Walking. Gossip. Travel.

Author: admin

  • Billericay – Blue Boar

    Billericay – Blue Boar

    It was a bit too early to visit the Billericay Brewing Company, so I popped into JD Wetherspoon’s pub in Billericay, the Blue Boar. There was a queue to get in when I arrived, but the staff member waved me past the queue when he saw me scanning the NHS app. I’m glad I’ve got that now.

    It’s a bit of a non-descript pub in terms of the architecture, as it’s not a particularly historic building, but it was clean and organised.

    I’m on a run of having English breakfasts at the moment, primarily as I’m not in Poland to eat lots of hot dogs in the morning. The bacon was under-cooked and the staff member forget to get the sauces that he asked if I wanted, but otherwise the breakfast was fine. For the price point, it’s hard to complain, so I won’t.

    The reviews of the pub are a bit mixed, but I’m wondering about this one:

    “I had the naked burrito with five bean chilli, without any chilli (it was only when i went to another Weatherspoons in Kent I realized this”

    I’m puzzled how you could order chilli, not get chilli and also not realise you should get chilli.

    “It is not breaking news to ANYONE that girls share a cubical. Upon leaving the cubical, two male bouncers were in the toilets telling us that this was “suspicious behaviour”. This is my girlfriend of three years, accusing us of something ‘dodgy’. We have been banned for the pub without so much as a negotiation or searching us for the ‘suspicious behaviour’ they claimed. I feel as that this was not only a personal attack but also extremely homophobic towards my girlfriend and I. I wouldn’t recommend this establishment to anyone else. I am extremely hurt by this.”

    This drama sounds exciting, although two men in the same cubicle in the male toilets, two people of each sex in any toilet or two women in the same cubicle in the female toilets would likely all be treated the same.

    “We do not give out complimentary alcohol for a complaint with food but we were more than happy to refund your meal.”

    This is the manager’s response to a customer who wanted a free drink because there was a backlog of food orders, and this is a sensible course to follow….. Anyway, this isn’t overly exciting, just another little drama that was probably intriguing to watch.

    “Four of us went in to The Blue Boar (Wetherspoons) in Billericay and wanted to sit in the area by the window but we were told we couldn’t as this made the place look full??? We were told we had to sit at the rear of the pub as this was where cyclist’s had to sit??”

    By coincidence, there was cyclists in today and they were sent to the back of the pub, but they were allowed to take their bikes with them through the pub which I thought was quite helpful of the staff. I’d be humoured if staff had told them not to sit at the front as it makes the place looks full though, that’s not good….

    The pub name is one taken from a pub that was previously thought to have stood on this site, although it has transpired that it was a few doors down. It’s nice that the name has continued, a little bit of heritage that has survived, even if the original pub is no longer there. Anyway, this seemed a safe enough pub, although some loud customers were causing other customers some grief and the staff didn’t seem to know what to do with their boisterous clientele…..

  • Billericay – Billericay Brewing Co. Micropub

    Billericay – Billericay Brewing Co. Micropub

    This is the tap room, or micropub as they refer to it as, of the Billericay Brewing Co. The frontage of their building is a little, well, plain, so these marquees at the front to give extra space make it look more appealing than it might have done in the past.

    The interior is a little rustic in appearance and it’s quite small, although the aforementioned marquees have given them some extra space. It got busier when I was there and the staff member spent much of the time answering the phone to take bookings, so it’s clearly a popular location in the evenings.

    The beer selection which is chalked up on the board.

    I started with the chilli porter as I like that sort of combination of flavours, and there was a stronger kick than I had expected from the chilli. But, it was still very drinkable and I’d certainly order this again because of the richness of flavour. The chilli element also only really became evident as an aftertaste, it was a sufficiently intriguing drink that I’d mention it to others.

    My second drink (in photo above) was the Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll, which seemed to be the favourite of the pub judging by what everyone else was ordering. The name adds some extra spice to the whole arrangement and was what I’d consider to be a perfectly acceptable hoppy session beer, albeit at 5% ABV.

    I liked this pub, which is listed in the Good Beer Guide, and would return here, although would be conscious that I’d need to book if visiting in the evening. Welcoming, slightly quirky and laid-back, all rather lovely. They do some experiences such as Brewer for the Day, which sounds a pleasant way to spent a few hours and they deliver the 18 pint polypin a couple of weeks after.

  • London – Hard Rock Cafe Oxford Street

    London – Hard Rock Cafe Oxford Street

    I haven’t grumbled about anything in a while, so now feels appropriate. I received an e-mail on behalf of Hard Rock Cafe saying that they had a 50% offer which was off all food in their Oxford Street location in London. This is a very good offer, as Hard Rock might be a little expensive, but that makes it quite a reasonable expedition to get food at half price. I’ve been to around ten Hard Rock Cafes over the years, with the service in Atlanta and Krakow being outstanding, and my visit a few months to Hard Rock Cafe Bucharest was also perfectly enjoyable.

    Anyway, after being quite interested in this offer, it was then noted that solo diners were excluded from taking part. So, group sizes of 2 to 6. I don’t much like this at the best of times, but it’s vaguely understandable as solo diners don’t make as much money. But, nor do three diners at a table for four. And, judging from recent reviews, Hard Rock Cafe Oxford Street is not exactly busy. Which is evident from their deluging food out at half price.

    I remember doing some work for a certain Italian restaurant a few years ago which was how to make solo diners welcome. This was marvellous, there are people who are on business trips, who might be lonely, key workers or just people who want to get out of the house. Ideally, the welcome should be positive and engaging for all of those, especially somewhere upbeat such as Hard Rock Cafe which can offer that friendly feel.

    Or, they could be like the management at Hard Rock Cafe in Oxford Street who puts two fingers up at solo diners. Unimpressed.

    Anyway, moving on, I can write about the rather lovely brewery I’ve just been to.

  • Chelmsford – Random Urban Archaeology

    Chelmsford – Random Urban Archaeology

    OK, I admit there’s no real archaeology here. But this is the view from my hotel window and I puzzled over why the road and roundabout looked a bit strange and put it down to the road once going straight through. As it happened, this was an event in Chelmsford, it was a flyover which was pulled down a few months ago. They quite liked the flyover in the city, but it was falling down and the engineers agreed that this wasn’t ideal. So they knocked it down in case it fell down on some cars and lorries. And, I think it all looks better now without having it, although car drivers in the area probably don’t agree as apparently the roundabout is now too busy. Well, there’s a solution here, and that’s more public transport. But, I digress.

    It’s an aside really, I like how urban development changes a landscape and traces of it remain. I need to get out more, I admit.

  • Chelmsford – Travelodge

    Chelmsford – Travelodge

    I’ve moved away from Accor Hotels on this trip as I’m booking everything at the last minute. Accor do this moderately irritating thing of returning their room rates to a higher price nearer the date of booking, which is fine if they’re full, but not ideal if they’re not. Travelodge just charge what they need to do to get rid of the rooms, a strategy that I prefer as a customer.

    The reception area, which was the scene of some moderate drama. I went to check-in, but there were no staff members visible. A very angry lady behind me confronted a staff member when she appeared, telling her with some force that she was tired of her key card not working. The staff member was polite, but defensive, which escalated the matter and for a good minute I watched this argument developing. At that point, I felt the need to be moderately rude to ask if I could actually check-in if they were just going to have a heated debate about how the hotel was run and what was the area manager’s phone number. It wasn’t an ideal first impression, but the staff member was polite to me, likely pleased the other woman had gone back to her room to phone the area manager.

    Incidentally, the hotel appears to be a little lax with GDPR. They had the prices of what each customer had paid for their room on sheets left at the reception desk and I was pleased to discover that I had paid the least. This isn’t really information that should be left around though and I would have been most annoyed if other customers had received a better bargain.

    The room, which was clean and well presented, with a bath and shower which only some of the rooms had (as in only some of the rooms had both, not that some rooms just had an empty bathroom). This was all fine, especially for the not much over £25 that I had paid.

    The food in the photo looks dreadful and the reviews of their bar cafe are equally poor. I’m not really sure why they persist with trying to serve mediocre meals, I can’t see any benefit to annoying customers with low quality food.

    Housekeeping cleaning rooms only once every six nights is clearly ridiculous, way more than other hotel chains I’ve been in. There’s being careful with the current health situation and just not bothering to clean the rooms….

    The milks in the room were out of date. I do check these and I probably need to get out more…..

    All in all, I thought that this was a perfectly good deal for the two nights which cost just over £50. There are extra charges for parking, wi-fi and breakfast, although I didn’t need any of these. The hotel seemed quiet and in relatively sound repair, so I was content with my stay. It’s about a ten-minute walk to the city centre and there’s an Aldi supermarket opposite for those who need supplies of any sort.

  • Chelmsford – Chelmsford Cathedral (Then and Now)

    Chelmsford – Chelmsford Cathedral (Then and Now)

    This is one of my random then and now photos, comparing what Chelmsford Cathedral (then St. Mary’s Church as it didn’t become a cathedral until the twentieth century) looks like now, compared to what it looked like in 1892. The Francis Frith photo is towards the end of this post (if for some reason it doesn’t load, it’s 31510 in their collection) and as can be seen I haven’t done a great job here of taking a comparable photo.

    The area has all been reset, so the path which once led to the church door on the right (the priest’s door) has been removed and there’s a war memorial there now. Well, mostly removed. There’s a section still left of the old paving in front of the door, although it just leads to the grass now.

    There were once iron railings separating the path from the graves, which were likely removed during the Second World War for the war effort. The tombs are all still there in the same place, or at least, they seem to be, but there are graves missing from the right hand side of the older image. What is interesting (to me anyway) is that they have numerous stones lying flat and I had thought that this was done more recently.


  • Chelmsford – Banksy on Manor Road?

    Chelmsford – Banksy on Manor Road?

    This figure was painted between 2014 and 2016 onto the end of this wall on Manor Road. I accept that it might not be Banksy, and indeed I accept that it’s nothing really like what he’s done, but I still like the imagery. I also like that no-one has painted over it during the last five years or graffitied anything else on the wall.

  • Chelmsford – United Brethren

    Chelmsford – United Brethren

    The United Brethren pub is a short walk to the town centre, a little tucked away just off Moulsham Street. It’s not in the Good Beer Guide, but CAMRA noted that it was the sole pub in the Brighton based Pin-Up Pub Co estate (I’m not quite sure why their sole pub is nowhere near their brewery). The beer selection wasn’t quite as exciting as I might have hoped, it was limited to two real ales and no dark beers at all.

    The service was though engaging and polite, so the environment was warm and welcoming, even though I was the only customer. I went for half a pint of the Captain Bob from the Mighty Oak Brewing Company, a reasonable session beer which is meant to have hints of gooseberry (I felt like I had returned to the Hop Beer Shop and the beer I had just had….) although I couldn’t detect them. It was well-kept and at the appropriate temperature, but nothing I’d write home about. Just write about here instead.

    The decor seemed a bit muddled to me, but I’m not an interior designer and so struggle to comment much on that. There’s often music played here in the evening, hence why I went in the early afternoon. I looked back on Untappd to see if the beer selection was a bit more exotic before the health crisis, but it doesn’t seem to have been, although at least they had some stouts from Pin-Up. Anyway, all entirely comfortable and friendly, as well as being quite spacious (especially when you’re the only customer).

  • Chelmsford – Hop Beer Shop

    Chelmsford – Hop Beer Shop

    This is another listing from the Good Beer Guide and is apparently, according to CAMRA, the first micro-pub which opened in Essex. I like micro-pubs as they usually have an informal and welcoming atmosphere, although these are challenging times for them as they’re often quite small in terms of their size. Hence the name…. Also today, the Government has confirmed that Essex is going into a different tier, which means that as from next week, this pub’s trade will be even more adversely affected.

    The welcome was friendly and immediate, with the staff member finding me a suitable place to sit, which was about the last seat going. There were some interesting options for beers and ciders, with plenty of cans and bottles as well offering a wider choice. The environment in the pub was welcoming, even though all of the customers seemed to know each other. I suspect that someone new to the area would soon feel part of the crowd here.

    I went for the Al Capone from Mighty Oak Brewing (which isn’t on the board as it had just become available) which is relatively local as it’s brewed in Maldon. The beer had a flavour of gooseberry, which isn’t necessarily something that sounds delicious, but it was an agreeable taste. The beer was well-kept, at the appropriate temperature and was something a little different.

    The selection of cans and bottles that are available to take away. All told, I liked this pub, there was a laid-back environment, decent selection of beers and I can see why it’s in the Good Beer Guide.

  • Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue – Day 197

    Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue – Day 197

    The Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue was first published at the end of the eighteenth century, and given that the current health crisis is giving too much time to read books, I thought I’d pick a daily word from it until I got bored….

    Lully Triggers

    This phrase was used by the criminal fraternity and means “thieves who steal wet linen”. What sounds a very specific crime of course wasn’t in the late eighteenth century, when women (or men, but mostly women) would lay out clothes to dry on fences in courtyards or on any land they could find. And then some people would pinch them, which isn’t ideal.

    This all reminds me of when I went to Mumbai a few years ago. I remember in the local news at the time were attempts to stop people hanging clothing on balconies as it didn’t look great. I suspect that this was in more upmarket private residential areas, as Mumbai has rather more issues to deal with than how drying laundry looked. Anyway, it reminds me as people were stealing wet linen then…..