Last
Friday evening saw me heading over to
Tunbridge Wells, for
my company’s
Christmas party. I’ve kept the identity of the venue quiet, until
now, partially as a bit of a tease, but mainly because I wanted to experience
the place myself, before reporting back.
Tunbridge Wells is a
10-minute
train ride away from
Tonbridge, and despite being the larger to the two towns,
TW is not as well served by rail links to other parts of the country, as its
older and more historic counterpart.
Although my train departed Tonbridge on time, we were held
up by a red signal at Somerhill tunnel, one of several single-track tunnels on
this line which runs between Tonbridge and Hastings. There is a reason for
single track working, which dated back to a number of fraudulent cost-cutting
scams that took place, during construction of the line. I won’t go into details
here, as I know not all readers of this blog are train buffs, but if you want
to know more, then by all means, click on this link.
Despite my late running train, I was still 20 minutes or so
in advance of the
6pm kick-off so, to kill a bit of time, I called in at the
recently renovated
Bedford Arms, opposite the railway station.
I found to my cost that this traditional
stop-off for home-coming commuters, had been changed into an establishment
catering exclusively for the
18-30 crowd, although looking around, the
clientele seemed almost exclusively male.
So, plenty (too much) of testosterone
floating around, but much worse than that, a video juke box set to maximum
level, where you could feel the bass notes and drumbeats come crashing into
your chest, whilst your ear drums were rapidly atrophying. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve been to some pretty loud rock
concerts in my youth, including
The Who and
Led Zeppelin, but they were in a
different league, and context, in the setting of two large stadiums, rather than that of a relatively small, town local.
The
Pig & Porter Apparition Stout was in good form, and I learned from the
local
CAMRA WhatsApp group, that the pub is quieter at lunchtimes, but my
advice would be to go elsewhere if you want to enjoy a quiet pint in
Tunbridge
Wells.
So now for the main event, which took place at the
White Bear, situated just a short stroll from the station in the heart of
Tunbridge
Wells and a stone’s throw from the
Pantiles. Described as a
stylish tavern with a sun-room terrace, the White Bear re-opened under
its original name, following extensive renovations by
Young & Co. I said,
“original
name”, because when I first knew the pub, it was called the
White Bear. Whitbread,
its owner at the time,
closed the pub in 1985, but three years later, it re-opened as “Ruperts”. Soon after, it
changed its name and layout, to “Bar Zia”. This in turn closed, and in 2007 it
reopened as the "Tunbridge Wells Bar and Grill."
Pub and hotel company, plus renowned former brewery,
Young's,
bought the site in
2019 and took it back to its roots by renaming it the
"White Bear." Prior
to reopening,
Young’s sent out a press release, stating,
"Our understanding is that this pub
was hugely popular in its original incarnation, and we hope to welcome back all
the locals." The release went on to say that "The venue
has been restored to its former glory by Young’s and has reopened as a
quintessentially British yet modern pub under its original name.”
It was therefore with some trepidation that I entered the
White Bear for the
first time in
40 years. My initial observations were that the place was heaving
– hardly surprising for a
Friday night during h run-up to
Christmas. The other
observations that the interior was much larger than the one I remember, but as
everything looked so different, it wasn’t an easy comparison to make. I’d
already met up with a few of my colleagues outside the bar, so when the boss turned
up, armed with the company credit card, we all ordered ourselves the first of
many drinks of the evening.
Beer-wise, there were three hand pumps serving
cask ales, but with the pump-clip for
TT’s Landlord turned round, it was a choice
between
Young’s London Original, and
Harvey’s Sussex Best. With the
contract-brewed
Young’s a travesty of what was once one of the finest beers in
the land, it was a no-brainer for me to opt for
Harvey’s. It was in good form
too, but don’t ask me how I scored it, because I’ve more or less given up on
beer scores. Having obtained our drinks, one of the bar staff conducted
us round to an open plan area at the rear of the building, that had been allocated
to our party. This area was set at a lower level, and was more or less self-contained,
but in order to do justice to the pub, I’d need to return during, the hours of
daylight, and at a time when the place is far less busy. Other colleagues
started to drift in, and whilst not a full house, our contingent still managed
to occupy four tables.
People’s food choices had been ordered several weeks in
advance, and when the grub turned up it was tasty and well-presented. My main
course of
Pan-Fried Seabream, with creamed celeriac, Brussel tops, and samphire,
whilst flavoursome and cooked to perfection, was missing something to soak up
the creamy sauce, because there wasn’t a lot of substance to the creamed
celeriac. Fortunately, I managed to procure some bread for a colleague and
myself.
Christmas pudding with cream and brandy sauce made a good desert, and
by way of accompaniment, a nice glass of
Port fitted the bill.
That was my only
“exotic” drink of the evening, as I stuck
to the
Harvey’s for the rest of the time, but I did observe quite a few
cocktails being ordered, mainly by the ladies – and I’m not being sexist here,
at all. There was a time, when drinks at the staff
Christmas bash were limited
to beer, cider or wine, with spirits and/or exotic cocktails ruled out. We’ve
got a new
accountant, these days, as well as a new
General Manager, and both
seem rather more lenient (if that’s the right word), than their predecessors.
All the same, I’ve noticed over many years, that many people go a little over
the top with their drinks order, when there’s a
“free” bar.
That aside, it was a most enjoyable evening, with good food,
and good company, providing a real chance for staff to let their hair down,
after what has been quite a tough year. I wasn’t too late in leaving, as I was
offered a lift back to Tonbridge by our Office Supervisor, who’d been tasked with looking after a couple of Japanese colleagues. They were in the UK for a
short “exchange” visit, which included an invitation to the Christmas party.
They were staying in Tonbridge, at the Rose & Crown, and I’m not sure whether
my colleague wanted directions, or just some companionship during the drive back, but whatever the case I was glad of a ride home to Tonbridge.
Somehow, we all managed to squeeze into her car, although as I
was sitting in the front, I had plenty of leg room! The visitors were dropped
off at the
Rose & Crown, and it was good to see this imposing and historic,
old coaching inn back in favour, with visitors from head office. Incidentally,
I’d called in at this historic old inn, the day before, primarily to see what the
place is like now, after having lost our custom, for several years to the two,
local
Premier Inns. My verdict was the
Rose & Crown was fine, and from the
feedback I heard from the visitors, they enjoyed their stay there too.
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