Garden Hermit Goes...North Pt II...Back To 1903

After arriving at Pontefract on Friday teatime and a quick 'Thai Fusion' takeaway meal - don't ask me - but it tasted ok...

... I went with my son Andy to his badminton club meeting, and while I was there even spent a few minutes trying to beat all the feathers off the shuttlecock with the metal edge of the racket (long, long time since I've played!).

 The important part of the evening though was the trip to the pub after badminton club, the 1903 at Hooton Pagnell,, which is a 'bar and kitchen'.

I had visions of a room full of worktops, a sink, fridge/freezer etc etc with a bar, but no - it's just a trendy modern name, and it actually looked remarkably like a pub inside, which was reassuring.  Let's call it a pub...

Looks like a pub...

 Inside, the first thing to catch my attention was a large plaque on the wall with the name of the pub and, underneath, a piece from Hilaire Beloc's essay 'On Inns' (see top photo).  Probably as relevant (or more so) now than it was in the early 1900s, and surely a clarion cry for that great pub and real ale campaign group CAMRA.  Beloc was clearly well ahead of the game in worrying about pubs.

Anyway the 1903 Session Blonde 3.9% (Chin Chin Brewing Co) was bang on after a strenuous evening watching people play badminton, cool, light and refreshing....

The second thing to grab (everyone's) attention, was a women with a group of people, who had a very loud laugh that was uncannily similar to a neighing horse. Unnerving...

I needed a half of the Cow Whisperer Milk Stout 4.6% (Chin Chin Brewing Co) after that, which was smooth and perfect for calming the nerves.

Time passing quickly...

Time passed quickly, as discussion amongst club members inevitably focused on their unbeaten top of league performance, and the possibility of staying unbeaten and winning the league (which they subsequently did),...

... with the occasional interjection of nearby 'neighing'.

The 1903 is a nice bar/kitchen/pub/inn* and the beer was excellent ( this is Yorkshire after all)!

* delete as appropriate.

Garden Hermit Goes...North Pt 1 - Stop For A Bass

 

 While planning a journey north for a weekend with my son and daughter-in-law in Pontefract, (West) Yorkshire it occurred to me that I may be passing close to Bass country, as covered extensively in the adventures of Britain's Beermat in his blog 'Life After Football'.

After a bit of research on the internet it became clear that I could...

1)  Call in at one of two pubs selling Draught Bass, just off  J23 M1, or,

2)  Stop for my usual 'comfort break' at the Roadchef services at J15a.

It wasn't the most difficult decision I have ever made, and I arrived at The Horse, free house pub and restaurant, at about lunchtime on a Friday.  The pub is at the side of the busy A512, just a mile off the M1 on the outskirts of Shepshed, Leicestershire.  

The Horse pub

Ordering a pint of Draught Bass felt almost surreal, like I had come across some kind of oasis.  

"A pint of Bass please" said a voice that didn't to be mine, and I watched the pour and the mist of bubbles slowly rising to the top of the glass sporting its iconic gold edged red triangle...was it a mirage?...

 

Blurred - but not a mirage

 No...just another rubbish blurry photo - it was real.

Stop me if you think I'm getting a bit emotional here, but I can't remember when I last had a proper pint of Bass in my hand! *

Absolute nectar...

 

Bass and flat cap - what a pairing!

.. I thought I'd better have a quick bite to eat too...

Lunch

There was a steady stream of Friday lunchtime diners arriving while I was there, and a few regulars at the bar engaged in typical bar banter - whatever that is.

Locals grappling with the 'free pie' issue

At one point in the banter the landlord seemed to offer one of the regulars a free pie, and whilst the general consensus at the bar seemed to be 'you can't go wrong with a free pie', the offer is turned down with a mumbled 'my freezer is full'.  Mystifying...

 

When you wish lunch could have lasted longer.. Proper Bass lacings though.

The Horse is a really nice little pub and perfectly placed to break that journey north with a Bass.  

Just a fleeting glimpse of Britain's Beermat's world of Bass pubs - 

- but I won't miss the Roadchef services.

* I've remembered - it was at the Peg and Parrot, Totton (no longer serving Bass as far as I am aware) - see my old blog post on Wordpress - 'There Be Treasure'