Use it or lose it

“Use it or lose it,” pub campaigners tell us and given the current cost of living crisis, with spiralling energy costs and the general feeling of malaise in the economy, it’s small wonder that pubs and bars are really feeling the pinch. We've heard these cries of doom and gloom before, and those of us who grew up in the 70s will already be familiar with high inflation, rocketing oil prices, industrial unrest, and other assorted ills. Unfortunately, I don't think we really expected to see them return, in quite the way they that they have.

Leaving these problems aside, the fact remains that, for many people, going to the pub, was already becoming much less a regular occurrence, irrespective of the problems outlined above. I’m as guilty of neglecting my local pubs as anyone, and whilst I live within 10 minutes walking distance of at least four pubs none of them particularly appeal to me in the same way, as they might have done 30 years ago. The reasons for this are complex, and I don’t intend to go into them here, but if you want to read more on this subject, then click on the link to an article I wrote 13 years ago, titled "The end of pub going."

Being semi-retired does mean I have more free time, even though my wife appears to be conspiring to use as much of it as she can! For example, she's switched her working away from home day, from Tuesday, when I would normally be at work, to Thursday. Consequently, I now have chauffeuring duties, taking her in to her office, and picking her up after, which regrettably impacts somewhat on trips to the pub.

To counter this and set in stone some much needed “me time”, I drew up a list of pubs towards the end of last year, that I was able to visit using public transport. The latter primarily means bus travel, as I have an old git’s pass that allows me to ride for free on buses, both locally and further afield. I also possess a Senior Rail Card, which entitles me to a one third discount off the price of rail travel. There are time restrictions, in both cases, but as my passes allow free or discounted travel after 9:30am weekdays, and anytime weekends and public holidays, I'm quid’s in.

It's early days, but I’m starting to work my way through the list, and as long as I don’t allow myself to be distracted, like I was in 2022, then I’ve a whole year of pub exploration ahead of me. Last year, started off fine, for the first three months, but then went downhill. In mitigation, I was hell-bent on completing the North Downs Way, and my self-imposed, but necessary, tight schedule, allowed very little time for lunchtime pub stops. 

I started 2023, with a trip by rail to Rye, although strictly speaking, that was a couple of days prior to the start of the New Year. A week later, I called into Fuggles Beer Café in Tonbridge, where I enjoyed a few pints in the company of a prominent member of the local CAMRA branch, plus a couple of his Tonbridge Angels football supporting mates. Yacht Rock Pale Ale from Only With Love Brewery, and Gadd’s Utopian Power-Cut Porter, were the cask ales I tried. Both were good, although if I’m brutally honest, there was a little too much coffee in the latter for my taste.

Then came my business trip to Scotland, which didn’t allow  many opportunities for pub going. Then, last Friday we had some family business to attend to that I want to go into at the moment, although I managed to swap Friday for Sunday lunchtime. This time, I visited the other of the two Tonbridge pubs that I tend to use, and the one that offers the widest selection of cask beers. This, of course, is the Nelson Arms, which by far, is the best traditional pub in the town. It offers the perfect mix of good beer, good food, and good company, all in pleasant and relaxing surroundings. I've written a lot about the Nelson over the past few years, and I'm pleased to report that the pub always seems to meet, and often exceed my expectations.

Sunday lunchtime was always going to be busy, and of course I was right, but noticing I was a single bloke on my own, the barmaid suggested I nipped along to the snug. There I would find some comfortable seats, in a quiet and out of the way, part of the pub, where I could enjoy my beer in a pleasant, and unhurried atmosphere. Those weren’t her exact words, but she was certainly correct about the snug having a number of comfy, high back chairs, each with its own small table, where one’s drinks could be placed.  There were a couple of other, unaccompanied fellas,  doing the same as me, chilling out reading a book, or a newspaper. I had my face stuck in my phone, catching up  on what was going on in the world – something Sir Humphrey would no doubt not have approved of, but each of us, for a while, wrapped up in our own little worlds.

It was pleasant just to enjoy couple of beers in quiet, comfortable surroundings, and being the Nelson, they were good beers, and ones not often seen either. I started off with Return to Flight, from Downland Brewery. I recall it being recommended by my friend in Fuggles, the previous week, and I'm pleased to report this 5% American-style pale ale ticked all the right boxes. I followed it with a glass of the 4.8% Lurcher Stout from Green Jack Brewery of Lowestoft, which was just the right beer for the cold conditions outside.

Away from the snug, the other parts of the pub were buzzing, with the area that acts as the Public Bar, packed. Some football game, or other was showing on the TV, but most of the people there were enjoying the Nelson’s ever popular Sunday roast. The same applied to the area in the right-hand corner of the bar, where customers can sit and chat whilst still keeping an eye on the ball being kicked around on the tele. It was Sunday lunchtime at its best and brought back pleasant memories of time spent in pubs, on the Sabbath, 30 or 40 years ago.  I was reluctant to leave but knowing that Mrs PBT’s had a beef stew cooking slowly away, at home, I drank up, slipped on my coat and hat, and headed for the door.

 

And there's more!

There were one or two things I neglected to mention in my recent post about Dundee, and whilst some might regard them as fairly trivial, they are still worthy of a mention. The first point regards the hotel we stayed at, as my colleague and I were really impressed with the high standards we experienced at the Hampton at Hilton. The hotel was spotlessly clean, the facilities were good, the service was efficient, and the staff friendly. What was effectively a budget price hotel, knocked the spots off other places I have stayed in recently, which just goes to prove that sometimes, price isn’t everything.

The same really applied to the rest of our experiences north of the border and especially to the people we interacted with. This includes the staff at Edinburgh Airport, the people at the car hire company, and the two taxi drivers who transported us to the post-conference, evening meal – fancy-dress party. On a personal note, I appreciated the chance of seeing Dundee’s waterfront, on our last morning in the city, when I took a stroll in that direction. My walk took me past the city’s new railway station, which opened in 2018.  Built at a cost of £38m, this impressive looking modern building replaced the old station as part of the Dundee waterfront regeneration project.

Reaching the waterfront, I came upon the Discovery, the ship used for the British National Antarctic Expedition of 1902 – 1904. The Discovery was built at Dundee, so it is perhaps only fitting that following careful restoration, the ship was returned to the city in 1992, and berthed in a custom-built dock. Standing almost adjacent to where Discovery is moored, is stunning ultra-modern lines of Dundee’s V&A Design Museum.  There wasn't time to take a look inside, but alongside other redevelopment work nearby, a substantial amount of money is being spent on improving this part of the city.

The other waterside structure well worth seeing was the Tay Road Bridge. Opened in 1966, the bridge replaced the previous ferry crossing, and remains one of the longest road bridges in Europe. A few hours later, my colleague and I drove across it, when we took the more scenic route, back to Edinburgh. This made a pleasant change from the inland route, via Perth and the M90 motorway that we had followed on our inward journey to Dundee. It allowed us to enjoy the picturesque Tayside countryside, at a slightly more leisurely pace.

On my way back to the hotel, I stopped to take some photos of the pub and restaurant we had visited two nights’ earlier. The Trades House Bar with its attractive stained-glass windows, depicting the nine “trades” that Dundee was renowned for, looked particularly impressive. I’d been convinced that the pub was listed on CAMRA’S National inventory of historic pub interiors, so imagine my disappointment when I discovered the whole place was a fake, and that the building was converted from a former bank during the 1990s.

It has to be said that the repro work was first class, and certainly fooled me, but with hindsight the woodwork, the carvings and other fixtures perhaps looked too new, even though they have been crafted in keeping with what would have been the fashion at the time. As if to acknowledge this, the Trades House Bar is listed under a special category, on What Pub, as a “Pub with outstanding Conversions & Restorations.”

It was rather windy when we arrived back at Edinburgh Airport, and we certainly felt it just walking from the car-hire drop off point, to the airport terminal. Our three o'clock flight meant that the airport was quite quiet, and pleasantly so, meaning we cleared security in next to no time. My colleague had a few emails to catch up with, on his laptop, I just sat and read a book, but we both decided that a cheeky pre-flight pint would be in order, and where better than the Brew Dog bar.

I ordered us a pint of Lost Lager each, and we sat down to enjoy it. We had earlier purchased a roll each from Pret a Manger, to eat on the plane, but my companion decided he couldn't wait, so out from his rucksack came the roll, and he started eating. I raised an eyebrow, but his response that having bought a beer each, there was nothing much that the bar could do. He argued that should the management ask us to leave, we could walk across to the benches, outside of the bar, and consume our rolls plus beer there. So, in the best BRAPA tradition, I decided to do the same. Unsurprisingly, no one batted an eyelid, although I was perhaps a little more discreet about eating my roll.

With a strong tailwind behind us we arrived back at Gatwick 20 minutes ahead of schedule, although the approach and the landing were rather bumpy. We parted company as my colleague headed off to collect his car, whilst I boarded a train back to Tonbridge. Our visit to Dundee proved successful, as our products received plenty of really positive feedback from our customer’s sales teams. The event was rounded off with a fancy dress dinner and party, so here is the photo of me, in costume, that I promised.

The theme this year, was to choose a character based on the first letter of one’s first name. So, for me, “P” for Paul, became “P” for professor, and a slightly mad professor at that! I already had part of the costume in the form of my lab coat from work, so all that was required for that “mad professor” look was the wig with the long, white  wavy hair that I purchased from Amazon. A bowtie completed the Albert Einstein look, so here I am, waiting to pick up my Nobel Prize!

 

 

Out at Christmas, from under the Covers

I’ve mentioned before that being a beer lover connoisseur, means that at Christmas time, I sometimes receive the odd beer or two, as a present from well-meaning relatives, or even the occasional work colleague. I published a post about this, three years ago, emphasising the fact that just because I appreciate a decent drop of ale, does not necessarily mean I’m going to be eternally grateful, if you happen to slip a bottle of some quirky sounding beer into my Christmas stocking.

“Paul likes his ales,” is a remark I’ve heard, and in the past, this has often been misinterpreted. To many people the word “ales” signifies a beer that is a cut above the rest; the rest of course being mass-marketed international brands of industrial lager. Regrettably, this often means the likes of heavily promoted Premium Bottled Ales (PBA’s) from brewers such as Badger, Greene King and Marston’s, rather than something far less mainstream, and far more drinkable.

As I said in that article from 2020, these are the types of beers that are unfortunately perceived by the general public as “real ale,” and the ones likely to appeal to a beer lover like myself. If I do find myself on the receiving end of such “delights” I try very carefully to appear pleased and grateful, as after all it is the thought that counts. I also work on the premise that sampling some of these mainstream brands, reminds oneself just how boring many of them are.

Occasionally though, and it is becoming slightly more common, I receive a beer which both surprises and delights. This occurred completely out of the blue, this Christmas, when I was the recipient of an unusual promotional pack of beer, courtesy of the eldest of my wife’s two nieces. To spare embarrassment, I won’t reveal the lady’s name, but she works as a sales representative for a local builder’s merchants.

Not many people will have heard of Covers, where the “o” is pronounced as in "Dover," but the company is a family-owned Builder & Timber Merchants with 15 depots, spread across southern England. Covers works with the building trade and is also open to the public, and last year the company celebrated their 175^th anniversary. To commemorate this significant anniversary, Covers commissioned Powder Monkey Brewing of Gosport, Hants to produce a special brew, and it was a three-can, promotional pack of these beers that I received as a present, on Boxing Day.

The beers are packaged in appropriate 440 ml cans, designed with a typical “tradesmen” look, so as to appeal to builders, carpenters, plumbers and other tradespeople who make up the bulk of Covers’ customers. The beer itself is a “Tropical Pale Ale” with an abv of 4.6%.  Tasting notes on the rear of the can, describe the contents as “A soft and tropical beer with pillowy mouthfeel from oats in the malt body. There are dry hop additions of Galaxy and Idaho hops, which combine to create passion-fruit aromas, with notes of pineapple and peach.”

The beer was certainly heavily focussed on the aforementioned fruits, but my main gripe was its hazy appearance. It is obviously intended to be that way, as the bottom strap-line invites consumers to “Store Cold. Drink fresh. Naturally hazy.” An unfortunate statement, as I am becoming increasingly averse to beers that are designed to be hazy – naturally or otherwise! In addition, I can’t imagine your average bricklayer, chippy, roofer, or sparks, being over-enamoured at receiving a glass of murk. This is a shame, as the beer itself is very good – especially when first poured, and before the sediment has entered one's glass.

So, what about the brewery behind the beer? Powder Monkey Brewing started up, in 2019, and based themselves in an old Naval Gunpowder Store in Priddy's Hard, Gosport. The name Powder Monkey relates to the boys and girls who carried the gunpowder to the guns on board ships. The company produce a wide range of beers across a multitude of styles, although I can find no reference of the commemorative Covers beer on their website, nor indeed on Untappd. It was a good idea, and a nice thought too, from Eileen’s niece, although I will be interested to learn what her customers thought of the beer.