Looking forward to the cakes and ale

Last Wednesday evening, exactly five weeks to the day from when she was rushed to hospital by ambulance, I turned up to collect my good lady wife from Hawkhurst Community Hospital, and brought her back home.

It’s been a lengthy and at times, very draining experience; obviously far more so for her than for me, but the effects of nightly hospital visits, combined with work and running the household, have all added up leaving me needing to recharge my batteries as well.

I therefore took Thursday and Friday off from work, partially to recuperate, but more importantly to help Mrs PBT’s readjust to life at home and get her used to being away from the hospital routine.

She didn’t need much encouragement with regard to the latter, and she is coping well with getting around again; although there’ll be no long walks in the country for a wee while. I’ve also taken this opportunity to get my car looked at, as it was knocking up an additional 200 miles a week! The bathroom project is also being dusted off, although it will be several weeks before either of us are ready to face the upheaval which goes with a major renovation.

I also want to reconnect with the world outside of immediate family and work, and get back out visiting a few pubs and attending the odd CAMRA meeting. It’s been eight weeks since I last attended a CAMRA function, and that was our Christmas meal at the Brecknock Arms, so I’m itching to get back into the swing of things again.

This weekend our local rugby club, Tonbridge Juddians held their annual Winter Beer Festival. With Eileen only a couple of days out of hospital, it would have been both inappropriate and rather uncaring for me to have gone charging off to the TJ’s clubhouse for an afternoon, but to be honest a crowded festival, with people jostling for space, and nowhere to sit down, is not the sort of re-introduction to the world of beer I am looking for at the moment.

Instead, a few quiet pints, in an equally quiet pub, with a couple of close friends is much  more in line with what I’m looking for at the moment, so I will try and arrange something along these lines for next week. In the meantime it’s just good to have the family unit back together again under the same roof.

A couple of unexpected surprises

One of the advantages, but occasionally one of the drawbacks, of being a beer lover is that friends and family are never at a loss at what to buy for you at Christmas, and the last festivities were no exception. Whilst not quite enough to float the proverbial battleship, there was still beer a plenty in the Bailey household.

I’ve only just got round to drinking some of it which, considering the events of he past five weeks is hardly surprising, but  whilst I remain truly grateful for all of the beery presents bought for me, some of the choices do show the power of mass-advertising, and the dominance of big brands.

This is especially the case when the selection has been made by a non-beer drinking friend or relative. Somewhat predictably there is a bottle of Doom Bar amongst the selection, along with one of Poacher’s Choice (oh the power of rustic-sounding names!), but as stated earlier I remain grateful for these gifts, and will even enjoy drinking them; just so I can remind myself what some of these “big-brand” beers are like.

One or two though have left me pleasantly surprised and have acted as a reminder to never pre-judge something, but instead approach it with an open mind. One such beer was Fuller’s London Pride; a beer I used to be very partial to on draught, but which I rarely get the chance to drink these days.

What I found particularly interesting is the fact that like several so called Premium Bottled Ales (PBA’s), the bottled version is stronger than its draught counterpart, so bottled Pride weighs in at 4.7% ABV, whilst the cask version is a more modest 4.2%.

Not a huge difference you might think, but it is still a half of one percent alcohol by volume, and it makes a surprising difference to the taste. The bottled London Pride had a fuller flavour, if you’ll excuse the pun. This allowed the rich “marmalade” notes, normally a feature of ESB to shine through and come to the fore; the result a much rounder beer, which I really enjoyed.

The beer which was a real surprise though, and a pleasant one at that was “Old Crafty Hen”; a Morland’s brand from Greene King. This 6.5% ABV beer is described as “Oak-Aged Vintage”, having been matured in the oak vats, used for the GK classic Old 5X.

Although initially sceptical, I found this beer rather good and definitely full of character. Given its high gravity, it could have been cloyingly sweet, but it wasn’t. Instead it was a well-balanced beer, with the fruitiness of the malt, off-set by some interesting vanilla notes, no doubt derived from the oak vats in which it was aged. The only slight grouse I have is the beer being packaged in clear glass.

Full marks then to Greene King’s “Master Brewer”, who gets a mention on the bottle, even though his/her name is not revealed. And a lesson as well to be learned about approaching a beer with an open mind, and not allowing any preconceptions you may have to cloud your judgment.

A rural gem with that near perfect pint

The Bull Inn at Three Leg Cross, on the outskirts of  the village of Ticehurst, is one of those pubs I’ve wanted to visited for as long as I remember, but somehow never got round to.  I can remember people enthusing about the place years ago; possibly even before I moved from Maidstone to Tonbridge over thirty years ago, but for some reason the pub completely slipped off my radar.

This is crazy as it's less than half hour’s drive from my home. However, the area around Lamberhurst, Ticehurst and Wadhurst isn't somewhere I frequent regularly; at least not since I worked in Lamberhurst, but last Sunday evening I finally made the effort to visit the Bull, and boy am I glad I did.

Ticehurst itself is a large village; large enough  to support three other pubs, in addition to the Bull. The village lies in the upper reaches of the Bewl stream before it enters the man-made reservoir of Bewl Water, and close to the upper reaches of the River Rother which flows to the south-east.

There are several shops (general store and post office, greengrocer, plus the inevitable antique dealer), a café, a car showroom and the 14th-century parish church of St Mary the Virgin. Despite these attractions I believe I've only once ever been to Ticehurst, and that was just driving through!

There are lots of places in this part of the world with the suffix “hurst” after their name. We were taught at school that the word derived from an Old English (Anglo Saxon) name for a clearing in a wood, smaller than a field or meadow and generally alongside a body of water, like a river or lake.

Three Leg Cross lies a mile or so to the north of Ticehurst, and seems to be little more than a small collection of houses, the odd farm plus, of course the Bull. According to Whatpub, the pub is set in four acres of ground with gardens to front and rear, but it was dusk when I arrived, so I didn't see any of this.

Instead this attractive old  tile-hung building was lit up by a number of spotlights. There are two other adjoining buildings, one on either side, which may account for there being several different levels inside. The main part of the pub though is believed to date from 1385 and has been licensed since the nineteenth century.

I climbed the steps from the car-park and followed the worn brick path across the lawn. There are two bars, plus what appears to be a dining area housed in the building on the  far left. I chose the left hand bar, which I imagine is the equivalent of a Saloon or Best Bar. I was greeted by a number of dogs scurrying around my feet and I also noticed a log fire, smouldering away in the substantial stone-built fireplace.

Much of the pub appears to be constructed from large ragged lumps of sandstone, tinged with traces of iron. This is a common building material in this part of the Weald, the rust-coloured staining being evidence of the iron ore, which was mined and worked in this area during the centuries before the industrial revolution. Up until Napoleonic times, the Weald was the centre of the iron industry in Britain; the trees of the Wealden Forest providing plentiful supplies of charcoal  for smelting the iron.

It was a step down to the serving area, where a "T"-bar set of founts, mounted on the counter greeted me. I could see across to the right hand bar, which is at a higher level, and there I spotted a bank of hand-pulls. Although I was looking at them from the rear, I spotted the Harvey's Best pump-clip and ordered myself a pint.

As hinted at in the previous post, the beer presented to me was one of the finest pints ever to cross my lips. Cool, but not chilled, and with just the right amount of condition, this pint of Sussex Best had the perfect balance between sweet-juicy malt and peppery, earthy hops. Without question it scored 4.5 NBSS, and were it not for the fact that I have never scored any beer as a perfect 5, I would have done so this time. Looking back, I wish I had now, as the chances of coming across such a sublimely delicious pint any time soon are probably few and far between.

I went and sat down, close to the door with my back to the window, so I could observe the goings on. There was a lady sat warming herself, in front of the fire, who was later joined by a male companion. Just across from me were a couple of jobbing-builders, sat pouring over their estimates and accounts.  Instead of drinking the delicious Harvey's they were drinking Kronenbourg, but each to their own.

The dining area was empty, so I imagine Sunday lunch is the time for diners at the Bull. After the builders had departed, I took a few photos. I'm always a little wary of pointing the camera in the direction of people, even when it's not directly focussed on them.

After taking several shots my curiosity got the better of me, so I grabbed my glass and walked through the small lobby and up the step into the other bar. This was "L"-shaped, with a quarry-tile floor and walls of exposed stonework. There was a group sitting on benches at either side of a long table, plus a smaller number of people stood in front of the substantial log fire. This was blazing away much fiercer than the fire in the other bar.

I nodded a greeting to the assembled company, and before sitting down at an empty table, made a point of telling the barman how fine his beer was. In contrast to the other room, this basic and down to earth bar was only dimly lit. With its low beamed ceiling and the shadows cast by the fire, I could have been looking at a scene from a couple of centuries ago, were it not for the TV in the corner which was showing the post match discussion of the Six Nations rugby game which had just finished.

As if guessing my thoughts, the barman asked the assembled company if they'd seen enough TV, and when they answered "Yes" he brought out a suitably-sized mirror from behind the bar, ingeniously designed to hook over the TV screen. Noticing my smile of approval he smiled back and said, "No-one would ever know we'd just been watching tele".

Much as I would have liked another pint of that 4.5 NBSS Harvey's, I had a 25 minute drive home ahead of me, so reluctantly I drank up, returned my glass to the bar and departed. A customer standing nearby bade me a  friendly "goodnight"; a nice touch which further endeared me to the pub.

At work the next morning I discussed my find with a couple of  colleagues, one of whom appeared to know the Bull quite well. Apparently it is close to one of the courses where he plays golf, and he said it is always a good place to finish at.

As for me, I will definitely be making a return visit, but not now following hospital visiting, as I am very pleased to report that Mrs PBT's has  been discharged from residential care and is recuperating well at home. Instead I will combine my next visit with a walk around nearby Bewl Water. 

Alternatively, it may be possible to walk to Three Leg Cross walk from Stonegate railway station,  removing the need to drive there, and thereby allowing the consumption of several pints of that superb Harvey's.

On the right track

Well there’s now another corner of the county for me to explore, as I combine visiting my wife, who’s convalescing at a Cottage Hospital in the Kentish Weald, with stopping off for a cheeky pint on the way home.

Although Eileen has now been medically discharged, she is undergoing some rigorous physiotherapy to get her fully mobile – without needing support, and able to go up and down stairs once again. It’s surprising how much out muscles waste away when they are not being used; I know this from my experience of a broken leg, nearly 40 years ago.

It’s equally surprising though at just how quickly the human body can recover, given the right treatment, and how rapidly full physical fitness can be obtained. You have to hand it to the NHS, as they've done a first class job in restoring Mrs PBT's to full health., and at this rate she'll be running marathons before we know it!

With this in mind, my plans to explore a few of the pubs on the Kent-Sussex border may come to an end, sooner, rather than later. In the meantime Eileen can enjoy being pampered slightly, as where she is staying she has her own room, with en suite and TV. It’s also nice and peaceful which, after the somewhat frantic activity associated with a stay in a normal hospital ward, is very welcome.

I’ve only managed one pub visit so far, but it’s a real cracker and somewhat of a rarity in so much that it’s a real rural pub, used by real country folk, rather than the “Green Wellington”, “Escape to the Country” brigade. What’s more it’s a pub where beer and the drinking of it come first, with food of secondary importance. If that wasn’t enough, I scored the beer at 4.5 NBSS, and came extremely close to awarding a 5!

Keep an eye out for the post, where I reveal the name and location, and describe the delights of this  “proper” country pub.

A question of ethics

Like many bloggers I write partially for my own amusement (keeps me out of mischief, sort of thing), but also because I like to think I have something relevant, and of interest, to say on my chosen topics of beer and travel.

I started the blog back in the autumn of 2008, so later this year the site will be celebrating its 10th anniversary. During the past nine and a half years, I have written just over 900 posts, so I should hit the 1,000 mark later this year; especially as since 2015 I have aimed to write a minimum of 10 posts a month.

This isn’t always easy, given that I am still gainfully employed running a busy quality control department in a company which manufactures medical devices. I also have other interests apart from beer, pubs and travel, and these include walking (sort of travel, I suppose), home-improvements plus the odd spot of gardening. Then of course there’s the family, and all the domestic stuff associated with family life.

As I intimated at the beginning, the blog is something of a labour of love and is not written for financial gain or for other inducements, such as goods in kind etc. I intend to cover the latter area in more depth shortly, but it is worth mentioning that several beer writers I know, who started out writing blogs have gone on to bigger and better things. In their various ways, all three have made successful careers within the beer industry, either directly or indirectly.

Good luck to them, and I wish them all well. Although I’m sure they wouldn't have minded me mentioning their names, I will refrain because I don't want to be accused of name dropping, but I have watched one person with particular interest and seen him start out from involvement with his university beer club, before blossoming out and writing his own blog.

He has now achieved a full time position working for the Morning Advertiser.  The reason for my interest is I happen to know his father, who is chairman of my local West Kent CAMRA Branch.

Now I will name drop briefly, as due to my Membership of the British Guild of Beer Writers,  I have had the pleasure of meeting and spending time with esteemed beer writer, Martyn Cornell, and I was also briefly introduced to the famed and prolific beer historian Ron Pattinson.

Right, back to the main point; goods in kind or for want of a better word, “freebies”. This word covers a multitude of different items from the odd bottle of beer sent for review, books or even in some cases an all-expenses paid trips abroad.

These items – gifts in kind are normally sent with the expectation that the receiver (beer writer or blogger), will review them in a favourable light; normally on their site or blog. The same will also apply in the instance of travel experiences.

Some writers will eschew such “freebies” altogether, whilst others will make a big point of declaring them. One well-known pair of beer bloggers even have a separate area on their site disclosing all the items they have received.  Whether or not you think this is necessary depends on your own individual conscience and how you feel about accepting such items.

Some might say that you are more likely to give a favourable review for something you received for free, than you would if you had to buy it. Personally I am quite happy to receive bottles of beer, beer-related books, or even the odd all-expenses paid trip , and whilst I fully accept I might be more likely to review such items favourabley , this is more because I tend to look for the positives in something, rather than singling out the negatives.

However, were I to receive something particularly bad, it is unlikely that I would write anything at all. Instead I would contact the supplier to check whether I’d been sent a faulty item. If it was a beer I didn’t like, then I would review it, as objectively as possible, but would say it was not to my taste.
Like many beer writers I have been invited to various product launches, the majority of which are normally held in London. It is easy for me to travel to the capital by train, providing the function takes place at a reasonable time, and does not interfere too much with my day job.

The main problem here is that, in my experience at least, PR companies tend to leave things to the last minute and then assume everyone else runs their life the same way. It is no use emailing me on the day of the launch asking if I want to attend an event the same evening. I prefer several days notice, a fact which probably hasn't gone unnoticed and may explain why these invites  have more or less dried up.

Right, I've laid my cards on the table and come clean that I'm quite happy to accept all the freebies sent to me. After all, you have to take these opportunities when they come along, as it's not often you get something for free.

Or do you? Surely everything comes at a price, and just recently we have seen some of the worst examples of human greed, particularity in public life. A few years ago we had the "cash for questions" saga in parliament, and more recently there were the well-publicised cases of MP's fiddling their expenses.

In industry, the supply of "gifts" from suppliers at Christmas time has substantially reduced. My company takes the eminently sensible, and fair practice of raffling these items (mainly chocolates or bottles of booze) off to the work-force (management are deliberately excluded).

As well as "gifts" being slow in coming, we have also noticed a particular reluctance on the  part of people such as auditors, in accepting even a sandwich, and some  even flinch at the offer of a a cup of tea! The auditors I am referring to here, are assessors from our "notified body", and they are on site to conduct "surveillance audits" to ensure our certification in respect of the medical devices we manufacture and sell, continues. Without this we would not be able to CE Mark our products and export them all over the world, so it is a pretty serious matter.

It used to be standard practice to take the auditor to the pub at lunchtime for "a pie and a pint". Nothing too excessive and nothing, apart from a possible fuzzy head, or relaxed frame of mind, which could sway the outcome of one of these audits in our favour. A former colleague, who worked for a while in pharmaceuticals in the Irish Republic, told me it used to be the case that come audit time, the Medicines Inspector expected, and invariably received, what was euphemistically described as a "good lunch".

Of course those days are now long gone and today, as I mentioned earlier, even the offer of a sandwich from the local shop is usually rejected, for fear of being seen as accepting "bribes". I ought to mention that the company has to pay for these audits, and the cost is not cheap. One year we clocked up a bill running into tens of thousands of pounds, so bodies such as BSI, LRQA, SGS and TUV might be thought as doing alright out of them. When the audit runs over several days, we even have to foot the auditor's hotel bill!

There is however, one exception, and that involves the man (or woman) from across the pond. Every six or seven years we receive notice that the United States Food & Drug Administration (FDA), wish to come and audit us. No-one and I repeat no-one, relishes these visits, as they are disruptive, extremely thorough, very probing and normally take place over a four day period,  but where the US Government is concerned, they will pick up the tab.

Prior to the proposed visit, the FDA will ask us to arrange hotel accommodation nearby and also transport to and from our premises. They forward details of what they expect to pay for a hotel room and meals, and we then book accordingly. The auditor then pays his or her bill and Uncle Sam covers the cost.

I have probably over-laboured this point about auditing, but I wanted to get across how the world has changed when it comes to ensuring complete objectivity and total impartiality when monitoring company Quality Management Systems, and in the wake of previous scandals (think silicone breast implants), this can only be a good thing.

So returning to the main theme about writers and bloggers accepting the occasional few bottles of beer, or an invite to a product launch. Is it ethical to accept such goodies, and if you do, should you declare them? My own view is there is a world of difference between accepting a few bottles or cans of beer and writing favorably about them, and turning a blind eye to defects in a company's quality system; especially as the latter could have serious public health or safety implications.


On the rare occasions I do receive products for review, I always declare this in my write-up, as by doing so I feel I can present a more balanced view to my readers. For me it is not so much a question of ethics as one of transparency, so whatever your viewpoint, I feel this can only be a good thing.