Remember the Charlie Brown Christmas song? It goes, ‘Oh Christmas tree, oh …’.
I much prefer, ‘Then raise the scarlet standard high’.
Yes, I know there’s the old Labour Party version. It’s more current, more correct; but the old version is so cool. And, in the weird place we’re in right now, so relevant.
Anyway, a Christmas tree.
So, me, my beloved and the hound had a pleasant evening on Thursday in Peterborough.
We weren’t there for the best of reasons, a funeral.
Roadworks meant we arrived later than we’d have liked, but we still managed most of the bits that mattered: the Bumble Inn, the Ostrich, the Draper’s Arms, the College Arms (ok, so the last one’s awful).
We met a lovely guy in the Ostrich, from Cramlington originally, but he’s lived in Peterborough for a couple of decades. He’s a Gateshead supporter though.
This morning (yesterday really, I guess), I had a big decision to make. While my beloved was at the funeral, I could either fill in the pub gap from the previous night (just two), or go for a walk with the dog.
Surprisingly, I decided on the latter.
So, the hound and I walked along the Nene, ending up on the Green Wheel route. I’d cycled that way a few years ago, but it’s so much slower on foot, even with a two year old dog.
Anyway, we had a lovely walk this morning/afternoon.
And then it rained. And snowed (the hailstones we’re a killer).
The dog doesn’t like rain. So she didn’t like (or understand) hailstones. We were caught out in the open.
My usual plan in such circumstances would be to seek a pub. Unfortunately, this wasn’t an option, since I was on a bike path. That left me with a choice; continue on the path back to Peterborough, or seek shelter.
I decided on the latter, ending up in Stanground. That probably wasn’t my best decision.
With no shelter in Stanground, other than a leaky bus shelter, we waited to be rescued by my beloved. We were a bit wet at that point.
Proper wet.
After hearing about a new micropub in Durham, we had to take a look. The Holy GrAle is definitely worth a visit; a really decent range of cask and keg.
And a pretty lovely Marble imperial stout, 10.5%.
Since we were in the area, we also called in the rather excellent Station House.
And the Waiting Room.
Unfortunately, the dog experienced her first delayed train (waiting for an ambulance).
After her ordeal, she needed gin in Newcastle.
I’ve only been to Nottingham a couple of times in the past, so our eBay purchase of a van front end created the opportunity for a third visit.
It made sense to drive down yesterday and pick up the rusty lump up today. That gave us a chance to fit in some decent pubs, starting with the Doctor’s Orders, a pretty cool micropub I’d found on Mansfield Road the last time we were there.
It’s everything a micropub should be; decent prices too. Also discovered last time was the Crafty Crow, also run by the Magpie Brewery.
Naturally, we had to visit Ye Olde Trip To Jerusalem, allegedly the country’s oldest pub. I knew that the beer wasn’t going to be the best, but the building’s a real experience.
There were one or two other pubs, but I didn’t take pictures.
One minor negative was the £25 dog surcharge at the hotel, the highest of the three hotels accommodating the dog this year (£10 and £20 at the other two). So we made sure that the dog made the most of the facilities.
This morning, we collected the van front end. Fortunately, we managed to squeeze it in without resorting to the angle grinder I’d taken.
Yes, it has holes. But I love it. We’ll attempt to remove it from the van in the morning.
Arch 2 in Ouseburn has a great approach to dogs. They’re very welcome and even have their pictures taken to add to a dog wall. Now, this didn’t work very well in Harriet’s case, since she doesn’t show up very well in any picture taken in a dark bar (three pictures and pretty much invisible). But the idea’s great.
The Cluny seem to have adopted the same idea. This evening, the dog is not only visible-ish, she’s posing in the background.
The guys from One More Than Two brewery dropped this off with a cask today.
A mad but so funny thing to do.
Went on a micropub pub crawl in Teesside yesterday.
I don’t actually remember how many micropubs we visited, in Hartlepool, Middlesbrough and Stockton.
The day didn’t start too well, with some pubs poorly stocked. I’m not being critical; it’s understandable that small businesses are wary of taking risks such as stocking up with products (cask ale) with a short shelf life.
But the day ended well, with revisited pubs and new discoveries.
Some of our group did miss the last train home though.
When I had a proper job, even though I worked long hours, I used to enjoy an hour or two just sitting in the garden on a summer evening.
So it was lovely to get away tonight before closing time. Yes, we do live in a town, but we also have the cutest little garden.
An additional bonus too; time to enjoy a nutritious meal.
Me and the hound had a day off today.
The sky may have looked very blue, but it was a pretty cold day.
This is quite possibly the nicest beer ever.
