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  • Samuel Smith Pubs

    I complained to myself, and probably about two other people who will read it, about the lack of atmosphere in their pub, the Savile Arms in Eakring with their new policy banning mobile phones.

    When I posted that, I hadn’t realised just how bad their reviews are across their estate, so here are a few just from recent weeks…..

    “Went to this nice looking pub for lunch today in the middle of a visit to Harewood House. As observed by the last reviewer, we were met with a sign informing us that no card payments would be accepted and no phones were allowed. It was empty. Sadly decided to leave. A shame for the place. Often wondered what it’s like but don’t think I will bother again.”

    **

    “electronics ban and cash only…what an awful way to run a family pub. Don’t try a quick glance at your phone as the miserable owner makes spot checks. I’ve seen busier funeral parlours and we were there on a saturday afternoon. The rooms are ok and the only thing stopping me giving it 1 star was the breakfast which was very nice, friendly staff but we won’t stay there again”

    **

    “We went there for lunch today and found the whole experience a bit depressing. The food was uninspiring and certainly nothing to ‘write home about’. The beer, although cheap, was too cold and the orange squash was very weak and cloudy as if it had been made from squash that was well passed its ‘use by’ date (when we asked for it to be made stronger we were told we’d have to pay extra).

    The service was delivered with an almost a take-it-or-leave-it attitude. There were also signs everywhere saying mobile phones were banned, there was no wi-fi and only cash was accepted as a form of payment. Whilst this may have been an attempt to recreate the atmosphere of an old style pub, it certainly didn’t seem to lift the spirits of the customers from what we could determine”

    **

    If you want someone telling you how to behave when having a meal or drink then Samuel Smith pubs are for you. A electronic device ban has resulted in the whole bar being practically empty. If you read a kindle on the bar, you will be approached by staff wielding a “NO MOBILE PHONES” poster which is designed to “encourage conversation” we were certainly very talkative as we left.

    **

    Visited this pub today for my mams 60th birthday which we have been coming to for many many years. Took a photo of her and her 4 year old grandson next to the fireplace to put on social media only to be told no phones are permitted in this pub. There are beer mats telling you all the things you can’t use. I felt like I was back at school and the poor staff must be horrified when having to tell people this. No dogs are allowed either! There are so many ‘don’ts’ in this pub it’s ridiculous. This is 2019 and everyone has a mobile phone. People come to relax, and have a drink and not to be told what they can and can’t do with something as so ridiculous as no phones, emails, looking at photos etc. This owner has ruined such a lovely pub. We won’t be returning!

    **

    Been supporting this pub for 25 years but since they barred dogs recently have never been in since and have no intention of going in as all the other pubs in the area allow dogs. They banned phones before dogs and most of the self employed workmen who called in for a teatime pint have also given up on this place as they couldn’t use there phones after a days work to check for messages etc.

    **

    Last year we stayed for 3 nights here in this beautiful hotel /pub . The place is stunning upstairs due to top class refurb . We loved our stay . Downstairs the olde worlde pub is absolutely brilliant .When we entered by the front door the bar area was all stone floors and old fashioned church seating with locals in every corner and their dogs sat under the tables .The atmosphere was great ,lots of chatting and laughter going on .Through the bar to yet another interesting room, with comfy chairs and old photos of the area from years gone by ,and an old well in the corner on the floor that you can look down ,incredible .The place is a warren of fantastic rooms all different and all wonderful .The beer is to die for and the prices are from the 90s . BUT sadly this was last year !!! This year is totally different . The owners have introduced NO DOGS ,NO MOBILE PHONES ETC. Now there are NO locals with their dogs, passing the time , No youngsters having a laugh , No anything really ,because who wants to sit in a pub by yourselves ?? Last time we went in it was just us and the bar man .didn’t stay long . Need to bend these rules a little . WHY cant the dogs stay in the bar with the stone floor ? WHY cant the people just turn their phones down ? Such a shame .!!!!!

    **

    We called in for lunch.The hotel entrance and bar area rooms were a delight. Food was well priced and enjoyable.
    Dissapointed with the available drinks. Only serve one Red wine (Cabernet Sauvignon) and one white wine (Chenin Blanc) Asked for a J2O but only had an awful fizzy something. Had faided to see the signs on every door (six rooms in the bar area) banning phones/ipads.. I wanted to show our friends a few photos on my iphone who had also driven for an hour to get there. Not allowed I was told. Now I agree entirely that sound MUST be turned off at all time whilst in those areas. However, there were three people in the bar one of whom had a newspaper. I ventured to ask could I read my telegraph on my ipad as that is the way I subscribe. It cuts down on paper. NO they said. Could I read a book on my ipad… again NO. So the answer is to take a pile of books and news papers in. They can dispose of the old newspapers. Remember to take as many photograph albums in with you as you can carry. I feel sorry for the staff as it is clearly all down to Humphrey Smith. What a luddite he must be. Well there were only two other people in having a coffee and they soon left. The three locals at the bar all agreed with my comments. The construction of the building is fabulous. What a pity to see it run that way, sadly it won’t be long before they shut up shop.

    **

    There are hundreds of these. So much for “social pubs”. But, as the company admit, “we are struggling”.

  • Eakring – Savile Arms

    Eakring – Savile Arms

    Sam Smiths pubs used to be some of my favourites, they retained their heritage and offered a traditional pub environment, back to the George Orwell ‘Moon Under the Water‘ standard. In my view (which doesn’t count for much, I’m aware) they’ve, sadly, spiralled into a chaotic situation where their reputation is shattered and they admit themselves that they are “struggling”.

    The pub doesn’t allow photos to be taken. The prices were very cheap, £2 for a pint of bitter and £2.30 for a pint of extra stout. I had the latter and it was an excellent beer, with a depth of flavour and very drinkable. On this measure, the chain is doing nothing wrong. The service was automated and routine, but not overly impolite.

    This is, unfortunately, complete nonsense in my irrelevant opinion. I spend a lot of times in pubs as I can get work done on a laptop, making my environment more social. Most major pub chain are responding to that by installing power points and free wi-fi across pubs, with companies such as Brewdog offering their Deskdog service. The environment in these pub chains, in my experience, is nearly always a social one which is obtained by getting a variety of customers looking to come together in their own ways. JD Wetherspoons have managed this very well to a degree, but they’re not alone, very many smaller pubs (including micropubs) have got the balance just right.

    It is true that some coffee shops can have a sterile environment if they have too many customers sitting on laptops and phones, but only a poor operator of a pub would find themselves in that situation. Any pub chain who has gotten into so much difficulty that it has to tell customers to be social has a problem IMO, competent bar staff should be able to deliver that.

    Sam Smiths now ban people from texting their friends and it’s verging on being a bullying attitude that is out-of-date, nasty and ridiculous. The policy is led by Humphrey Smith, a man who has gained charge of the organisation by birth. There are all manner of people who find comfort in using their phone if they come to a pub alone, there isn’t always someone to talk to. When someone is, they will put their phone down and talk, which is what a pub needs, a social environment.

    Reading on-line what Sam Smiths staff think, it’s clear that many landlords are appalled as well by their boss’s confused policy. But their boss thrives on being controversial and he tried to stop the Pensions Regulator serving his current and former staff by telling them to go away. Humphrey Smith timidly backed down quietly when the court process against him started.

    Anyway, when we were in the pub, there were no other customers. Very bloody social that was and it was probably one of the least social pubs I’ve been into all year, with the staff member not offering any engagement beyond the minimum. So, I absolutely agree with the brewery, they’re struggling.

  • Edwinstowe – Major Oak

    Edwinstowe – Major Oak

    This substantial oak tree is, according to legend, where Robin Hood and merry men rested. The tree is approximately 800 to 1,000 years old and there’s a substantial and complex scaffolding arrangement to support the branches which has been in place since the Victorian period. Sitting under the tree for a picnic was also a very fashionable thing to do, and a newspaper in 1863 said that “the tree may yet stand for many more generations”. At the beginning of the twentieth century, some tree expert decided that it would be a marvellous ideal to pour concrete in the trunk to help protect it, which was perhaps not entirely the most sensible thing to do.

    There was another tree, known as the Shambles, which is where the merry men hang their venison. Unfortunately, although this tree became a little bit of a celebrity icon, or something like that, in the nineteenth century, it fell down in the 1960s.

  • Palma – Museu Fundación Juan March (Woman in Front of the Sun)

    Palma – Museu Fundación Juan March (Woman in Front of the Sun)

    This is one of the artworks at the Museu Fundación Juan March. It’s “Pintura, Mujer al Sol” or “Painting, Woman in Front of the Sun”. Painted in 1950 by Joan Miro and there is also a museum of his artworks and sculptures in Palma.

    I quite like this artwork as it’s colourful and bright, but I’ve been reading some analysis of the painting and there seem to be multiple interpretations as to what it means or represents. So, no-one seems to know, although the marvellous Philadelphia Museum of Art also have a similarly named artwork by Miro. Although, they’ve decided not to display it….

  • Palma – Museu Fundación Juan March

    Palma – Museu Fundación Juan March

    This modern art gallery is named after Juan March Ordinas, who lived from 1880 and 1962 and was the wealthiest man in Spain. A bit like Gordon and Old Catton. And this gallery is beautiful in terms of its design, functionality and efficiency, it’s clear that a lot of money has been spent on it.

    The art gallery is located in a sixteenth century residential building.

    One of the artworks visible in the courtyard.

    I’ll have to be honest. I didn’t understand most of the artworks in this gallery, although I liked how accessible they were and some were interesting. I’ll post about some of the artworks separately, but there were many that I found were difficult to get a hold of in terms of their context and what the artist was trying to say.

    I mean, what does the above really say? This is the “Rising Figure” lump of metal by Andreu Alfaro. I don’t deny that it is quite probably brilliant, but I don’t have the knowledge or understanding to be able to explain it.

    “The Room” by Guillermo Perez Villalta. It’s an interesting artwork, but it’s another one that I don’t really understand.

    “Black Painting” by Eva Lootz. I have no idea.

    I did like this gallery, and some of the artworks were intriguing, but I’d have liked some greater explanation on the information panels to give me a greater context on what was going on. It’s easy to write off modern art, which is a huge genre, but to make it accessible it’d be good for there to be more background on what an artwork is trying to say. Unless it’s not trying to say anything, which is intriguing in itself…

    The gallery is free of charge and centrally located in Palma, so the family has offered a wonderful gift to the community in allowing such access to these artworks.

  • Palma – Palma Airport (Valldemossa Lounge)

    Palma – Palma Airport (Valldemossa Lounge)

    Before my flight back to Gatwick, I had chance to spent a couple of hours in the airport lounge, which is located near to the entrance to A and C gates of the terminal. The staff were relatively friendly, although they didn’t overly engage, but the welcome was efficient and polite.

    This is quite a sizeable lounge, with food and drink options on one side. There was plenty of seating available and this was across different seating styles, so customers could use whatever they felt was most comfortable. Full marks for the number of power points in the lounge as well, these were generously positioned around and in usable and accessible locations. The lounge has been recently refurbished and it’s clean and functional, although the lack of separate areas might make it quite noisy when busy. I’m not sure that the lounge had wi-fi of its own, but the airport wi-fi is free and fast.

    The hot food, which didn’t look as exciting as this menu suggested.

    The biscuit selection.

    The doughnut selection, which was more than agreeable.

    Cold meats and cheeses.

    Salads, sushi and some form of sandwiches. The quality was at best average, but the choice was reasonable.

    The drinks selection, with spirits and wines also available nearby. The soft drinks selection was quite broad and there was more choice in a neighbouring fridge. I was pleased with the Lemon Fanta, one of my favourite drinks.

    I find this beer generic and bland, but it is a Spanish favourite, so its placing here in the lounge isn’t surprising. I’d have liked a better selection of beers, preferably ones with some taste, but the selection is standard for airport lounges. I had two Cruzcampo beers to check if they both tasted the same. They did.

    The toilets are located within the lounge complex and these were clean and of a sufficient size for the number of customers. I can imagine that this lounge gets much busier during the summer months though. I was able to gain entry into the lounge because of status with BA, but otherwise it’d cost around £30 to get in, which seems very steep to me for the quality of the food and drink. I assume that the price point has been set this high as some of the lounge guests are looking to use it as an all you can drink facility, rather than as a location to relax and work in before a flight.

    Anyway, since I didn’t spend £30 (my flight back to the UK didn’t actually cost that much) to get in, I felt it a comfortable and organised lounge.

  • Flights – Palma Mallorca to Gatwick South (British Airways)

    Flights – Palma Mallorca to Gatwick South (British Airways)

    My flight to Palma last week didn’t go entirely smoothly, but I’m impressed that British Airways have already agreed to pay the EU261 compensation on this, which is very efficient of them. The aircraft for this flight was the Airbus A320 G-EUUT, an aircraft British Airways have had since it was new in 2007 (although it now has 180 seats, which is 30 more seats since it was first brought into use, which shows how the aircraft has been densified).

    The queue to board, all orderly. I liked Palma Airport, it’s spacious and there are plenty of places to eat, to sit and to wait. I suspect that it is much busier during the summer months and customers then might find it slightly less spacious, but the terminal all seemed comfortable and modern.

    This seems to be the standard out-station way of splitting the groups, although the group numbers are still called consecutively. There didn’t seem to be any real delays in boarding, but British Airways have started to get people to wait on the airbridge in a style which is more Ryanair and easyJet. Apparently this speeds up boarding, but I can’t imagine that it’s by much.

    I shifted from the window exit row seat to the aisle exit row seat the day before the flight, I prefer aisle seats as I like being able to get out without disturbing anyone. Not that I got up during the flight, but it’s nice to have the option. I’ve had a little run, which has run its course, of booking window seats though as the views are sometimes worth it. Incidentally, the crew were very tolerant of the number of people who had bags under the seat in exit rows, despite about eight announcements not to do this. Also, I had no-one next to me, so it felt all very spacious.

    My bag, sitting quietly in the corner, in my full view at all times. I can’t imagine anyone would want to steal it, but I like it being visible. I did note the number of customers who put their bag in the lockers and then walked to their seat, often what seemed another twenty rows back. This then meant that some customers boarding a little later couldn’t find locker space to near their seat, so had to walk back past their seats to stow their bags. That’s fine when boarding, but it’s more of a challenge going against the flow when disembarking.

    The crew seemed competent and professional, with the pilot making appropriate announcements throughout the flight. The flight landed a few minutes early and I was particularly pleased that I was able to leave the airport terminal within ten minutes of the aircraft doors opening. All told, all very lovely, and the cost of the flight was around £25 each way.

  • Palma – Basilica of San Miguel

    Palma – Basilica of San Miguel

    This church, the Basílica de San Miguel, was elevated to the status of a basilica just last year, in October 2018, by Pope Francis. It stands on the site of a former mosque and was constructed in 1229. Much has changed though since then and there have been reconstructions of the church in the fourteenth and seventeenth centuries.

    The frontage of the church makes quite a statement and the figure on the left, with the book, is the local philosopher and mystic, Ramon Llull. The basilica is located quite a busy shopping street, so there’s quite a lot of hustle and bustle and this was evident with the flow of tourists entering the building.

    The interior is a little plain, although the altar is quite impressive at the rear.

    The church’s organ.

    A polychrome statue of, I assume, Mother Teresa. There was another statue near to the entrance of Pope John Paul II and this was quite impactful.

    Without wishing to be disrespectful to the local worshippers, I didn’t really take to this church, there was a strange and atmosphere I haven’t encountered in a church for some time. Such a feeling is entirely undefinable and so isn’t really a helpful comment for me to make, but something didn’t seem right to me. It wasn’t helped by one of the church volunteers going around and turning the lights off, plunging some parts of the church into semi-darkness when visitors were trying to look at side chapels and paintings. I think that there was some set-up where visitors had to pay to turn the lights on in some areas, so perhaps she was turning them off when the person who had paid moved away, but nonetheless…

    Anyway, a marvellous piece of history, although I couldn’t see anything in the basilica about the history of the building. Although if I had a torch then I might have found it. Certainly a stunning building, especially the frontage.

  • Palma – Even More Streets….

    Palma – Even More Streets….

    There’s not much point to this post (although I can’t claim that there’s exactly much of a literary need for any of them, but there we go), but I kept taking random photos of streets that interested me during the week. And here are a selection of them….. Incidentally, the streets of the old city are a complete labyrinth and maze, I never really got an understanding of the street layout of Palma, which hasn’t changed much over the centuries.

  • Palma – Royal Palace of La Almudaina (St. Anne’s Chapel)

    Palma – Royal Palace of La Almudaina (St. Anne’s Chapel)

    St. Anne’s Chapel, or the Capilla de Santa Ana, is the final part of a visit to the Royal Palace of La Almudaina.

    Although the exterior of this building has been changed on numerous occasions, the interior has remained relatively intact since it was first constructed in the fourteenth century.

    The chapel’s organ.

    This little collection of artefacts are relics, and part of a skeleton, of Saint Práxedes and they were brought to the chapel of King James III of Majorca following a visit that he made to Rome. There have been numerous miracles which have been associated with these relics over the centuries, although quite where they were stored for over one thousand years before King James III purchased them, goodness only knows.

    It’s a peaceful little chapel, which stands very much in the shadow of Palma Cathedral, although I think I noticed a couple of visitors managed to miss it and headed straight for the exit after touring the Palace itself.