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Category: UK

Horsham – Sit and Sip

The next pub visited in Horsham was Sit and Sip which is part of a very small chain (well, it’s this and another venue in Wokingham).

The beer list which has some interesting keg options alongside the mainstream ones. The prices are pushing towards the higher end of the scale, but at least they’ve made an effort to provide some comfortable surroundings.

This is the Sunny from Vault City, lots of orange and suitably smooth. Perhaps this should be an option on hotel breakfast buffets….. And there’s Oscar. He had the Rolling Papers from Bullhouse and we agreed that it seems to be better in cans. It’s perhaps just one of those peculiar mysteries of brewing, like how Guinness tastes better in Dublin or why some beers lose their sparkle when poured by anyone called Derek.
The bar felt rather on-trend and the customer base was a mostly younger one. It’s more of a cafe bar on weekends with light snacks being available, but in general, they’re aiming to be a cocktail and craft beer bar. The only downside is that they closed at midnight, rather earlier than Oscar would have ideally liked, which meant we had to look for somewhere else. Between my two blog readers and myself, Oscar’s idea of a fun evening involves bars that only close when the sun comes up or when the staff finally beg him to leave. Or both.
Anyway, all rather lovely and I’m pleased to have been to half the Sit and Sip pub empire now.

September 24, 2025
Bar Billiards – Inter-Counties 4-Pin 2025 in Surrey

Nathan had one of his good ideas that a group of bar billiards players should go to the 3rd Inter-County 4-pin bar billiards challenge. He collected some of the best Norwich players and as a tactical masterstroke I also invited myself to the event. Suffolk couldn’t make the event, so there were five teams in the competition with some experienced and quality players. Also, it was an honour to know that one person outside of Norwich (who are mostly bored hearing about this blog) knew about this blog 🙂

The venue was held at the Inn on the Green in Ockley. We’d gone down the night before and I’ll finish the write-up of those pubs soon enough. Nathan and I also thought it was a marvellous idea to see how many underground stations we could name at 03:15, but I’ve never been convinced that we’re very sensible if I’m honest.

Firstly, let’s deal with the beers. There were a few keg and cask choices, perhaps the best was the reliable Steady Rolling Man from DEYA.

And Guinness, it’s good to have a energy drink in the afternoon.

Before I get to the bar billiards, let’s deal with the most important element, which was lunch. Others had their meals in the evening, but I couldn’t be waiting for that long and so I went for the sausages and chips at lunch. Decadent, rich and meaty.

OK, right, food and drink out of the way.

My two teammates, Nathan and Fraser, we were Norfolk ‘A’. The other Norwich team had Pete, Zak and Oscar on, playing as Norfolk ‘B’. Nathan agreed to sacrifice doing very well by having me on the team which was very honourable of him. Norfolk ‘B’ managed to arrive at the event late, but Norfolk ‘A’ were very conscientious and punctual.

Nathan excitedly waiting for the balls to drop.

And Nathan in action. It’s like looking at a young John Higgins.

The prizes were on show all day to tempt us. This was kind as there was no entrance charge for the event, the organisers were very generous.

The final game which Nathan stormed. There will be some videos going up on YouTube as Pete had cameras going on both the tables which were used in the competition.

And here are the final results. I was slightly surprised to do this well (I did think that I’d lose every match which has been known), although my first match was against Oscar “I’m better at coaching than playing” Gerdes so that was an easy victory. In fairness, he beat me when we happened to play again, which transpired to be his own victory of the day. I think he exhausted himself with the second battle against me.

Nathan did the best out of all the Norwich players, but he secretly knew that he would although he was disappointed that he didn’t average 2,000 points in each game. Fraser had bought two brownies to eat after winning a match, but he just had to eat the second one at the end of the day. His average score was higher than mine though….

So, what this meant was that Norfolk ‘A’ managed to come third…. This surprised and delighted our team. I’m not saying that Fraser didn’t love his trophy, but Nathan and I were positively clinging onto ours on the journey home so we could pretend we’re really good at this (actually, Fraser was driving, so it was probably best that he wasn’t clinging onto his trophy). I definitely heard a yelp of genuine pain when Nathan briefly couldn’t find his trophy.

After all the games, here was the award ceremony with Oscar still buzzing with the excitement of it all. He’s thinking of putting his fifth place award up in his pub. I was surprised that the venue didn’t give Oscar an award for finishing a keg of Steady Rolling Man on his own, but perhaps next year.

Oscar collecting the awards for his team as they’d cleared off home. Zak had performed brilliantly during the day despite being, er, tired.

Oscar took over the videoing after Pete had gone home. Oscar had just had a half hour conversation whilst in the venue’s conservatory which did a marvellous job of echoing the noise around the pub so that at least one of the two tables was shaking.

The six Norwich players. So very brave, especially for Pete who had a very painful handshake when his finger nearly fell off. Zak is standing at the back as he needed to be propped up.

The Birchanger stop on the way home as Oscar was craving KFC. We probably can’t go back to these services since he managed to get the napkin container stuck on his hand, but Fraser, Nathan and I didn’t say anything in case we got some free chicken from him in the car. I’m pleased to say that we did. Thanks to Fraser for his very professional driving, even though he’s been put off going to Leicester for ever.

This was a rather lovely weekend and the plan is to go back next year assuming that we’re actually invited back. Everyone was very friendly, the food and drink was excellent and Nathan and I want another trophy for our new trophy cabinets we’re building this week now that we’ve got something to put in them.

Very many thanks to the organisers and all of the other players, but big thanks to Nathan for planning this!

September 22, 2025
Horsham – Anchor Tap

The Anchor Tap was the first pub we visited during our weekend of bar billiards in Surrey and I was pleased to discover that it is in the Good Beer Guide, so that’s another ticked off. And that’s an impressive selection of beers there, cask and keg. I think that’s a well curated beer list, numerous different beer styles and clearly laid out. As another plus, the venue is Untappd verified so I could see the beer list online.

Excuse the blurry Oscar, Pete and Nathan in the background. This is the Stoopid White Chocolate Raspberry Cherry from Vault City and I remember the delights of when the brewery released the standard version of this beer. It pours like a smoothie and is a light, gentle, fruity and creamy.

It was a busy pub and it takes its name as it was the former tap room of the Anchor Hotel. The building itself is late Victorian and CAMRA note:

“Having been closed for 30 years, this pub was reopened in February 2016 by Dark Star Brewery, but with the sale of that brewer to Fuller’s in March 2018, the pub became free-of-tie. It continues to be popular with customers both local and from afar. Refurbished in an early-20th century style.”

Although it was busy, the service was prompt and friendly, with the venue taking cards and cash. The prices are towards the higher end of the scale, but the beer quality and range is high.

The Whole Cake from Vault City, which had flavours of raspberries and mango whilst being creamy and fruity.

My next beer was the 7 Years Sour from Vault City (there’s a theme here for the eagle eyed reader) but Nathan doesn’t like the photo of him behind the beer and so I won’t use it here. Another beautiful beer with lots of mango and passion fruit, lots of depth and really quite decadent. But, all is not lost, the beer is visible in this photo.

It’s not a huge venue, this is the front room and there’s a small back room, with the nearby toilet space also being quite limited in size. This is where the pub that the local branch of CAMRA was formed in a few decades ago.

It was a really lovely venue and quite rightly in the Good Beer Guide, a perfect on-trend venue with cask and keg options. It’s well reviewed online and it had an informal and welcoming atmosphere, but given its relative small space it gets busy quickly.

September 20, 2025
Food from Every Stall on Norwich Market (2025 Edition) – Week 28 and B’s T’s

James and I are visiting every food stall at Norwich market this year and we’re very nearly there, with this visit being to the cafe B’s T’s. I think we have an admission here, this unit was trading when we did this same project in 2023 but we don’t appear to have visited. So, this is one of four cafes on Norwich market and they’re the traditional stalls which sell hot drinks, burgers, rolls, hot dogs, breakfasts and the like. There seems to be a constant demand for these stalls as they’ve all been busy when we’ve visited them this year.

The menu board, but I don’t have a comparison from two years ago since we forgot to go there. It’s evident from the stickers on the menu that there have been some price increases though. There was a friendly welcome and the ordering system seemed easy to understand, with the stall taking both cards and cash.

In my helpful way, I asked for a burnt bacon and sausage roll, which the staff member engaged with in a positive manner. Although she clarified that I really just wanted well done, she continued to reference the term burnt. I like this sort of engagement as it makes it easier for customers to return and be remembered by the stall holders. Anyway, it wasn’t greasy and the bacon was satisfactorily cooked and it meant that I had only a minimal need to remove excessive fat. The staff member did forget to add on the sweet chilli sauce that she meant to, although I had some ketchup in sachets with me anyway (it’s essential when travelling….). The sausage was meaty and juicy, although it was under the bacon and so a little hard to see in the photo. The roll was also soft and fresh, so another point there.

James had a cheeseburger and I can’t remember half of what he said about it, but he said it didn’t beat the best one he’s had in the market this year, but it was better than the last couple that’s he had. So, let’s go with he thought that it was above average. I’ll pay more attention to what he’s saying next time but a polite pigeon distracted me during the food testing phase of our visit.

Overall, I liked this stall and the service, it felt informal and friendly. The roll cost £4 which seemed reasonable for the market, although the market stalls are perhaps going to struggle a little with the onslaught of meal deals from national chains at the moment which are mostly priced at £5 to £6. I would repeat though for those looking at the photo and thinking the bacon has been overcooked, that was to my request and now they usually do it….

September 19, 2025
Great Yarmouth – Tourist Information Centre (and Sailors’ Home)

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

This building isn’t of historic interest just because it’s a tourist information centre (although I’m sure it is a lovely little service for visitors to the town), but because it was the Sailors’ Home from 1861 until 1965. During the time which it was open it looked after over 11,000 shipwrecked sailors from 29 different countries. I’m sure that I remember this building being used as a Maritime Museum for a while in the 1980s.

There doesn’t seem to be any specific connection with this building and HMS Lutine, other than it sailed from Great Yarmouth in 1799. The boat was carrying today’s equivalent of £100 million of bullion and coin and it sank, which must have irritated its owners. Although not overly irritated them as they had the sense to insure it, so Lloyds of London paid out for the losses. Lloyds have since salvaged some of the gold, although much is still underwater, and they also got back the ship’s bell. This bell, the Lutine Bell, is now pride of place in the Head Office of Lloyds in London. Although it occurs to me that if I sent a salvage crew to collect my gold I’d rather they returned with that rather than the bloody ship’s bell.

September 14, 2025
Great Yarmouth – St. Mary’s Catholic Church

[I posted this in August 2018, but have reposted it to fix the broken image links]

I’ve walked by this church on Regent Road hundreds of times over the years, but never actually gone in it. The church opened in 1850 after three years of construction, replacing a small chapel which couldn’t cater for the growing congregation. At the time this was the only building on Regent Road and it now looks a little out of place with the mainly tourist orientated shops and restaurants that are on the street today.

The church was designed by Joseph John Scoles, who also designed St. Peter’s Church in the town. It was built for the Jesuits, although was taken over by the Diocese of East Anglia in the mid-twentieth century. When the church opened it had a congregation of over 800 people, showing why the previous building had been of an inadequate size.

The font is from the 1850s and was also designed by Scoles.

There are numerous of these painted artworks around the church and there are information sheets (well, pieces of paper stuck to the wall) which give information as to what they represent. The information sheets are though useful and give a little bit more context about the building’s history.

The impressive interior, which is relatively unchanged since the church was built, with some interesting roof decorations. There are over 800 carved roof bosses in the church and there are a few of the original mid-nineteenth century pews remaining in situ.

The pulpit was apparently designed by Pugin, although there seems some doubt on this, and it was installed under the supervision of George Myers.

The stained glass window, which I think is from the mid-nineteenth century.

The organ dates from the late nineteenth century and has 1,032 pipes.

I had wondered why there were numerous CCTV signs and warnings of alarms, but assumed it was a general security measure. Unfortunately though it now makes sense, as some yob tried to set the church on fire earlier on in 2018. Fortunately the damage wasn’t too severe and the idiot was caught and charged with committing hate crimes.

It’s a peaceful and quiet environment in the church, in contrast to the rather busy and noise shopping street outside. I can’t imagine this church when it was located on a little quiet road which led to the beach, but I’m pleased that it has survived intact.

September 14, 2025
Great Yarmouth – St. Spyridon Church (St. Peter’s Church)

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

It has to be noted that the state of Anglican churches in Great Yarmouth isn’t what it was, with perhaps most of the energies in recent decades going into the Minster. This church was opened in 1831 as St. Peter’s Church, designed by JJ Scoles, who also designed the nearby St. Mary’s Church.

The church fell into disuse in the 1960s and it was given to the Greek community to use as an Orthodox church. It was fortunate for the building that a new use was found, as this was at a time when churches were often demolished if they had become redundant.

The building is currently being repaired and the process has been on-going for several years. English Heritage have helped with the funding, but it has also been a major financial challenge for the local congregation to raise money themselves to put towards the project. The first part of the work involved repairing the tower, which had become a danger given that bits were falling off of it, never an ideal situation…..

September 14, 2025
Great Yarmouth – St. John’s Church

[I originally posted this in August 2018, but I’ve reposted it to fix the broken image links]

A short way from the busy seafront is this closed and redundant church, looking a little sad. Its future is though more positive, as it was sold to the Great Yarmouth Preservation Trust in 2016 for £1 and the organisation has plans to restore the building and use it for the community. The funds aren’t currently in place to complete the project, but the Trust seems hopeful that they can be secured.

A rather charming tree in the churchyard.

Sadly, at the moment the entire church is fenced off. The church had first opened in 1858 when it was opened by the Beach and Harbour Mission. During the Victorian period the church was primarily used by the local beachmen, sailors and their families.

The church’s former chapter house. The building was built by John Henry Hakewill, who designed and restored many churches during the mid-Victorian period.

The Trust is restoring and preserving seven documents which were found in the church, including an impressive baptism roll. It’s delightful that these documents have been secured for the future, as without the Trust’s intervention there must have been the risk that the church would have been turned into flats and the contents lost for ever. The kneeler cushions, which had been left unused for years, were also kept and there are plans to repair and preserve them.

The restoration of the church appears to be in good hands, and the Trust said to the local media that the repairs would be sensitive and that the interior wouldn’t be reconstructed. Hopefully in a few years this building will once again be used by the community, and I can then have a little look inside.

September 14, 2025
Oxford LDWA Weekend – Oxford Canal Walk

The first walk of the LDWA weekend was along the canal routes into Oxford and we boarded a train to Tackley railway station.

The station is on the Cherwell Valley Line which runs from Banbury to Didcot Parkway, although the station here was added to the line relatively late, opening on 6 April 1931.

Andy gave us an introduction before starting the walk, although he likely could have done without someone keep asking when lunch was.

A lock and old bridge a short distance away from the start of the walk in Nethercott.

There was lots of pleasant canal walking, although at first the path was a bit ropy and I did wonder if someone would fall in, but there were fortunately no incidents. We saw a grass snake, or it might have been a rattlesnake, gliding across the water. This annoyed me, I wish they’d stop letting snakes out unattended.

Wild hops, I don’t often see those, although that’s mainly because I’m usually looking for blackberries.

Beautiful surroundings and we were fortunate with the weather, it was warm with no rain, but there was also a pleasant breeze.

Sarah, blazing a trail.

A rather lovely little church by the river, this is the Church of Holy Cross at Shipton-on-Cherwell. There was a medieval church at this site, but it was mostly rebuilt in 1831 when it was all reworked and a new tower was added by William Turner.

The lunch spot at Thrupp.

This bridge pivots up and can be operated by just one person, but there was nearly an incident here when a car tried to drive onto the now rather vertical bridge. Shortly afterwards, a pedestrian tried to do the same thing.

A rather clever piece of engineering.

An old stone bridge near Kidlington. It’s number 223 and known as Sparrow Gap Bridge

A heron.

We waited here for Sue to join us.

Walking into Oxford.

The Toblerhome river boat.

Into the city centre and then a quick pub stop before I traipsed to my thrifty hotel which was nowhere near the centre of Oxford. Memories of the dangerous snake we saw swimming in the canal had faded away, with me looking forwards to the pubs in the evening (which I’ve already written up….).

September 10, 2025
Wizz Air (Luton Airport to Wrocław)

It was a very enjoyable weekend in Oxford with the LDWA, but it was time to get a National Express coach from this historic city to the charms of Luton Airport.

Parked up in Milton Keynes Coachway and I wonder whether travel can get any more exciting than this. I was pleased that I got the emergency exit row seat on this coach as it has more legroom, although it wasn’t particularly busy on board. The one excitement about sitting in this seat is that it seems to require the occupant to assist anyone who can’t work out that the coach toilet door slides rather than opens inwards or outwards.

I accept I didn’t try too hard to get an outstanding quality photo here, but safely at Luton Airport on time.

I cut this incredibly fine by arriving at the airport just three hours before my flight. Mine was the third last scheduled departure from Luton Airport that day.

Using my Priority Pass card to get some chicken tenders and a pint in Big Smoke.

And a Limoncello Spritzer in Nolito with the same card. I felt really quite decadent.

The screens indicated for a while that the flight would be 20 minutes late, but all ended up operating on time.

The boarding process was yet again efficient and free from drama, despite it being a relatively full flight. The aircraft is 9H-WBU which I don’t think I’ve been on before.

Here’s a nice blurry photo of London. I had a window seat assigned by the seating Gods, although astute readers will have guessed that because of the photos taken out of the window. The crew was efficient and they seemed to have very few sales when they walked up and down the aisle, but perhaps passengers were just tired.

I don’t know if the Blood Moon impacted this, but the water had a strange sort of glow.

We landed safely on time and I was ready to catch my bus to the airport.

I didn’t catch the intended bus to the airport as I then had an exciting hour-long wait in the airport whilst there was a detailed check of the stamps in my passport. The end conclusion was that I had lots more days left in the EU as they thought some countries hadn’t stamped their stamps very clearly, but the wait was sub-optimal when I wanted to be in my hotel.

And finally on the bus to the hotel, where I arrived at just before 03:00. Marvellous….

September 9, 2025