Walking. Gossip. Travel.

Category: UK

Birmingham NEC – Moxy Hotel Bar (Two Julians)

Julian and I are on tour at the moment, I’m volunteering at GBBF all week which is being held at the Birmingham NEC and Julian is practicing his drinking (I accept he doesn’t need much mroe practice). After the festival closed for the day, there aren’t really that many options at the NEC (well, no options) so we decided to pop to the Moxy Hotel bar despite me staying at the Hilton and Julian at the Premier Inn.

How sweet. We weren’t sure whether the hotel bar would be open, but it transpired that it was open until 02:00 and I think they’d only just finished serving food at 22:00.

Moxy Hotels are the Marriott chain aimed at millennials, so I consider that to be me, so I obviously liked it. I’m a bit confined to the Accor brand so I’ve never stayed at this chain, but I like the general concept and laid-back approach that’s offered here.

There were a fair few beer festival customers about, I’ve just chosen photos without people in them.

Motivational messaging.

I like this a lot and it’s designed to be a common area for guests, or indeed anyone, where they can work, drink, eat or relax. These things can easily slip into formulaic, but it seemed to be on the right side of quirky to me.

It’s design driven and I did wonder whether my excitement might fall when I reached the bar and saw the beer list.

It transpired that there were two beers from the Attic Brew Co and they’re an exhibitor at GBBF, so I assume they’ve had the foresight to go and place some of their cans in the hotel. This met my expectations as I didn’t want the excitement of a late-night Carling.

For the hard of hearing.

The Intuition from the Attic Brew Co and I rather liked this, tastes of stone fruit, juicy and quite punchy.

The Rollin Waves from the Attic Brew Co, I didn’t like this quite as much as it was rather dry, but there was still plenty of flavour.

The Gold Brummie from the local Birmingham Brewing Co, which was hoppy, light and fluffy (the beer, not Julian).

I think this was really quite an agreeable place. Their beer list is as long as their wine list, they’ve making an effort to try and not limit themselves to generic beers and the place did feel on-trend and comfortable. And it’s a handy place for anyone to visit after GBBF closes in the evening, or indeed, after any NEC event.

August 6, 2025
Food from Every Stall on Norwich Market (2025 Edition) – Week 24 and Reggies

Week 24 of James and I eating at every food venue at Norwich Market was Reggies, one of the long-standing cafes which has been trading for over sixty years. We visited in 2023 when I had a BLT roll which cost £3.50.

The menu board which they probably need to rewrite now after all these price increases as it’s not the clearest. The price rises have been moderate here over the last couple of years and the stall remains one of the lower priced food and drink options at the market. The prices for tea and coffee are very decent, although I’m not sure you’ll be getting a skinny latte or similar here.

The service was friendly and prompt, with the stall taking cards and cash. There’s quite a broad menu and there seemed to be something of a loyal customer base here.

There were some items like sausage rolls in the hot hold, but they were able to cook foods such as burgers, chicken nuggets and sausages. There are a couple of seats for customers to sit down, but there’s plenty of space to just lean at the counter without getting in the way of the other customers.

I went for the BLT sandwich which was £4, so reasonably priced. I noticed that my payment was taken by Ruby’s, so I assume that they also operate that food stall, which is another cafe on the market. The food was served promptly and everything felt efficiently managed.

I don’t like fat on bacon unless it has been burnt off, so I had to dismember the sandwich to quite a degree to satisfy my own personal and I accept specialist taste. The bacon itself was of a decent quality, the bread was fresh and the tomato had some flavour to it. It was all perfectly pleasant, although I do like the stalls who pro-actively check if the customer wants crispy bacon or not.

James went for a cheeseburger which he thought was satisfactory and I thought he was pleased when he said it was greasy, as that used to be something he admired in a burger. He reminded me that it was not the good kind of juicy grease, but more the flat oily type that lingers longer than expected. Still, he didn’t look particularly distressed, so I’m counting that as a win.

Overall, this is one of the staples of Norwich market and I suspect it will be for a long time to come. I thought that the welcome was friendly, the ordering process was efficient and the food was of a decent quality, so all to the good. For the perfect visit, I wouldn’t have minded them checking how I wanted the bacon cooked (I know I could ask, but for consistency on these rigorous visits I just let them go through their usual ordering processes) but I don’t have any real complaints. Well, other than how many middle-class people said hello to James on the market yet again, it’s like lunching with a YouTuber.

August 4, 2025
Wisbech – Clarkson Memorial

[I originally posted this in July 2018, but have reposted it to fix some broken image links]

The Clarkson Memorial was erected in 1881 to mark the life of Thomas Clarkson, the anti-slavery campaigner. There is more about his life in the town’s museum, which is well worth visiting.

The memorial was designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott, the same man who mauled about so many British churches. I hadn’t realised that his talents extended to this sort of work, but it’s a visually interesting reminder of Clarkson and it’s in a prominent position. The site on which the memorial was placed was formerly the town’s Customs House, and before that it had been Wisbech’s Butter Market.

There were some youngsters who had congregated at the base of the memorial to listen to loud music and shout, which made taking photos rather more difficult. I think they thought I was taking discreet photos of them, which added to the excitement about the whole event.

There are motifs around the exterior of the statue which follow the theme of slavery, and the freedoms which that stole from so many. The memorial was funded by public subscription and from a large donation from the Peckover family, who were wealthy local residents.

August 1, 2025
Wisbech – Scrimshires Passage and the Wisbech Social Club & Institute

[I originally posted this in July 2018, but have reposted it to fix some broken image links]

I was intrigued as to what this tower was, since it dominated the skyline of the town, and it transpired it belongs to the Wisbech Social Club and Institute building.

Much of the money to build the institute was provided by the Peckover family, and this foundation stone (which is rather hidden away) is testament to that generous donation. The institute is still going strong today and they have a history room to keep items of historic interest relating to their past.

The back of the institute is reached by walking down Scrimshires Passage, a rather dark back alley which was more reminiscent of a city such as York.

I was reading the Cambridge Independent Press of 21 October 1854 (it’s a better read than the Daily Mail) and they reported that they wanted “to draw the attention of the proper authorities to the disgraceful state of the cesspool in Shrimshaw’s Passage (it had an apostrophe then, which it seems to have since lost). During the last few weeks it has emitted a most overpowering stench, which must prove not only detrimental to the health of the persons residing there, but to those who are compelled to go through the passage”.

Anyway, I thought that was of marginal interest, but I particularly liked the story above it in the newspaper.

There are different periods of architecture along the passage.

The passage opens back out onto Nene Quay.

August 1, 2025
200 Years Ago in Norwich : The Slave Opera at the Theatre Royal

And another in my series of posts from newspapers of two hundred years ago this week. The Theatre Royal in Norwich were advertising their performance, which was “The Slave” opera which was being performed on Monday 1 August 1825.

I’m guessing that this is the operatic work by Henry Rowley Bishop with the libretto written by Thomas Morton which was premiered at Covent Garden in London on 12 November 1816. For anyone interested, here’s the text of the opera. At the time, the theatre was in the 1800 building designed by William Wilkins and it was to close a few months after this performance as it was rebuilt in 1826.

I rather like the continuity here, that the theatre has been offering different performances for hundreds of years. For the record, on 1 August 2025, it’s the Rocky Horror Show being performed at the theatre.

July 30, 2025
Food from Every Stall on Norwich Market (2025 Edition) – Week 23 and All Electric Banger Stop

We’re nearing the dramatic finale of our noble mission of eating at every food stall at Norwich market now and this week was Banger Stop. James and I had forgotten about our visit in 2023, when I commented that the stall was “reassuringly reliable” which still seems appropriate after this visit.

The service was efficient, friendly and engaging with only a short wait. The prices have gone up around 70p per hot dog since we did this before, but the value for money remains high. The stall accepts card and cash with extra sauces being free of charge and cans of drink are £1.50. It’s always positive to see a five star food hygiene rating proudly on display as well.

I went for the chilli dog without cheese and huge credit that they pro-actively took 30p off the price even though I hadn’t expected them to do that. The roll was soft and fresh, the sausage was of a generous size, the fried onions added flavour, the lettuce added colour and the crispy onions added texture. The sausage itself tasted of a decent quality, perhaps it could have been slightly meatier, but I very much enjoyed it. The whole arrangement was filling and it was helpful that it came with a piece of kitchen roll as this was quite messy to eat.

James opted for the cheese-topped option, which involved a blowtorch and very nearly some unexpected singeing. He reassured me that told he survived unscathed, although I can’t help but feel it would have added some drama to the review if I could write “the hot dog was hot, but James was hotter”. James had expected more of a chilli con carne sauce, but was happy with what he got and he once again managed to avoid spilling any of it. As usual, we spent most of the time at the market with James acknowledging his many middle class friends in the city. I am wondering whether he’s joined the masons to know this many people, but I didn’t say anything.

This was really all rather lovely and the whole experience combined to be one of the best visits so far this year. The prices were relatively low, the service was personable, the food was of a decent quality and I left feeling satiated. And James wasn’t set on fire, which I suppose is for the best. One thing I thought would be interesting, as the menu is small, is for a hot dog of the month with some innovative toppings just to keep surprising and delighting the customers.

July 30, 2025
London – Tower Hamlets (Borough of) – Edith Cavell and the Royal London Hospital

Although I know a good deal of Edith Cavell’s story because of her links with Norfolk and her burial at Norwich Cathedral, I hadn’t realised that she had trained at the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel. She had applied in 1896 to be a nurse practitioner at the hospital at the age of 30 and she trained under the leadership of the hospital’s matron Eva Luckes. This was Whitechapel in its gritty Victorian prime, all soot-stained streets, overcrowded housing, and the lingering reputation of Jack the Ripper’s handiwork still hanging in the air. It wasn’t exactly the sort of place you moved to for its charm and craft beer options. She was known for being conscientious, which in nursing terms usually means ‘worked twice as hard for half the recognition.’ Her superiors noticed, and so did her patients. She remained at the hospital until 1901 when Luckes nominated Cavell for the position of night superintendent at St. Pancras Infirmary.

The plaque on the building, which is now used by the London Borough Council of Tower Hamlets and I won’t go on about the integrity of its mayor, Lutfur Rahman, and I will instead let Wikipedia do that. It’s perhaps hard to find a greater contrast of the morals of public service than Edith Cavell and Lutfur Rahman, but this isn’t a political blog and so I will limit myself.

July 22, 2025
Norwich – Anchor Brewery Stores [Closed] (Two Julians)

When walking down Coslany Street with my friend Adrian, he was taking photos of the former Bullards Brewery and I had never really given much attention to this, which was evidently once a pub within the brewery building. The Norfolk Public Houses web-site lists some of the former licencees, including Richard Bullard, Sir Harry Bullard and Edward Bullard. There are very few newspaper reports of misbehaviour at the pub, which is unlike most other venues at the city, but I imagine the brewery was particularly careful to avoid any trouble at their effective home.

The pub here first opened in 1868, although there was a brewery tap at the previous building, and it remained open for just shy of 100 years as it closed in 1966. The brewery advertised in the press ahead of their opening and the thought of the selection of imperial, bitter, ales and stout sounds really quite decadent, like a Brewdog of their day. But probably cheaper.

It was brought back to life as Anchor Quay Wine Bar between 1986 and 2001, but then it closed again. I can’t help thinking that this would make a really lovely micro-pub and the historic surroundings would add substantially to the excitement of such an arrangement. George Plunkett took a photo of the pub in 1984, when it was being used as an estate agents.

The brewery itself was founded in 1837 as Bullards & Watts, although the Watts element left in 1847 and this substantial brewery was constructed between 1867 and 1868. The brewery was acquired by Watney Mann in 1963 and it ceased beer production in 1968. Numerous brewery buildings have survived and have since been turned into residential properties, but the distinctive chimney was demolished.

July 21, 2025
London Craft Beer Festival 2025

My friend Simon mentioned last year about going to the London Craft Beer Festival, but I wondered if it was a bit expensive and so I didn’t get a ticket to join him. By chance, he mentioned last week that he knew someone selling a ticket at a much lower cost of £30, so I was there without much hesitation. Here’s the walk to Magazine, where this year’s event was being held.

There’s Susie and Simon, with the former’s efforts somehow getting us to the front of the queue. I hadn’t let myself get too excited about the event in case the ticket didn’t come to pass, but all was well and it’s fair to say that the excitement soon started when I had the wristband safely around my wrist.

Well, that’s exciting straight away.

The first beer of the day. The concept here is that all beers are free of charge and I won’t list here what I tried, but I did ensure that my Untappd remain updated for anyone who is interested.

We grabbed a table outside, but it soon became apparent that there was large amounts of seating, so this wasn’t an issue. Inside there were also fans and air conditioning, they didn’t want their beer drinkers over-heating, and I was happy to drink to that forward-thinking philosophy.

One of the two internal halls.

This was all so much bigger than I expected. There were some issues with the delayed opening where we left in the sun and that was sub-optimal, but once the event got going, it all felt well organised. There were maps dotted around of where all of the breweries were, but I’d need more than one afternoon to really visit every one that interested me.

I was impressed that there were no real queues at any of the brewery stands, you could get served nearly immediately.

There was a separate American beer bar and the list of options here was much wider than I had expected. As I’m not planning to visit the US for a while, this was an opportunity to tick some beers off.

One of the bar staff modelling a bottle of beer for my Untappd photo.

There was free water available of the sparkling and still options.

That path was what Liam and I walked on the Capital Challenge a few weeks ago…..

There’s Simon chatting away about Brazilian beer. I was pleased that the glasses were made of plastic, rather than, er, glass. So we had branded plastics, which means I could keep it without fear of it getting broken on the aircraft. Susie picked up a heap of free merchandise, which I’m merrily carrying around Portugal now, including baseball hats, t-shirts, lanyards and stickers.

I like a bit of Vault City, I should be visiting their new tap room later in the year.

A free ice cream and a beer slushie from Vault City which made me love them even more.

Simon wanted to go to the Vault City tasting, which was a marvellous idea, and this beer was handed around at the end of the session before.

One of the beers from the Vault City tasting.

Overall, I really enjoyed this evening and the atmosphere was informal and friendly throughout. There were no issues of anyone over-indulging, despite the large amount of free beer that was available. The organisation was better than I had expected, the scale of the event was broader than I had realised and the speed of service was faster than I had anticipated. I was very much surprised and delighted, so I think that I might just be back for next year’s event….

July 20, 2025
Bar Billiards Table Treks – Venue 1 : Artichoke

I’m not normally one for video, as it reminds me that my hairline is receding faster than is entirely ideal, but a few months ago Zak and I had a really rather good idea that we’d play at every bar billiards table in Norwich. The twist is that we’re only filming the first game at each venue, because Zak famously takes a while to warm up. It’s like giving myself a tiny glimmer of hope before he inevitably demolishes me. Zak has been my official bar billiards trainer since 2023 and I will one day be able to see some of the shots that he can pull off, let alone actually play them.

Pete has heroically taken on the role of cameraman for the series, and he’s done a marvellous job filming the first instalment. The next one will be along soon, assuming I can handle more video evidence of my sub-optimal playing technique. And just to be clear, it’s not meant to be a competitive series unless, of course, I happen to win. In which case, it very much is.

July 20, 2025