My nearest is the Duke of Wellington, but you’re more likely to find me in the local Tap & Spile. Neither are the quiet havens of real ale and conversation that they used to be - TV and jukeboxes have won the day. :rolleyes:
Cool. We’ll have to sort out going for a beer or two sometime.
I spent many hours in the Posada, ScareyFaerie. It looked shut the last time I passed by and I mourned it’s passing …
Not the nearest to me, but for a drink out in Bournemouth it would be the Goat and Tricycle (the only real pub left in the town centre) or Bar Vin, which despite its name serves a good pint of real ale.
Other pubs I visit a fair bit are in and around London: the North Star in Ealing, The Counting House and the (New) Moon in the City, and the Load of Hay in Hillingdon.
That said it’s probably the Wetherspoons at Heathrow I see most of lately.
I’m in the US and have had several “locals” throughout my life. One thing that appears to be common is that regulars always seem to complain about how bad their local is. In fact, one of the common conversation threads at the bar is how it really sucks. But of course, we continue to frequent it night after night. Is this common in England too?
I guess it would depend on how much choice you had. In my experience if a pub goes downhill, folk would just move on to somewhere else, but I’ve always lived in places with plenty of choice. Where I grew up there were 8 pubs within 5 minutes walk. Where I live now there are 5 in 5-10 walk. Make it 15-20 minutes and there are a whole heap more.
All right, you lot, you’ve made this Yank curious to know more about the lure of pubs in general. In fact, I started a thread about it.
It was open last night, we went in there for restorative drinks after singing our way through a Mission gig!
That’s the strange thing about the Posada, it seems to go through landlords at an amazing rate. In the time I’ve lived here, it’s been closed more times than I care to remember but each time it’s only shut for a week or two and then opens up again with someone new behind the bar.
Tim, the last bloke in charge, was good fun. Camper than a row of tents at Millets, and a great laugh, he seemed to really make a go of the place but then he left very suddenly.
The new people have changed things a bit - the “usual” beers (Adnam’s Broadside, Wells’ Bombardier and Shepherd Neame’s Spitfire) have gone, to be replaced by extra guest beers. That has left them with the standard stock of Timothy Taylor’s Landord, Deuchars and Old Speckled Hen, with three guest ales. Last night it was Waggledance, Jennings’ Cumberland Ale and one other that I can’t remember.
It’ll be interesting to see how long this couple lasts!
Ah - that explains it. When I was a regular (15 years back) it was a Holden’s. I called in a few years ago on a Saturday afternoon and it was empty and the beer badly kept. The last time I passed through Wolves it was shut and I ended up in some horrible place that used to be a bank. From a quick walk through to the station it looked like most of my olf haunts had changed, so I didn’t want to make a detour to any and risk disappointment by finding the Great Western has become a Walkabout or summat.
You’ll be pleased to know that the Great Western certainly hasn’t changed, you can still get a good pint of Holden’s in there, and it’s one of the few locals around town that still sells Batham’s.
Aside from the Posada, the only other city centre pub that has anything like a decent choice of ales would be the Tap and Spile provided you don’t mind sharing your pint with the footie crowd on a Saturday. The Moon Under Water currently has a fair selection of beers but of course it’s cheap and therefore qualifies as chav-central.
Our other occasional watering-hole is the Giffard but you have to be prepared for the crusties, ageing rockers and wannabe goths!
Thanks for the info - next time I’m summoned to visit Mother I’ll pop in.
No change there then! Glad to see it’s survived when so many other biker-friendly places have gone. I have a soft spot for the place.