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  • London – Westminster (Borough of) – Victoria Railway Station (Unknown Warrior)

    London – Westminster (Borough of) – Victoria Railway Station (Unknown Warrior)

    I’ve walked through Victoria railway station in London on probably hundreds of occasions, but until last week, I’d never noticed this plaque at the end of platform 8. It reads:

    “The body of the British unknown warrior arrived at platform 8 at 8.32pm on the 10th November 1920 and lay here overnight before interment at Westminster Abbey on 11th November 1920”.

    © IWM Q 31492 (copyright of the Imperial War Museum)

    I can’t find a photo at the Imperial War Museums collection of the body at the railway station, but this is from the following day at Westminster Abbey. As an aside, it’s an interesting way to store a body….

    Every year on 10 November, there’s a small Remembrance ceremony held by the plaque to note the sacrifice made by so many during the First World War and there’s more about the whole selection and transportation of the body at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Unknown_Warrior. It was a really beautiful way of giving some comfort to families and friends of those soldiers whose burial place was unknown that their loved one could have been honoured in this way.

  • Reviews – The Old Smithy in Ambleside

    Reviews – The Old Smithy in Ambleside

    Apologies for yet another random post….

    Clicking on the above image makes it larger and easier to read, although the language is NSFW. The replies from this fish and chip shop owner are certainly direct and punchy, which makes for some interesting reading. He only replies to Google Reviews I think, or at least not to the TripAdvisor ones at https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restaurant_Review-g186319-d7780294-Reviews-The_Old_Smithy-Ambleside_Lake_District_Cumbria_England.html where his restaurant is rated at 17/17 in Ambleside which isn’t entirely ideal……..

    Anyway, certainly something of a slightly different style to read on Google reviews…..

  • Huddersfield – The Cherry Tree

    Huddersfield – The Cherry Tree

    More working through my little backlog of photos (there are several thousand, so my three readers will be in for a real treat over the next few weeks). This is from my visit to Huddersfield a few weeks ago and this is the pub that I went to after arriving in the town, the JD Wetherspoon operated Cherry Tree. It’s listed in the Good Beer Guide and is located near to the station, although I managed to get lost and took about ten minutes to make the one minute walk. It allowed me to see Huddersfield at least….

    I’ve never seen a Wetherspoons pub with a screen listing their real ales. My first impressions of the pub weren’t ideal as a very drunk woman was starting a fight outside and smashing up parts of the pub. The staff seemed to know her and went out to get rid of her and to repair their pub. A customer ran to the bar shouting help was needed and panicking about where the staff were, perhaps not realising that they were already at the scene of the incident. She did think about phoning 999, but she decided against it, but she had to order herself a vodka to calm down. Clever strategy that….

    There’s the screen for anyone who is interested in what JD Wetherspoon had available in this pub several weeks ago. I suspect that this is a limited audience.

    I got half a pint of the Wobbly Bob from Phoenix Brewery, which I can’t really remember several weeks on, but I gave it 3.75 on Untappd, so it must have been perfectly acceptable.

    And a chicken jalfrezi whilst I was there, alongside a pint of Brewdog Punk IPA. This is my go to food order for meals at JD Wetherspoons now, since I can’t order the pastrami bagel as it was ditched a few years ago (which still annoys me as is evident that I keep whingeing on about it). I go for the Punk IPA as it’s a bit like the Tesco meal deal, getting the most expensive drink as it comes free with the meal…..

    The pub isn’t brilliantly reviewed on-line, although that just makes for more exciting reading. Someone managed to order to the wrong pub (hopefully Richard won’t read this, as I won’t mention his little debacle in this regard):

    “Very poor, came from the Lord Wilson wetherspoons pub and didn’t realise I was still logged into L W and ordered drink to wrong pub, did not want to know do [so] went back to Lord Wilson, they to [too] didn’t want to know quoted terms and conditions blah blah, won’t go to any wetherspoons again.”

    But it’s important not to exaggerate in reviews:

    “Ruined by not enough staff!! with new table service 10 mins wait time on 2 occasions a man could die of dehydration”

    Ten minute wait, it’s hard to imagine how brave this customer was….

    “Terrible experience, sat down at the front outside, paid for our drinks. Then told that we couldn’t sit anywhere near weatherspoon pub, due us having a dog, due to company policy. Its the only weatherspoons i have been to that have done this to us, and wouldnt even give us some water for the dog. They seriously need to re-think their policy.”

    Wetherspoons have a national policy of no dogs on the premises (other than assistance dogs) and having seen some recent real problems in decent pubs which allow dogs, I suspect it’s by far the safest policy to have, including in gardens.

    This is my favourite review though:

    “Never ever going to Cherry Tree again, we ordered via the app, I had to go fetch our drinks after 20mins of waiting, then I had to fill the coffee machine up for them as the kids running the place were so unorganised, by the time I got back to the table food had arrived, my partner had half eaten his and mine was cold…”

    I’m not sure customers filling the coffee machine is at all ideal, but I was amused by the “my partner had half eaten his”. He sounds awesome  🙂

    Anyway, as a pub, this was all fine despite the drama going on outside, which wasn’t really the ideal introduction to Huddersfield. The staff were engaging, the customers not fighting were friendly and the environment was sort of clean. The range of beers justifies this pub being in the Good Beer Guide and I did pop back later in the week to have a rather delicious Amarillo golden ale from Saltaire Brewery.

  • Huddersfield – Plumbers Arms

    Huddersfield – Plumbers Arms

    Going back a few weeks (the advantage in being back in Norwich is that I can work through my little backlog of photos) to when Tony and I had a little meander around the pubs in Huddersfield. This pub wasn’t in the Good Beer Guide list of locations to visit, but we were walking by and it does have a reputation for having a few real ales available.

    I’m not normally tempted by the artwork on a pump clip, but I liked the brightness of the Comella pale ale decoration from the local brewery Mallinsons, which was a perfectly reasonable beer. Nothing exceptional maybe, but something a little different. The serving arrangement here is a central bar which serves from both sides, although I think that they had different real ales on each side (unless I got muddled up).

    And there it is, perhaps looking like a pint in the photo, but it’s just a half. Responsible drinking and all that…..

    The service in the pub was friendly and it was also quite busy, there was a feeling of the location being a bit like a Wetherspoons. The pricing was reasonable and apparently this venue gets very busy on weekend evenings, with a recent licence extension allowing them to open even later into the night. There’s nothing wrong with the pub, but I didn’t feel that there was anything exceptional of note either. There’s a large beer garden at the front and rear of the pub through, and it’s fairly large inside as well, so there’s no shortage of space.

  • Norwich – Rumsey Wells

    Norwich – Rumsey Wells

    Since I’m back in Norwich for what feels like months (it’ll be nearly two weeks) I thought that I’d pop into a few pubs in the city to see how they’re getting on. This is the Adnams owned Rumsey Wells pub on St. Andrew’s Street in the city that I haven’t been to for a couple of years.

    The beer selection was very orientated towards Adnams and I liked the engagement from the staff member who was pro-actively offering samples. Adnams have clearly decided they can’t be bothered with listing their new beers on Untappd, which to me is usually a sign they’re worried about their poor quality. They might disagree with me on that (or more likely be entirely uninterested in what I think), but it’s a slight red flag to me. I went for the Raspberry Scotch Ale which was mediocre but tolerable, so I can see their point. It was well-kept though and I liked the enthusiasm from the pub.

    I visited on a Tuesday afternoon so it’s not surprising that it was quiet, although there were a few customers dotted about in another part of the pub. The pub is designed, at least in part, to appeal to students and they cater for that market well, although they could perhaps do with a few more on-trend beer options as well and maybe more guest beers as the choice is currently very Adnams dominated.

    There we go, the photo I couldn’t upload to Untappd as the beer wasn’t listed….. It’s the Raspberry Scotch Ale from Adnams, which wasn’t exactly packed with flavour.

    Anyway, as a pub, this is a perfectly clean and comfortable environment. They serve Pieminister pies, which are a handy way for a pub to offer some food without making a major commitment to expensive chefs and kitchens. The reviews for the pub are broadly reasonable positive and I can see why given how friendly the staff are. I’m not sure that I’d recommend that anyone makes a special trip here, but I like the friendliness of the welcome, which to me is an important consideration. Someone on TripAdvisor recently wrote that this was a “solid” pub, and that seems a fair assessment.

  • Hull – Atom Brewing at the Corn Exchange (Visit 3)

    Hull – Atom Brewing at the Corn Exchange (Visit 3)

    It would be a fair point to query why I’m writing up another visit to Atom Brewery in Hull, given that I’ve already been on two occasions (visit 1 and visit 2)….. But it’s one of my favourite bars and they continue to surprise and delight me with their beer options, so I felt the need for a quick few words.

    Part of the beer selection that was available, covering a range of beer styles and with a suitable choice of decadent and less decadent options. The service was friendly and engaging, with the member of bar staff being knowledgeable about the beer options. Although it was a Tuesday afternoon when I visited, there was a constant trade and most customers were ordering some form of food.

    I went for a third of the Stoutzilla 20 from UnBarred Brewery (so it’s an over-poured third, not an under-poured half in the above photo) and a third of the Cherry Skies from the marvellous Vault City Brewing. Starting on the Cherry Skies, this was an exceptional sour with a rich flavour, a strong aftertaste but nothing too harsh. I like cherries (especially in beer) and there was no shortage of them here, with a little bit of vanilla in the mix as well. This was my first of the two beers and I merrily scored it 4.75 on Untappd, but the Stoutzilla was for me a 5 on Untappd as far as I was concerned. It’s possible to overthink these things, but I spend a lot of time thinking about beer, so that’s fine. The Stoutzilla was a rich 10% ABV, but absolutely pleasantly so, with flavours of coffee, vanilla and some Bourbon to add into the mix. Talk about decadence and a range of strong, but not overpowering, flavours. I have a real love for beers where there are a range of competing flavours, that must be a very difficult thing to achieve in the brewing process. UnBarred Brewery and Vault City both produce some brilliant beers, I tend to always opt for those if I see that they’ve got something new on.

    Whilst in the bar, I thought that I’d have a little snack with my decadent beer, and I went for the Chorizo Picante pattie buttie. The buttie is a local delicacy, which is effectively mashed potato in a white roll, served with mushy peas. As Tony from the fabulous Hop & Vine pointed out, the chorizo version isn’t really a local tradition, but it’s important to mix the old and the new. The chorizo added some texture to the whole arrangement as well, which was a nice little snack, with the mushy peas being a handy little sauce to dip everything into.

    I see that Atom Brewery now have a bar in Beverley, so next time I’m in Hull I think that I might spend a day there (in the town, rather than specifically the bar). As for this bar in Hull, it’s really quite marvellous and I very much recommend a little visit. As a side note, it’s not in the Good Beer Guide as it’s perhaps too keg orientated, but I think it should ideally be listed.

  • Woodbastwick – Woodforde’s Brewery + Fur & Feather Inn

    Woodbastwick – Woodforde’s Brewery + Fur & Feather Inn

    At the weekend, I went on the brewery tour at Woodfordes, but I didn’t take any photos of that, so this list of beers will just have to suffice. The tour lasted around an hour and was informative and interesting, showing us around the brewery which has been slowly but surely expanded over the last couple of decades. Their latest addition last year was the canning, bottling and labelling section, so everything from the brewery is now produced in-house.

    After the tour, there was a chance to try some of the beers which are brewed on site. I think it’s fair to say that Woodfordes don’t attempt to be a great brewery in terms of innovation, richness of taste and revolutionary new beers. Instead, they focus on traditional beers, session ales and occasional departures into different beer styles. Their average score on Untappd is 3.36, which is at least higher than Greene King’s 3.25, but well below other breweries such as Titanic who are at 3.64.

    At the in-house bar, there are mostly keg options at the front and cask options at the rear. The staff were knowledgeable about the beer options and they were friendly and helpful. It’s a decent set-up that they have here in the Norfolk countryside, all very welcoming. The brewery is located behind the Fur & Feather Inn, all part of the same complex which is near to the village of Woodbastwick.

    From left to right, the Nog, the Albion Stout and the Nelson’s. I must admit to forgetting what I had ordered, even though they had sort of written on the beer flight what I had. That meant I had to go back in and piece together my logic when ordering, which probably suggests that I need to get more professional at this whole remembering beers thing. Anyway, the Nog is probably the best beer that I tried from Woodforde’s, a bit smokey with flavours of chocolate and burnt sugar. The Albion is the brewery’s attempt at Guinness, and it’s very credible, although it’s lacking any real depth of flavour in terms of the aftertaste. Quite creamy though and I’d order it again if I saw it in a pub. Well, unless there was something that I hadn’t tried, I’m all for trying new things.

    From left to right, the Norada, the West Coast Wherry and the Conquest. Norada was a little devoid of any flavour, probably the weakest that I tried, although the West Coast Wherry wasn’t much more decadent. The Conquest, which is a lager, was slightly better, but there’s a lot more that they can do here. We were seated for this tasting outside, which is rather a lovely area in the summer months, although marginally less appealing in the October rains. It was a covered patio though, so no problems for the tasting. As an aside, I had only tried one beer from the Woodforde’s before, as I usually go for other options, so I was pleased to work through six of their different beers in one go.

    After the brewery tour and beer tasting, we meandered into the restaurant area of the Fur & Feather. The staff were engaging, personable and keen to help, so it’s a comfortable environment. I thought that it was slightly cold, which suited my needs perfectly, but I suspect they might get complaints from others about that.

    For the meal, I went for the beer battered fish and chips, as it’s important to have beer as an ingredient in food when visiting a brewery. I thought that this was all fine, a decent portion of fish and chips, with the batter having a richness of taste to it. The peas were perhaps a little boring, a bit of mushing them up and shoving some mint would have livened them up, but I was suitably pleased by the whole arrangement.

    The entire set-up felt professional and well managed, with the signage being clear and everything was clean and compliant with the latest health requirements. There were no negatives that I’d want to mention, I thought that the welcome was genuine and authentic. As for the brewery, I’d ideally like to see some more exciting small batch stuff rather than some beers which were a little generic. However, they are aiming for the mainstream given their volume, so perhaps the generic is what they want to mostly go for, but there must be room for experimentation. Anyway, for anyone tempted to visit the brewery tour, the pub or the restaurant, all recommended and a lovely afternoon out.

  • Norwich – Norwich Playhouse (Tom Rosenthal – Manhood)

    Norwich – Norwich Playhouse (Tom Rosenthal – Manhood)

    Liam had booked these tickets for us to go and see Tom Rosenthal’s comedy tour when it was in Norwich. This was originally on 26 March 2020, which got delayed to earlier in 2021, but he persisted with yet another date and this one worked out.

    It’s several years since I’ve been to the Playhouse (not including visits to the venue’s bar, which I’ve visited more regularly), the last time was to see Chris Addison.

    The performance started with an introduction from Rosenthal, he’s much faster paced than I expected and also not as tall. He dealt with that matter though, it’s a common misapprehension caused by him apparently often starring alongside short actors, such as in Plebs and Friday Night Dinner. It’s rare for someone to say just how nervous they are, but that seemed a genuine concern of his, all very personal and also personable.

    This was the section of the performance at the beginning where photos were allowed, and this might have been a really acceptable photo if someone hadn’t decided to stand up at the time. Certainly not ideal. Rosenthal joked that there were a fair few seats empty, but I genuinely suspect he was very slightly annoyed at those who didn’t turn up. I would be, so I’d be pleased if he did too.

    There was then a support act, whose name I’ve forgotten and meant to look up but now can’t find (I had better not verge into theatre reviews), as it’s not the support act comedian who was on other parts of the tour. Anyway, that was also decent, with more political commentary, interspersed with an unusual offer of a gig which he had received earlier that day.

    As for the main event, this was primarily a one hour comedy show about circumcision. That’s a brave and punchy subject to talk about, but Rosenthal isn’t happy with the decisions that his parents, who aren’t particularly religious, made for him when he was a baby. His parents are of course not entirely anonymous here, his mother was a producer for Newsnight and his father is Jim Rosenthal, the sports commentator. It must make for quite an interesting debate around the dinner table when he’s home, as it’s a subject that he admits he’s raised on more than a few occasions.

    I won’t go into the exact routine as that would be something of a spoiler, but it was cleverly put together, delivered at a frenetic pace and was as far as I was concerned, actually pretty impressively done. Rosenthal also admitted that he knew people would go and see him because they liked the comedies that he’d been in, then allowing him to talk about this whole manhood subject. He managed to get some science into the whole routine and he gently questioned the logic that some religions follow on circumcision.

    I was already quite a fan of Rosenthal, he’s a quick-witted comedian with a fair few mental health issues that he openly talks about, primarily relating to OCD. What I thought was quite inspirational was just open, honest and human Rosenthal was. Some comedians often appear to have it all going for them, when actually the truth is no doubt nearly always more complex. Rosenthal seemed quite content with talking about the real him, which I thought he did with competence, integrity and lots of humour.

    For anyone who wants to follow him on social media, he’s on Twitter at https://twitter.com/rosentweets.

  • EDF’s Dash for Cash

    EDF’s Dash for Cash

    [I’m pleased to say that EDF have now resolved this to my satisfaction, although they made it very hard to do so…..]

    And a personal rant, but since it’s my blog I’m allowed….

    My electricity usage is low, it’s fair to say. For the best part of ten years I’ve been paying British Gas about £10 to £13 per month and all was well. I stupidly switched to EDF, who don’t burden themselves with competence, because I greedily wanted to claim a £50 joining fee. Anyway, they charged me £13 per month for electricity as well, so all remained well.

    To cut a long story short, they didn’t read my meter when they said they did, so I had an estimated read and a big bill. We’ll ignore why they told me they had read the meter, but there’s another long story of incompetence there.

    They’ve now produced a new bill with my actual meter read that I sent them. My electricity usage is £53.51 from March to October 2021 (thrifty eh?) including standing charge and usage. That’s not per month, that’s in total.

    That means that my annual usage is going to come in at around £120 per year, probably slightly less.

    How much have EDF decided, with this new bill taken into account, to charge me per month? They’ve gone for £133 per month, so over ten times my actual usage. I don’t know whether they think I have a huge Christmas party for the entire neighbourhood where everyone plugs in lots of devices or am planning to start a cannabis farm or something. Although on a more serious note, reckless actions like this can push people into severe financial hardship and it looks to me like a desperate dash for cash from EDF.

    Pretty unimpressed….

  • Leicester – Travelodge Leicester Central

    Leicester – Travelodge Leicester Central

    Not to be confused with the nearby, new and what I consider to be the inadequate Travelodge Leicester City Centre, this hotel is older and I think that it’s much more functional and welcoming. Some of the public areas need something of a refurbishment (particularly the carpets in the corridors), but the staff were friendly and helpful.

    The view from my room, perhaps not the most exotic and decadent. However, the window opened and there was a fan in the room, which is all that I need to control the temperature to suit my needs.

    The room, all to brand standard. Perhaps not entirely spotless, but clean enough. They’re using sheets on the bed rather than duvets, although the duvet is in a bag in the corner.

    One of the older style Travelodges which still has a bath rather than just a shower. I liked this hotel and it’s moderately well reviewed, although there are a fair few comments about the rooms needing modernisation. Some people don’t like the lack of air conditioning, but I’m not sure that that will ever be the preserve of the budget hotel, it can’t be a cheap thing to implement and maintain in every room. I didn’t encounter any noise issues internally, and I rather liked hearing the city itself when opening the windows, I don’t really like being hermetically sealed into a room. Apparently there’s sometimes a nightclub open nearby, which I can’t imagine is ideal for some guests, although it wouldn’t annoy me.

    I noted the review that said:

    “The reception didn’t let me in, and the two ladies at the reception was very rude to me. So she rang the police, and the police had arrived and I had been escorted out, and the police brought back my items from the room.”

    I’d very much like to hear the other side of that story, it sounds intriguing. Unfortunately, Travelodge have got bored of replying to reviews over the last couple of years (although before then they were generic responses which added little value anyway), so there’s not much that can be ascertained here.

    Anyway, this was a reasonably priced night and I’d stay here again, especially as it’s usually the cheaper of the two Travelodges in the city.