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  • Reading – The Hope Tap (JD Wetherspoon)

    Reading – The Hope Tap (JD Wetherspoon)

    Hmmm, I appear to have been so distracted with other pubs that during my visits to Reading, I’ve only briefly popped into the two JD Wetherspoon venues in the town. And this is one of the only two photos that I have of the Hope Tap which I would have taken for Untappd.

    The chain say about the venue’s name:

    “The site of this pub was once occupied by the Hope Brewery which had its own pub, The Hope Tap. According to the earliest trade directory, 103–104 Friar Street were occupied by the brewery, but by 1860 the brewery had gone.”

    This map is from around 1900 and the Hope Tap is located just below the BM, with that inner courtyard now being part of the pub.

    I mentioned I had another photo and it is from my visit in September 2025. The two photos are nearly four years apart but are both of the same beer, the Titanic Plum Porter, which was just £2.28 a pint on my recent visit.

    Anyway, onto the reviews to amuse me, which are around average for the chain.

    “A nine year association with this once good pub is at an end. I have used £sterling over the nine years and a mix of English and Scottish bank notes without question. Tonight I handed over a Scottish £20 note, to have it returned with a stern warning, “although it states Sterling, we do not accept Scottish Bank Notes”, is this racism, it felt like it, I was person non grata. I politely refused to hand over Sterling in an acceptable format. Thank you, Hope Tap for the humiliation.”

    Racism because they have stopped accepting Scottish £20s in their English and Welsh pubs because of the amount of fraudulent notes in circulation?

    “Ordered food 10.59pm, kitchen closes at 11. Come to my work at 4.59 and we’ll honour that by allowing your vehicle into our workshop for whatever repair/maintenance required. Hope tap didn’t allow us to get our food, a man just came to our table and refused to make us the food ordered, and didn’t answer why, he just smiled and laughed. Pretty poor customer service. Use to love this place. Now I’ll just go hungry, or even better, pop to McDonald’s for a cheese burger, as they’ll always accept money for food no matter what time, or however late from closing time.”

    This reminds me that for a while they had a situation where some JD Wetherspoon pubs took food orders until 23:00 and also closed at 23:00 which felt like a sub-optimal arrangement. I personally wouldn’t dare order on the app at 22:59, but each to their own.

    “Ordered a Doom Bar and an IPA via the App, arrived at the table, and the kid said, “I don’t know which is which”, then turned to leave. I asked if he could take them back and re-pour them to know for sure, and he proceeded to return to the bar with them, wait 30 seconds at the end of the bar, then return with the same drinks pretending to know. I took them up to the bar, and after explaining to 2 highly confused staff, finally a bad tempered ‘manager’ came in and reluctantly proceeded to pour new drinks with quite an attitude. Par for the course, I guess.”

    I’ve had this and it’s not ideal, but I’m not sure I’d send them back as that would admit that I couldn’t tell the difference by taste. But, once again, each to their own. The attitude is understandable in my view….

    “i was out for the night with some girls on holiday from Denmark. when we got our drinks, we clinked our drinks together and said woohoo. the short bouncer was very aggressive and kicked us out without finishing, saying we were too loud”

    Good, there’s too much frivolity in pubs.

    “Organised trip to meet family on basis of Google including it as accepting dogs, but it didn’t.”

    How is that the pub’s fault?

    Anyway, enough of this excitement. They’ve usually got six real ales on and the prices are about the brand average, although that’s all towards the lower end of the scale.

    I’ve rarely lingered for long in here, it can get really quite busy and I prefer the vibe at Siren’s taproom over the road and there are a fair few interesting Good Beer Guide pubs around as well. But, I’ll likely pop back at some point and I might remember to take a couple of photos to surprise and delight my two loyal readers.

  • Royal Air Force Museum Hendon – Ruins at the Eden Hotel by Julius Stafford-Baker

    Royal Air Force Museum Hendon – Ruins at the Eden Hotel by Julius Stafford-Baker

    Julius Stafford-Baker (1904-1988) painted this view of the Eden Hotel in Berlin on 20 July 1945. He was particularly drawn to ruined Germany, which in artistic terms was understandable and I suppose there’s optimism that can come from the chaos. Although it was painted only weeks after the war in Europe ended, it belongs to that slightly odd period when the fighting had stopped but the consequences were still sitting in full view, impossible to tidy up with slogans.

    The Eden Hotel itself had once been one of Berlin’s grand establishments, it was built in 1912 and it was situated on the Kurfürstendamm before it was destroyed in the war. It had become infamous in 1919 as it’s where the military who killed Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg were based, and the executions took place outside the hotel.

    Stafford-Baker, eldest son of the illustrator, Julius Stafford-Baker (1869-1961), worked for the RAF Public Relations Directorate and he remained working as an illustrator after the war.

  • Norwich – Former Brewdog

    Norwich – Former Brewdog

    I went by the former Norwich Brewdog last night for the first time since it closed and all the signage was removed. It’s a little strange how a building can change its look so quickly, it now gives the impression of being an office building.

    I imagine it’ll get let out again by the landlord relatively quickly, it’s a substantial amount of space that has gone through numerous different names over the years. CAMRA notes that it has been known as Hideout, Knowhere, Noir, Indulge, Hogshead, City Ale & Wine Bar, Gundry Whites Cafe Bar, Drummonds and Whites over recent years.

    And this is how it looked last November.

  • Slough – The Moon and Spoon (JD Wetherspoon)

    Slough – The Moon and Spoon (JD Wetherspoon)

    I’ve visited the Moon and Spoon in Slough a couple of times, but I have entirely failed to take any useful photos of it. So here’s a photo with the word Slough on it, which I accept is slightly sub-optimal. The pub is one of the older ones in the JD Wetherspoon estate, it’s included in their 1992 list of pubs, so it likely opened in the late 1980s.

    Using the chain’s history of the venue, they note:

    “The author George Orwell described his ideal pub in a newspaper article and called it ‘Moon Under Water’. It is why ‘moon’ is used in the name of several Wetherspoon pubs. This pub stands on the site of the Black Boy Inn. First recorded in 1679, it was demolished in 1910 and replaced by the Fulbrook Motor Works. Later known as Fulbrook House, it was home to Slough’s first supermarket and then the Halifax Building Society.”

    This was evidently a very different Slough, it’s a little difficult to picture it being a quaint town some way from London. It’s now rather more urban and vibrant shall we say.

    This is the only photo that I took inside the pub, as obviously I didn’t want to neglect Untappd. For reference, as if anyone could possibly care, this is the Diablo from Mad Squirrel Brewery which was £1 for a half and was an interesting beer with a bit of lemon in the flavour.

    The venue is one of the older style JD Wetherspoon outlets, quite a dark design and not overly large, but the team members were all friendly and welcoming. The online reviews are positive and towards the high end of the scale for the chain, but I like looking at some of the angry ones.

    “Visiting home town Slough and was feeling merry and having a laugh with family as walking in Place looked like it needed some life and colour. Got refused a drink because we were having a laugh.”

    I’m with the pub, I doubt that it did need life and colour.

    “Went with my son for a drink.. ordered Stella by App.. all good, second Stella ordered by app came in non Stella glass. Tasted awful after a few sips. (due to the glass)…”

    I mean, yes, Stella would say that their beer tastes better in their own branded glass. In reality, I would doubt anyone would be able to taste the difference, but the claim that the beer somehow tastes awful is something that the pub should ignore. And they did, they refused a replacement.

    “Worst visit I have ever had in a Wetherspoons. Served by a girl with an IQ of about 5, three times had to point at Windsor Knot that I ordered, then served the beer that was at least 10% short of a full pint.”

    Perhaps she was nervous that it would be a customer that would bully her and post all over Google abuse about her.

    “Alcoholic drinks that you pay, they will bring them to the table. Free tap water, you need to get up and get it yourself. I believe they missed the point of why tap water is free in England on any establishment selling alcohol.”

    I’m not sure there’s a law which requires tap water to be brought to the table by a team member because a customer doesn’t want to get it themselves….

    “If you like going to the library the go its so quiet this pub”

    Good.

    Anyway, that’s enough review distraction and I note that at the moment the venue offers six different real ales, including from breweries including Mauldons, Hanlons and Peerless.

    The pricing here is towards the lower end of the JD Wetherspoon scale, which is already pretty cheap. There’s more of a vibrant atmosphere here than in the newer and usually larger venues that they operate, but it’s all reliable enough and it’s been here long enough now.

  • Norwich – Local Election Hustings at the Playhouse

    Norwich – Local Election Hustings at the Playhouse

    We normally do 2Js to pubs and licensed venues which we feel might surprise and delight us, but this visit was to the local Government hustings being held at Norwich Playhouse.

    The debate was introduced by Stephen Crocker, the Chief Executive of Norwich Theatre, and moderated by the editor of the EDP, Richard Porritt (on far left, although I don’t mean that in a political sense). Then we have Steve Morphew (Labour), Nick Taylor (Reform UK), Jan Davis (Green), James Wright (Liberal Democrats) and Andrew Jamieson (Conservative).

    There was perhaps one error here from the organisers which is that they ended up with five male middle-aged candidates, which is great, but it didn’t feel very representative. Although the organisers said that they just asked every party to field a representative, there should have perhaps been some more joined up thinking here. James Wright mentioned that as soon as the situation was apparent he made efforts to find a different representative, but it seems they weren’t given enough notice. The issue was brought up by a member of the audience, and Richard Porritt was asked why he had selected two men to ask the first two questions from the audience.

    The tickets were free of charge and the venue was around two thirds full. The audience seemed quite well balanced in terms of age, gender and political views, with no one group dominating the arrangement.

    Julian had got us tickets on the balcony, which I didn’t even realise existed, and this gentleman was selected to ask a question. The set-up was that every candidate got ninety seconds to introduce themselves, then there were questions from the audience and then every candidate got some time to sum up why people should vote for their party.

    Jan Davis.

    James Wright.

    Andrew Jamieson.

    Nick Taylor.

    Steve Morphew.

    I won’t go into my political thoughts about the candidates as I think it was really useful that they all turned up for a debate such as this. There were interesting questions on the environment, local Government reform, younger people in politics, policing, public transport, care homes, well-being and culture.

    One of the candidates seemed a little inexperienced when he bit back at the audience in a way that felt inappropriate, that was perhaps the only low point of the debate. Otherwise the debate was always polite and well mannered, although I always prefer just a little drama. There was a considerable amount of experience from the individuals being questioned and an evident passion for their local communities.

    Anyway, this was an enjoyable ninety minutes or so and credit to the organisers for using their space in this manner to further the democratic process. As Stephen Crocker said at the end, the main thing is though to vote.

  • Norwich – Anglia Square Demolition (27 April 2026)

    Norwich – Anglia Square Demolition (27 April 2026)

    Everything continues to come down at some pace now, the central core of the buildings around Anglia Square are mostly down and there’s a lot of rubble everywhere.

  • Reading – The Back of Beyond (JD Wetherspoon)

    Reading – The Back of Beyond (JD Wetherspoon)

    Just meandering through my old photos and this is The Back of Beyond in Reading, operated by JD Wetherspoon. I visited in February 2022 and was mostly going to pubs in the Good Beer Guide, which explains the limited number of photos that I took in here.

    As for the pub name, the chain explains:

    “This pub stands on the site of a ginger beer factory, later used as a Salvation Army barracks, and takes its name from its location on the edge of town.”

    I remember that this was an odd day as there were gale force winds and numerous venues weren’t opening at all, with all council buildings being closed. This pub is by the River Kennet and the chairs outside were blowing about so much that they were at risk of either losing them or one hitting a pedestrian. A team member calmly came in looking bedraggled from the gale to say the least and suggested “we had better close outside” in a rather understated manner. They certainly wouldn’t have closed inside.

    As an aside, the beer is the Red Kite from Vale Brewery, but this was before the days that I wrote commentary on every beer as well as checking them in. Whilst I was there a member of the public was IDed by a polite team member, but they were aggressive and verbally abusive in response which created a bit of extra tension inside. I remember that the team members here seemed efficient and were evidently doing their best.

    I remember that the pub was clean and seemed in a good state of repair, but I obviously couldn’t visit the outside area without the risk of being hit by a flying chair. There are some pubs that I visit that it’s the clientele that I worry about in that regard, but it was definitely just the weather on this instance.

    Anyway, onto the reviews, with the venue being generally very well rated. The venue is still responding to reviews, which is a little unusual for the chain’s pubs.

    “Me and my university friends are regulars at this spoons, my friends accepted a drink that we assumed is a gift from a family member. There was a mistake from the bartender who provided us with the wrong drink. And recognised the mistake and threatened us to be kicked out of the spoons if we didn’t pay, they went as far as stating that we have committed theft, when me and my friend rightfully asked him for his name he did not provide it, he was an older person with glasses. The customer service is a disgrace.”

    Amazing how many reviews there are along the lines of “I assumed it was a gift from someone” when a customer has merrily gone and drunk something brought to the table in error.

    “Myself & my husband have been regular customers for many many years of The Back of Beyond to eat & drink on Saturdays. We waited patiently at the bar to be served, lady behind bar said who was next & despite my husband saying it was him & putting his hand up she proceeded to serve someone else! We were clearly next as had been stood next to the lady she had just been serving. When we spoke up she said “don’t start anything” At this point we walked out. Needless to say we won’t ever return with that kind of treatment. Staff training in customer service is clearly required here!!”

    To be fair to the bar staff, this sort of stuff is going to happen in a busy pub and this is why I like they have an app to order from…

    “I’ve never felt so unwelcome by some of the staff here. My friends were celebrating my birthday and they called us out over a microphone for singing happy birthday. Im really disappointed in the service here”

    I’m liking the pub even more.

    “Got told off by the Quiz Master for singing happy birthday”

    Yes, I’m on board with the pub now.

    “You should review your age id identification. These days everything is checked online and no one’s carry an id after them.”

    They carry an ID with them if they want to be served.

    “People took over front part of pub by Office louder than your music on phone I played a little bit on my phone to be told it was too loud, but people can be louder. Brought food for 15 year old daughter with option of soft drink, choose alcohol free cider as in soft drinks, Girl brings drinks over and is Rude her words You got ID You got ID, not can I see ID Please. Also Law say she’s having Food she can have a alcohol free, Please educate your staff in UK Rules on this, Oh and to make us A Family feel even more uncomfortable in this Pub she when over to Bar to tell the other staff/ Managers of this, to which they end up staring at us the whole time in there. I no longer recommend this pub, not for families”

    So playing music on a phone and then ordering non alcoholic beers for a 15 year old, it’s not going to end well….. I like JD Wetherspoon’s stance on both and their staff seemed very well trained on them to me.

    Anyway, they usually have around eight real ales and it all seemed well run when I was there. The pricing is somewhere around the middle for the chain and it feels as if it has more of a student crowd in there. The venue had first opened in the 1990s and received an investment of over £850,000 in 2021 to modernise the pub, so I visited soon after all of that work was completed. If I go back, I’ll get some more photos to surprise and delight my two loyal blog readers….

  • Royal Air Force Museum Hendon – Promissory Note from the First Gulf War

    Royal Air Force Museum Hendon – Promissory Note from the First Gulf War

    I’d never much thought about this (like many things) but this is a promissory note that service personnel fighting in the first Gulf War were issued with. If anyone was shot down or otherwise caught in enemy territory, then the Foreign Office would give £15,000 to anyone who returned them to safety. They each have a serial number so that they could be verified.

    Also known as a Safe Conduct Pass, they had been used in the past but as more of a demand that the member of service personnel was properly treated. This ultimately was more of a demand that may or may not be met, but the offer of money was a much more tempting arrangement.

  • Royal Air Force Museum Hendon – Fabric Skin from Richthofen’s Aircraft

    Royal Air Force Museum Hendon – Fabric Skin from Richthofen’s Aircraft

    This fragment of fabric skin from Manfred von Richthofen’s (1892-1918) Fokker Dr.I does look rather modest, but it underpins something of a dramatic story. It was removed from the wreck of the triplane following the crash on 21 April 1918 by Corporal Harry Potter, part of the salvage team although souvenir hunters ended up with various bits of the aircraft.

    The importance is Richthofen himself and the making of the Red Baron myth. He was not merely a successful German fighter ace, but one who understood, whether instinctively or otherwise, the value of visual identity. By having his aircraft painted red, he turned himself into something more than a pilot and more into a symbol of bravery and leadership. As the war progressed, the idea that one aircraft was painted red was seen as a little sub-optimal as it made Richthofen a target, so more planes were painted the same colour.

    I like little survivals like this and because there were souvenir hunters, bits of the aircraft’s fabric skin are in museums around the world, not just here at the Air Force Museum, but at locations such as the Australian War Memorial museum. And, as another minor point that intrigued me, Richthofen was born in what is now Wrocław in a part of the city which is where I stay when visiting. I wonder what he would have thought about his birth place now being part of Poland.

  • Norwich – Cow Tower (open inside)

    Norwich – Cow Tower (open inside)

    I’ve written about Cow Tower before when I was wittering on about the parish of St. Helen’s. However, I’d heard that the gate that has for years prevented people entering the site has been removed, so I thought I’d check on that arrangement.

    And the gate has indeed been opened, whether by vandalism or design, I don’t know.

    This means for the first time, I’ve been able to see inside the whole structure. To repeat what I wrote before:

    “The tower was built between 1398 and 1399, used to defend against foreign invasion and local troublemakers. The latter caused the city some problems during Kett’s Rebellion in 1549, and the structure was damaged during that time.

    The stairs that go up to the higher parts of the tower, which is all inaccessible now since the floors have collapsed. Much was demolished during the late eighteenth century, including many city walls and towers, but this survived. This was perhaps as it came under the care of the Great Hospital, who had no real need to demolish it. The building was patched up in the nineteenth century, but this was done by sloppy civil engineers and they caused large cracks to appear by their use of modern cement.”

    A former fireplace that I haven’t seen before.

    And the interior arrangement. Annoyingly, my camera lens was obviously not impeccably clean as there’s a blur on some of the photos which is sub-optimal.