Walking. Gossip. Travel.

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Liverpool Weekend (Day One) – And So the Trip Begins…..

I may have mentioned in passing, but it’s been too bloody hot this week and I was pleased to see some clouds in the sky in the hope that matters might be cooling down somewhat. As the observant might have noticed from the title of this post, I’m off for a little adventure to Liverpool with a few others. I deserve a break away I’ve decided.

I arrived early at the railway station as it’s the rather rickety East Midlands Railway service to Liverpool, although I’m getting off at Manchester as split ticketing meant that was much cheaper. And I decided I’d spend a couple of hours in Manchester itself as well.

There was then a twenty minute wait for me standing by the train, but I was pleased to feel that the temperature had reduced somewhat. This two carriage train is entirely inadequate for the number of people who want to use it, so it’s at capacity and there’s no space for luggage. Half of our group made the sensible decision to go via London, but I’v picked the thrifty route.

I boarded first to get a table seat, as this train doesn’t have any seat reservations which I personally think just makes thing easier but others are less impressed. It’s transpired that Bev is on the same train to Peterborough, where she’s getting of, and she’s a bit stompy down that end of the train judging by her comments in the group chat. Hopefully there will be some drama to report later on, likely involving Bev. But, I’m at a table seat, I have power and I’m settled in for the relatively long journey to Manchester. What could possibly go wrong…..

September 8, 2023
Food from Every Stall on Norwich Market – Week 21 and Tasty House

It’s week 21 of my visiting every food stall on Norwich market and today’s expedition was to Tasty House (the more formal name is Tasty House South East Asian Street Food Emporium) which specialises in Asian street food including Thai and Chinese.

The menu is relatively extensive with some daily changing specials. There are some traditional dishes, vegan & vegetarian options and sides such as spring rolls. The menu and the pricing should be visible by zooming into the above image on Flickr.

I know it’s not something that I mention often as I don’t like to moan or complain, but it’s too hot in Norwich at the moment. So given that, I went for a Dr. Pepper as a refreshing cool drink. Oh, and the food, I went for the Chicken Green Curry with sticky rice. The regular size which I went for was £7, although there was a large for £8.50, with options also of Jasmine rice or noodles.

The kitchen area and the food was served promptly, but I had a minute or two to wait as James was allowing other people to be served before him in the queue. He’s very much a gentleman…. The stall usually takes card payments, but their machine wasn’t working today and so it was fortunate that we both had cash available.

I started to eat whilst standing at the counter, but a helpful team member mentioned there was a seating area at the end of the stall they run opposite. That stall specialises in serving Asian ingredients, with the back of some of the shelves visible in the above photo.

But, back to the food, which I thought was a sufficiently generous portion for the money. I liked the food, with the chicken being tender and moist whilst also still full of flavour. The sauce had a depth of taste with some heat to it, which I thought was appropriate for a green curry. The rice was sticky as expected, with everything being at the appropriate hot temperature. I felt full at the end of this meal, which isn’t always the case by any means, with the standard of the food being higher than I had expected. There was a small salad included, which wasn’t offensive (well, not more than a salad usually is) but it wilted rather quickly on the warm rice. Also, although the curry sauce was a little thin, that meant that it soaked up the rice well giving extra flavour to the whole arrangement.

James went for the crispy chicken which is deep fried in batter with a spicy sauce. Perhaps not ideally moist, James likes the crispiness to the chicken and the flavour of the spicy sauce. It likely wasn’t as spicy as he wanted, since he could do the One Chip Challenge about eight times over, but he was content and sufficiently surprised and delighted.

Back to the service, this was pro-active, friendly and confident. I stood in the wrong place to order, but that was because I’m an idiot rather than because it wasn’t clear. The team members were helpful and they mentioned the seating area, also noticing that we needed to throw the litter away at the end and they came to James’s aid. I felt welcome throughout and the surroundings were clean and comfortable. The food was excellent, they had cold Dr. Pepper and this is a stall that I’d merrily visit again and recommend because it felt reassuringly competent.

September 7, 2023
Streets of Norwich – Damocles Court

Part of my Streets of Norwich project…. [updated in September 2023]

Firstly, and annoyingly, I have no idea why this street has this name. Answers on a postcard…. Unless it’s a recent dig at the authorities, since Damocles is about the constant threat which is faced by those who hold positions on power.

The court isn’t named on the above map, but it’s the one in the centre, which leads off Pottergate. Indeed, it doesn’t seem to have been named anywhere before 1980, so it sounds like a modern name. The court did once lead into Wellington Square, which has long since been demolished.

Looking down the courtyard, number 100 Pottergate is on the right.

In June 1980, the Illustrated London News had an article about housing in Norwich City Centre, noting:

“Damocles Court is a mixture of upgraded old houses and new buildings in vernacular style on decaying backlands”.

I’m not sure that I’ve seen Norwich city centre defined as “decaying backlands”…..

So, for the moment, this one is puzzling and I shall wait patiently for someone to solve this little mystery.

September 7, 2023
Bar Billiards – Well That Was Bloody Stressful

First of all, it’s been too hot today, but now I’ve mentioned that I won’t repeat it for a while at least. I arrived early at bar billiards such was my enthusiasm for the whole project, indeed so early I was the first player to arrive.

Thanks to Chay and Eli for ensuring the food came out just before I started the break on my singles game, meaning I was well fed before playing. Not that it mattered, I was hammered in my singles game 1,480 to 590. However, the Serengeti managed to be ahead 4-2 after the singles despite my little defeat, but the games were close and the opponents were great company. And we had plenty of food, so what more could we want?

Our captain Roy in action.

Anyway, Wes and I were drawn last to play doubles, so all our team had to do was to win one game (there are three doubles games) and all the pressure was off us. What happened? Our team lost their two doubles games, meaning that it was 4-4 and Wes and I had to play the final game. I won’t reveal our strictly confidential tactics here, but we were playing some fine players and we came up with a strategy which we thought might work. To cut a long story short, the bar dropped (signalling the end part of the game), the other player’s team member missed the final red which meant one thing.

That one thing is that I had to play the final shot (in bar billiards, there’s a second part to the game if the score is within 200 with a white ball remaining, or 400 with a red ball remaining). The final shot into the middle pocket and if I missed our team would lose 5-4. If I got the ball in, we would win 5-4. This is not an easy shot, it’s one that I really hate playing and the stress of trying to make this shot was not inconsiderable. I know I’m trying to build slight drama, but it’s a sub-optimal shot to have to play as the final one of the night when it decides who gets the points.

Going back a bit, I signed up to bar billiards because I was told there was beer, food and exciting company. I didn’t sign up to be any good at bar billiards, I just knew I’d merrily turn up to everything the captain organised to make up the numbers and I could be relied upon to gossip quite a lot about stuff. That was my skill-set (primarily the gossiping), not being competent about potting balls on a table with a stick. I didn’t expect to be in these stressful situations with 20 people watching, I was sold on the food and gossip if I’m being honest. There was definitely no mention of having to play shots like this under extreme duress.

But, what happened?

Did I pot that final shot?

Yes, of course I did 🙂 I was very grateful to the Tuesday night players from various teams who I’ve been practising with recently. Maybe I’m finally taking this seriously. Well, not too seriously.

It means the Serengeti won 5-4 against the Disasterfarians in what was one of the most fun games so far of the season. And thanks for the hugs and emotional responses from both teams, it was much appreciated and even Julian S sitting in the other room of the White Lion was startled by the cries in the room following the shot. To celebrate, I went to the King’s Head with Emma and Julian despite having squash in the morning. I mean, what could possibly go wrong?

September 6, 2023
Five A Side – A Little Update

I’ve realised I haven’t recently updated my two loyal followers on this blog about my brave five a side exploits. In my enthusiasm for this project, we’ve got three dates booked this month for the first time (including twice in one week, so what a time to be alive!!) as once a month on a Monday just wasn’t enough for someone of my footballing ability. Or something like that anyway, although I somehow scored a goal last night which wasn’t an own goal so I awarded myself man of the match. I ignored that some of the players were running solidly for over an hour whilst I had a little lean against the wall quite a lot.

And for anyone interested in joining this whole arrangement, e-mail jw@julianwhite.uk as goodness knows if we have enough players for the number of games that I’m organising at the moment. Although there are some star players (I won’t name them as this isn’t a football review site) a few of us struggle to kick the ball straight. As a big bonus though, they’re relaid the pitches at Goals so that when players fall over, which is quite often, the situation isn’t quite as painful. Julian S is still appalled at what he considers such a dangerous activity, he’s worried I’ll be too injured to visit the pub, which is a very kind sentiment although I note I haven’t injured myself for months….. And I run the risk of having three players who are the staff at my favourite Norwich pub, so if I injure all three of them then the service would be rather more interesting.

I also admire that some people are playing despite their injuries, although the youngest member of the team has broken his collarbone (not playing football I’d add) and can’t play for three weeks. Most inconvenient for my planning purposes. It’s now two Mondays and one Friday a month for anyone interested, or some similar combination.

September 5, 2023
Norwich – Rosary Cemetery (John Burrows)

[This is a repost with minor amendments, I’ve tried again to find out more about John Burrows but have had no breakthroughs of interest]

This grave at the Rosary Cemetery in Norwich caught my eye because of the use of Roman numerals, which require some thought (well, they do to me) to resolve…. It’s the grave of John Burrows who died on 16 January 1837 aged 78 years old. There are also two other names listed on the other side, also with Roman numerals used, which are Paul Thomas Edwards and Judith Edwards, but more of them anon.

The first burial in the Rosary Cemetery was in 1821, but as the established church didn’t really engage with this non-denominational site there weren’t that many more burials over the next decade. This means that John’s birth of 1758 is probably one of the earliest in the cemetery.

John was born on 30 November 1758 and was baptised on 3 December 1758 at St. James with Pockthorpe Church in Norwich, which is now better known as Norwich Puppet Theatre, and he was the son of John and Mary Burrows.

John was married on 22 October 1780 to Judith Yeomans of Trowse in the same church as he was baptised. They had their first child, again called John, who was born on 4 November 1785 and was baptised two days later, again at St. James with Pockthorpe Church. They had another child, Judith, who was born on 15 May 1791 and baptised seven days later, with no prizes for guessing at which church….

Judith, the wife of John, died at the age of just 42 on 24 June 1804 and was buried at St. James with Pockthorpe Church, yet another event for the family at this particular church.

John died on 16 January and was buried in the dissenters area of the cemetery on 22 January 1837. This is interesting, as something has happened that has made John not want to be buried at the church in which he was baptised, he was married, where his children were baptised and where his wife was buried. Instead, he’s deliberately been buried and listed as a dissenter.

I mentioned at the beginning that on the other side of the grave were the names Paul Thomas Edwards and Judith Edwards, and Judith was John’s daughter and Paul was his son-in-law. They married in January 1833, with John being listed as now living in Thorpe Hamlet and Thomas was working as a lime burner. And more about them in another post.

But, I can’t yet resolve what happened to John between the death of his wife in 1804 and his own burial in 1837, a period where his religious beliefs either changed or he felt able to freely express them. That meant that he ended up being buried along in the Rosary Cemetery until his daughter and son-in-law were buried with him a few decades later. I’m sure that there’s a fascinating story here, but I’m less sure that the documentary record exists to tell me what it is.

September 5, 2023
200 Years Ago : Dangers of Surry Street and St. Stephen’s

Reported in the Norfolk Chronicle 200 years ago today, there was the story of how a robbery had taken place near the Crown Inn on St. Stephen’s (long gone, it closed in the 1830s). Of more interest perhaps is how the newspaper felt obliged to warn the local denizens of just how dangerous this part of the city had become. They wrote warning of murder:

“In noticing this circumstance, we feel it incumbent on us to animadvert [isn’t this a wonderful word? It means to speak out against] upon the danger to which passengers and property are exposed in St. Stephen’s and Surry Street, from those two principal thoroughfares being at this time of the year, in point of fact, neither watched not lighted. The extreme darkness of Saturday was not relieved by the glimmering of a single lamp, and as for the watchman, not only robbery, but murder, might have been committed with impunity, for any thing that the nocturnal guardian of the district in question, was at hand to do.”

And for anyone who believes Norwich was safer in the past, the newspaper stories from 200 years ago suggest a city where crime was common and residents were in fear. Surry Street is actually what is now called All Saints Green, whereas Surrey Street connects All Saints Green to St. Stephen’s.

This map is from the 1850s, but All Saints Green (Surry Street) is the larger area below the church, whereas St. Stephen’s is the road shooting off to the left.

September 5, 2023
Two Julians – Norwich Index

It’s our intention to visit every pub in Norfolk and Suffolk, such as the commitment that Julian S and I have to this project. Our back catalogue is available at http://www.norfolksuffolk.org.uk/ for your delight and perusal. Or something like that anyway….

Here’s a list of the Norwich pubs we’ve visited:

Adam and Eve [January 2025]

Alexandra Tavern [August 2023]

Belle Vue [August 2023]

Berstrete Gates [February 2025]

Chambers Cocktail Company [March 2025]

Champion [February 2025]

Cinema City Bar [March 2025]

Coach and Horses – Thorpe Road [March 2025]

Coach and Horses – Union Street [February 2025]

Coachmakers Arms [February 2025]

Compleat Angler [March 2025]

Fat Cat [August 2023]

Fat Cat and Canary [March 2025]

Freemason’s Arms [September 2023]

Glass House [March 2025]

Hop Rocket [February 2025]

Jubilee [March 2025]

King William IV [March 2025]

King’s Arms [September 2023]

Nelson – Closed [August 2023]

Robin Hood [January 2025]

Rose [January 2025]

Rumsey Wells [March 2025]

St. Andrew’s Brewhouse [March 2025]

Strangers Tavern [March 2025]

West End Retreat [August 2023]

York [February 2025]

September 5, 2023
Norwich – Belle Vue (Two Julians)

Next on our list of pubs to visit was the Belle Vue and I’ve already written something about how the licence of this venue came about in my post about the Alexandra Tavern. It received its licence in 1878 and has gone through a number of owners, including S&P, Bullards, Watney Mann, the Norwich Brewery and now Enterprise Inns have it so it might well be doomed. Certainly the last few years have been troubled, it has faced a series of temporary closures and it’s on the back foot given that the nearby Good Beer Guide listed Alexandra Tavern is free of tie. This venue reopened in 2022 and the management posted on-line that “we are now open, new owners and new team. Food led, wood fired pizza oven, craft ales, wines and cocktails”.

There’s plenty going on here, I admire the effort being put in by the publicans. As a first impression, this gives a proper community feel to the whole arrangement.

There were four real ales, the Dizzy Blonde from Robinsons (now removed of females on its pump clips after a series of complaints), Black Wolf from Wolf Brewery, Golden Jackal from Wolf Brewery and Ghost Ship from Adnams. For what I’m assuming is a tied selection, this seemed quite reasonable and a perfectly acceptable range. They accept cards and cash, with the whole transaction being efficient and prompt.

I went for the Black Wolf from Wolf Brewery which wasn’t at its best. Served slightly too warm for my preference, which is likely just through sitting in the line, it wasn’t crisp or refreshing. I wasn’t entirely confident that this beer had been pulled through recently, but either which way, it wasn’t quite the quality I hoped for, but it remained drinkable.

I can’t say that I find the interior particularly cosy, there are a range of decors which are in places quite dark and it doesn’t feel light and inviting. It was clean throughout though, the publicans have made an effort to ensure that surfaces were dry and not sticky, with no empty glasses left on tables.

A view from the other end of the pub, this feels like it needs something of a makeover. There was some promotional material around the venue which was out of date which was hardly important in the scale of things, but felt a little sub-optimal. However, it would be wrong not to mention that the service was timely, friendly and conversational. We were greeted on entry and thanked on departure, so there was no absence of welcome. I felt comfortable during the visit and it felt like a pub that someone new to the area would find welcoming if they wanted to meet new people.

I noted the owner’s comments last year about bringing in craft ales (although I’m not sure what that phrase means here, I assume craft beer), but I didn’t see any during our visit and I can’t see any evidence of that judging from entries on Untappd over the last year. I’m struggling to add much more here as the pub’s web-site has disappeared and they stopped updated social media, so other than the board outside the pub it’s not entirely evident what they’re got going on. There is food served, but the hours are minimal for what they claimed last year is a food led pub, so I’m not easily able to write about the venue’s USP. I suspect from the signage that the karaoke, quiz night and free pool evenings are key drivers for the venue, so a visit on one of those evenings might be recommended for those who want to see the pub at its best.

However, I accept that a lack of web-site and the like might be fine as I will add my normal caveat that it is entirely possible that the venue is performing very well and they don’t need any more trade, which is a perfectly acceptable position. It remains very positive that the pub is still open serving the local community and it deserves plenty of praise for remaining open during these challenging times.

September 5, 2023
Norwich – Alexandra Tavern (Two Julians)

Next in line on our little tour was the Alexandra Tavern which has been a pub since the 1860s, taking its name from Alexandra of Denmark, the wife of King Edward VII. It’s a well reviewed pub on-line and it’s also listed in the Good Beer Guide.

As a pub history side note, the Norfolk Chronicle reported on the Brewster Sessions held in August 1877 in which the Alexandra was mentioned, but I think it’s an interesting snapshot of licensing at the time.

“Mr Carlos Cooper, barrister, applied on behalf of Messrs. Steward and Patteson for the transfer of the licence of the Cock and Pye public house, St. Simon and Jude, to other premises situated in St. Philip, Heigham. Mr. Cooper said that of course it was unnecessary for him to state that he was not applying for a new licence, but was now asking for the removal of one. The late Mr. Winter’s representatives had about 16 acres of land, very well adapted for building purposes; this was now in course of being sold and built upon, and there had been about 40 or 50 houses built there up to the present, and when the whole of the land was built upon there would be about 300 or 400 dwellings, thus forming, as it were, an entirely new locality. This locality would require a public house, which would be of great convenience to the inhabitants, as there they could fetch their dinner or supper beer without going to an inconvenient distance. There was no public house at all within an easy distance of the new locality, and it would be absolutely necessary to have one.

One of the conditions of the sale of the property was that only two public houses should be erected on the estate, and at present there were none. Mr. Cooper said he was not asking the justices to increase the public houses; in this city the present number were disproportionate to its inhabitants, and he believed Norwich was an exception to an other place, for if they compared the number in this city with other towns they would find a much greater proportion in Norwich. He was now only asking the Bench to transfer a licence from one house to another in the course of erection. The learned gentleman then put in the plans of the house, which he said was well situated for the inhabitants of the future,

Mr, Mayd, barrister, opposed the application. With respect to the situation, there was a public house called the Alexandra Tavern within 110 yards of the site of the public house proposed to be erected. There was also another public house called the Stafford Arms, which would be 200 yards from the proposed house. The people would have as well the right angle house on the Dereham Road and St. Giles’s Road. The proposed house stood by itself in the fields, there was no dwelling near it, and the inhabitants were perfectly satisfied with the accommodation they received at the Stafford Arms and the Alexandra Tavern, and he submitted their duty was to deal with the present time, and whatever sort of locality there might be in the future it was not absolutely necessary to have another public house. The Mayor said the decision of the Bench would be given later on.”

As a quick pub quiz competition, I’ll let individuals guess which pub it was that being proposed (answer at the end of this post) because as a spoiler, the licence transfer was granted.

There were four real ales to choose from which were the Scoundrel from Moon Gazer, Little Sharpie from Humpty Dumpty, Ale X Best Bitter from Mr Winters and Lighthouse from Adnams. The venue had been free of tie since 1996 and that is evident from this selection of beers which have a local edge to them and which don’t involve Greene King in any shape or form.

Stealing Julian’s line, it wasn’t far off each table having their own hanging basket.

I went for the Ale X which was well-kept, at the appropriate temperature and is the pub’s house brew. I ensured that it wasn’t polluted by all the foliage and Julian S was approving of his Scoundrel beer from Moon Gazer.

Some of the local wildlife.

There’s one central bar which serves all parts of the pub, with cheese rolls available at the end of the counter. One side is the lounge bar and the other the public bar, not divided in the way that they once would have been, but they still feel distinct in terms of their character. Julian S and I feel more comfortable in what would have been the poor bit, we’re not really lounge people.

The interior of the pub which feels cosy and comfortable. I found this visit really rather positive, there was a decent choice of beers, the service was friendly and the surroundings were clean. It had several customers on a Wednesday afternoon and the atmosphere felt inviting.

And, in answer to my earlier question, the pub licence being proposed was for the Belle Vue, which ties in nicely here as that was the next pub that we were visiting.

September 5, 2023