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  • London – Southwark (Borough of) – The Ship

    London – Southwark (Borough of) – The Ship

    My opinion of Fuller’s has very much changed this week, some of their pubs are way above average and I had been expecting them to just be offering London Pride in the main. The choice has been much better than that and there’s some quirkiness, in a positive way, to what they’re offering. This Fuller’s pub has a traditional feel to it, located relatively near to Borough underground station and to Mercato Metropolitano.

    The welcome at the pub was prompt and friendly, with the staff member showing me to a table outside and then explaining the set-up at the pub. Customers could either order at the bar, or scan a QR code to order direct to the table. Everything seemed well managed and organised, with a few different real ales to choose from. Nothing overly exciting in terms of dark options, but I’ve never seen the HSB before and so went for that.

    And here it is, not bad at all, Fuller’s say that it has a taste of Dundee Cake and I had to look up what that was (fruit cake with currants, sultanas and almonds). I’m not sure I got those tastes, I got notes of toffee, but it was all rather refreshing and was well-kept.

    The outside garden was suitably cooling and there were no wasps around to irritate me, something that happens too often when I sit outside. It was all organised and laid-back, this is a quite lovely way to spend the afternoon.

    And the pub sign. All told, a perfectly decent pub which had a community feel to it. The service was friendly, the pub was clean and the environment was comfortable. So, all rather lovely.

  • London – Southwark (Borough of) – Mercato Metropolitano

    London – Southwark (Borough of) – Mercato Metropolitano

    I was visiting this rather on-trend market near Elephant and Castle to have a little trip to The Italian Job, but there are tens of other choices there as well. It opened in mid-2017 and the owners wanted to create a community theme to the site, aware of its social responsibility and offering unique experiences. The company behind it started with a major project at Milan railway station and they’re on the look for new sites.

    And mostly photos here, it’s a community food market with innovative and interesting food and drink options. Just to say that I hate raclette (just in case anyone thinks I took a photo of that stand with any excitement), but that’s an option for anyone who doesn’t hate melted cheese. There were plenty of inside and outside areas to sit, with everything seeming clean and organised. The prices are a lot of the establishments seemed a bit punchy, but I guess that comes with the on-trend nature of the site. All rather lovely and a nice way to spend a weekday lunch-time, although I imagine it can get busy at weekends.

  • London – Lambeth (Borough of) – Hercules

    London – Lambeth (Borough of) – Hercules

    I saw this pub when leaving Lambeth North underground station and it wasn’t listed in the Good Beer Guide and there didn’t seem anything obviously exciting. But, it looked an interesting building and I had anticipated getting half a pint of London Pride.

    The welcome was authentic, prompt and engaging, with the staff member seeming personable and keen to welcome customers. I looked at the beers on the pump clips and there were a few options, but I asked if there was anything dark anyway as it’s best to check.

    What I had managed to miss was the huge selection of beers behind the bar, with four dark options available. This was a ridiculously good selection and it’s marvellous to get offered dark beers of varying strengths. The staff member was very tempting in selling the imperial stout, but I went with the rather more moderate Coldblooded from Siren Craft Brew. This was a decent beer, initially unexciting perhaps, but with a delightful lingering taste of chocolate. I like this from a beer, subtle but with an element of decadence and it grew on me during the drinking.

    There weren’t any other customers for a while, although a couple came in for a Diet Pepsi each. It was a moderate shame that the pub’s fine beer selection wasn’t being taken advantage of and they must get busy in the evenings to justify having this range. There was a food menu available, but it was quite punchy in terms of the pricing and they probably needed a better value lunch-time menu given the current situation.

    All told, I think that this pub should be in the Good Beer Guide and it has changed my mind entirely about Fuller’s, as this is a beautiful location. I also liked how pro-active the staff member was in offering samples of beers, it gives me confidence in what they’re offering and it gave him a chance to show his knowledge. Friendly, comfortable and welcoming, it might yet be a candidate for my pub of the year…..

  • London – Southwark (Borough of) – The Italian Job at Mercato Metropolitano

    London – Southwark (Borough of) – The Italian Job at Mercato Metropolitano

    OK, I’ll didn’t like the Italian Job I visited yesterday. Actually, I entirely hated it. But, there was something wrong there as it was well-reviewed and the chain seems to be on the up. So, I wanted to visit another outlet.

    This is their outlet at Mercato Metropolitano, all nicely presented and clearly signed.

    The staff member was engaging, warm and welcoming, as well as being knowledgeable about the beers that they had. They had Voodoo Logic from Trouble Brewing, but it was early on and that’s a very punchy imperial stout for a lunch-time visit. I was pleased at the selection though, well-balanced and intriguing, a country mile from the other outlet I visited yesterday.

    I went for the Westway Pale Ale from the Portobello Brewing Company, as I felt like something light and refreshing and it’s a local ale from London. Citrusy and light, it wasn’t perhaps packed with flavour, but was pleasant enough with a suitable lingering aftertaste.

    But, overall, this was a decent little outlet and I felt welcome. They don’t do food here as there are tens of other stands offering that at the market, but it’s worth a visit for anyone in the locality. And, with that, I can say that the Italian Job experience of yesterday can be forgotten.

  • London – Camden (Borough of) – Victorian Urinal (Star Yard)

    London – Camden (Borough of) – Victorian Urinal (Star Yard)

    OK, this might not be the most riveting content ever, although that’s something I write on a semi-regular basis…. This is Star Yard, in what is now an area associated with the judicial process. And, there’s a listed structure here which is perhaps noteworthy.

    And here it is, a Victorian urinal. Made of cast iron, it was installed here in the late nineteenth century as part of a vague attempt to improve sanitation in the city. There are numerous decorated panels and it’s quite a sturdy structure, evident that it has survived for this long.

    Like most public conveniences in the city, they’re now permanently closed and have been for some time. They’re now just locked shut, although it’s not entirely clear what the owners can do with them other than just use them as some storage shed. The area around them is now all relatively modern, so they’re a reminder of what once was here.

    And here’s the area 100 years ago, the toilets are located where it says Star Yard on the map. The bank on the nearby corner is now a JD Wetherspoon outlet, the Knights Templar.

  • London – Tower Hamlets (Borough of) – Museum of London Docklands (St. Paul’s Church, Dock Street)

    London – Tower Hamlets (Borough of) – Museum of London Docklands (St. Paul’s Church, Dock Street)

    St. Katharine Docks, located near to the Tower of London, was once an important part of the city’s working docks, although it was damaged during the Second World War and is now more of a marina type affair. Back in the nineteenth century, the docks area was surrounded by slums and poverty, a dangerous part of London to be around.

    St. Paul’s Church was constructed on nearby Dock Street between 1846 and 1847, designed by William Cubitt & Co. Prince Albert came along to lay the foundation stone and the building was funded by wealthy donors and local seaman, who would have likely had little money. It could seat around 800 people and the church became an important part of the local community, trying to offer charity and guidance where it could.

    The church closed for religious services in 1968, but the building has remained and has now been converted into a nursery. There were hopes that a religious institution could continue to use the building, but it was finally sold in 1989. Anyway, this sign is one of the reminders of when the church was in operation, offering services throughout Sunday and offering a time when children could attend.

  • Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue – Day 177

    Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue – Day 177

    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….

    Kissing Crust

    Sometimes Grose gets a bit obsessed with murder, crime and fornication, but with this definition it’s more playful, it’s “the part where the loaves have touched the oven”. There’s some debate, and there are probably more important things to talk about, about whether this is correct, as others have defined it as “the part where the loaves have touched each other”. This sort of makes a difference, at in Grose’s definition it would be a hard bit of bread, whereas with the second definition, it would be a soft piece of the bread.

    I don’t think I’ll over-worry about who is correct (although I’m not sure it’s Grose), but it’s a quite warming little term and a few bakeries around the world have used it as their name.

  • London – Kensington and Chelsea (Borough of) – Windsor Castle

    London – Kensington and Chelsea (Borough of) – Windsor Castle

    This pub is listed in the Good Beer Guide and is named because when built it was possible to see Windsor Castle from here. It’s no longer possible to do that….. Anyway, it’s operated by Mitchells & Butlers and its foliage packed frontage is hard to miss.

    The interior is of historic interest and it’s a pub on the CAMRA list of nationally important historic interiors. The pub was busy when I visited and they were one of those locations where they had numerous empty tables for reservations later on, but didn’t allow customers to sit on them until those times. Everything seemed clean and organised at the pub and there’s usually a list of craft beers for customers to peruse. But not on my visit. The staff were friendly and efficient and there was a vibrant, but safe, feel to the environment. I went into the rear beer garden which was relatively sizeable for a city pub and, fortunately, nice and cool in terms of the temperature.

    There was nothing else particularly exciting when I visited, although some more interesting beers were marked as being on soon. Left with Timothy Taylor’s Landlord, which was adequate but unexciting, there was nothing else of note I could mention. Which is a shame, as I’ve noted they have sold beers from Moncada here before, my favourite of breweries. So, all rather average, but their beer selection is in usual times seemingly quite innovative. Given how busy the pub was, this seems like a popular community local though.

  • Hull – Hop and Vine (Second Visit)

    Hull – Hop and Vine (Second Visit)

    This was my second visit to the Hop and Vine in Hull, and it’s fair to say that my first visit last year impressed me. I can almost hear Nathan muttering about the bloody Hop and Vine given how many times I mention it, but it was my pub of the year for 2019. And Tony kindly did an interview for me a few weeks back.

    So, I went back with two other people and, to be honest, I wasn’t sure whether the engagement of my first visit could be repeated. Perhaps I was just fortunate the first time and it might all be a let-down. More on this later.

    This is what Richard ordered, a bottle of mead. It’s not something that I’d think to order, but he enjoyed it. I ordered a rather lovely dark beer, but, enough of that, let’s move briefly onto the food.

    The pork pies….

    And the cheese-board, for a bargain £5.

    I’m going to speed over the subject of food and drink, not because they were bad, indeed they were impeccable as ever. The choice of drinks was wide and carefully thought through, whether that was with the whiskies, the beers, the ciders or the gins. To me, the main part of this visit was seeing if the customer service was as good as I remembered it. And – it was.

    When we entered, and without the customers knowing who was coming in, someone moved to another table to make space for us. This is a very good start in any pub. But here, the customers were speaking to each other, whether they were locals or newcomers, and my plan to visit for an hour got ripped up as we stayed for over four hours. I’m not going to drone on about this pub again, it’s clear I think it’s the best pub I’ve been to in the country. It has community written all over it, it’s marvellous.

    All I’ll say is that I’ve no idea how a landlord can build up an atmosphere where customers feel welcome and, most importantly, they make other customers welcome as well. This pub in a cellar has an almost undefinable quality and only twice in the hundreds (probably thousands) of pubs I’ve been to have I experienced this level of engagement and both times it’s at this pub.

    This pub is as near perfection as I could want it to be. I will be back next year. And, to anyone visiting Hull, just pop in, I’m confident nearly everyone will be pleased that they did.

  • The Craft Beer Section of Fuller’s Web-Site

    The Craft Beer Section of Fuller’s Web-Site

    I make no comment about what displays on the craft beer section of Fuller’s web-site…..