen him a year or so previously, and he told me then that he has given up the farm and taken a job with Royal Mail. This new job was less stressful and more secure than farming, although I'm sure he misses, at times, being his own boss. Much like farming, being outdoors, in all weathers delivering letters kept him fit, particularly now as we approach the busiest time of the year, for the postal service.

He also told me that the tenancy agreement he had with the landowner, allowed him to remain in the rented cottage, that went with the farm. I guessed this was because the land belongs to the Hadlow Estate, although locally the landowners are referred to as “Teachers”, following the marriage into the D’Avigdor- Goldsmid family (owners of the estate), by James Teacher, a member of the family that founded Teacher's Whisky. The estate owns large areas of land locally, centered around the villages of Capel, East Peckham, Five Oak Green and Tudeley. Mrs PBT’s used to work with a lady whose husband managed one of the larger fruit farms, and they have a similar arrangement regarding rented accommodation. Rachel, was renowned for hosting summer parties, held in a large marquee next to the farmhouse, and Mrs PBT’s and I attended several of these, back in the days before COVID.

Ian confirmed my guesses about Teachers Whisky and their ownership of his former farm, so we moved on to rumours circulating locally, about the possible sale of parts of the Hadlow Estate. There is a lot of apprehension locally about plans to construct large numbers of houses in the area. A large housing development is already underway at nearby Paddock Wood, and there are campaigns locally to fight similar developments at Capel. Ian’s thoughts were that the landowners wanted to construct a new development, similar to that at Poundbury, in Dorset, championed by King Charles, when he was Prince of Wales. With the new government’s plans for 1.5 million new homes to be built, across the UK, things aren’t looking too good for lovers of the countryside.

Moving on to happier things, the Festive Star Porter was exceptionally good, with the cinnamon and chocolate flavours going well with the solid malt base of the beer. Ian and I shared a further pint of it between us, after one of the other barman had inadvertently poured him a second pint, without realising that his colleague had already pulled one. The “extra” pint was on the house, so it seemed rude not to help out by assisting with its “disposal.” There was a nice atmosphere in Fuggles that evening, one made all the nicer by that chance encounter, and had it not been for the lure of the firm’s party, I could quite happily have stayed there for the rest of the evening.

As things turned out, the party was a roaring success with the new venue, and its South American food offering (and drink), proving a hit with all who attended. I got the timings just right, by catching the No. 7 bus, from the stop just down the road from Fuggles, and arrived at the Shuffle House almost on the dot of seven o’clock. You can read about this relatively new addition to the drinking (and dining) scene in Tunbridge Wells, next time.