Category Archives: Pubs

Mr Smith is/has Stout

I love proper English, like. Mr Smith’s Stout. 

We’re in the Prince of Wales, in North Shields. I have Sam Smith’s stout and my second in command has strawberry beer.

The Maggie Bank

I came to North Shields this morning in search of beaded skirting board. And I was very pleased to find a close match to the 1800s skirting in the house. 

The timber yard was very busy, a Saturday morning thing I guess. A man helped me find the right skirting; they have a huge range. He asked me how much I needed and i said around 2.5 metres (knowing the limits of public transport). 

He went off to find a piece and returned a few minutes later. Apparently, it only comes in four metre lengths, which is actually great, but he’d cut off a metre and a half to match the size I wanted. He had to sell me the whole length, but it’s good to have spare. He said he’d left it outside for me, so I paid then went to collect the wood. 

The wood is currently with beer kegs out back at the Magnesia Bank. I realised that, even reduced in length, I’d not be able to transport it on the Metro. And, so, I needed to find somewhere to wait for a lift home. The Maggie Bank was an obvious choice. 

It’s six years since I’ve been here; I came for a pint with Ellen before a pretty cool wedding. Well, the pub’s just round the corner to the register office. 

It’s not a bad place to wait with a piece of skirting board. 

Skirting

I came to Ouseburn this morning, led by a web page, to attempt to find a match for some old skirting board. Unfortunately, the wood product vendor no longer copies old mouldings. It seems that the internet cannot always be trusted. 

It hasn’t been a wasted trip though. I’m now sitting round the corner, in the Free Trade Inn, in front of a fire, with a delicious pint of Box Social Porter. It tastes very chocolatey. 

They seem to have standard torus skirting here, so shouldn’t have any problem if they ever decide to remove a doorway. 

An early Kings of Leon album is playing and Craig David is asleep on a barrel. I’m quite content. 

It’s now raining, so I shall stay for another pint of Porter. 

13th Note

Ok, so maybe we’re now in the 13th Note rather than on a train. The second pint of stout in Mono persuaded me that I needed a falafel burger. And a pint of West’s St Mungo. 

MacSorley’s next I think. Then perhaps a train. 

The end

The end of Augustines. At least for my second and command and I. There’s a gig in Belfast, then a final one in Liverpool, but we’ll not be there. It’s quite an emotional time for my second in command; she’s been addicted to their music for some time now. 

And, so, we’re seeing them this very evening in Glasgow, my favourite city. 

We’re currently in the 13th Note, which happens to be my favourite bar. A bar that serves the most delicious falafel burgers. 

My second in command lost her (most expensive ever) Brewdog hat this afternion. In the Horseshoe Bar, she believed. But it’s not there. 

It’s possibly a day for lost things; Augustines, my second in command’s Brewdog hat and, technically not lost today, but purchased across the road to this very bar a few weeks ago, before being mislaid the next day, sheriff’s badge. 

One of the above has now been replaced. 

The Schooner

The Schooner is a very nice pub. Currently playing a bit of Ska. 

Although I’m only here because of a breakdown in communications between myself and my second in command. 

I planned to meet her from work, and communicated my intentions, but for some unknown reason, she left me waiting in the Split Chimp while she went home. 

So I left to go home too, only to find that my second in command had set off (an hour late) to meet me. 

Anyway, I’ve had a nice walk; a walk I’d not done in ages. Through a cool, but newly defaced (I took no pictures of such things) cemetary. 

There would be other pictures, but I have a rubbish signal and can’t be bothered to look for the wifi code. 

I’m assuming that the railings were removed and melted down during WWII, but I bet the place looked great a hundred years ago. 

Running

We wandered down the hill this morning to watch people running. 

It was all a bit tiring, so we found somewhere to have a sit down. The roof terrace in the Central. 

Then, obeying the instructions on my beer glass, we had a walk along the quayside.

We’re now in the Tyne Bar, then to the Ship for some lunch. 

Addendum: Since the sun is shining, we’ve decided on another beer in the Tyne Bar. 

Mono

And, now, our first visit to Mono. I was only told about the place yesterday, a veggie bar-cafe-music shop. 

We’re not hungry, but the menu is impressive. They even stock Sam Smith’s beer too.