...and the next pub....
...luckily the Painters Arms was just across the street so Julian didn’t need his island map or to log into Google Maps.
The pub was a nice building, but there must have been something about it that made the FOFs wary. Fortunately we had a professional decorator in our midst and everyone agreed he was just the right man to do a quick recce.
Unfortunately the Painters didn’t meet his expectations and so we moved on...
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| Very specific admissions policy.. |
The next pub also posed something of a dilemma as there seemed to be a fairly unusual admissions policy in force...
...after a brief assessment of the situation, and quickly eliminating the other options, Julian felt there was a chance we could pass ourselves off as children, especially as it was getting dark...
...so making ourselves look as small as possible (except for Timmy who’s small already) we entered The Union Inn...
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| The FOFs hold an emergency meeting about the admission policy... |
It worked...the other children looked remarkably like us and paid no attention, and luckily there were no goats and chickens to bleat or squawk on us...
...but Winston gave us a stern stare from the wall...and seemed to be trying to tell us something...was he referring to beer when he commented on 'craft' in 1947...?
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| "Craft is common both to skill and deceit" |
The pub is said to date back to the 1700s and it seems to have all the credentials of an old seafarer's establishment on an old narrow street in the town, and the interior looks the part with its low ceilings and old wooden beams. Nowadays it has something the average ancient mariner could only have dreamed of - 'boutique rooms'...
It's also said to have been a favourite 'port of call' for the Royal Navy press gang, so who knows how many locals, as well as dogs, chickens and goats, ended up in His Majesty's Navy...
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| Children ...no goats or chickens... |
As it’s a Fullers pub a review of the hand pumps wasn’t really essential...
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| Guess the beer names (clue - they’re all on RetiredMartin’s ‘Beers You’ve Heard Of’ list...) |
The pint of London Pride, had traveled well to the lost island and was at least good...
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| Pride... |
Before the press gang arrived we played it safe and left quietly - no bleats, or squawks or screaming tantrums...
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...after all there was that ‘cask beer of yesteryear' to try in the Vectis Tavern on the way back...
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| Beer with a proper chicken logo.... |
...which was served in an outrageously unacceptable half pint lager glass...
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| The glass isn’t the star... |
..but I can remember that Dick then insisted on having a customary single malt as a nightcap, and luckily remembered seeing one in the Fountain Inn earlier...
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| Night cap... |
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| Either my spectacles aren't working...or your hand has gone blurred... |
And so the FOFs wonderful adventure had come to a happy end...
"We'll have other adventures together, the five of us- won't we?"
They will - but that's another story!
(Enid Blyton's words at the end of 'Five on a Treasure Island'- I hasten to add...)
(any similarity to the adventures of Enid Blyton’s Famous Five are purely coincidental. Any harm to chickens, goats or children in the making of this adventure was only temporary and they had fully recovered by the next morning...)
They will - but that's another story!
(Enid Blyton's words at the end of 'Five on a Treasure Island'- I hasten to add...)
(any similarity to the adventures of Enid Blyton’s Famous Five are purely coincidental. Any harm to chickens, goats or children in the making of this adventure was only temporary and they had fully recovered by the next morning...)
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| Random photo - not relevant to the story in any way... |
