Monday, August 04, 2008
Proper pubs
Serious urban boozers will be pleased to hear that there are still proper facilities in Buckinghamshire - a posh county which one would not have taken for the last chance saloon. We found, on a very pretty village green at Wooburn, two establishments of interest. First a giant working mens' club, built around 1870. Purpose built but looking rather like a school of the same era. Sadly, having let my membership lapse in a fit of the means, not able to inspect the premises from the inside. But there was a second in the form of the 'Old Bull' or some such. Heavily beamed ancient pub which still appeared to be intended for boozing and in which food, if available, was very much a secondary concern. Fine pint of Green King IPA in the back garden which looked out on real fields and woods. And some rather odd country buildings.
Shortly after that, a tour of the Old Kent Road. As the cheapest property on the Monopoly board, one expects to find something interesting, but on my previous visit it seemed to consist mainly of tower blocks. Presumably whatever made it the cheapest property on the Monopoly board had been bombed out of existance. On this occasion started out at the obelisk erected in honour of George III, in the eleventh year of his reign, one mile from Old Palace Yard. In a place now called, oddly enough, St George's Circus. Then to the Charlie Chaplin which was shut, it being a little before 1100. Then off down the Old Kent Road which did indeed have lots of tower blocks but also had lots of giant retail. Staples, ASDA, Sofaland (or some such), Comet and all the rest of it. In one of these places impressed by their manners. Left umbrella at checkout. Left past a Big Issue seller from whom we declined to buy a Big Issue. Shortly afterwards he comes tearing down the road after us to return the abandoned umbrella. So the check-out girl could be bothered to get the Big Issue seller to do this and he appeared to bear no grudge that we hadn't bought a Big Issue. I didn't even think to do that - or even tip him - being so pleased to get my umbrella back. Odd how annoying it is to lose things of this sort, which have very little monetary value. Nothing in the way of pubs or cafes to ease the way back to Elephant & Castle, but fortunately the Charlie Chaplin was open by the time we got back there. Newcastle Brown very cheap (for a pub) at £2.40. Acceptable substitute for real beer. Oddly ancient floor for what looked like a sixties build pub; but will it survive the impending redevelopment of E&C? And rounded off by a very good plate of mixed sea food noodles at the neighbouring noodlearium. We might well have been the only WASP customers.
Talking of building pubs, why is it that Youngs, now more or less taken over by Wells, is the only brewer which seems to be going in for new build pubs in London? There seem to be quite a few scattered along the south bank of the Thames. Maybe Fullers are at it too but I can't remember coming across one.
Painting of the extension continues to move forward. We now have two coats of brilliant white rich matt dulux on the ceiling - learning on the way that the rich matt takes lots of paint second time around. All that mattness must increase the surface area significantly. Completed the patching of the hole left by the stove - almost getting into a pickle when fixing the replacement bit of skirting. Push drill into plaster. Large crater appears in what seems to be very soft (sixties) plaster. Drill bit makes no progress in whatever underlies the plaster. Then shoots off at an angle into a crack in the mortar or whatever. Much the same thing happens in the second hole. So cut some soft wooden plugs, dip then in Unibond and whack them into the holes. Break them off at the surface. Got a good fix with some long thin screws, but the angle of entry means that we may not achieve a fully flush finish. But it will do. Now moving onto the woodwork.
Shortly after that, a tour of the Old Kent Road. As the cheapest property on the Monopoly board, one expects to find something interesting, but on my previous visit it seemed to consist mainly of tower blocks. Presumably whatever made it the cheapest property on the Monopoly board had been bombed out of existance. On this occasion started out at the obelisk erected in honour of George III, in the eleventh year of his reign, one mile from Old Palace Yard. In a place now called, oddly enough, St George's Circus. Then to the Charlie Chaplin which was shut, it being a little before 1100. Then off down the Old Kent Road which did indeed have lots of tower blocks but also had lots of giant retail. Staples, ASDA, Sofaland (or some such), Comet and all the rest of it. In one of these places impressed by their manners. Left umbrella at checkout. Left past a Big Issue seller from whom we declined to buy a Big Issue. Shortly afterwards he comes tearing down the road after us to return the abandoned umbrella. So the check-out girl could be bothered to get the Big Issue seller to do this and he appeared to bear no grudge that we hadn't bought a Big Issue. I didn't even think to do that - or even tip him - being so pleased to get my umbrella back. Odd how annoying it is to lose things of this sort, which have very little monetary value. Nothing in the way of pubs or cafes to ease the way back to Elephant & Castle, but fortunately the Charlie Chaplin was open by the time we got back there. Newcastle Brown very cheap (for a pub) at £2.40. Acceptable substitute for real beer. Oddly ancient floor for what looked like a sixties build pub; but will it survive the impending redevelopment of E&C? And rounded off by a very good plate of mixed sea food noodles at the neighbouring noodlearium. We might well have been the only WASP customers.
Talking of building pubs, why is it that Youngs, now more or less taken over by Wells, is the only brewer which seems to be going in for new build pubs in London? There seem to be quite a few scattered along the south bank of the Thames. Maybe Fullers are at it too but I can't remember coming across one.
Painting of the extension continues to move forward. We now have two coats of brilliant white rich matt dulux on the ceiling - learning on the way that the rich matt takes lots of paint second time around. All that mattness must increase the surface area significantly. Completed the patching of the hole left by the stove - almost getting into a pickle when fixing the replacement bit of skirting. Push drill into plaster. Large crater appears in what seems to be very soft (sixties) plaster. Drill bit makes no progress in whatever underlies the plaster. Then shoots off at an angle into a crack in the mortar or whatever. Much the same thing happens in the second hole. So cut some soft wooden plugs, dip then in Unibond and whack them into the holes. Break them off at the surface. Got a good fix with some long thin screws, but the angle of entry means that we may not achieve a fully flush finish. But it will do. Now moving onto the woodwork.
# posted by Jim @ 4:16 AM 
