Walking. Gossip. Travel.

Category: UK

Norwich – Nelson Pub [closed] (Two Julians)

This is quite sad to see, the Nelson seems to be long-term closed and there doesn’t appear to be any activity going on at the moment that suggests that it might open again. The pub first opened in the 1850s and it’s fortunate that it’s still here as the owners attempted to demolish it in 1989 to build eight homes.

Located on the junction of Nelson Street and Armes Street, this is in a residential area and not far from the Fat Cat, so it certainly has some potential.

Unfortunately for the venue, it’s owned by Stonegate and that often means a tied pub and a hefty rent package so it would be a brave person who takes this on. Also, since it’s September and the open day was on 15 March, that doesn’t suggest they’ve found such a brave person yet. Likely Stonegate will spend £300,000 doing up the inside of the pub in some generic manner and then jack the rent up to something unachieveable. At the moment, and in support of Stonegate, they’re currently advertising the rent of this at £17,500 per year which is much lower than I’d expect from them although there are caveats to that.

Stonegate themselves describe this pub as:

“The Nelson is situated in a residential suburb to the Northwest of the city just outside the inner ring road and is considered a very traditional wet led venue. The décor is traditional, with a modern touch which creates a warm and relaxed atmosphere and welcomes the surrounding local community with traditional pub games and live sports. The pub has two distinct trading areas, which are divided by a double-sided central bar servery. The bars have a traditional style, fitting with the theme of the pub; one area having a pool table with space for up to 30 covers and the other approximately 50 covers. The Nelson also boasts an outdoor covered beer garden with a patio and spacious lawn, a great selling point during the summer season which has the potential to be very popular. Another great facility of this pub is its outbuildings which may be very useful for storage for the future publican. The light and spacious private accommodation consists of three-bedrooms, a lounge and a kitchen, ideal for a family. Stonegate Pub Partners are seeking an experienced publican who is willing to immerse themselves within the local community and maximise revenue.”

I’m not convinced that this will re-open, but the community would no doubt benefit by having another pub open in this area.

September 4, 2023
Norwich – Fat Cat (Two Julians)

Julian and I decided to postpone a more rural visit to the further reaches of Norfolk in favour of a Norwich based tour, as I needed to be back for bar billiards. Julian S refers to this as something like bare knuckle stick action, but he doesn’t understand sport in the way that I do, although at times I wonder if he might just be right. When talking to people outside Norwich, the Fat Cat is one of the pubs that most people identify with the city as it has a long tradition of being a destination real ale pub since it opened in 1991. It has won many CAMRA awards, not least the National Pub of the Year twice, and is also listed in the Good Beer Guide. The pub, located on West End Street, had first opened in the late 1860s and was known as the New Inn until 1991, when it took its current Fat Cat name under the ownership of Colin Keatley. He had previously run the White Lion on Oak Street, which is today one of the best pubs in the country despite the landlord’s ability to lead me astray, but we won’t go too far down that line on this blog post.

Some of the extensive range of real ales, of which they had around twenty which shows just how much they’re selling here. There were also ciders and craft beer options, but the real ale selection was well balanced and all major beer types were covered. Breweries included Titanic, Thornbridge, Green Jack, Oakham to name just a few, along with the beers brewed in-house by the Fat Cat Brewing Company. Julian and I are very punctilious in every possible way, so we knew we had just time for one beer here despite the number of tempting and almost seductive options.

The beers are keenly priced, with one lower priced option which is a marvellous idea for a pub. It’s not cheap visiting pubs today given the cost of living increases, so affordable options are much appreciated and venues might find that they’re a necessity if matters continue as they are.

And more of the beer selection.

I went for the Marmalade Cat from the Fat Cat Brewing Company, which was well kept, fresh and suitably full bodied. Julian S also commented positively about his Citra from Oakham Ales.

There’s plenty of character to the pub and there’s no shortage of beer memorabilia about the place. That door leads to another seating area which is often used for meetings and the like.

Decorations attached to the ceiling. I would never dare do this in a pub that I had, I’d be nervous one would fall on someone’s head. I admire their confidence, or at least, I am realistic about my own DIY abilities. But, I digress.

There’s one long central bar and the venue has been extended on numerous occasions over the years. Although we visited on a quiet afternoon, I understand that it’s often very busy and it’s not always easy to find a seat. There was a mixture of regulars and also I got the impression a couple of visitors new to the pub who had heard about its reputation.

Some old pub signs and unfortunately the King’s Head at Worstead and the Shropham Three Horseshoes are no longer with us other than as memories.

I haven’t been to this pub for nearly ten years and by chance, I was to visit it again the following evening for a CAMRA planning meeting for the Norwich Beer Festival. I was pleased to return, the choice of real ales was as good as anywhere in Norfolk and the service was immediate and friendly. I’m also pleased that I don’t need to write anything negative about this visit, as it would have been just a little sacrilegious to be critical of this fine establishment. Although, for the record, Julian and I are not easily kowtowed, so I would have mentioned any issues that arose, but I’m pleased to say there was nothing negative.

September 3, 2023
200 Years Ago : Mental Health in the Early Nineteenth Century

In my series of posts from 200 years ago this week, there were two stories in the same issue of the Norfolk Chronicle and Norwich Gazette which I noticed. These type of stories are very common, so there’s nothing unusual with this, but it’s a reminder of how bad mental health was in the early nineteenth century and how this isn’t just something that is a modern situation as some people I’ve heard have suggested. There’s nothing new about struggling with life, as these two stories suggest.

Firstly, from Great Yarmouth:

“An unfortunate female threw herself into the river, near the bridge on the north side, about one o’clock on Wednesday morning; first deliberately taking off her cap, and placing it on the ground, she floated under the bridge, and had it not been for her clothes keeping her buoyant, she must inevitably have met with a watery grave. An alarm was immediately given by the watchman near the bridge, when she was got out with great difficulty, her clothes fortunately caught the rudder of a boat lying under the bridge, or she must have been drawn under by the rapidity of the current and would not have risen again. Jealousy is assigned as the cause of this imprudent act.”

Mental health issues and insecurity were perhaps the real cause of the act, but this is from 1823 and it feels wrong to judge.

Secondly, from Oulton, near Lowestoft:

“An inquest took place before JE Sparrow, coroner, on the body of Susan Sewell, who on Friday 8 August put an end to her existence by hanging herself in a shed contiguous to her dwelling. It was stated in evidence that the deceased was upwards of 75 years of age and had the misfortune to lose her husband by an accident about three months ago, which calamity appeared to preyed so much upon her mind as to lead to self-destruction.”

And that’s it, a tragic story of what was perhaps a lonely lady who felt she had no other options and I assume nowhere else to go. It all feels like a tragedy to me, but what has changed recently is attitudes to depression and mental health. It has clearly always been there since time immemorial, but at least now it is better understood and there are ways of tackling it.

August 30, 2023
Driffield – Crooked Tap

This former Natwest Bank was converted to a craft beer bar in September 2022, the second outlet from Crooked Brewing.

It’s a beautiful conversion, with the bar being bright, clean and welcoming. The team member was also helpful and friendly, so first impressions were all very positive. Someone left a review a couple of weeks ago stating:

“Decor is hideous, no style. The seating is like horrid school chairs nowhere comfortable to relax.”

Well, each to their own, but I think it’s stylish and comfortable 🙂

I went for the Patternist from Polly’s Brew Co and I went for just a third of a pint, with the pricing being reasonable. It’s a hazy IPA, suitably rich in juicy flavour and there were plenty of hops in this. I also had a taster of the Mimosa from Campervan Brewery, plenty of taste and not too much sourness.

I was impressed at this whole set-up, with some tempting beers in the fridges, although I didn’t acquire any. Richard though decided to buy the most expensive beer in the fridge, he’s very decadent like that. If I lived nearby, this would likely be a regular haunt as the beer selection was varied, the atmosphere is welcoming, the environment is clean and the service was friendly. It looks like they serve pizzas as their food option, which fits into this on-trend and rather decent bar.

August 30, 2023
Driffield – Benjamin Fawcett (JD Wetherspoon Pub)

On the drive back from the Smuggler’s Trod, we decided to pop into the JD Wetherspoon pub the Benjamin Fawcett, which is listed in the Good Beer Guide. I will take the text from their web-site regarding the origins of the pub name:

“This pub stands facing the well-known Wesleyan Methodist Chapel, a local landmark since 1880. The open area in front of the chapel was once occupied by Benjamin Fawcett’s shop and print works, before he moved to a house and workshop in Wansford Road. Fawcett was one of the great colour printers of the 19th century and a leading employer in Driffield. In 2003, the Benjamin Fawcett Memorial Gardens were officially opened on his Wansford Road works site. Today, Fawcett’s highly acclaimed prints sell for hundreds of pounds.”

This is the breakfast that I was served. I didn’t notice that there was no egg, but the team member came back around two minutes later just as I was about to put pepper on the food and told me it was the wrong meal. He placed my correct breakfast down and then took my plate (and I had removed the butter) away and to my slight surprise, he gave it to another customer. How the pub thought that was acceptable, I don’t know, but it really isn’t.

The set-up here is also odd. My hot drink mug wasn’t brought over, so I asked when the breakfast was served where it was. He told me they don’t bring them, they’re help yourself mugs at the machines, which means customers can easily just take one without paying. It took me a couple of minutes to get a hot drink and then return to my breakfast, although as previously mentioned it was another customer who got my breakfast anyway whilst I got a nice hot one.

I ordered half a pint of the Stag from Exmoor Ales, a well-kept golden bitter which was at the appropriate temperature and tasted as expected. They had a choice of five real ales, although no dark beers when I looked.

The pub was generally dirty and unclean, with no obvious managerial oversight. It seemed in a general state of chaos, with customer issues arising all over the place so there was an element of fire-fighting going on. It might just have been an off-day, as the reviews are broadly average for a JD Wetherspoon outlet. Some random complaints include:

“Always cold and bad drafts due to staff repeatedly propping g open FIRE exits as a means for customers and staff alike to take a shortcut for a cigarette. Hence smoke and smell of cigarettes is blown in, even though they have a smoking area. Very poor”

Seems sub-optimal….

“Dirty cutlery. Disgusting food. Ordered steak and kidney pudding. How they have a cheek to charge what they do for this tiny, revolting meal I do not know. Will never eat here again. Not surprised so many are closing. Who wants to eat this rubbish!”

I actually like their steak and kidney pudding, so it’s me that eats that rubbish 🙂

“Walked in bought a drink , then looked at the menu , all the meals come with a drink !!! As I’d already bought one , I decided not to eat !!!!!!!! Won’t go in there again !!”

Have two drinks 🙂

“Just had well left the 6oz American burger because it was absolutely disgusting it was the smallest burger and I counted 21 chips honestly the kids meals are bigger it was also missing red onion.”

21 chips sounds reasonable to me (credit for counting them) and I’m guessing that the 6oz burger was, er, 6oz?

Anyway, I digress down the rabbit hole of reading reviews and there are plenty of positive ones. The breakfast and coffee was around £4.20 which is ridiculously good value for money, so I can’t complain about that at all. I can see why they’re in the Good Beer Guide, but it doesn’t seem ideal that the team members are taking meals that have been sitting on a customer’s table and then serving them to another customer. I’d visit again for drinks, I might be a little more cautious about ordering food though.

August 30, 2023
200 Years Ago : Youths and their Weapons in King’s Lynn

Continuing on my series of posts from newspapers of exactly 200 years ago, this short article is from the Norfolk Chronicle and Norwich Gazette. The newspaper was published on 30 August 1823, although it related to an incident of the week before in King’s Lynn.

“Friday last a youth named Tooke was shooting near this town, when the piece burst, and so lacerated his hand that immediate amputation was necessary. The frequent practice of young persons carrying fire arms to shoot small birds, etc, in the vicinity of this town, cannot be too highly reprobated, as several accidents have occurred, and at times it is really dangerous to walk on the public road.”

It’s perhaps interesting that at the point when this article was published, there were no gun control laws at all in the country. Anyone could carry anything they wanted for whatever purpose. The first legislation which limited this right was with the Vagrancy Act of 1824 where former soldiers from the Napoleonic Wars were often found homeless and in possession of weaponry. The Government weren’t too bothered with the homeless bit, but they felt it sub-optimal to have too many people with guns.

The back story to this also is that the right to bear arms in the United States at that point came from the position in England. In the new United States the population wanted weapons to defend themselves from not just each other, but also from the Government. Their position on such matters has hardly changed in 200 years, leading to no shortage of guns there. I’m pleased in the UK that today we don’t have the situation of youths in King’s Lynn damaging themselves and each other with weaponry, it would make trips there feel like they had just a little too much jeopardy.

August 30, 2023
200 Years Ago : Norwich Library and the Arguments for an Increase in Subscriptions

During 2020, when there wasn’t exactly a great variety of things to do, I riveted and bored my loyal two readers with a series of posts from old newspapers. I’ve been meaning to do this more regularly, so here we go….. This article is from the Norwich Mercury of 29 August 1823, exactly 200 years ago. It’s all to do with the public library in Norwich, which caused all manner of debate from primarily the middle classes of the time and the newspaper had its own view it wanted to put forwards.

An article read:

“The communications to us upon this subject are this week so numerous, that in order to do justice to the strong interest excited, and at the same time to preclude filling our columns with the repetitions involved in the insertion of all the letters we have received, we are compelled to have resource to a summary of our own, in which we hope to give our readers a clear view of the case, while we shall avoid reiterating the disgraceful charges and recriminations which we are sorry to find bandied between the members of two establishments, the Public Library and the Literary Institution, both capable of great public advantage.”

This is a reminder of how the media at the time really said what it thought, there’s something delightful about phrases such as “disgraceful charges and recriminations”. The first public library in the city was the Norwich City Library established in 1608, which became a lending library in 1716. This evolved into the Public Library, which had been a separate body started in 1784, which spent decades arguing about management and structure before the 1850 Public Libraries Act was passed which changed matters somewhat. Anyway, in 1822, there was the creation of the Norfolk and Norwich Literary Institution and all hell broke loose with rival members sneering at the other. And the Public Library had no money, but more on this in the article.

“We shall simply observe, that if, as some of the letters addressed to us assert, there is a regular design, systematically pursued among certain subscribers to the latter to put down the former, and if, as others affirm, no such design exists – nothing can be more easy than to disprove the imputation. Those members who belong the Literary Institution have nothing to do but to abstain from taking any part in the transactions of the old Library meeting, a mode of proceeding recommended alike by delicacy and disinterestedness, and the charge falls to the ground; but if, on the contrary, they should be found in active hostility to the advance of the subscription, it will be difficult if not impossible for them to account satisfactorily and honourably for a desire to prevent the improvement of the existing plan of management.”

What a wonderful middle class debate this would have been, subscribers writing angrily to the papers about the subscribers of the other organisation.

“We say this much merely to meet the statements of our correspondents; for our own impression is, that after the convincing case of necessity the special committee of the Public Library has made out, every gentleman connected with the Literary Institution will, as a mere matter of honourable feeling, decline to oppose a measure so indispensable to the very existence of the library, as an increase of the subscription. The statement in their Report, on which we ground our opinion, is as follows:

‘We next proceeded to examine the finances of the library, and believe the following to be a correct estimate of the necessary annual expenditure, according to the existing laws, independently of the purchase of new books, viz’”

Delighted as I with the letters page of the magazine Viz, it feels a shame this word (short for videlicet) meaning ‘as follows’ has mostly fallen out of use. But I digress, there’s an angry library discussion being had here. Back to the library report:

“‘Rent 15l, rates & taxes 12l, repairs 10l – total 37 0

Payment to trustees 25l, insurance 6l – total 31 0

Librarian 56l 15 s, messenger and cleaner 14l 10s – total 71 5

Coals 18l, candles 7l, sundry expenses 14l – total 39 0

Binding 40l, printing and advertising 7l – total 47 0

Periodicals 45l, old books replaced 15l – total 60 0

NB, this statement includes the expence [sic] of the library being open in the evening, which (having been only suspended for the last season by the vote of October 1 1822), recommences on the 1st of September next, according the 13th law.

It appears, therefore, that we have a permanent expenditure of 285l 5s which must be provided for before any part of our income can be available for the purchase of new books. Supposing then that the actual number of effective subscribers should continue at 490, the present subscription of 12l would produce 291l, leaving only a surplus of 8l 15s, applicable to that purpose, except any sum which may be received for fines, the amount of which is uncertain, and cannot be estimated at more than 15l. On these data we cannot hesitate to express our decided opinion, that it is impossible to carry on the library with the present subscription, and that we deem it absolutely necessary to adopt some new regulations, in order to prevent a more extensive diminution of our numbers.”

This seems typical of some libraries today, they managed to spend nearly their entire income on wages, trustees, heating and librarians with nearly no money available for new books. The newspaper continued its view:

“This is decisive. This shews [this word has fallen out of usage, but I prefers it to shows] that it is impossible to carry on the library with any degree of satisfaction to the subscribers, unless the subscription be raised, whilst the defalcation in the subscriptions is attributable almost entirely to the want of new books. The opponents of the measure proceed upon the following principles: –

1 – That a more economical administration of the finances would suffice for all the purposes contemplated by an advance of the subscription.

2 – That all former attempts to this end having failed, such a proposition should not be resumed.

3 – That as the original intention was to institute a cheap source of amusement and information, the principle ought not to be departed from.

4 – That the subscribers will withdraw, if the subscription be raised.

5 – That evening attendance is unnecessary, as not applying to more than a few of the subscribers.

These, so far as we can collect them, are all the objections. We shall then take them in their order”

I’m getting genuinely excited now to see what the Norwich Mercury proposed, despite the reality that I’m about 200 years late to this debate.

“Is it possible to conceive that 8,000 volumes can be lodged and commodious accommodation provided for 500 subscribers who may demand admission to the library, at a less rate than 37l per annum? We believe no one avers [meaning ‘states the case’] that a cheaper arrangement could be made, and if we examine the other items, all that could possibly be appropriated to the current demands of the subscribers for books (taking the sum reserved for building to be a prudent provision) is from the item of 39l for coals, candles and sundries. A part and only a part can be deducted, and if we estimate this portion at 17l we leave about 25l in the hands of the Committee for the purchase of new books, beside periodicals. There is not a periodical work admitted into the Library, which is not of acknowledged celebrity and high character. Is there are any man who is at all acquainted with the fertility of modern literature, who will pretend to assert that 25l per annum is any thing like an adequate sum to provide for the most literary appetite of 500 persons? No one will we conceive be found hardy enough to stand up in the face of the society and make such a statement. Such a sum will scarcely purchase even the poetry and novels of the day – productions that are every where the topics of conversation, and which not to have read, almost stamps the individual with the inevitable shame of the darkest and most careless ignorance.”

I love this, someone who is not up-to-date with novels is guilty of “careless ignorance”. But, then again, there wasn’t much else to do in terms of entertainment back in 1823.

“These are the most common objects of enquiry, and must be supplied. But ought the provision for a community of 500 persons to be limited to the circulation of these the lowest perhaps though the objects of literary curiosity most in demand? Certainly not. How then is the just and natural desire of the subscribers to be satisfied without an advance of the subscription, and if this desire be not satisfied, is it to be supposed that the subscribers will not withdraw? We conceive they certainly will withdraw, for who will be content to sit down in the assurance of not being able to obtain a sight of any new books without a constant struggle for priority, frequent disappointment and generally not till a long period after its appearance?”

They’re right here IMO…..

“Such conditions, and these every dispassionate reader must see are the actual conditions imposed by keeping the subscription at its present rate, would infallibly drive the Society to dissolution. In conclusion we do not hesitate to declare our belief, that the finances of the Library have during the last year been managed with the most rigid economy; and we entertain no doubt that the worthy president will be able to sustain our confident assertion by the most complete and satisfactory proofs. As we have stated in a former article, that plan for a Library designed for the use of the Public, appears to be the most efficient and excellent, which includes at the least expence the greatest quantity of books most universally necessary and desirable. The Public Library is designed for the many, and if the subscription of one guinea be carried, it will, we apprehend, as exactly as can be apportioned, enable the committee to sustain this its original character of general utility.

All very reasonable, no new books means members will leave…

“The second ground of opposition is too futile, and we must say too obviously an interested one to need refutation. Every society must always enjoy the privilege of improving itself according to its progress and its means.”

They didn’t debate that second point for long.

“The third argument contains in itself the seeds of its own destruction. When the Public Library was first planned, a sum was named, which was then, in the comparatively infant state of the demand for books deemed sufficient for the purpose. It was an experiment untried in Norwich. The charge for the custody and repair of a large library had not then accrued. The number of periodicals necessary, nay indispensable, was nothing like what it is now. Those who originated the establishment naturally anticipated that the means would extend themselves as the objects of the Society extended. It seems a justifiable, nay an inevitable assumption, that as the property increased, as the stores of amusement and of information became a larger, a corresponding disposition would arise in the public to contribute a larger sum for the power of augmented enjoyment and augmented instruction.”

This is true, they were just a generation too early with this thinking…..

“And what is the fact? Why, because this disposition was either repressed by supposed obstacles to improvement which an imperfect mode of choosing the committee presented, because such an augmentation was rejected, a new institution has been set on foot, to which the subscription is not only not unmeasured in the niggardly way it is suggested the subscribers to the old library to dole out their support, but it is assessed at two guineas, more than thrice the amount of the contribution (12s) per annum to the Old Library. Here than example goes completely against precept. Here is an instance which shews the consequences of not meeting the fair exigencies [needs] of the times and circumstances on the one hand, and on the other, which practically demonstrates the evils of a parsimonious and the benefit of a liberal spirit.

In the instance of the Old Library, One Guinea a year is to be refused, we are told, for access to eight thousand standard volumes and a corresponding accumulation of new publications, while Two Guineas a year are not considered too much for the power of reading four thousand volumes, and a similar accession of the works of the day. With a proof to complete before their eyes, it seems next to impossible that the subscribers should not perceive the necessity and advantage of making the comparatively insignificant addition of 9s per annum to their present payment, which, operating over so large a number, would be as efficacious as double the amount over a smaller body. This comparison is but a tribute of respect to the spirit of the supporters of the New Institution, which really cannot be too highly applauded.”

There’s a parallel here with the closure of public libraries over the last ten years, it’s a short term cost saving with massively damaging long-term results.

“The fourth ground we look upon to be most palpably unfounded. Nor is it possible to conceive that the addition of so trifling, so paltry a sum as nine shillings year, or twopence farthing a week, can be an object to any man who either has opportunity or inclination to read. And what is the alternative, what if he does withdraw? Where can he go to compensate himself so cheaply? No where. The supposition then is palpably absurd.

They seem right here, a small increase in the subscription with an obvious immediate benefit, would likely not lead to a mass withdrawal of members.

“The evening attendance appears to us to be a question of expediency, dependent upon the actual advantages that are expected to be derived. It seems to us to be of some importance to open to literary men the most ample opportunity of reference, and most especially to the youth of such a city as Norwich, the power if passing an evening amidst such sources of intelligence and gratification as the Old Library affords. And here again example may be pleaded. Other institutions, both in this and other places, have all considered such an addition to the benefits of an establishment indispensable. Why then is the Public Library of Norwich, with an ample list of subscribers, to be denied a similar privilege?”

It’s an interesting point, where else will people go in the evening and especially younger people? I’m not sure the inns and taverns of the city had a reputation for peace and tranquility at this time.

“Thus we have considered all the objections that have been sent to us against the proposed increase of subscription, and we hope we may have satisfied the minds of the subscribers at large, both by reasoning and example, that the proposal of the special committee ought to be supported and carried on the ground of general improvement. The Public Library, as the first establishment is endeared to the subscribers by time. It had disseminated an immense proportion of pleasure and information – it has indeed been the moving spring of general, of popular intellectual attainment for the city and county for a very long period. It has amassed a very respectable, nay a very valuable body of books for reading and reference, and in all departments of literature. Its affairs are administered in the most disinterested, in the most economical, and most upright manner. The only law which appeared to militate against the best mode of government will now probably be abrogated, and an unexceptionable method of choosing the committee substituted. The simple fact that the Committee is now self-elected as it were – that of 599 subscribers, 587 are precluded from the nomination of a single member of the directing body, and that the society has thus no effectual control over its executive, will be quite sufficient to work the requisite reformation.”

I love a bit of politics, the suggestion that there’s a gap between the members and the trustees. It’s likely that’s where the problems arose.

“It will be rendered, by the advance proposed, the cheapest accessible source of literary pleasure, as well as the most comprehensive, for these terms are of course relative, and take their meaning from the sum subscribed, the number of books already accumulated, and the additional publications that sum will purchase. With all these recommendations it may then be safely submitted to the candour of the subscribers, as well as to their sense of their own interests, whether they will, by the trifling addition of nine shillings a year, secure to themselves the advantages we have enumerated, or whether, in defiance of reason and of those interests, they will shut their eyes upon the inevitable consequence of the increased expence occasioned by the increase of their property, and abandon the child of their care and delight to a premature dissolution. We have better hopes of the good sense of our fellow citizens, and we shall continue to believe, that they will cordially co-operate to preserve to the county and city this excellent and this cheap source of entertainment and instruction, and to give it the renovation, which promises so much of both for the future.

Without the addition, it is not to be concealed or glossed over, the Public Library will lose its efficacy and attraction, and will die a lingering death. With the addition, it will revive, will flourish and continue to extend the circle of its greatly beneficial agency in promoting knowledgeable and happiness as the derivative of knowledge to multitudes (for the subscribers are units representing families) who in the event of its dissolution, will be deprived of this cheap and excellent source of gratification and improvement.”

One of the other reasons I’ve typed this article up from 200 years ago is just how measured, sensible and controlled the local media were. I can’t imagine a story of such clarity and understanding appearing in the EDP today, there’s something perhaps alarming that all this time on the quality of debate in the printed media has fallen. The logic behind the article made sense and it’s clear that the editor of the newspaper was aware of how important libraries were and how they needed to extend their reach. That of course happened with later legislation requiring councils to provide free public libraries, but this wouldn’t have felt inevitable at the time. Finally, thank goodness for the public libraries of Norwich.

August 29, 2023
Scarborough – Scholars Bar

One of the advantages in pubs using Untappd is that it alerts me to what beers they have which might tempt me in. This was no exception, located near to Craft Bar I noted that they had the Salted Caramel Tonkoko beer from Brew York which is just my sort of thing. It seemed only sensible to wander over and give it a little try, especially as it is listed in the Good Beer Guide.

The bar seems to be doing plenty to engage with their customers, with sports showing, events being advertised around the venue and some decent cask options. The service at the bar was friendly, engaging and personable, with a team member sitting at a nearby table making brief conversation. It’s not what first time customers might perhaps expect from the outside where there was a doorman monitoring proceedings, but it was a little oasis of calm inside.

Like a child, I still watch for my photo to appear at the base of the screen after rating a beer on Untappd. But that’s why they do it, some of us don’t get to go out much and we’re easily pleased. There were a number of reasonably priced beers from Brew York, but I’ve had those before and I was after the 12% imperial stout, but it was a well balanced selection.

Excuse the dead dog on the floor, but here’s the decadent beer itself. This didn’t let me down, it was smooth, rich, silky and the mouthfeel was just right. There was salted caramel, but there was chocolate, coconut and even some biscuit, it was all a pure delight. We were also very pleased when the team member came over and said they’d mispoured the drink and so they gave us another glass of the beer for free, and I can’t imagine many more beers I was so excited to get more of. World class and this beer would I think even delight the brewers at Goose Island, definitely the best brewery in the world.

Anyway, back to the pub. Absolutely justifiably listed in the Good Beer Guide, there was a community feel to this arrangement, the venue was clean and comfortable with an inviting atmosphere. The service was warm, the customers seemed happy and the beer choice was broad with an effort made with keg and cask. A perfect way to end the evening.

August 29, 2023
Scarborough – Craft Bar

I didn’t have a great deal of time to visit pubs in Scarborough as I was primarily on a walking weekend, but Craft Bar so excited and delighted me that I decided to go there twice. It’s Good Beer Guide listed and it is primarily keg based, but they have four real ales on as well.

The cask options and the service at the bar was timely, polite and engaging. Customers were served in turn, they were greeted in a welcoming way and the team member was knowledgeable when answering questions. The cask options were the North South Divide from Bingley Brewery, the US IPA from North Riding, White Rose from White Rose Brewery and Black Jack from Milltown Brewing. The pub’s beer list is also on Untappd, which is what initially tempted me in.

The interior was modern and bright, it was a mixture of craft beer bar, a micro-pub, bottle shop and bar cafe. That might be loading a lot of different categories on one venue, but it felt suitably on-trend and it seemed to be surprising and delighting plenty of customers. There are power points so customers can charge their devices and wi-fi for those who wanted it.

Look at the colours! Each to their own, but how people decide they want to just drink pint after pint of Fosters I’ll never really quite understand. All three of these beers deserve their own little comment, so from left to right.

On the left is the Passion Fruit, Mango & Peach beer from Funky Fluid’s Gelato range. Funky Fluid are perhaps my favourite European brewery and it’s a beautiful reminder of Poland and I’m going to have to find time to sneak in another visit this year and I’m debating whether I can be trusted to go to the Warsaw Beer Festival in October as that would work…. But I digress. The beer was consistent with other beers in their Gelato range, it was smooth, rich, fruity and had a suitably sour kick to it. The peach was the most obvious flavour, but all three of the ingredients were notably there.

In the middle is the Raspberry Blueberry Bubblegum Bottles from Vault City. They had a tap takeover at the Brewery Tap last week which I only realised too late, so I was a little disappointed to have missed out. Fortunately, I caught the tail end of a similar project at this bar, so I was able to try this fun little number which was like a fizzy sweet with a bubblegum flavour. Sour, playful and drinkable, there’s something exciting about having a blue beer, it plays to the inner child and all that.

On the right is the Maple Vanilla Choc Chip Scoop Imperial Stout from Vault City, a full bodied, decadent, rich and complex beer with lingering flavours of chocolate. It’s quite something to be able to make a beer where after one sip there are the equivalent aftertastes of eating an actual chocolate pudding. Outstanding, interesting and a reminder of just how good Vault City are.

Thank you to my friend Hayley for taking me to the bar on the first night, so enjoyable was it that I decided to encourage Richard to experience it on the second night so that he could forget his little incident of falling into a bog during the day. I wasn’t disappointed here either, I went for the Even Cloudier DDH Hard Lemonade from Vault City, which was smooth and packed with lemon flavour without a sharp aftertaste. Then I went for the Divine Coffee Intervention from Brew York, full of coconut sweetness although not quite as full bodied as the Maple Vanilla from the previous evening although the ABV is much lower.

Bars such as this are the future, the cafe bar approach which offers a range of quality and frequently changing beers and other drinks. It doesn’t do food other than bar snacks, but there are plenty of nearby options for those who so desire a meal. It’s rare for me to want to go twice to the same venue when so time limited, but this one deserved it and I’m delighted that it’s in the Good Beer Guide.

August 29, 2023
Smuggler’s Trod 2023 – LDWA Challenge Event

What better way to spend an August Bank Holiday Saturday than by going on an LDWA challenge walk?

Hayley and I were fortunate that our B&B owner kindly got up early to make us a quick breakfast and Simon and Jane picked us up after having a night at their luxury hotel and we set off on our adventure. The breakfast ensured that Hayley and I were fuelled for the day with an air of excitement to the whole arrangement. This is the third time that I’ve entered the LDWA’s Smuggler’s Trod 26 mile challenge event operated by Yorkshire Coast group, this time I would again be walking with Hayley, Jane and Simon. Richard was also at the event, but he was taking part in the shorter 17 mile version of the walk as he was keen to have a drama free event and an easy completion for his first challenge event. Richard parked around one mile away in the free car park, whilst Simon swept into the car park at the hall itself where the walk started.

Here we are, Jane, Hayley, Simon and myself, all ready for the off.

There are many reasons why this is one of my favourite challenge events, but the views right from the start are one of them. The walk starts up something of a steep hill, not something that I’m particularly used to in flat and steady Norfolk.

There’s a fair amount of walking over the moors, but we were fortunate with the weather which wasn’t too hot and there was plenty of breeze from the North Sea.

Snaking (and I’m pleased to say that I didn’t see any of the snakes that are running wild and unsupervised across this area) through the heather just before the split of the short and long walks. We hadn’t seen Richard on the walk as he decided to take it leisurely to ensure that there were no disasters on his expedition.

This is a tremendous walk, such a change of scenery for me compared to Norfolk.

This event is organised by the LDWA’s Yorkshire Coast and they had plenty of checkpoints and always friendly and supportive volunteers. We were wondering at this point at how Richard was getting on as he was walking alone, but we were confident that he was gliding through taking it leisurely. I was fortunate enough to have Simon and his technology guiding me around the event, saving me from doing the navigation.

There are many sections of the walk that I remember from previous events, not least this walk through the ferns.

We battled through, although Jane had a little falling incident here.

Our first checkpoint and I was delighted to see Yum Yums available at the event once again.

Shortly after this Hayley had a little incident and Jane dropped her cake, both disasters in their different ways. To cut a long story short, after some more walking and some debate, Simon and I then went on together to storm through the event because you can’t hold natural athletes such as us back.

This cave is rumoured to have been cut out by George Chubb in 1790, although I’m not entirely sure that I believe this local legend.

A boardwalk through the forested area with a drop down to the river on the left. This was on the long route only, so I was pleased that Richard didn’t need to concern himself with falling down and having an incident. We once again wondered how he was getting on with his short route walk whilst we were enjoying the variety of terrains that we were walking through.

This is new since I last walked the event in 2019.

Fortunately, no flooding at the moment.

The second checkpoint where I stocked up on jelly babies.

And flapjack. I also remembered there’s a substantial hill after this, something that I considered sub-optimal to say the least.

We reached the top and were treated to some more fine views across the moors.

Before we knew it, we had reached the next checkpoint which was operated by the formidable East Yorkshire LDWA.

We also had some rain for around fifteen minutes, which I rather enjoyed as it cooled matters down somewhat and it didn’t look like it would settle in for long.

Simon and I marched off through the trees and somewhere around here the short and long routes rejoined. Richard, who was walking nine miles less, seemed to be making good progress as I could see his location on Friend Finder. It was evident at this point that unless he walked very slowly, we wouldn’t catch him up.

There was some debate here about which way to go across the moors, but between us and despite me, we found the way to go.

There were now limited other entrants in view.

We safely reached the third checkpoint and it reminded me that last time I reached here in 2019 it was a hot day and I was delighted to restock on water. This is the campsite checkpoint and the more substantial along the route in terms of food and drink.

I was pleased that there was plenty of cheese for me to work my way through.

As well as jaffa cakes, sandwiches and more jelly babies. Could I just mention that this event costs just £15 to enter and I feel that I get my money’s worth just from the food and drink which is provided. For those on the long route, there was a checkpoint on average every 3.8 miles or so.

A small river crossing and I took great care here to prevent slipping in. I mentioned to Simon that I couldn’t see any evidence of Richard falling in, so we were confident that he had been safely getting himself around.

There was a stretch where it had been hot and a little unpleasant, but soon enough we were back by the coast. Then something exciting happened, I realised Richard was just 35 minutes ahead of us and there was potential that we could catch him. Simon and I discussed matters and the race was definitely on.

There’s just one blurry photo of a railway bridge as we had just over two miles along a former railway line into Robin Hood’s Bay. There are no more photos as Simon and I decided to up the pace to well over four miles an hour, plus just a little running, to try and catch Richard up. We saw the distance falling, 25 minutes, 20 minutes, 15 minutes, 10 minutes and we wondered whether we could even dream of overtaking him. It’s not a race of course, but it is under circumstances such as this.

Unfortunately, despite even more running, we just ran out of distance to catch Richard up. It transpired that he come in just three minutes before us, a gap which haunted Simon and I as we could have caught him. We sat and talked about our events for an hour or so, whilst I gorged on beef stew, a dessert of rice pudding and then more Yum Yums and cakes. The event had been impeccably run, Yorkshire Coast once again did themselves proud.

I won’t upload the photo (although it’s available on request of course!), but we discovered when we got back that Richard had been on one hell of an adventure. He had run out of energy after six miles and then whilst using his pole to navigate a route through the moors he snapped it and then slid straight into a bog. Up to his waist in the bog, he freed himself using his elbows and then soon enough the sweepers supporting the event found him trudging along in a dazed state. Worried he might jump in another bog, they then walked him to the end of the event, waiting patiently whilst he stood at the checkpoints charging himself back up on food and drink.

Next year, Simon and I are going for 26 miles in under 8 hours as we can’t let Richard get in before us, even though he was only walking 17 miles. I had a marvellous time and I didn’t want this event to come to an end, definitely one of my favourite challenge event from all those that I’ve walked. I was also honoured to be at an event where a muddy and wet entrant was walked around nearly the entire event by sweepers, I’ve never heard of that before. Congratulations to Richard for finishing in such trying circumstances! And also of course thanks to Simon, Jane and Hayley for walking with me, especially Simon for be willing to run bits towards the end as we rushed to catch up with Richard.

August 28, 2023