Quatloos!

What you don't realise is that Burnaby is connected. Probably a high ranking mason. I wasn't allowed to take photos of the Queen who stopped by to pay her respects and have a pint with the great man.

Not being an East Enders fan I didn't realise who Derek was. The constant stream of people asking to have their photo taken with him gave me a clue that there might be something going on. What a great bloke, none of the arrogance I've seen in some celebs. Proper East Ender and great to chat to.

So did you go to Albert Square and have a drink at the Queen Vic?

Just returning from London, and in honor of Burnaby49, I went to both Blackfriars and Ye Olde Watling with an old mate of mine, and had at least one, to possibly three nice pints at both. I seem recall Blackfriars as one on his list, and I am sure the other either was this time as it's in close vicinity, or may have been hit another trip. Either way, nice pubs, nice drinks, nice time. Now just waiting for Burnaby49's recap, which I hope is just as good, and as detailed as his typical courtroom posts, prehaps even including some photos.

A pleasure having a pint with you today Burnaby.
Hope that bladder problem improves !

SteveUK wrote:A pleasure having a pint with you today Burnaby.
Hope that bladder problem improves !

remediation by saturation!

So that's it? After all my efforts to arrange this historic summit the topic of conversation is how much I piss? That was a ten pint day. I wasn't drunk at the end of the day of course; British beer has about as much alcoholic content as their tea, but I'd downed five of those pints even before I arrived at the Water Rats and the Burnaby bladder was working overtime to keep the flow-through process moving. When that young punk YiamCross gets to my venerable age we'll see how he handles a ten pint day. He was looking a tad shaky when we parted at closing time.

Just home an hour ago. I'll post the full saga later along with some pictures. At the moment just the bare stats. We had a beer (mostly half pints) at 296 different pubs, 270 of which were entirely new to us. We drove almost 3,000 miles, from St. Agnes at the tip of Cornwall to Inverness and many, many points in between. I'll post shots of Burnaby49 hoisting a pint at the Elwes Arms and contemplating the sad ruins of Castle Crawford. And the first food photo I've ever taken. The best Sticky Toffee pudding I've ever had (and I'm a big fan) at the Warren House in Dartmoor. Some great ales and a lot of great pubs.

Hope you had a great trip, Burnaby. I would've liked to have bought you a pint whilst you were here, but circumstances have constrained me somewhat in recent months. Looking forward to those case reports.

I love Sticky Toffee Pudding, ever since I was introduced to it at an old hunting lodge on the River Dee in Scotland. It is very hard to locate a decent version of it here in the States.

The Observer wrote:I love Sticky Toffee Pudding, ever since I was introduced to it at an old hunting lodge on the River Dee in Scotland. It is very hard to locate a decent version of it here in the States.

I scour restaurants and pubs for it evertime I go and the version served at the Warren House Inn in Dartmoor is by far the best I've ever had. Made on premises by a long-serving cook. I had it by chance in 2013 passing by (an isolated pub out on the moor) and we went considerably out of our way this trip to go back for a second crack at it. I'd planned to have two helpings but it was so filling I could only manage one. Pictured below, my only food shot ever. That white blob isn't ice cream, it is Devon clotted cream, basically one step away from butter.

If you ever get the chance ... there's some great pubs in upper Weardale (County Durham) and the Allen Valleys (Northumberland). The Allenheads Inn is a must for good food and great real ales - http://www.allenheadsinn.co.uk while the Cowshill Hotel is renowned for great food - http://weardale.uk/cowshill-hotel/

If you can find a pub selling Allendale Beers they're definitely worth a try too http://www.allendalebrewery.com (they're often sold in The Crown in Catton - http://www.crownincatton.co.uk and many branches of Wetherspoons have them on during beer festivals )

katiHWB wrote:If you ever get the chance ... there's some great pubs in upper Weardale (County Durham) and the Allen Valleys (Northumberland). The Allenheads Inn is a must for good food and great real ales - http://www.allenheadsinn.co.uk while the Cowshill Hotel is renowned for great food - http://weardale.uk/cowshill-hotel/

If you can find a pub selling Allendale Beers they're definitely worth a try too http://www.allendalebrewery.com (they're often sold in The Crown in Catton - http://www.crownincatton.co.uk and many branches of Wetherspoons have them on during beer festivals )

Spent a night in Durham, wish I'd spent two. Can't recall if I saw any Allendale ales. We generally had whatever was most local (cask doesn't travel well and we like local beers) so we may well have had it.

Burnaby49 wrote:Spent a night in Durham, wish I'd spent two. Can't recall if I saw any Allendale ales. We generally had whatever was most local (cask doesn't travel well and we like local beers) so we may well have had it.

Did you go to The Swan and Three Cygnets down by the river while you were there?? A great pub with a terrace overlooking the Wear (altho' it's Sam Smiths owned so doesn't do other beers )

katiHWB wrote:

Burnaby49 wrote:Spent a night in Durham, wish I'd spent two. Can't recall if I saw any Allendale ales. We generally had whatever was most local (cask doesn't travel well and we like local beers) so we may well have had it.

Did you go to The Swan and Three Cygnets down by the river while you were there?? A great pub with a terrace overlooking the Wear (altho' it's Sam Smiths owned so doesn't do other beers )

The Durham pubs we had a beer at were;

Market Tavern
Dun Cow
Swan and Three Cygnets
The Victoria Hotel
The Fighting Cocks
The Head of Steam
Colpitts Hotel

Sounds more like the headliners at an adult film festival.

Post the picture of George IV, so I can repost my comments here for a wider audience!


Seriously, thanks for bringing back some fond memories for me.


Well, I should think they would be fond memories, but honestly, I was too drunk to remember.

Gregg wrote:Post the picture of George IV, so I can repost my comments here for a wider audience!


Seriously, thanks for bringing back some fond memories for me.


Well, I should think they would be fond memories, but honestly, I was too drunk to remember.

There you go;

I know that Pub!
I've been thrown out of that pub for jumping on a chair and shouting "Live from Red Square!" You had to be there.
I once aspired to be as profligate a drunkard as the namesake of that pub! See above.
I earned my MS in Economics there, and occasionally dropped by the school on the sign, too.

Gregg wrote:Post the picture of George IV, so I can repost my comments here for a wider audience!

George IV was a wider audience all by himself.

It was a fitting moniker for a good bar. It had all he finest of everything but still came off as just a slight over-decadent. Not quite "Trump does an English pub, capacity 2,000" but more like someone trying to impress you with not only how much money they had but also how good their taste was. George IV didn't have nearly as money as he thought, and he didn't have any taste that people who copied the "Elvis Slip-Cover" look couldn't keep up with.


Fortunately, someone with just a bit of english understatement got the keys and its as nice as any private club in London.

A little quizz for you all. Why is this building significant?





It is a wreck waiting for demo falling apart in a passageway in Glasgow. Not just boarded up but barricaded because it is a safety hazard. It reeks an old derelict building smell for about fifty feet around it. Signs on the windows say its last use was as the Mitre bar. Must have been a shithole.

Yet I'd flagged it as a must-see goal before I left Canada and made the effort to find it. It has absolutely no personal connection to me whatever. No family connection or old drinking haunt.

So what is its significance?