tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6722137562852954269.post4031068564603209568..comments2024-03-28T12:16:58.318+00:00Comments on Paul's Beer & Travel Blog: Classic, Basic & Unspoilt No.4 - The Sussex Arms, Tunbridge WellsPaul Baileyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09678639237696546268noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6722137562852954269.post-20937366281113731012020-12-10T00:36:06.600+00:002020-12-10T00:36:06.600+00:00I am 62 but remember visiting The Streets of Londo...I am 62 but remember visiting The Streets of London in my early teens. A real eye opener as a young remote village girl ������������Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6722137562852954269.post-80007842361066155322014-11-19T21:07:58.218+00:002014-11-19T21:07:58.218+00:00Hi Paul, I started drinking in the Sussex Arms abo...Hi Paul, I started drinking in the Sussex Arms about 1970, it was a great place despite constant attempts at "busts". You didn't mention the cellar bar where you had to wade through a small lake just to get in the door. The only beer sold in the bar was "Dortmunder Union" along with German wine and Schnapps. I too remember the "Street" it was grotty but there was a disco upstairs on a Saturday night if your girl was fedup talking about Hawkwind. Another popular drinking venue was in the little street that led between the High Street and the Pantiles. It was a wine bar but it also sold King and Barnes, can't remember the name but it was very popular!Neil Houltonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6722137562852954269.post-46516618545315492452014-11-19T05:58:41.937+00:002014-11-19T05:58:41.937+00:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11394423831843016236noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6722137562852954269.post-6042613095961314022014-11-19T05:57:40.064+00:002014-11-19T05:57:40.064+00:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11394423831843016236noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6722137562852954269.post-57076782330341251592014-02-22T23:42:50.986+00:002014-02-22T23:42:50.986+00:00Thanks for your recollections of the Sussex, anony...Thanks for your recollections of the Sussex, anonymous. There certainly aren't pubs like that anymore.<br /><br />Sorry to hear about the Square & Compass; I only had the pleasure of visiting it once, and that was sometime around 1982-83. <br /><br />Unfortunately pubs like that become victims of their own success. I remember my father telling about a marvelous and totally unspoilt beach in Norfolk. It remained unspoilt and virtually deserted until some idiot "travel correspondent" wrote about it in one of the Sunday colour supplements. Today, you can't get near Holkham beach on a warm weekend, without having to walk miles passed row after row of parked cars, and the charm of a beautiful deserted beach has been lost forever.Paul Baileyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09678639237696546268noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6722137562852954269.post-83693784027788160192014-02-11T02:07:39.318+00:002014-02-11T02:07:39.318+00:00Stayed with my pal and his girlfriend Xmas 1982 wh...Stayed with my pal and his girlfriend Xmas 1982 when his mother vacated her small flat on The Pantilles. We visited<br />this wonderful pub on a few occasions. I remember the gloriously eccentric batman explaining that the torn rugby<br />shirt on the Deers's antlers was left some years back by a <br />visiting French Rugby team who had visited the Sussex and left two days later. A great roaring fire and a small snug Bar with the oft seen picture of dogs playing pool. <br />Impossible to find pubs like it anymore. Another favourite<br />The Square and Compass in The Purbecks has become <br />over commercialised now also and hard to find a good boozer in London anymore that isn't jammed full of tourists like it's a theme park. Mr GAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6722137562852954269.post-48983360840497693252013-01-12T15:28:47.410+00:002013-01-12T15:28:47.410+00:00Methinks Eric is too youngMethinks Eric is too youngGreengrassnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6722137562852954269.post-22763851023616703942013-01-11T21:46:51.553+00:002013-01-11T21:46:51.553+00:00Greengrass, I never had the "pleasure" o...Greengrass, I never had the "pleasure" of knowing Mary from the Hole in the Wall! By the time I moved to the area the place had been converted to an ordinary pub, rather than its previous incarnation as a tobacconists, with a bar at the rear. Unfortunately, the conversion didn't last long and, as we all know, the Hole in the Wall is now a fish and chip shop!<br /><br />I do know however, that Guy Sankey managed to rescue some of the splendid Edwardian mirrors from the "Hole" when it closed, and they now adorn the walls of his splendidly quirky "Sankey's" pub in Mount Ephraim.<br /><br />ps. I will ask my walking partner, Eric about the Streets of London, as he cut his teeth drinking in the pubs of Tunbridge Wells!Paul Baileyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09678639237696546268noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6722137562852954269.post-55310148883771727512013-01-09T11:54:00.799+00:002013-01-09T11:54:00.799+00:00The Streets of London was a seedy, grotty but wond...The Streets of London was a seedy, grotty but wonderful drinking hole in the bowels of the Castle Hotel in Castle St., T. Wells answer to the Cavern Club. You may be too to young to remember it, or perhaps you were too busy chatting up Mary in 'The Hole in the Wall'. Thinking about it ,the Hole in the Wall was around much later than The Sreets of London.Greengrassnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6722137562852954269.post-26794285208106744992013-01-06T20:55:08.730+00:002013-01-06T20:55:08.730+00:00Thank you for sharing your recollections of the Su...Thank you for sharing your recollections of the Sussex, Greengrass, they brought back a few memories for me as well.<br /><br />I only had the pleasure of visiting the Boars Head on a handful of occasions, but remember the "wheeled stillages" on which the casks of Fremlins were kept. It was certainly a characterful pub. <br /><br />You are correct, I do live in the Pembury Road area of town, but the reasons my friends and I often end up in Wetherspoons is partly due to its more central location, but more for its interesting choice of beers. I appreciate that it can seem like drinking in a shed, but this is off-set by the beers it sells - where else in this area could you enjoy Surrey Hills, Hog's Back or Thornbridge Jaipur for example?<br /><br />It's a long time since I last set foot in either the Primrose or the New Drum, so I will try and make a point of calling in in the not too distant future.<br />All the best for the New Year<br />Paul<br /><br />btw. Where was the Streets of London? apart from being Ralph McTell's best known song, it's not a name I am familiar with.<br /><br /><br />Paul Baileyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09678639237696546268noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6722137562852954269.post-34554501920334707362013-01-02T14:10:30.192+00:002013-01-02T14:10:30.192+00:00This brought back many memories of a great Pub.
A...This brought back many memories of a great Pub. <br />Along with the curiosities already mentioned I remember the ancient Hams hanging in the flu, the Willow Patterned W.C. high on the shelf, the old Cuckoo Clock,the first slice off an Elephants ass,the oil painting of Dennis (like a Monet self portrait)& many other curious things as you say acquired from Brackets the auctioneers. <br />There were many characters using the pub at this time including Benny Hills sidekick, Bob Todd. It was rumoured that a lot of Hills script came from the graffiti on the toilet walls. <br />Apart from Dennis & Barbara & the Pub itself, Dave the barman was a great asset. How often now is your glass polished with a clean tea towel before being filled?<br />Another unspoilt Pub run by experts at that time but not so quirky was the Boars Head (Gordon & ? I cant recall his good ladies name), also The Streets of London but understandably memory is somewhat foggy on that place.<br />From your previous blogs, I gather you live in the Pembury Rd. area so Im curious to know why quite often after your jaunts you end up in Wetherspoons, why not the Primrose (excellent Hen on when I was last in) or The Drum (best Guinness in Tonbridge)<br />Happy & Healthy new year,<br /> Greengrass.greengrassnoreply@blogger.com