Walking. Gossip. Travel.

Category: UK

  • Chelmsford – The Ivory Peg

    Chelmsford – The Ivory Peg

    Before working around some Good Beer Guide pubs in Chelmsford, I thought I’d quickly pop to the only JD Wetherspoon outlet in the city, which is the Ivory Peg. Unlike many Wetherspoons, this one hasn’t managed to get into the Good Beer Guide, but has managed to pick up quite a lot of negative reviews.

    The welcome was fine, although I was sent to the ‘order by app’ area of the pub which was full, so then just went to the table service area. And then ordered by app, which hopefully didn’t irritate anyone. I’m sure that worse crimes have been committed in the Ivory Peg.

    The Old Growler from Nethergate brewery, which was better than I expected in terms of the richness of taste and it was well kept. I ordered the standard burger as well, which was perfectly well presented and cooked, although this JD Wetherspoon is the only one I’ve encountered recently which is still asking customers to meander around the pub to look for their own condiments.

    All desserts are £1.99 in JD Wetherspoons between Monday and Wednesday at the moment, so I went for this chocolate and salted caramel tart which is new to the menu. The ice cream was a bit littered with ice crystals, but the tart was flavoursome, albeit perhaps slightly gritty in texture. Hard to complain for the price though and the service was timely and friendly.

    I had a little look on TripAdvisor for reviews that might amuse me, even if no-one else. I liked this one from a couple of weeks ago….

    “Was having a drink with a mate this evening,it got very noisy as a big group came in shouting swearing no social distancing, 2 of the group spilled there drinks on the table so they thought they would lick the table bloody disgusting manager saw all of this but done nothing”

    It’s not ideal.

    “I asked the “red head” manageress TWICE to switch to ITV channel perfectly nicely so I could watch the rugby World Cup (it was showing a Sunday morning chat show that no one was watching), and was told “I don’t think I have that channel” – I’m off to The Fleece where the rugby is on all TVs.”

    I never quite understand why customers don’t just go to pubs that are showing sports rather than try and demand a pub change and then leave 1/5 reviews when they don’t…. But each to their own.

    “My girl friends and I like a good drink when we get together which not as often as we like. We spent over £100 and came out virtually sober. The drinks are thoroughly watered down. The way in which the bar staff sloshed it in the glasses said rather a lot. The service was so slow too. HEAD OFFICE YOU WILL BE HEARING FROM ME!!!!”

    I think the pub manager sounded as confused about this as anyone, but the chances of Wetherspoons watering down alcohol is IMO pretty much zero.

    Anyway, I doubt that this will be the best pub that I go to in Chelmsford, but it was cheap, cheerful and welcoming. All rather lovely.

  • Greater Anglia : Norwich to Chelmsford

    Greater Anglia : Norwich to Chelmsford

    And off again from Norwich railway station, to the exotic climes of Chelmsford and the shiny new (well, newish) train was sitting ready at platform 1.

    The train was packed in Norwich……

    There was a little confusion as the platform information screens were displaying conflicting information and then the train lights and power went out. The doors were locked shut for around ten minutes, although I did wonder whether they could be opened from the inside if required. The passengers on board looked suitably confused, but I remained hopeful that I was on the right train. Fortunately, about ten minutes before departure, the lights came back on and other customers could get on.

    The train did get busier on the way to Chelmsford and this is the busiest that I’ve seen the London train over recent months. It was still possible for customers to get a table to themselves, but only just. The refreshments trolley is back going up and down the train, although something strange has happened to the prices. A confused customer opposite was charged £1 for his coffee and when he queried it, the staff seemed equally confused as to why he was questioning this. £1 is way below the publicised price, but if there’s an offer on, perhaps that should be advertised. Anyway, the journey was all smooth and otherwise uneventful.

    And arriving at Chelmsford railway station on time, the first time that I’ve ever visited this city. I’ve also discovered today that it’s the only city in Essex and also the county town, which I would say is a fun fact, but I’m not sure how fun it actually is. The fare was £8 for a single which is very reasonable, especially since that’s cheaper than going from Norwich to much nearer destinations such as Great Yarmouth, Cambridge and Ely.

  • Kent – Hawkhurst – St. Laurence’s Church (John Exeter)

    Kent – Hawkhurst – St. Laurence’s Church (John Exeter)

    I was moderately fascinated by this section of the graveyard at St. Laurence’s Church near Hawkhurst as it had graves in situ from the early eighteenth century. This one commemorates John Exeter, of a birth date I can’t be sure, but he was married at this church to Elisabeth Stace on 12 February 1714.

    The marriage record survives (clicking on the image will make it bigger) and it’s perhaps just a little magical to be able to see the handwriting of the vicar who performed that service over 300 years ago. Both John and Elisabeth lived in the parish, so this was very much a local affair.

    John Exeter died on 28 January 1744 and was buried on 2 February 1744. Unfortunately, I can’t find out anything more about John, it’s so far back to be able to work much out, but at least his gravestone has survived and remains in decent condition.

  • Kent – Hawkhurst – St. Laurence’s Church (Thomas Exeter)

    Kent – Hawkhurst – St. Laurence’s Church (Thomas Exeter)

    I’m slightly puzzled how this grave has remained in such good condition, or at least the top section of it, give that it’s nearly 300 years old. It marks the burial of Thomas Exeter of the town, who died on 12 April 1727 at the age of 43. The burial records survive and note that he was buried on Monday 17 April 1727.

    Thomas was married to Elizabeth, who is also marked on the same gravestone and she died on 10 January 1734 and was buried on 16 January 1734. It’s so far in the past that I can’t find anything else, but this is a remarkable survival.

  • Kent – Hawkhurst – St. Laurence’s Church (Grave and Tree)

    Kent – Hawkhurst – St. Laurence’s Church (Grave and Tree)

    Located in St. Laurence’s Church in The Moor, Hawkhurst, is what I considered to be this rather intriguing grave which was starting to be consumed slowly, but surely, by a tree.

  • British Airways (Warsaw to Heathrow T5)

    British Airways (Warsaw to Heathrow T5)

    This was the British Airways aircraft in Warsaw, G-NEOY, one of the new Airbus A321-Neo aircraft and this was only delivered to BA on 15 June 2020. It wasn’t the aircraft that they expected to use, but the UK Government announced an end to the travel corridor from Poland and this was one of the last flights back to the UK that avoided this issue. So, the aircraft was entirely full.

    The gate was busy and the announcements were hard to hear as the tannoy wasn’t very loud. There was boarding via seat row and this seemed sufficiently well managed.

    The free snacks provided en route, although three customers near to me tried to order food and drink from the Buy on Board service which has been suspended for some months. The crew explained that it was unsafe to serve customers food at the moment, and one customer asked why they were serving food then. It isn’t an unreasonable question (and the crew member couldn’t answer it), although I’m happy with the current set-up.

    This was one of the tensest flights that I’ve been on with British Airways and it’s clear that some passengers were on edge throughout. A passenger opposite me who reclined his seated immediately and then hugged the seat in front of him was one of the more selfish I’ve seen, but I was pleased he wasn’t near to me. This same customer also irritated a member of cabin crew who ordered him over the tannoy to sit down after we had landed otherwise he’d suspend the disembarkation process. It was the same customer who talked over the safety announcements and ignored the crew throughout, then seemed confused why he was being called out for standing up whilst taxiing to the gate. I quite liked the drama to be fair.

    Overall, this wasn’t an expensive flight as I booked early, although the last few seats were costing hundreds of pounds each for those who needed to return home before 4am on Saturday when the travel corridor option was slammed shut. The problem with this new aircraft is that it’s not very comfortable when it’s at this capacity. There’s not enough space and things such as the at-seat power didn’t work, which it really should have done given how new the aircraft was.

    But, having written that, I was just pleased to get back out of Poland given the travel corridor issue, and British Airways didn’t let me down there. The flight was around thirty minutes late in departing due to a delayed outbound flight to Warsaw, but our aircraft arrived just one minute later than timetabled as they were able to make the time up. It was a slight shame that the aircraft landed at C-gates, as that’s a bit of a trek back, but the airport wasn’t particularly busy. So, all sufficiently pleasant, but not my best flight with BA.

  • London – Waltham Forest (Borough of) – The Drum

    London – Waltham Forest (Borough of) – The Drum

    This is one of the oldest pubs in the JD Wetherspoon estate (opened in the mid-1980s) and it’s one of their smaller locations as well. Since I was staying at the Ibis Styles nearly next door, this proved to be a convenient breakfast option and it’s the best part of a decade since I was last here.

    As an aside, this is the opposite side of the street, and in the middle (with the white doors) is the former JD Wetherspoon pub that was known as The Auctioneers. That pub was even smaller than The Drum, which is named incidentally as the former owners had a collection of commemorative drums hanging from the ceiling.

    Photos of the interior and this is about the entire size of the place. It was all sufficiently clean, the health protocols were followed and the staff member was personable and helpful.

    A dray delivery arrived when I was there, which meant closing off the bar area and pretty much suspending service as well.

    And the traditional breakfast, purchased under the bargain JD Wetherspoon £2.99 for a traditional breakfast which is running at the moment. This is as good as their breakfasts get, the egg was runny and the bacon was crisp, with everything served hot. There were a couple of other customers in the pub, but it was otherwise quiet when I was there, although that was between 08:00 and 09:00 to be fair….

    I think this is one of the better pubs in the JD Wetherspoon estate as it retains some atmosphere to it, unlike some of their larger more sterile pubs. Having written that though, I think it fills up quickly, so it’s probably a nuisance to get a seat quite a lot of the time. As a piece of JD Wetherspoon history, it’s interesting though, and perhaps an unusual survivor.

  • Heathrow T5

    Heathrow T5

    Just some photos from Heathrow T5 today, it didn’t feel that busy anywhere.

  • London – Shoreditch – Goose Island Brewpub (Visit 2)

    London – Shoreditch – Goose Island Brewpub (Visit 2)

    I’ve pinched this exterior photo from my first visit to Goose Island, but the rest are from my second visit. I went as I had a voucher for a free drink, so thought this visit would be a marvellous idea after arriving into London Liverpool Street railway station.

    The tap list, which had a wide range of different beer styles including from Goose Island themselves and also guests. And, this is what I have to say annoys me a little about other pubs. I don’t expect country pubs to have this spectacular array of drinks, but it’s a shame that some make nearly no effort other than to offer some bland mass-produced IPA. Especially given a lot of this stuff is also available in cans, making it easy to store and with long best before dates.

    It wasn’t overly busy.

    The service was exceptional and the barman knew his stuff about the beers, which was a delight in itself. It’s rather lovely when the staff don’t just name beers, but also really engage about them. I know a barman in Norwich who was moderately good at doing this, but I won’t name him here….. The health requirements were well managed and one customer who came in and didn’t want to use his phone to sign in, instead wanting to write his name down, was refused entry.

    I went for the Eric by Brewski and the Forty Watermelons from Goose Island themselves, being rather delighted that one was free. The other drink isn’t a gin or tonic, it’s a water since I picked two different beer types and wanted something between them.

    The Eric by Brewski was decadent, a word I’ve been using too much recently, but absolutely appropriate here. Rich, smooth and a flavour of coffee and chocolate running through, with a slightly sweet aftertaste. The Forty Watermelons was a bit complex with its strong flavours of watermelon and mint, being rather quite sour, although that’s not a bad thing since it is a sour. Not quite as packed with flavour as I had expected, but still very drinkable and a nice contrast to the imperial stout.

    The bar is doing money off food and soft drinks at the moment, 25% off and this is a continuation of the Eat Out to Help Out campaign. I didn’t eat today, although I know from my previous visit that the food is excellent. Anyway, this is a quite beautiful bar and it’s another place which is on-trend not because that’s how they’ve designed it, but because others are following this sort of style. The staff members were knowledgeable and helpful, so this was another pretty much perfect visit.

  • Royal Tunbridge Wells – Basil

    Royal Tunbridge Wells – Basil

    Basil is a wholefood cafe located in Royal Tunbridge Wells and they have a couple of outlets, with this being the town centre one. There was a free table outside so we went for that, although discovered that there were also a few tables inside as well.

    The cake selection inside, which were all very tempting, although perhaps priced towards the higher end of the scale for a cafe.

    I wasn’t quite sure what was happening with the salad section, it seemed a bit limited in scope but they might have just been half-way through putting it out. For anyone interested, the options were (i) lightly Curried Slaw with Savoy Cabbage, Fresh Mango & Toasted Almonds, (ii) Quinoa with Avocado, Radish, Baby Cress, Cumin & Lemon and (iii)
    Roasted Spiced Carrots with Ginger & Honey, Toasted Pinenuts & Pomegranate Seeds. The service in the cafe was friendly and it was quite a relaxed location, with staff cleaning tables on a regular basis.

    I went for the sausage bap, with a soft granary roll and a rich and meaty sausage, so all rather lovely. The cafe prides itself on its wholesome ingredients and this quality seemed to be reflected in the food that I had.

    And the latte, which was of a suitably high quality with a rich taste. All in all, this is a pleasant little cafe, all welcoming and comfortable. Perhaps not the cheapest, but the prices weren’t entirely unreasonable and the staff were friendly.