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  • Leighton Buzzard – Swan Hotel (JD Wetherspoon)

    Leighton Buzzard – Swan Hotel (JD Wetherspoon)

    Continuing my theme of working out which JD Wetherspoon pubs I’ve been to over the years, this is the Swan Hotel in Leighton Buzzard. I visited here with Liam in November 2018, so this is another one that I’ve had been to recently.

    Explaining the pub’s history, the chain notes:

    “The former Swan Hotel is situated at the Market Place end of High Street. The landmark building, with its statue of a swan atop the façade, was given a grade II listing in May 1975 and dated as ‘early to mid C19’. However, there has been a Swan drinking house on this site for much longer. The earliest reference to it is in the year 1600. The Swan soon developed into the town’s leading coaching inn and ‘posting house’, words which may still be seen on the front of the building.”

    It’s not actually evident when it was rebuilt, but it looks to have been around the 1840s. This was a proper coaching inn though, lots of space and it was noted by an author in the twentieth century that “the yard once had stabling for forty horses; garden, piggery, henhouse, garages and stabling for six horses remain”.

    The pub caught fire in 1967 but was rebuilt with some improvements, such as a new conservatory area. The former ballroom was converted into bedrooms in the 1990s, but by 2009 and the financial crash it was no longer viable for the operator and they put it up for sale. In came JD Wetherspoon who have done a really rather decent job here at keeping the venue alive.

    This is my old staple of chicken wrap and chips, when it cost about £3 or something ridiculous. I do miss this rather simple meal, it’s £9 now including a drink.

    And these were delicious until they took all the sugar out.

    And a beer. Annoyingly, I had started my Untappd account just one week before this visit, but I evidently wasn’t then in the habit of carefully checking in every beer. So, I can only describe this as some porter I obviously liked the look of at the time.

    Obviously I feel the need to look at the reviews and the venue is towards the lower end of the JD Wetherspoon typical scoring. And, yes, I know that I need to get out more to have time to think about this.

    “The first major thing thats a issue with this particular Wetherspoons is that they don’t serve real genuine cocoa powder thats dispensed through the hot drinks machine. they give you 1 instant hot chocolate galaxy sachet each time if you need to refill for another hot chocolate which might i add is extremely far less superior than the rest of the other Wetherspoons across the country that actually pour real genuine cocoa powder into an actual machine that dispenses it with milk simultaneously to give you that thick frothy chocolatey genuine warm and lovely Wetherspoons experience. imo it feels like they want to monitor how much hot chocolate you can have and don’t even provide genuine cocoa when you actually want hot chocolate anyway this is a huge disappointment. I also noticed alot of plates are being left with loads of food left still on the plate sometimes food looking nearly untouched. also the plates are left for a very long time until somebody even realizes they have to be picked up for the tables to be cleared and cleaned. also each time you want a refill you have to literally ask the bartender first for another galaxy sachet which feels completely infantilizing. when i asked for more than one sachet they refused to do so stating they will not do this because i could take them home basically implying customers would steal this trash hot chocolate. which wouldn’t even be a concern if they actually had the machine that dispenses hot chocolate in the first place. if you’re a fan of Wetherspoons being a reliable and consistent pub you can bring your family to be fed and drink i would say to skip this one as this one is doing a disservice to the Wetherspoon name.”

    This is the challenge JD Wetherspoon venues had when the Government stopped them serving unlimited hot chocolate, a rule which has annoyed me but I try not to let it dominate my life. This pub changed its rules at the same time as all of the other ones. It’s a long review though about not having hot chocolate, I admire the depth of the annoyance.

    “Tried to eat in the restaurant to be told , contrary to the licencing law , that the children were not allowed to eat . 8 people including 2 children were now left without anything to eat because weatherspoons rules are different from UK licencing laws. Would not use this or any other weather’s weatherspoons.”

    Or it could be that the venue is following their premises licence.

    “Okay the food is alright but honestly being sanitary is all they need to sort out, we have just been given cutlery that clearly hasn’t been washed properly as in the photo below. It doesn’t look like it has been in the dish washer at all nor even rinsed off with water.”

    The customer has a photo of the cutlery in the review and it is grim. The pub has numerous poor reviews for this, I’m with the customer….

    Anyway, back to today once again, I get easily distracted. Checking on the beer situation, they have seven real ales available from a range of breweries, including Greene King Abbot Reserve which is about as good as the brewery gets….

    It’s too long ago for me to remember much else about the pub, but it’s certainly a positive thing that the chain has kept it alive and operating.

  • Bedford – Pilgrim’s Progress (JD Wetherspoon)

    Bedford – Pilgrim’s Progress (JD Wetherspoon)

    As part of a little project that will become apparent (as I obviously don’t already have enough) I’m working through a list of JD Wetherspoon outlets that I’ve visited throughout the years. I’ve got to go back to 2017 for the last time I came here, I focused on other pubs when I was in Bedford last year.

    The pub’s explanation for the pub name is:

    “This pub is named after one of the most widely read books in the English language, written by John Bunyan, who lived most of his life in and around Bedford during the 17th century. Born in 1628, at Elstow near Bedford, his career as a writer and preacher was enriched by deep religious experiences throughout his life.”

    The building, which is relatively really quite large, was formerly used as a furniture shop before it was turned into a pub and hotel.

    It is so long ago that I came here that I appear to have ordered wine. I’ve matured a lot since then. I can use my wine knowledge here to be able to narrow this down to being a white wine.

    For reasons I won’t go into here, this was a free meal so I had more than I usually would. I note my food habits don’t change much though.

    This is I think one of the platters that they used to do before the chain shifted to small plates, I assume that’s some sort of chicken in the middle.

    A dessert, I can see that someone else was paying….

    And an Eggs Benedict for breakfast, very agreeable. I’d add that I stayed at the venue as well as they have rooms here.

    Anyway, back to today and I feel the need to look at some of the reviews and this is one of the better rated JD Wetherspoon venues.

    “Disgusting. Was in there for my friend’s birthday and she is a very shy person, playing the Wetherspoons game. We were thrilled to see lots of drinks at our table. However, this was interrupted by a foul mouth female manager, raising her voice at us. My friend was starstruck. This lady was telling us that due to a staff error, the drinks we had already started drinking were delivered wrongly to our table. Despite us explaining the situation, this was met with a ‘Shouldnt have drank those drinks’ and a lack of apology. She then further said that the security will throw us out if we didn’t pay the for the entire bill, which we obviously did not order. Not only verbally threatened, but now with a physical fear, my friend, who is 18, was abused and forced to pay for these drinks. Absolutely horrific experience, 0/10 and I should hope the manager is fired. This was on Saturday 20th September at around 10:45-11pm.”

    Hope someone is fired because a customer drank a lot of drinks that they hadn’t paid for? Hmmmm.

    “Great if you like to stand in a que. This venue has not adapted to present life after the lockdown but requires customers to que so that staff don’t have to question who’s next.”

    This standing in a queue thing is becoming more common at pubs, but it’s hard to not join a queue if there already is one. This is why I use the app to avoid these confusing situations….

    “Always so very pleased with the service and beer. Breakfast is a delightful treat, but the extended range off eggs Benedict options has disappeared. I loved those with smoked salmon or black pudding. Please reinstate them. Staff are polite and helpful; toilets are immaculate. However, today my regular Brewdog Punk IPA was out of stock and staff unable or unwilling to tell me when it will be back on. I left earlier than usual. Not happy.”

    Always so very pleased with the service and beer, but gives one star….

    “I came into the restaurant to use the toilet and when I came out I took a seat for a few minutes and began eating a snack I had with me, I was planning to get a drink but was approached by 2 staff members, one told me I had to leave because I was eating my snack, not even offering me a menu or asked if I would like to order anything, the other female staff member under her breath said I’ll confiscate your food if you don’t leave. As a result of this awful customer service and lack of professionalism I won’t ever be returning to this restaurant. Staff need to consider their behaviour.”

    So a customer didn’t order a drink and sat down at a table to eat food from somewhere else. And then seems confused when this is questioned?

    “Here on the 9/8/21 19.00pm for my lads 19th bithday meal .totally ruin by the staff who ask for ID. Unable able to give paper ID. But got proof on phone of driving licence. Still not good enough. Totally ruined birthday atmosphere. So left after main meal. Didn’t bother with pudding.Gutted. His dad. Not visiting again .”

    In short, customer asks venue to break their licensing rules, the staff refuse and the venue gets one star.

    “It’s what you expect to be honest. Reason for 1 star is you cant add comments for food.on the app or add any allergen information. We decided.to eat elsewhere due to not having any confidence with their allergens with only a big screen thing to check.”

    The big screen has all the allergen information so customers know what they can order, but the customer hoped they could type their allergen requirements in as a note to the kitchen and thought that would be a better way?

    “Under 18s after 9 pm on a Sunday evening not allowed. Even though we are eating…..hmmmmm loads of other people under the age of 18 in there hmm it is their local license policy to keep their license with the council apparently……. Although the law states it is not the case.”

    The law very much states that venues to have to meet local licensing law….

    “Visited with my 18 year old son after we both finished work at 8pm, had a meal each and he had a cider, ordered on the APP and when it arrived the girl politely asked if he had ID , which he didnt, but he was obviously well over 16, then I asked the manager Nash or Tash, why he couldnt be drinking Cider as it was allowed by LAW, she then told me that it was a pub and NOT a restaurant. I went on the Gov.uk website out of interest more than anything else, and found that by law he was allowed to drink if he is over 16, if he had a meal with an adult from over 18. She then got the 2 doormen (these 2 were very professional unlike their manager) to throw us out. When I left I asked her name which she refused to give me as I want to esculate it. Are Wetherspoons above the law, Im not sure. She told me they have different rules, but surely they must stick to licensing laws and not make tgem up as they go along. I will contact their head office next week to get clarification on their licence laws being as they are different to the Government ones.”

    And a customer who when told JD Wetherspoon doesn’t allow under 18s to drink alcohol in their venues, he declares that they must be acting above the law and leaves them one star. I think the Inbetweeners have a lot to answer here for when Will states the law….

    Anyway, I digress once again. It’s been a while since I’ve been here, but the reviews are broadly positive. As I can check the real ales online, I can see that today they’ve got seven real ales on, including some options from Oakham and Elgoods. I should also add that it’s in the Good Beer Guide, but I won’t add it to my list of places visited as I didn’t have been there….

  • Derby – Babington Arms (no longer JD Wetherspoon)

    Derby – Babington Arms (no longer JD Wetherspoon)

    The Babington Arms in Derby closed last week as a JD Wetherspoon venue and has reopened nearly immediately under the same name but operated by a private company. So, rather belatedly, I thought I’d better note my experiences of visiting this pub in the past and how it was really rather one of my favourites.

    The chain explained why they had given the pub the name that they did in 1997:

    “This pub’s site was once part of the gardens immediately behind the long-demolished Babington House. This 17th-century mansion was the home of the Babington family, whose coat of arms depicted two baboons on a large beer or wine cask.”

    I’ve been here a few times over the last couple of years and it’s a comfortable pub, but it did feel in need of a renovation. The price point was the lowest in the chain, despite them having another pub around a ten minute walk away which has higher prices.

    This does feel like those JD Wetherspoon pubs that opened in the 1990s, lots of wood and a traditional feel. This venue felt more like a pub than some of their other locations, it evidently had a community and loyal set of locals. It was also quite a small pub for the chain, which is perhaps the reason that they no longer wanted it.

    The real ale selection in June 2025, which was all keenly priced and a perfectly decent selection.

    And a small breakfast which I recall was entirely as I would want it to be

    I mentioned the refurbishment that was needed earlier and this little waterfall arrangement last year was perhaps testament to that.

    Having a look at previous reviews, there’s the near obligatory one that someone has gone to a chain that doesn’t allow dogs and is annoyed that their dog isn’t allowed in.

    “Cannot go inside or outside with my dog. Obviously they do not want regular customers that are sensible. I feel discriminated against, when I am willing to sit outside with the smokers, in the rain. Most pubs in Derby are pub friendly. DOWN MARKET WETHERSPOON WHAT A LOAD OF CRAP.”

    Anyway…

    “Only one checkout working all week, large queues on self-service and checkout. Customers moaning about the service. What a way to lose a lot of customers.”

    How on earth can someone get a pub confused with a supermarket?

    “This place starts selling alcohol at 8am. I don’t drink at that time but often take a morning walk. For years I’ve ordered a pint of soda and lime with just a single measure of lime. Soda water is free so I’ve just paid for the lime, which has recently increased from 20p to 55p. Still I don’t mind this as the company has rent and other costs to cater for.

    Last time I was there they said I had to pay for 2 measures of lime because I wanted a pint drink. The manager confirmed to me that I had to pay for something I wasn’t buying!!! This company has two other pubs in Derby who don’t do this. This pub is blatantly biased against none alcoholics.

    After contacting their head office, I confirmed that soda water is free. My tip to help change this rip off is to order a small soda and lime and then as many free pints of soda water as you like. More work for the staff, more washing up and a chance of changing policy.”

    The last paragraph tells me what I need to know about the customer, but this was back in the day when venues were allowed to reply, and the manager at the time responded with “you are entitled to your opinion” and I like this sort of passive aggressive response.

    Anyway, the reviews from the first new days of the new operator aren’t great, but I don’t envy them. Taking over a new pub is hard enough, but it’s especially difficult when you’re following a JD Wetherspoon with its cheap prices, generally efficient service and the wide selection of food and drink. Fair play to anyone for trying though as they’ve at least kept the pub open.

  • Royal Air Force Museum Hendon – Downed Halifax

    Royal Air Force Museum Hendon – Downed Halifax

    This is a Halifax Mk II Series 1, serial W1048, built in 1942 and flown by No. 102 Squadron and No. 35 Squadron. On 27 April 1942, during its first operational mission, it took part in an attack on the German battleship Tirpitz in a Norwegian fjord. Damaged by anti-aircraft fire, it came down on a frozen lake where it eventually sank, which does rather explain its current look.

    Seen from the front, what survives feels less like a machine and more like evidence. Sensibly, no attempt has been made to flatter the thing back into glamour. The aircraft was recovered from the lake in 1973 and it eventually made its way to this museum. In what must have been a slightly odd reunion, members of the flight crew came here in 1983 to be reunited with the aircraft when it was installed here in this exhibition.

    It must have been rather sub-optimal for the RAF to lose W1048 on her first mission, but at least there was a controlled landing and no-one was killed, although there were injuries. The crew members were:

    Pilot Plt Off Don P MacIntyre (a 24 year old Canadian)

    Observer Plt Off Ian Hewitt (Also operated as bomb aimer and Navigator, had been commissioned 23 Mar 42; posted to No.35 Squadron 31 Mar 42; later received the DFC and became a Squadron Leader navigator with the Pathfinder Force; a chartered accountant in later life, he died in June 2015, aged 94)

    1st WOP/AG 908781 Sgt Dave Perry

    2nd WOP/AG R56057 Sgt Pierre Blanchet (Mid upper gunner. A Canadian)

    Tail Gunner 633143 Sgt Ron Wilson (A London cabby in later life)

    Flight Engineer 524209 Sgt Vic Stevens

    It was thanks to the Norwegian resistance that these crew were able to make their way to neutral Sweden and then safely back to the UK. I won’t recount the entire story, but it’s at http://www.archieraf.co.uk/archie/1048tls.html and it shows just how challenging it was for the airmen to get back home. It’s still hard to comprehend how difficult it must have been for them to try and get back to some sort of a normal life after the Second World War ended.

  • Royal Air Force Museum Hendon – Strike Hard, Strike Sure

    Royal Air Force Museum Hendon – Strike Hard, Strike Sure

    “Strike Sure, Strike Hard” is one of those wartime mottoes that sounds blunt, confident and entirely uninterested in moral hesitation. Indeed, this is something that the museum does confront, the sheer damage caused by the British bombers. The promise that violence, properly directed, could produce victory and scare the German population into surrender.

    I think it’s fair to say that being a member of aircrew during the Second World War was not going to be a quiet back office job. Of those on a tour of 30 operations, over half were killed and a quarter became prisoners of war, with just 16% surviving unhurt.

    Although it is now controversial, the bombings of German cities was seen as essential at the time in regaining the upper hand. Arthur Harris (1892-1984), later known as Bomber Harris, became the most famous advocate of that thinking, and Cologne was central to it. The city was the target of the first thousand bomber raid in May 1942, a deliberate and highly symbolic demonstration of overwhelming force. And this was particularly relevant to me as I had spent three days in Cologne a few days before visiting this museum.

    The “Strike Sure, Strike Hard” was also the name of this whole exhibition about the Second World War. I thought it was all quite balanced, not focusing entirely on military might and destruction, but also on the more complex and nuanced matters of war in general. But the museum was very sure to mention the bravery of those involved and quite rightly so.

  • Norwich – Bar Billiards (Game 1 – Artichoke Hearts vs Serengeti)

    Norwich – Bar Billiards (Game 1 – Artichoke Hearts vs Serengeti)

    It’s a new season for Norwich bar billiards and time for the first league match for the Artichoke Hearts. Now I appear to be captain (which is either a mark of trust or a sign that standards have slipped, I’m fairly sure I know which it is), this meant that I had the honour of being involved with the draw for the evening. As I don’t get out much, this was all very exciting. The team we were playing was the Serengeti, who I used to play for, which added to the potential drama and I was inevitably going to be on my best behaviour. Many thanks to Roy, the Serengeti captain and one of the nicest people going, for all of this excitement.

    And there’s the draw, six singles matches and three doubles. As the Serengeti had seven players, I randomly drew one to not play a singles game and that by chance was my friend Emma, but she was very calm about the matter. We only had five players and poor Terri found herself playing two singles games in a row and it was Luke that was drawn to play two doubles matches.

    I thought I’d better have a beer to calm my nerves, this is the Best Laid Plans from Salopian Brewery, a fruity, fluffy and light beer.

    It’s all happening now. Emma took charge in the role of being the official scribe which involved writing all the results up on the board, and she generally did this quite well. I think Emma sort of agreed that I was on my best behaviour throughout.

    After four games, it was 2-2 and so this all felt quite stressful, so I went to get another beer. This is the Foamy Dome from Three Blind Mice Brewery, which had some orange punching through in terms of the flavour. There was then food and I managed to forget to photograph it, a slightly sub-optimal arrangement. Landlord Oscar marched across the room at this point and everyone was stunned into silence, we think he was trying to pick up some tactics for his team games.

    Matters didn’t become less stressful for me, as we found ourselves 4-2 down with the three doubles matches still to play. Luke and Vaughan won their match, then Terri and I won in a very close game against Emma and Roy. That meant it was 4-4 with one game left and not only was it tense, it went down to the final ball. There’s Luke taking his shot and, to cut a long story short, it was all enough and we found ourselves 5-4 up. I pretended that it was all just a game and it didn’t matter, but I was already planning my next beer as I needed a celebration.

    And here’s my reward for our team’s performance, a pint of Creme Bearlee and I must have been very stressed as I’ve realised that I didn’t put this on Untappd. And poor Vaughan and PJ in their first league game, I’m pleased that they seemed to enjoy it enough to come back again and not be put off.

    The final result, 5-4 to the Artichoke Hearts. Anyway, the Serengeti are a fine team, the games were very close and they were unlucky not to come out ahead. But, that’s enough praise, we all had a lovely time and at least I know we won’t end the season on zero points. And I had an excuse to pop to the Weaver’s and the King’s Head afterwards to settle my nerves. The main thing is though there’s lots of great people involved, it’s a fun thing to do and if anyone is interested in coming along to watch, please do! The next match is at home to the Black Stars next week and they are known to be pretty formidable. I’m wondering if we could have a strategy of overdosing them on bar snacks, that might be our best plan here.

  • Norwich – Anglia Square Demolition (22 April 2026)

    Norwich – Anglia Square Demolition (22 April 2026)

    I was walking by the other side of the Anglia Square development yesterday and realised I could see the cathedral from Edward Street for the first time now the demolition is progressing. And the whole lot is now coming steadily down, so there might be posts every couple of days now to excite and delight my two readers.

  • 200 Years Ago in Norwich : Death of John Hammont Cooper

    200 Years Ago in Norwich : Death of John Hammont Cooper

    This news article appeared in the Norwich Mercury 200 years ago this week, although it had evidently taken them some time to hear of the news.

    “In August last, on board the Honourable Company’s ship, Vansittart, on his passage from Bombay to China, John Hammont Cooper, aged 17, youngest son of T. H. Cooper, Esq. late of North Walsham, most sincerely lamented by his family and friends.”

    In situations like this, I find it intriguing what a young man from the North Walsham area would have been doing travelling from Bombay to China at this time.

    The Vansittart was a merchant ship owned by the British East India Company and at the time, although for not much longer, they had a monopoly in terms of their UK trade with India and China. The ship had launched in 1813 and John Hammont Cooper went on its seventh voyage.

    The ship left Downs (a shipping area of the North Sea) on 9 January 1825, bound for the Cape, Bombay, and China. The ship reached the Cape on 13 March, and Bombay on 31 May. It left Bombay on 11 August, and arrived at Whampoa, Hong Kong, on 1 October 1825. That was the section of the journey that Cooper didn’t complete.

    John Hammont Cooper had been born on 24 December 1807 and was baptised on the following day which was quite festive. He was the son of Thomas Hammont Cooper and Mary Vernon. The family don’t appear to have been hugely wealthy, although they did own some land in North Walsham.

    Thomas Hammont Cooper was a Captain-Lieutenant in the Norfolk Militia Western Regiment, a rank now abolished and this was more of a Dad’s Army type set-up in case the French invaded North Norfolk. However, Thomas wrote two books on infantry and military work, so he must have had some military knowledge.

    One thing I’ve never much thought about, as this doesn’t impact on my daily life, is how many people would be on one of these ships. It seems that they might have a crew of 100 people and would take 50 or so passengers, although the numbers varied widely. Unfortunately, the crew and passenger lists aren’t available for this journey, so it’s not clear to me whether Cooper was a passenger on some commercial trade, whether he was crew or whether he was some sort of military presence on board.

    But, either way, this must have been some considerable adventure…..

  • Norwich – 1905 Lame Mare Owned by Artichoke Owner

    Norwich – 1905 Lame Mare Owned by Artichoke Owner

    Just a random article in the 5 October 1905 about the then landlord of the Artichoke pub in Norwich.

    “At the same Court, Frederick Sinclair, the Artichoke, Magdalen Gate, Norwich, was summoned for working a mare in an unfit state.—Inspector Adams said the mare was very lame and not fit to be driven. The animal was suffering from sprained tendons.—Defendant admitted that the mare was not in a fit state to be driven when the Inspector stopped him, but he contended that he (defendant) saw the lameness as soon as the Inspector, and was then about to turn round. He sent the animal home by train.—After further evidence, the Chairman said the Magistrates believed there was a doubt about the case, and defendant would have the benefit of it. The case was therefore dismissed.”

    So many questions….. I’m disappointed that it’s not clear in the newspaper article where this mare was discovered. Just popping it on a train home seems like something off a faff and it’s certainly not a service offered by Greater Anglia at the moment. There’s sometimes not enough space for bikes, let alone mares with sprained tendons.

    And which railway station? Maybe the now closed Norwich City railway station which would have been the nearest to the pub. And I can imagine that Frederick Sinclair would have been most annoyed by the intrusion into his day, especially as the case was dismissed when he went to court.

    • – as I became intrigued by this case, I looked into it more and it transpired that Sinclair wasn’t with the mare when it was stopped and he claimed that it hadn’t been in pain when he had last seen it. And the mare had reached Great Yarmouth, so that resolves which train it was….
  • Royal Air Force Museum Hendon – Anthony Gross and the Quiet Machinery of War

    Royal Air Force Museum Hendon – Anthony Gross and the Quiet Machinery of War

    Anthony Gross (1905-1984) was not so much interested in the glamorous end of war, which is probably just as well, because glamour tends to be in rather short supply in a medical facility, known as the advanced dressing station. His 1942 watercolour ‘The Battle of Egypt – Advanced Dressing Station Interior’ shows men waiting, resting and enduring, with one figure seated in the middle of the picture while others lie around him in a scene of fatigue and exhaustion rather than triumph. These are the human consequences of war, just a waiting room of pain and I’m still not sure that I can really comprehend how frightening this whole process must have been.

    In early life Gross lived in Dulwich and Camberwell, apprenticed at the LCC School of Photo Engraving and Lithography, then studied at the Slade and in Paris, which gave him a rather serious artistic grounding before the Second World War arranged more urgent subject matter for him. The information panel at the museum notes that he was one of four official war artists commissioned to record the Middle East theatre of war, in this case focusing on the people patching up the wounded in conditions that look deeply sub-optimal, while everyone tries not to think too hard about what comes next.

    And, something which interested me more than it probably should have done, but it was Anthony Gross who created the artwork for the first edition of William Golding’s Lord of the Flies.