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Hereford – The Herdsman

This pub sounded intriguing on CAMRA’s Whatpub, so I thought that it would make something of a contrast to the JD Wetherspoon operated Kings Fee that we had just visited. The building was constructed in 1861, on the same site as an older inn, and was used as a hotel and bar when it opened in its new format. The building is substantial in size and apparently has a skittles alley upstairs and a large function room, but the bar area itself is relatively small.

The prices for the food were towards the lower end of the scale and this is served during lunchtimes only throughout the week.

There was only one real ale, but it was 6X from Wadworth, so that more than sufficed me. It was well kept, smooth and at the appropriate cellar temperature. I assume that the venue is owned by a Pubco as the pub was stocking Cruzcampo and not many free trade locations would be rushing to sell that. But let’s not get me back onto Cruzcampo which has managed to fall to a rating of 2.83 on Untappd, which is at least higher than Bud Light.

The bar perhaps feels just a little dated, but that didn’t detract from the atmosphere for me as this felt like a proper community pub. The pub was clean and tidy, with the front bar being dry and not sticky whilst glasses were collected promptly from tables. The function room was being used for some party where there was an element of fancy dress, so there was a steady flow of people coming into the bar who were dressed in various manners of which some were more decadent than others. That combination of locals and heavily dressed up new customers certainly added something to the visit.

The on-line reviews for the venue are positive and they do a good trade in breakfasts, which perhaps explains why JD Wetherspoons are charging so little for theirs. They also do food deliveries with Deliveroo, with their focus on what they refer to as simple and decent meals. I was served by what I assume was the landlord and he was helpful and pleasant, the whole arrangement felt inviting for locals and visitors alike. They’re not trying to be cutting edge here, the feel is of a traditional and authentic pub which is safe and reasonably priced. All really rather lovely, and the 6X didn’t let me down.

November 6, 2023
Hereford – Kings Fee

The second pub of the evening on our little tour was the JD Wetherspoon operated Kings Fee which they opened in 2001. The building (which is architecturally of moderate interest, although it’s not listed) was previously used as a Kwik Save supermarket, but as for the pub name, I’ll quote from the JD Wetherspoon web-site:

“The name of this pub recalls the early years in the history of Hereford. The central area around the cathedral was the Bishop’s Fee (or property) and the rest (within the city walls) was the King’s Fee. Hereford’s ancient cathedral is dedicated to the city’s patron saint Ethelbert, the Saxon king murdered at the behest of King Offa on the outskirts of Hereford in AD794. During Offa’s reign, the city expanded. The extended area became known as the King’s Fee, the eastern part including the ancient priory of Saint Guthlac.”

Surprisingly to me, given that this is a city centre location, it’s on pretty much the cheapest price band for the chain and is offering the ‘Top Plates, Low Rates’ menu. Those prices for breakfast really are hard for anyone else to compete with.

It’s a sizeable pub and it was relatively busy on the Saturday night that we visited. It was certainly quite vibrant, but the service was fast and the team members seemed friendly. It is rather difficult to picture this as a supermarket, they’ve done a decent job at converting the building to become a viable pub.

I went for a pint of the Devon Dumpling from Bays Brewery of Paignton, a well kept golden ale which was hoppy although didn’t quite have the depth of flavour that I would have expected from a 5.1% beer. Jonathan was already on double whiskies, a drink that is affordable in JD Wetherspoon at least.

The reviews of the venue are fairly average for the chain, I noted one customer had an interesting experience:

“Food tastes like the carpet looks. Waiting for service had to endure a conversation between a man chewing straw and wearing wellies and someone wearing a cravat, sunglasses and desert boots, thinking he was Rambo. I thought I was on a film set!”

Certainly sounds like they have some customers with character and I can’t say that there’s much wrong with that. Also, the above photo shows the carpet, it’s hard to imagine the food tasting like that.

“I asked for mixed berries Stowford press and she started pouring normal, I then notified her that I asked for mixed berries and I arrived at an very abrupt no you didn’t, to which a few times I assured I asked for mixed berries and she was adamant and very argumentative that I hadn’t asked for what I know I ordered to then she gave in and muttered ” for fuxks sake” under her breath. Disgusting service to what seems like a nice pub.”

If this is true, and there are always two sides, it doesn’t sound like the most optimal of customer service engagements. Certainly a bit of drama for anyone watching though. I’m impressed that they gave the pub two stars out of five in their review given that.

“We came to the kings fee for a friends birthday, the staff were extremely rude. We arrived at 12 and by 5 they were refusing to serve us any more drinks – due to us being rowdy. Understandable that we may have been a little loud, but, this is a pub not a library.”

I rather feel I can tell what has gone on here….

“Refused another drink because we are Welsh.”

I suspect there’s more to this story, but sadly no more details were provided.

Anyway, I digress once again after looking at the reviews of the venue. We were visiting Good Beer Guide pubs in Hereford, and some other interesting looking independent venues, but this was also worth a quick visit as they had a small real ale festival going on. No issues here, but there are other pubs in the town which have a bit more character to them.

November 6, 2023
200 Years Ago : Church Broken into at Helmingham

Although it’s in a different part of Suffolk to that which I was looking for, I was suitably intrigued by the post from 200 years ago this week in the Ipswich Journal. There was a break-in at Helmingham Church, something which was by no means that rare at the time, in an attempt to break into a vault. It appears not for body snatching reasons, which were still a problem until the 1832 Anatomy Act, but instead to steal lead coffins. The paper reported in November 1823:

“£100 Reward. Whereas on Saturday night the 27th September last, or early on Sunday morning on the 28th, some persons got over the iron gate at the top of the entrance leading into the Countess of Dysart’s family vault, in the Chancel of Helmingham Church, and cut away and otherwise injured the Door of the Vault in attempting to force it open, for the purpose (it is supposed) of taking from thence the Leaden coffins, but their infamous design was frustrated by some alarm, as the party appears to have decamped precipitately, leaving behind them a chisel and several large sticks. A reward of £100 is hereby offered to any person or persons who will discover the offenders, so that they may be brought to justice. Such reward to be paid on conviction.”

This is a substantial amount of money being offered in a reward, worth around £6,000 today. The Countess of Dysart was from the wealthy Tollemache family and unusually they had created a large vault under the chancel in the late eighteenth century, requiring something of a rebuild. This was a period during the history of the country when churches were under some considerable attack, body snatchers raiding churchyards and theft from the church itself was not uncommon.

As another aside, this church is the one that was featured in Only Fools and Horses and the Frog’s Legacy episode, one of the best in the series in my humble view….

November 5, 2023
200 Years Ago in Newmarket : Drake’s Elephant Tour

In my random series of posts from newspapers of 200 years ago this week, now also covering Newmarket to add some variety, was the story of how an elephant was placed on display in the town. I’ve written before about the Travelling Zoos, but it’s impressive to think that someone traipsed an elephant around Suffolk.

“In the night of Wednesday last, the bustle of our Fair being over, Mr Drake set out with his tremendous charge, the Elephant, for Newmarket, where we will remain a short time. That such an animal should submit to confinement, even in a caravan of so large dimensions as that which contains him, is a striking proof of his docility; for doubtless the exertions of his utmost strength would shiver to bars to atoms. There is, however, no fear of such an event, for even in his wild state the Elephant is harmless, except when provoked by injury. “He is born” says Buffon, “an enemy to no living creature, and if provoked his anger is confined to the person who has injured him”. Mr Drake’s Elephant we consider the largest in England, not except that in Exeter Change. It is at the time the most tractable and the most sagacious. The Boa Constrictor has often been exhibited; but the Sea Serpent never until now. This curiosity resembles the Constrictor in form; but is much larger and more beautifully marked; and should be seen by every one, if it be only to set at rest the doubts which prevailed as to the existence of such an inhabitant of the waters.”

The Exeter Change, or Exeter Exchange, was a building on the north side of the Strand which was used as a menagerie for around fifty years in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Their elephant, Chunee, was brought over on a sailing ship from India, one of several transported in this way to excite and delight audiences across Great Britain. I don’t unfortunately know the name of the elephant that came to visit Newmarket, but as it wasn’t reported again in the local press I can only imagine that it didn’t rampage through the streets. I assume that this sea snake was dead, although I’m sure it attracted some interest at the time as it would have been most unusual.

November 5, 2023
Hereford – Hereford Beer House

The first pub of the evening was the Hereford Beer House, where we also met Des and Clare. It’s a micropub that opened in 2015 in what was formerly a bookshop called Hooked on Books (and before that it was a video rental shop) and it has an open and welcoming feel. It’s no secret to my two loyal readers that I’m strongly in favour of micropubs and so I was excited to see that Hereford had one.

The beer and cider board, and a strong focus on cider, with some interesting options on it. The pricing was clear, although it’s a little unusual not to see anything priced by the pint.

The beer fridge with some tempting cans in it, although I had already opted for the Breezy from Ideal Day brewery. The interior of the micropub was bright and it was moderately busy when we arrived.

And there’s the Breezy, in front of Des’s feet. It was a gentle and herby sour, but not quite as decadent as I had hoped in terms of the richness of taste.

I liked this micropub and its inviting and laid-back atmosphere. The service was prompt and polite, with the ordering process being clear. The on-line reviews for the venue are positive, with over 300 beers and ciders available in cans and bottles so there’s no shortage of drinks to choose from. All really rather lovely and I like that their beer list is available on Untappd, it makes forward planning that bit easier.

November 1, 2023
Hereford – Edward Elgar Statue

The quality of the photography isn’t great here, but that’s partly because it was dark and that’s sub-optimal. The statue here is that of Edward Elgar (1857–1934), a former resident of the town between 1904 and 1911, and he is leaning against his bicycle looking at the Cathedral. The statue was sculpted by Jemma Pearson (1960-) and it was placed here in 2005. There’s an inscription by the statue which says:

“This is what I hear all day – the trees are singing my music – or am I singing theirs?”

Also in the photo, posing thoughtfully (or something like that), are Julian and Jonathan.

November 1, 2023
Food from Every Stall on Norwich Market – Week 27 and Bread Source

Apologies that Norwich Beer Festival meant that there was no post last week, but I’m pleased to say that there will be two next week and that’s the conclusion of my plan to eat at every food stall at Norwich market. Being honest, I’ve had to get James to rush those two visits in next week before I’m off on another little project.

Bread Source has something of a strong reputation locally with a couple of shops in Norwich and one in Aylsham.

The baked goods were neatly presented and looked appetising. The service was efficient and polite, with the stall accepting cards and cash. I ordered the last pastrami roll, meaning that James was forced to opt for something different, he went for a chicken mayo roll. The roll cost £3.80 and the everything in the stall was clean and tidy.

We’re on week 27 now and I haven’t really queried the quality of any item yet, just a couple have been a little expensive. I’m afraid this is the first one that I thought really wasn’t quite there in terms of the quality if I’m being entirely honest. Let’s compare this with the same product that I purchased at Bodega (and I’ve included that photo at the base of this post for those who don’t follow that link), another market stall, a few weeks ago. There were huge quantities of pastrami in that sandwich whereas this one had just one solitary piece. The roll was just a little dry and the ingredients completely inadequate in quantity for the roll, so the taste was mainly just dry roll. The flavour of the roll was pleasant and the pickle added some texture, but this didn’t really work for me as it just needed more filling. The seeded part of the roll was decent, but the salad element was just a couple of small pieces of lettuce, they hadn’t gone beyond that. It was a Tesco meal deal type of quality and I would have got a snack and a free drink if I had gone there for less than the price here.

This is James’s photo of his chicken salad roll, which had the same issue of being slightly dry and we’re looking here at something that probably wasn’t as good as Greggs would make. Perhaps we got unfortunate and other products are just better, with the doughnuts looking tempting. The main problem here wasn’t necessarily the slightly dried out roll, but really the lack of ingredients within it to try and add moisture, taste and texture. As mentioned, comparing this to Bodega showed the difference in the quality. I’m also not entirely sure that rolls should be left out in the open as they will need to be discarded more quickly if unsold, and I’m not entirely sure that they were doing that here.

But, I have to note that the reviews for Bread Source are very popular and they’ve been going here for several years, so it’s clear that there’s much that they’re doing right. If we had gone earlier and the roll was fresher, with more filling included, this would have likely met my expectations and I would have been merrily praising it. I’ll go again at some point and maybe one of the other products will surprise and delight me. But, for the positives, the service was friendly, the environment was clean and the products looked appetising. And, ultimately, the roll didn’t taste bad, it just wasn’t quite what I expected and I hope that the stall wouldn’t be annoyed at my mentioning that.

Just as a final reminder, this is the Bodega pastrami sandwich. I’m craving one of those now…. And I want to remind my two loyal readers that I’ve been impressed with nearly every other food stall at Norwich market, so I want to end on that positive note.

October 31, 2023
Hereford – Mary Gold Indian

Always wanting to take any opportunity possible to visit an Indian restaurant, I was pleased when Jonathan and Julian agreed that our dining experience of the evening would be at Mary Gold. I’m not sure what the building used to be and it’s not listed, although in 2007 it was given planning permission to change from a warehouse facility to a restaurant.

The opening hours weren’t entirely correct on Google, meaning we arrived around twenty minutes before they were open. This didn’t faze them in the slightest, they welcomed us in and got drinks ready for us. I thought that was rather decent hospitality and my first impressions were positive. It was also a fortunate turn of events as the restaurant was soon at capacity and we might have missed out entirely if we had waited for much longer.

Although prices have risen quite sharply over the last couple of years, I thought that this still represented seemingly acceptable value for money. We all went for the first option which made things easier in terms of meal planning, with the waiter being helpful during the service. I don’t get to try enough Indian restaurants to have a complete understanding of this, but I think that this is towards the lower end of the scale for pricing.

I’m not normally a beer drinker with Indian meals, my option is usually a mango lassi, but beer felt appropriate here. Julian went for the Mongoose which I hadn’t heard of, but tasted similar to Cobra to me when I tried it, and I liked the play on names.

The poppadoms appeared promptly and the lime pickle had a suitable bit of kick to it, although we could have done with more of it.

They could probably do with smaller plates to make the portion size give the appearance of being bigger, but it was a perfectly sufficient sized starter. It’s chicken pakora and the meat was tender, the coating had a pleasant flavour and the sauces added to the presentation.

I went for the peshwari naan and the Gunpowder chicken curry. The chicken was once again tender, there was a slight spice kick although as usual, I wanted a little more heat. However, the sauce had a depth of flavour, the portion size was reasonable and the peshwari naan had a light texture and a richness from the almond.

We tried to leave at this point as we had a walk and several pubs to visit, but they then politely queried why we didn’t want the free dessert. I stampeded back to the table, I’m easily sold on a Viennetta type dessert at the best of the times and this felt an appropriate moment. I had the orange as well such is my obsession for fruit.

There was then a free chocolate and a free Amaretto. I was glad that we hadn’t left and Jonathan was particularly surprised and delighted at how things were turning out.

And then free sweets to complete the meal. This is quite clever as I suspect it leads to a bigger tip, which is what we did, but I still liked the gesture and we weren’t obligated to give anything. I was also pleased to note that the waiting staff never tried to rush us out, even though it felt evident to me that they could do with the tables. I’m keen on proper hospitality and I felt that this was offered here.

Overall, I was pleased with the restaurant and that was quite useful since it was my suggestion to go there. Jonathan and Julian seemed equally delighted, with the whole meal representing value for money. The quality was high, the surroundings were spotlessly clean and the service was attentive and warm. OK, it doesn’t match the free items given by Lowestoft Tandoori (but where does?) but I left feeling the experience had been positive. Definitely recommended and I can see why it’s the best rated Indian restaurant in Hereford.

October 31, 2023
200 Years Ago in Norwich : Inquest at Windmill Pub Following Suicide

Another in my series of posts featuring articles from 200 years ago this week. This one is on a subject that I’ve written about before, which is the wave of mental health issues that were being reported at the time, a reminder this isn’t some new situation as a few people suggest. The article reads:

“Monday last an inquest was held at the Windmill public house, in the parish of St. Michael at Thorn, before Mr William Bell, coroner, on view of the body of Joseph Lindsey, aged 68, who hanged himself. Jurors’ verdict, non compos mentis.”

I’ve tried to delve a little into this man’s life, he was born on 4 August 1754, the son of John and Anne Lindsey. At the time of the death he lived in the St. Stephen parish of the city and he was buried on 4 November 1823 at St Stephen’s Church in Norwich. This is the church which is today a main route into the Chantry shopping centre and I don’t know if anyone purchased a gravestone for Joseph, but it isn’t there now if they did. Burials for suicides were complex at the time, but there doesn’t seem anything different about this one judging from the church register. Such a tragedy, but at least his name hasn’t been entirely lost to history, although the story behind his life might well have been.

Incidentally, the Windmill pub was located at 24 Ber Street and was damaged during an air raid in 1942, finally being demolished in 1970.

October 31, 2023
200 Years Ago in Norwich : Robbery at White Lion in Drayton and a Knife Attack in Norwich

And the latest in my series of posts relating to things that happened in the news 200 years ago. I’m constantly surprised at just how much crime there was in Norfolk at this time, the newspapers have some quite violent crimes reported and there were no shortage of robberies. I’m intrigued at this one as there doesn’t seem to be much about the White Lion in Drayton on-line (the authoritative resource at https://www.norfolkpubs.co.uk/norfolkd/drayton/draytwl.htm has limited information on the pub).

The article reads:

“On Monday night last, between the hours of 12 and one o’clock, an attempt was made to enter the White Lion public house, at Drayton, by breaking through a brick wall in the back part of the premises 18 inches in thickness, ten inches in depth & two feet & an inch in breadth, which the thieves had nearly effected, when they were overheard by Mr. Howard, the landlord, who saw three men run away from the place.”

Can I just mention the detail of the journalism where the width of the wall was given to quite a high degree of accuracy. I also referred to violent crime and the article above in the newspaper was this one:

“Yesterday se’nnight, soon after eight o’clock, some evil disposed person threw with great violence, a large case knife through the shop window of No. 16 Dove Lane, without doubt to inflict some deadly wound upon some one, the wretched miscreant immediately fled and mixed with a crowd in the market-place and so evaded pursuit. The knife feel very near one of the ladies of the shop.”

Firstly, I’ve never heard of the word ‘sennight’ before, but it apparently is an archaic word for ‘a week’. Secondly, this is an horrendous crime and would make the national news if it happened today. There’s this temptation to believe that crime is somehow a recent innovation, but I can’t help thinking that it must have been a lawless and frightening time to live in Norwich.

October 31, 2023