Ale & Hearty - Spring 2012 edition by Nev Grundy

SOUTHPORT & WEST LANCS CAMRA MAGAZINE

Ale & Hearty F ISSUE 61 SPRING 2012

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ORMSKIRK’S AWARD-WINNING FARMERS CLUB ❖ Hesketh Bank bids farewell to Becconsall Hotel ❖ ❖ Real ale, real music, real dancing! ❖ Beer festivals ❖ ❖ Local pub news ❖ Thwaites Brewery ❖ ❖ Social trips & meetings ❖ Country pubs ❖ Beer Festivals ❖

www.southportcamra.org.uk

alehearty@aol.com

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MESSAGE FROM THE EDITOR You may have noticed that Ale & Hearty has not appeared for some time, for which I’d like to apologise. The number of people who have asked me when the new issue is coming out has made it clear me how many people like our little magazine, and that is very encouraging. The last issue was in fact the Spring issue for 2011, although owing to a typographical error it had Autumn 2011 on the cover, which caused no end of confusion. The Summer issue had to be abandoned when our tireless advertising manager Fred Harris was ill for several months. As a result, no adverts were collected, and as we have no income other than adverts, the magazine could not be produced. When he was well again, Fred began collecting adverts for the Winter edition. Unfortunately at the last minute, two promised adverts fell through and we had insufficient finds to pay for that issue. So my apologies for all that. As well as being glad that Fred is fighting fit again, I’d like to thank him for all his hard work for Ale & Hearty over several years. One important lesson from this is how much Ale & Hearty owes to our advertisers. In fact, we owe them everything because, as the account above shows, without them we can’t be published. It’s not just money that our advertisers bring to the magazine. The average Ale & Hearty reader is a beer drinker, and nearly all our adverts are about pubs, beer and related matters. So, unlike most magazines and newspapers, the adverts match very closely the interests of our readership. They deserve your patronage, not just as a thank you for their backing, but because you will benefit from and enjoy what they are offering. We know the adverts are accurate and honest (we would ask for them to be amended if they weren’t), so you can support them with confidence. The current plan for Ale & Hearty is to issue it three times a year: the Spring issue in March, Summer in July, and Winter in November. We print 4500 copies and we believe every

issue is read by at least three people, as most people leave the magazine behind in the pub for others to read. That gives a readership of at least 13,500, which is a lot of drinkers in this area. If you think you might want to advertise with us, just get in touch – contact details elsewhere in the magazine. It’s my hope that the magazine is now on more stable grounds, although with the recession, pubs are feeling the pinch. Added to that is that nowadays certain pubs occasionally go through phases of having a dizzying succession of licensees, and until a licensee is confident that they are going to be in place for a good while, they aren’t going to pay for an advert that they may not personally benefit from. This is quite understandable. No doubt the 2012 Budget will continue to increase duty on beer at above inflation, as it has for several years now. Everyone I know is getting either no pay increases at all or below inflation rises: above inflation duty increases are therefore a double whammy. Politicians like to say how they support the pub while imposing taxes that force many into closure. But I expect that if you’re multimillionaire on a minister’s salary (approximately £135,000 plus expenses), £3, £4 or even £5 a pint doesn’t seem that dear. But pubs are our places. Rich people may have their expensive clubs, but ordinary folk have pubs where they can go for an enjoyable drink, whether real ale or not, company if they want it, or a corner to read the paper over a pint if they don’t. Pubs thus often become hubs of the community. We have quite a few community pubs in our area. As the weather begins to improve, you might want to visit one of our many great country pubs, and we have an article about them too. We’re glad to be back. Happy reading – and happy drinking. Neville Grundy

CAMRA SOUTHPORT BRANCH DIARY 2012 DATE - 2012 Thu-Sat 1st-3rd March Thurs 15th March Sat 24th March Fri 30th Mar- Sun 1st April Wed 11th April Sat 28th April Wed 9th May Sat 26th May Wed 13thJune Sat 30th June Sat 7th July Wed 11th July Sat 14th July Wed 8th August Sat 25th August Wed 12th September Thurs-Sat Sept Wed 10th October Sat 27th October Wed 14th November Sat 24th November Sun 2nd December Sun 9th December Wed 12th December

VENUE Robin Park Centre, Wigan Stadium Zetland, Southport Boggart Hole Brewery, Newton Heath Riviera Centre, Torquay Conservative Club, Formby Chorley Pubs Scarisbrick Hotel, Southport Formby & Freshfield Dog & Gun, Aughton Liverpool Suburban Pubs Daniel Thwaite’s Brewery, Blackburn Hop Vine, Burscough Bolton Pubs Farmers Arms, Burscough Blackpool/Fylde Pubs Scarisbrick Hotel, Southport Venue TBA Bold Arms, Churchtown Chester or Warrington Pubs Freshfield Hotel, Formby Westhead/Ormskirk Liverpool Pubs Richmond, Kew Guest House, Southport

PURPOSE Wigan Beer Festival Open Branch Helpers’ Social by coach CAMRA Members’ Weekend Open Branch Branch Social Bus/Train Open Branch Branch Social Bus/Train Open Branch Branch Social Train/Bus Lancashire Branches Open Branch Branch Social Train Open Branch Branch Social Bus/Train Open Branch 13th Sandgrounder Beerfest Open Branch Branch Social Train Open Branch Branch Social 375 Bus Branch Xmas Social Train Branch Social & Buffet Open Branch

LETTER TO THE EDITOR Mike and Julie McComb of the Hop Vine, Burscough, fully deserve the plaudits for winning the Southport and District CAMRA’s West Lancashire Pub of the Year award for the magnificent job they have done in turning the pub around in such a short space of time. The wonderful staff also deserve a mention for the pleasant, efficient and polite way you are served either by the attractive bar staff or food waitresses; no surly, scruffy, obnoxious individuals here – just a warm welcome and a fond farewell.

Not forgetting those behind the scenes who provide the excellent food and keep the place spotless, which makes a visit to the Hop Vine always enjoyable. If you have not been yet, you don’t know what you are missing; check it out sometime. Jeff Carter Southport, Lancashire Editor’s note: not forgetting the brewery in the outhouses to the rear of the pub.

PUB IN A BOX We often hear tales of youths without any bladder control using our traditional red phone boxes as public toilets (confirmed by the smell the last time I entered one), but I think this idea is much better: a village in Cambridgeshire converted their old phone box into a pub just for one night to have few drinks and a get-together 4

the night before their village fête, calling it the Dog and Bone. Their old village pub, which had been popular with aircrew during the Second World War, had been sold - despite local opposition - for conversion into a house. Did they set up a smoking shelter, I wonder?

PUB NEWS The Arion pub in Kenilworth Road, Ainsdale, Southport, re-opened in August after an 18 months closure. The pub has been smartly refurbished, with a pleasant outside area. It is under the stewardship of Jacki and Andy Phillips. They have a good food menu, including home cooked dishes, and before Christmas had Marston EPA and Old Speckled Hen on tap. The beers were in good condition and the new licensees are keen to push real ale.

The Dolphin Inn, Longton. I received this welcome message: “Just read the Autumn 11 issue and was horrified by your comments on the closure of The Dolphin Inn, Longton - it is still very much alive and well! We need to give positive press to encourage custom to this fantastic pub. The proprietor has got planning permission to convert to dwellings but this is a last resort - if people will carry on drinking the pub will stay open.” Sorry about the misleading information.

The Eureka pub in Ormskirk also reopened in August. The licensees told me, “We intend to be famous for our range and quality of fantastic local and national real ales; we will also be regularly having live music and great food. We are passionate about these things and want this pub to thrive once again.” The pub is on 78 Halsall Lane, Ormskirk, close to the A59/A570 junction. The Eureka is a longstanding real ale pub, well worth a visit when you’re in the area.

The Thatched Pub and Grill (formerly The Carvery and before that the Thatch and Thistle) in Southport was selling Greene King IPA on a recent visit. They have removed the carvery, hence the name change.

The Crying Tree (formerly The Cockbeck, and until the 1960s, the Railway) in Aughton opened at the end of August. On a recent visit, there were two hand pumps serving Bombardier only. The Packet House (old Waterfront) in Burscough opened in October serving Marstons and Jennings, as in the Bold Hotel who owns it. The Wellington in Eastbank St. has reopened with a promise of cask beer, but none has been seen there yet. The Wellington was at one time a Festival Ale House serving a selection of well-kept beers. The Withy Arms, Bamber Bridge: slightly old news now, but I received this message, “The Top House in Bamber Bridge near Preston is now a Free House, will now be called the Withy Arms. We will be stocking four cask ales which will be changing constantly, we will also be using local breweries.” Moyra Wilson, General Manager - Withy Arms.

The Slipway, Burscough, one of several fine canal side pubs in our area, served Thwaites Original and Bomber on a recent visit. The Blue Mallard in Burscough Wharf: this is a restaurant in a recent development and serves a changing real ale. At the time we visited it was serving Lancaster Blonde. The Red Lion in Burscough was serving Black Sheep Bitter. The Park Golf Club, Park Road West, Southport serves Thwaites Wainwright at weekends. It is a members club, but the bar is open to anyone attending the Bothy Folk Club on Sunday evenings. The Park Hotel, Birkdale was recently refurbished with no major changes and still serving real ales.

MIKE’S PUB NEWS Willow Grove, Southport in December had the regular Greene King beers on offer, plus Springhead Rudolph’s Ruin, Palm Belgian Biere de Nöel and Caledonian Santa’s Little Helper. Some nice dark Christmas beers! Nearer to Christmas one of the guests had changed to Daleside Christmas Cracker. An interesting beer in the New Year was Shepherd Neame Bishop’s Finger. Continued on page 6

MIKE’S PUB NEWS Cont’d from page 5 At a Branch Meeting at the Freshfield Hotel in Formby a long list of beers included 5 Greene King beers, plus Titanic Iceberg and Steerage, RCH PG Steam Bitter, Abbeydale Deception and Westons Country Cider. The planned closure of this pub for refurbishing has been postponed until June 2012, pending further discussions. Christmas Eve again found me in the Freshfield Hotel, which always has an extensive selection. These included Greene King regulars, plus York Centurion’s Ghost Ale, Pontypridd Otley 01, Bateman Miss Lapland, Titanic Black Ice, RCH Pitchfork, Everard Tiger, Tolly Cobbold Old English Ale and Weston’s Trad Scrumpy Cider. The Railway Tavern at Hoscar had Thwaites Wainwright and Greene King IPA – this off the track pub needs more visits and the licensee is eager to support real ale drinking. The Ring O’ Bells at Lathom has also reopened after a long closure and has a very good range of beers available: Thwaites Original, Nutty Black and Wainwright, also Southport Carousel, Prospect Whatever and Liverpool Organic Higson’s Bitter. The pub has been tastefully renovated, and is well worth a visit. Guest House in Southport, always popular and had the regular beers on view, also guests were Southport Cyclone, York Humbug, Cains Christmas Ale, Oakwell Mild, St Austell Tribute and Phoenix Navvy in mid December. A few days later the guests had changed to Southport Golden Sands, Three Bs Bobbins Bitter, Cross Bay Dusk, Shepherd Neame Rudolph’s Reward, Holts Maple Moon, Jennings Red Breast and Caledonian Double Dark. The Railway in Ormskirk was very busy and had a Christmas beer on offer on 17th December, after we had performed a “Santa Claus Train” to Preston and back. This was 6

Hardy & Hansons Rocking Rudolph. On the same day a pub check in Birkdale revealed that sadly no real ale was available at the Portland Hotel, Up Steps and the Blundell Arms. The Crown Hotel, however, had some nice Jennings Cumberland Ale, Marston EPA and Wainwright on offer. The Rabbit Inn, Southport had no real on offer in December. The nearby Mount Pleasant serves only Tetley’s Bitter, but it is usually in good condition. The Zetland Hotel, not far away, had Jennings Cumberland Ale and Wychwood Bah Humbug (a nice dark seasonal beer) on the pumps. Just before Christmas the Inn Beer Shop on Lord Street had a local Christmas beer on offer, Southport Santa’s Brew, plus its usual range of magnificent foreign beers. The adjacent Bold Hotel had Banks’s Mild, Pedigree and Hobgoblin at the bar. On 23rd December the Barons Bar had the usual Regulars plus Moorhouse Lap Prancer, Lancaster Red, Idle Eyes, Liverpool Organic 24 Carat, Vale Red Kite and George Wright Three French Hens. All at a great price of £1.90 per pint, which I think still pertains into February. I traditionally visit the Barons Bar on Christmas Day lunchtime, and this time new beers now included Corby Blonde, George Wright Drunken Duck and Five Gold Rings. Again here on New Year’s Eve afternoon guest beers were Lancaster Blonde, Moles Tap, Moorhouse Black Cat, Lap Prancer and Blond Witch. The Park Hotel in Birkdale offers reasonable meals, and taking advantage of this I tried out their Pedigree and Bombardier just after Christmas. A family get-together saw us in the Fiveways, Ormskirk prior to the New Year where available were Morlands and Youngs Special (at £3 per pint). The same day, after the family farewells, saw a pub check at the Kicking Donkey (Tetley Bitter and Bombardier); Continued on page 9

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MIKE’S PUB NEWS... Cont’d from page 6 Heatons Bridge Inn (Moorhouse Black Cat, Tetley Heatons Bridge Special, Wychwood Hobgoblin and Bateman Rosey Nosey) a good selection now here! Morris Dancers (Marston Pedigree and Cumberland Ale); and Master McGraths (Wells Bombardier). My final pub visit in 2011 was the Sir Henry Segrave on 31st December where the guest beer range included Lancaster Blonde, Beartown Bearly Literate, Arundel Stronghold, Lancaster Redder and Broad Oak Medium Perry. Happy New Year! Falstaff, Southport had Theakston Lightfoot on 3rd January and the Barons Bar had George Wright Pipe Dream, Lancaster Blonde, Vale Best Bitter and Moles Tap, in addition to the regulars. Four days later there was Carousel, Moles Moe ˙l Moe ˙l, George Wright Blonde Moment and Fyne Ales Jarl available. The January Branch Meeting in the London Hotel, Southport saw the usual and excellently priced Oakwell Mild and Barnsley Bitter on offer. The branch operated a Christmas trip by train to Birkenhead on 4th December, and visited some interesting pubs, starting in Gallagher’s Pub and Barber Shop. Regular Brimstage beers are sold here, Trapper’s Hat on our visit, also Hawkshead NZPA, Summer Wine Gambit and Zenith, Moorhouse Black Cat, Ossett Silver King and a Gwatkin Farmhouse Perry. A very interesting selection and all in good nick! The Stork Hotel, an impressively ornately panelled building with silver etched glass,

was our next stop and was very busy with diners. Beers included Landlord, Titanic First Class, Robinson Black Beauty, Northern Flaming Embers, and Box Steam Golden Bolt, those tried were very good. The Brass Balance (a Wetherspoons) was also very busy – reasonably priced beers from Greene King, plus Jennings Sneck Lifter, Phoenix Wobbly Bob (watch this one!), local Peerless Jack Frost Blond, Wainwright, Hobgoblin and Titanic Stuff It. (Due “soon” were Peerless Winter Wallop and Coach House Xmas Pud). Very Good! Retracing our steps we arrived at the River View, which does boast a magnificent view of the River Mersey and Liverpool’s cathedral scene. Only Shepherd Neame Spitfire on here, but very drinkable. Walking along a nearby side street we arrived at the Swinging Arm, at which there was standing room only and a raucous but very good live rock ‘n’ roll band were in evidence, and they performed a steaming rocker from Little Richard – Slippin’ and a Slidin’ I think – long time since I heard that. Beers were Landlord, Bombardier and Hobgoblin, all selling very well. We revisited Gallaghers on our return home, but no beer changes. An outstanding feature of our trip, well organised by Derek Tasker, was a vintage tram ride from Woodside to the Transport Museum, where we were shown around by its supporters. A Christmas luncheon function in Liverpool produced some well-conditioned Adnams Gunhill and Warwickshire Rugby at Liverpool Cricket Club in Aigburth.

ALE & HEARTY PUBLICATION TEAM EDITOR: Neville Grundy Tel: 01704 532230 E-mail: alehearty@aol.com ADVERTISING & DISTRIBUTION: Fred Harris Tel: 01704 222987 E-mail: fcaich@btinternet.com FINANCE: Doug Macadam Tel: 07714 265096 E-mail: dougmacadam@hotmail.com BRANCH CONTACT: Mike Perkins Tel: 01704 573768 E-mail: mikepcamra@gmail.com All items for inclusion to Editor at 1 Melling Road, Southport PR9 9DU or E-mail to alehearty@aol.com

FAREWELL TO THE BECCONSALL HOTEL Southport and District CAMRA has supported the campaign to save the Becconsall pub in Hesketh Bank, as reported in previous issues of Ale & Hearty. Unfortunately, as time passed the building deteriorated beyond economic repair and planning permission was granted to demolish it for housing.

plans as shown and made available to all the community early in 2011. These plans were passed by the planning committee later last year. Rather than sell out to Nationals, Hollins want to work with local reputable builders. They have partnered with Rowlands of Chorley.

Although the Save The Bec Action Team couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t save the pub, they were able to influence the proposed development so that it better meets the needs of the village. Una McBride, whose parents ran the pub in its heyday, sent this message just as we were going to print:

Unfortunately, there has been an error on the part of Rowlands the builders in communicating with Hollins and the community as to the dates set to demolish The Becconsall. Andrew Brown of Rowlands has apologised that he did not communicate the correct dates to Hollins and to the community.

The demolition of The Becconsall Hotel, sadly, is about to start. Though we have all known for some time that The Becconsall building would be demolished, the reality is now here. It is D Day for The Bec. Given the sad state of the building, which was neglected for years, has been broken into several times now and is in a sorry state of repair, it is probably better that this happens now, we can say goodbye forever and it is over soon. The developers, Hollins Strategic Land had to wait for the last piece of paper from the planning department in order to progress their project. They got this just before Christmas and had planned to demolish in the autumn. It has now been possible for the builders to move things forward earlier than expected. Hollins Strategic Land have gone into partnership with Rowlands, a local reputable builders to complete The Becconsall project. Hollins have also been approached by big National Building companies to buy the site and develop it. They have refused. Hollins want to honour their commitment to the Hesketh Bank community, via the Save The Bec Campaign, to deliver a quality development of housing, which also meets some local social needs, pays respect to The Bec architecture and delivers their 10

It is as it is. At present, there is a team of demolition men employed by Rowlands Builders of Chorley who have now started to rip out the once beautiful solid oak interior of The Bec. Even the demolition man was impressed by the quality of the oak bar. This interior removal will continue this week with the building demolition to follow. The demolition people will give me a schedule for the ongoing stages of what to expect tomorrow and I will update you when I have this information. I have not been able to stop thinking about my Dad today. I am so glad that he is not alive to witness this destruction and that my Mum is not sitting here now watching this happen either. It is the end of an era for this village and a very sad end to The Becconsall Hotel. This once beautiful building was the beating heart of Hesketh Bank and it is the building the village grew up around. It has hosted a lifetime of so many happy memories for so many local people and beyond. Nothing can demolish our happy memories. Time to move on ... We wish you all well. Cheers! And... very sad, Mrs Mc, Sean, Beryl, Ă&#x161;na and Save The Bec Action Team.

A SELECTION OF LOCAL BEER FESTIVALS Ship & Mitre Belgian Beer Festival. 21 - 25 March. Ship & Mitre, Dale Street, Liverpool. Waterloo Beer Festival. 22 - 25 March. Old Christ Church, Waterloo Road, Waterloo, L22 1RE. Ship & Mitre Real Ale Festival. 11 - 15 April. Ship & Mitre, Dale Street, Liverpool.

The Middle Earth Beer Festival. 12 - 15 April. The Memorial Hall, Avenue Road, Hurst Green, Lancs, BB7 9QB. * 24th Oldham Beer Festival. 27 - 28 April. Queen Elizabeth Hall, Civic Centre, West Street, Oldham, OL1 1UT. * = CAMRA festivals

* 1st Real Ale of Man Beer Festival. 12 -14 April. The Masonic Hall, Woodbourne Road, Douglas, IM2 3EE.

HOW TO SCORE IN SOUTHPORT & DISTRICT No, not drugs! Or women (behave yourself Derek!) Or men (though any women interested in bearded, beer-bellied, sandalwearing men should consider our branch meetings). Have you ever wondered how we select pubs for the Good Beer Guide? The National Beer Scoring Scheme (NBSS) is a 0-5 point scale for judging beer quality in pubs. Scores are awarded according to the following scheme (half-points are also acceptable): 0. Undrinkable. No cask ale available or so poor you have to take it back or can't finish it.

4. Very Good. Excellent beer in excellent condition. 5. Perfect. Probably the best beer you are ever likely to find. A seasoned drinker will award this score very rarely. If you are a CAMRA member (from any branch), please tell us what you think of the beer quality in Southport & District pubs. Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re particularly interested in scores from the Tarleton/Mere Brow/Rufford areas and the Aughton/Town Green/Halsall/Haskayne areas. You will need to record:

1. Poor. Beer that is anything from barely drinkable to drinkable with considerable resentment.

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2. Average. Competently kept, drinkable pint but doesn't inspire in any way, not worth moving to another pub but you drink the beer without really noticing.

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3. Good. Good beer in good form. You may cancel plans to move to the next pub. You want to stay for another pint and may seek out the beer again.

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To submit your scores please visit www.beerscoring.org.uk. Simon Finch, Pubs Officer, Southport & District CAMRA 11

TRY OUR LOCAL COUNTRY PUBS Southport and District CAMRA covers most of West Lancs as well as Southport and Formby. The problem is that many of the West Lancs pubs are difficult or, in a couple of cases, impossible to reach by public transport. So we occasionally take a coach out to visit them, enjoy their beers and - to ensure they are not disadvantaged - score them for the Good Beer Guide. This is what we did on 11 January and 12 February. I didn’t try all the beers, for obvious reasons. Please remember that the beers on sale may be different on subsequent visits 11 January trip 1. The Kings Arms, Haskayne: this pub is close, but not next, to the Leeds-Liverpool canal. It has some nice woodwork and attractive fireplaces, one with a real fire when we were there. It is slightly run down but is due to refurbished soon. At one time this pub sold only Tetley’s, but on our visit was serving: Black Hole Brewery Asteroid Ale, Beartown Kodiak Gold, Bank Top Sweeney’s. 2. The Ship Inn is a canal side pub just a short walk away from the King’s. It’s a very picturesque, multi-roomed pub with canal side seating (but with no fence by the canal, keep an eye on children and over-merry adults). It has live music each week: on Wednesdays the Britannia Bluegrass Band plays and on Thursdays and Fridays there are open mike nights. It also does food, and a real fire was lit. The beers were: Holts Bitter, Rudgate Jorvik Blonde, Phoenix Pale Moonlight. 3. The Royal Oak, Aughton: an attractive pub on the A59, it serves food and has an open mike night each Tuesday, and, I’m told, live bands on Saturdays. A real fire was burning while we were there. The beers were: Tetley Bitter, Great Orme Brewery Cambria. The Cambria had just gone on and had a slight haze, so they told us it wasn’t ready yet; apparently Hobgoblin had only just run 14

out. With our choice limited to Tetley’s, we tried the Cambria and despite the haze it tasted fine. 4. The Dog & Gun, Aughton: another attractive pub close to Aughton Park railway station with two separate rooms and a real fire. The beers were from the Marston’s stable and included: Ringwood Boondoggle, Jennings Bitter, Marston’s Pedigree, Banks Bitter. The Boondoggle proved most popular in our group. It’s a pity to see the cask mild had disappeared, but I gathered on a previous visit that it wasn’t selling enough. 5. The Stanley Arms, Aughton: another attractive and very busy pub, the Stanley had the greatest beer range of the pubs we visited. It was doing excellent business with meals - I had to jump out of the way of busy waitresses running past with plates of food. The beer range was good too: Tetley Bitter, Tetley Mild, Timothy Taylor Landlord, Salopian Oracle, Adnams Spiced Winter Beer, Marston’s Pedigree. 6. The Derby Arms, Aughton: this is a popular pub in the middle of fields, and has been the CAMRA branch Pub of the Year in the past. As well as food, they also have live music: a busy singaround on Wednesdays and some kind of gypsy jazz night on the first Monday of the month. There was also a real fire burning. The beers included: Haworth Steam Brewing Company Naughty Blonde, Tetley Bitter, Tetley Mild, Redemption Big Chief, Frodsham Sledgin’. 12 February trip 1. The Martin Inn, Burscough: our first port of call was almost empty when we arrived. After a year’s closure, this pub was reopened in 2010, having been refurbished in a rustic theme with a real fire that was already lit when we arrived. It is a food pub, and I noticed there were reasonably priced Sunday meals available. The beers were: Dent Aviator, Martin Inn Barney’s Brew. I don’t Cont’d on page 15

TRY OUR LOCAL COUNTRY PUBS... Cont’d from page 14 know who brews the Barney’s Brew for them, although the young barman tried to blag us that it was brewed on the premises. 2. Farmers Arms, Burscough: a pleasant canalside pub with two fires, and a couple of enormous swans just outside. Food is important here too. The beers were: Moorhouses Pride of Pendle, Black Sheep Bitter, Tetley Bitter, Tetley Mild. 3. The Hop Vine, Burscough: a pub in the heart of Burscough with a brewery attached: Burscough Brewery is in outhouses at the back. Nicely refurbished from the dump that used to be the Royal Coaching Houses, this pub is noted for its food. The beers being served were: Burscough Mere Blonde, Burscough Hop Vine, Burscough Ringtail, Phoenix Pale Moonlight, Titanic Anchor, George Wright Cheeky Pheasant, Thwaites Wainwright. 4. The Ship (Blood Tub), Lathom: this is another canalside pub with food and a real fire, and it has a lot of character. A few years ago, I arranged a social afternoon here with union friends from Manchester and Merseyside. Having extolled the delights of this canalside pub, I found on the day that the banks had burst, so my visitors could only gaze on a deep muddy ditch. The beers were: Thwaites Original, Cross Bay Dusk Ruby Bitter, Cross Bay Winter Moon, Prospect Venus Gold, Moorhouses Pendlewitches Brew, Moorhouses Ship Special. 5. The Blue Mallard, Burscough: a restaurant located at Burscough Wharf, a canalside development in the town centre. I didn’t get there on this trip, but I was told it was selling Lancaster Blonde, which was on when I called in there a few months ago. Price: £2.80 a pint, and £1.65 a half.

7. Ring O’ Bells, Lathom: this canalside pub has been nicely refurbished after a period of closure. It is also a food pub. An interesting range of beers was available: Thwaites Nutty Black, Thwaites Original, Prospect Panned Out, Liverpool Organic 24 Carat Gold, George Wright Blonde Moment. 8. Hesketh Arms, Rufford: a large food oriented pub on the main road from Ormskirk to Preston (the A59). It was serving: Moorhouses Pride of Pendle, Tetley Bitter, Jennings Cumberland, Lancaster Straw, Phoenix Pale Moonlight. 9. Cock & Bottle, Tarleton: a large exGBG pub in the centre of the village, again food-oriented. Real fire. The range was from Thwaites, and it was the dearest beer on the trip, with Wainwright at £3.15 a pint. The choice was: Thwaites Original, Thwaites Wainwright, Thwaites Nutty Black. 10. The Village Inn, Tarleton: a few minutes’ walk from the Cock & Bottle, this pub was serving food and had a real fire. A pleasant final destination for our tour. The beers: Wells Bombardier, Holts Bitter, Marston’s Pedigree. Conclusion A few years ago, you wouldn’t have got this range of beers in the West Lancs pubs, and it’s good to see how the situation has improved. But we can’t be complacent about our country pubs: the Blue Bell in Barton (close to the Kings and the Ship) has closed permanently for conversion into housing, and I’ve heard that the Scarisbrick in Downholland is to be closed and converted into a highclass restaurant. With country pubs it really is a case of use them or lose them; I hope this itinerary with its fine choice will encourage more people to visit them.

6. The Bridge, Burscough: another one I didn’t visit. It was selling: Moorhouses Pride of Pendle, Black Sheep Bitter. 15

CLASSIC PUBS OF THE UK - THE VICTORIA, GREAT HARWOOD, LANCASHIRE Being involved in the organisation of the Sandgrounder Beer Festival, I was asked by Chief Organiser Doug Macadam if I would like to help out on the Sunday before the setting up of the festival to pick up some new beer cooling equipment we had decided to borrow from CAMRA East Lancashire branch. “Where are you going for it” I asked Doug. His reply was “The Victoria in Great Harwood”. An emphatic “yes” was my simple answer, so a seat was reserved for me in the van. I had been to the Victoria just once before, on a CAMRA social from Southport when it was the last of a number of Lancashire pubs we visited on a long day. By that time, I was a little tied and rather inebriated, so this was a chance to see the pub during the daytime and in all its glory. One of only two pubs at one time listed in CAMRA’s book of National Inventory pubs of outstanding architectural interest, the Victoria is actually an Edwardian pub, having been completed in 1905, although I suspect the actual building of it may have began before 1905. Although of course many pubs may have been named the Victoria in honour of the late queen after she died in 1901. The Victoria is not easy to find. Turning off the M65 motorway, it was an achievement getting anywhere near the pub, because according to Doug’s road atlas from about 1970-something, the M65 was only half built. The junction we turned off (I think it was junction 6) did not even appear on it! Anyhow, we found the road to Rishton which continued to Great Harwood, and after asking one or two people for directions, there it was tucked in amongst terraced houses overlooking the lush Lancashire valleys. The pub was selling eight different real ales at the time of our visit, and I tried an excellent pint of Three Bs Tacklers Tipple, excellent value too at £2.20. Whilst supping my pint, 16

I had a good look around the pub, notepad and pen in hand. The Victoria features green Art Nouveau style tiling in the entrance lobby and other areas of the pub. It is a multi-roomed hostelry, with a Commercial Room, Parlour, a private meeting room at the rear and a Public Kitchen featuring a pool table and ornate wooden benches. There is a central bar and a bar parlour on the right. They simply do not make pubs like this any more. The former Outdoor Department, a familiar feature of many pubs at one time where offsales were conducted, has been converted into the toilets. And there, no word of a lie, was the sign on the ladies toilet saying “jug department”. The gentlemen’s toilet is in fact the former smoke room, so the pub reflects quite accurately the way pubs have changed over the past century. There is also an outdoor drinking area, where sadly there was once a bowling green which is still apparent but in disrepair. After another pint (I think it was from Bowland brewery) from one of many of the local microbreweries featured in the choice of beers, we had to load up the van and get on our way back to Southport, but it was not long before I paid the Victoria another visit: we had to drop off the borrowed equipment the following Sunday after a successful Southport Beer Festival and this gave me another chance to visit a superb pub. The Victoria is not to be missed and not too far to go from Southport: an absolute gem. David Williams

VISIT OUR BRANCH WEBSITE: WWW.SOUTHPORTCAMRA.ORG.UK

t i*G IJTUPSZ SFQFBUT JUTFMG * TIPVME UIJOL XF can expect the same thing again.â&#x20AC;? (Terry Venables) Groucho! t i8IP BSF ZPV HPJOH UP CFMJFWF NF PS ZPVS own eyes?â&#x20AC;? t i8F UPPL QJDUVSFT PG UIF OBUJWF HJSMT CVU they werenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t developed... â&#x20AC;Ś â&#x20AC;Ś But weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re going back next weekâ&#x20AC;Śâ&#x20AC;? Marriage Lines Daftest Beer Namesâ&#x20AC;Ś Ever! Vol Two! How about this one! â&#x20AC;&#x153;Old Engine Oilâ&#x20AC;?! This joins Cripple Dick, Dogâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Bollocks, Oil of Uley, Hairy helmet, Blow Job, Ginger Minge, Fat Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Best Bitter, No Balls, Goblin Waitress, Shaftbender, Piddle in the Snow, Love Muscle, Old Tosspot, Blanket Lifter, Splash Back, Sheepshagger, Erect Willie, Little Willie, Village Bike, Old Legover, Royal Piddle, Firemanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Chopper, Hairy Mary, Frigginâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; in the Rigginâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, Wet and Windy, Spit or Swallow, Poachers Dick, Old Slapper, Crafty Shag, Horny Ale, Golden Balls, Knocker up, Old Groyne, Deepdale Hooker, Granny Wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t Like It, Dick, Spanker, Piddle, Bucking Fastard Jockâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Trap and Sally Decker. Look out for Vol. Twelfty. Complaints to the Council t * IBWF IBE UIF DMFSL PG XPSLT EPXO PO UIF floor six times but I still have no satisfaction. t 1MFBTF TFOE B NBO XJUI UIF SJHIU UPPM UP finish the job and satisfy my wife. t * BN TUJMM IBWJOH QSPCMFNT XJUI TNPLF JO my new drawers Norm! â&#x20AC;&#x153;Howâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s it going, Norm?â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;Cut the small talk and get me a beer.â&#x20AC;? Weight Watchers â&#x20AC;&#x153;My doctor told me to stop having intimate dinners for four â&#x20AC;Ś unless there were three other people there.â&#x20AC;? Orson Welles. Sporting Classics

A man says to his wife â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Tell me something that will make me happy and sad at the same timeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. His wife replies â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve got a bigger todger than your brotherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Sporting Classics 2 t i64 1(" $PNNFOUBUPS i0OF PG UIF reasons Arnie (Arnold Palmer) is playing so well is that, before each tee shot, his wife takes out his balls and kisses them ... Oh my god!!!!! What have I just said?!!!!â&#x20AC;? t i5FE 8BMTI )PSTF 3BDJOH $PNNFOUBUPS â&#x20AC;&#x153;This is really a lovely horse. I once rode her mother.â&#x20AC;? t .FUSP 3BEJP i+VMJBO %JDLT JT FWFSZXIFSF Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s like theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve got eleven Dicks on the field.â&#x20AC;? Afterlife A couple made a deal that whoever died first would come back and inform the other of the afterlife. Their biggest fear was that there was no afterlife. After a long life, the husband was the first to go, and true to his word he made contact, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Mary. Mary.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Is that you, Fred?â&#x20AC;&#x2122; â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Yes, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve come back like we agreed.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s it like?â&#x20AC;&#x2122; â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Well, I get up in the morning, I have sex, I have breakfast, off to the golf course, I have sex, I bathe in the sun, and then I have sex twice. I have lunch, another romp around the golf course, then sex pretty much all afternoon. After supper, golf course again. Then have sex until late at night. The next day it starts again.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Oh, Fred you surely must be in heaven.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Not exactly, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m a rabbit in Suffolk.â&#x20AC;&#x2122;

t i5IF SBDFDPVSTF JT BT MFWFM BT B CJMMJBSE ball.â&#x20AC;? (John Francombe). 17

A.L. GUZZLER... Cont’d from page 17 Blotto Draw numbers

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t i$PNJOH IPNF * ESPWF JOUP UIF XSPOH driveway and collided with a tree I don’t have.”

Hmmm! A new client had just come in to see a famous lawyer. “Can you tell me how much you charge?” said the client.

t i* TBX B TMPX NPWJOH TBE GBDFE PME HFOUMFNBO as he bounced off the roof of my car.” t i* DPMMJEFE XJUI B TUBUJPOBSZ USVDL DPNJOH UIF other way” Get it off yer chest!

“Of course”, the lawyer replied, “I charge £200 to answer three questions!”

You can write to Guzzler via his e-mail address, which is But don’t forget you can always use “snail mail” via the editor – address elsewhere.

“Well that’s a bit steep, isn’t it?”

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“Yes it is”, said the lawyer, “And what’s your third question?”

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Which beer hit the headlines in early February 2012 when an MP complained about its name and pump clip? Name of beer and brewery required. Answers to editor at alehearty@aol.com. Editor’s other contact details elsewhere in magazine.

A NEW BREWERY FOR THWAITES Thwaites Brewery has announced that it intends to close its current brewery in Blackburn and build a new one locally. They say that this will allow them to move with the times, brew more efficiently and be more environmentally friendly. In a separate development, Thwaites recently installed a small 20-barrel brew house to produce speciality beers in smaller quantities. This brew house will be part of the move to the new site. Thwaites CEO Richard Bailey said: “Beer is at the heart of this business… Our premises are old and the brewery is coming to the end of its life. We recognise that we will need to invest because we want to continue great beers – both old and new… Our 18

future in brewing is bright, and the move and investment in these new breweries will secure it.” In recent years Thwaites has risen to the challenge thrown down to regional breweries by the varied styles of beer produced by microbrewers by expanding its range and introducing seasonal and speciality beers such as its monthly Signature Beers and Quarterly Favourites. The golden beer Wainwright seems a particular success, and can be seen all over the place. The new breweries seem to be a continuation of that process; if you like Thwaites beers, I don’t think you need to be worried by this announcement.

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COVER STORY: FARMERS CLUB AWARDS In July last year, Southport & District CAMRA branch caught the bus to Ormskirk to present the Lancashire Pub of the Year award to the Farmers Club in Burscough Street. This unusual colonnaded building was built in 1830 as a dispensary, and operated as such until the opening of the local cottage hospital. It became the Farmers Club in 1898, so the club has quite a history. When we arrived, we noticed that the A-board was already proudly proclaiming the club’s new status. The front doors open into a foyer that houses a fullsize snooker table and has a raised glass ceiling, with the bar to the left and a seating area with dartboard to the right. It is an in interesting place, which I’d never heard of previously, even though I lived near Ormskirk for a few years. Our chair, Ian Garner, presented Elaine Gore, the Club Manager for more than 20 years, with her award, and complimented the club for having such an individual building and for serving real ale. The beers that were on were Tetley Bitter and a changing guest, which happened to be a Tetley seasonal, Midsummer Madness - both were well kept. On Saturday 5 November, CAMRA were there again to make an award to Elaine, because

the club has been named as West Pennines Region of CAMRA’s Club of the Year for 2011, voted by the region’s members from Lancashire, Cumbria and the Isle of Man and now goes into the national competition in up to 15 other regions for CAMRA UK Club of the Year, to be judged later in the year. The beers on offer at this presentation were Tetley Cask Bitter and Holdens Golden Glow, both in excellent condition and only £2.40 per pint This is a tremendous achievement and the local CAMRA branch is very proud to have such an award-winning club in our area. Ale & Hearty is happy to add its congratulations. The photograph the licensee Elaine Gore being presented with the award on 5 November 2011 for West Pennines CAMRA Region Club of the Year, voted by branch members from Lancashire, Cumbria and the Isle of Man. The award is being given by Ray Jackson (on the right) our West Pennines Regional Director. Ian Garner (on the left), our Merseyside & Cheshire Regional Director, is also supporting the presentation, as very confusingly, Southport Branch straddles two CAMRA regions.

MAKE MINE A MILD – CAMRA SOUTHPORT MILD CRAWL 2011 Saturday 28th June saw the climax of the now traditional Mild Month of May. CAMRA made May its month to support the dying beer style known as mild some years ago, and our local CAMRA branch has supported this every year for as long as I can remember. This year is was our new Social Secretary Dave Griffith’s turn to have a go at organising the event, and this he duly did with some great support from a number of the local pubs. Arriving at 12.30 lunchtime at the Imperial, I was the last to arrive this year and I could see that Dave had been successful in getting a number of people together, some of them travelling a fair distance to be with us. As well as Dave’s wife Kathy, his son Scott and fiancée Jo Bury, there were also local CAMRA members Godfrey Boardman, Fred Harris and Mike Perkins, together with John Bullivant from Preston, Andrew Lever from Prescot and Joel Garnett from Maghull: the latter two members regular helpers at the Southport Beer Festival. The Holts mild at the Imperial was in excellent form in what must be the most improved pub in Southport. A far cry from my first visit in its Tetley’s days when I ordered two different cask beers and took them both back! Personally I could have stayed at the Imperial longer, but there was a lot to do and we were hoping that one or two pubs would put mild beers on especially for our crawl. So whilst some members took advantage of the free buses for the over 60s, the able bodies amongst the rest of us walked down Albert Road and Lord Street to the Guest House, where we were joined by some more CAMRA members in the form of John Bryan and Alan Ascott. The Guest House had some excellent beers on sale, including the delicious Cameron’s Russell’s Mild and an unusual light mild in the form of Barnsley Acorn Lightness. After trying the former it would have been impolite after the pub making the effort to put two milds on to not try them both, so I stayed a little longer 24

with Alan Ascott to have another pint, and they were both superb. In order to catch the others, who by now were well ahead of us, Alan and I marched quickly in the direction of the Windmill, carefully dodging the traffic on Lord Street to cross from Union Street to Seabank Road. A great shame that the pub cannot get permission to sell Moorhouses Black Cat any more, but the Theakston’s mild, although not in the same league as a beer was well kept as the beer always is in the Windmill. A quick half and I had caught up while one or two members indulged in a plate of food, which is always excellent value here. Joel Garnett had obviously taken my advice from previous articles in Ale and Hearty and tucked into a Windmill mixed grill, and I wished later I had followed his example! We left the Windmill to turn back onto Lord Street, turning right into the centre of town. There we stopped off at the Willow Grove, the Wetherspoons Lloyds No. 1 pub on the corner of Nevill Street. Not sure whether they would have any mild, we were pleasantly surprised to see an unusual beer in the form of Banks & Taylor Black Dragon Mild, black as the Ace of Spades and I think the strongest mild we had sampled all day at 4.5% ABV. Very good it was too and good value to boot. Next stop was the unmissable Baron’s Bar in the Scarisbrick Hotel. Here I sampled Prospect Nutty Slack from nearby Wigan, an excellent dark beer. Note the avoidance of the name mild with many dark beers these days, a ploy by the marketing men and women these days as they think that mild will not sell. Well, it would if they tried beers like this, but I can see their point. The aim of this exercise is to promote milds and prove to the world that it is still an excellent drink and that it also has virtues such as generally not being as high in alcohol content or calories as other beers. And also that you do not have to be retired to enjoy it. Although I only tried the one beer in Baron’s, there were other milds available such as Cont’d on page 25

MAKE MINE A MILD – CAMRA SOUTHPORT MILD CRAWL 2011... Cont’d from page 24 Clark’s May Day mild, Southport Dark Night and other dark beers, although not actually milds including Lytham Stout. The bar had been selling milds and dark beers throughout May and doing a great job in supporting CAMRA as all the other pubs featured had done. Time was getting on, but we still had time for another couple of visits. The next one was the Sir Henry Segrave, Wetherspoons other pub in the town. My beer of choice was the excellent Millbridge Mild from Ossett brewery. This was another unusual beer and a good choice by the staff. I think we may have lost one or two people by now, but most had lasted the pace before we left for our final port of call, the Cheshire Lines for a pint of Tetley’s Dark Mild. Sadly, Tetley’s, as you will know from previous Ale and Hearty and the branch visiting the famous Leeds brewery just before Christmas 2010, closed in June 2011. Although the

Cheshire Lines always sold what in my opinion was the best mild in Southport it now does not seem to taste the same. This is inevitable when beers are brewed by different breweries, breweries are taken over or move brewing plants, but the beer has always been well kept in the Chesh and that continues to be the case. And that was that. By this time most people had departed, but thanks were given to Dave and Kathy Griffith before they left and to the CAMRA members, especially those from out of town who had supported the day. It was a great success also due to the support of all the aforementioned pubs that all proved to those people who think mild is not as good as it was that you can in fact still find excellent mild beer and that it has still got a future on the UK beer menu. Here’s to the Southport Mild Day crawl in 2012! Cheers, David Williams

BARONS BAR REGAINS PRIDE CAMRA are very pleased to announce that local microbrewery ales are again on sale at the Barons Bar in the Scarisbrick Hotel, Southport. These will include the Moorhouses ‘Pride of Pendle’ and other beers from Southport Brewery, Prospect, George Wright, Moorhouses, Bank Top, and even Liverpool Organic. After being taken over by Britannia Hotels in August, many people assumed that it would be the end of the Barons’ position as Southport’s premier LocAle pub (LocAles are real ales which are brewed within 30 miles of the point of sale).

when she worked as General Manager of The Adelphi, Liverpool, and who is now a senior Britannia Hotels Executive*. Our thanks go to Eileen and Phil (and Matty!) and we encourage all readers to raise a glass to them at The Barons! Simon Finch, Pubs Officer, Southport & District CAMRA * Any mistakes in the professional positions of Phil and Eileen are mine alone and for which I extend my apologies in advance.

Matty Hyland, Assistant Manager of the Barons (pictured), was keen to continue the Barons long history of supporting real ale but this was only carried through by the support and enthusiasm of Phil Massey, Area Manager for Britannia in Southport, and Eileen Downey, star of the BBC show ‘Hotel’ 25

SOUTHPORT PAS’T’ALES - ALE & HEARTY BACK ISSUES: THE BIRTH OF OUR NEWSLETTER Southport Alescene: The CAMRA Southport & District Branch produced its first newsletter under the title Alescene in the late 1980s. As it was undated and unnumbered, the exact time is unknown, unless anybody out there can help. It was probably, however, published in late 1987 or early 1988. The magazine was (and always has been) free at source, and had six advertisers. It was produced in black & white, had only 8 pages, and had to be totally set up by the printers, Gaynors, as no one active in the branch at that time had the necessary computer equipment. It was headed up by the then Branch Chairman, Jeremy Makinson, who shortly afterwards retired suddenly to Spain. He described the definition of “What is Real Ale?” and the small booklet had a centre page spread listing the pubs in our then branch area, which at that time only included Southport, Formby, Banks, Mere Brow, Scarisbrick, Halsall, Haskayne and part of Burscough. The other parts now covered by Southport, in Hightown, Ormskirk, Aughton, remaining part of Burscough, Lathom, Westhead, Bickerstaffe, Tarleton and Rufford were covered by branches in Liverpool (then called Merseyside) and West Lancashire (now called Central Lancashire). The list of those pubs still holds today, with the following exceptions:The Blowick in Norwood Road, was demolished and survived in a rebuilt form as the Thatched House, subject to several subsequent name changes. The Fleetwood House in Banks now renamed New Fleetwood. Halsall Arms in Halsall (formerly Scarisbrick Arms) next to the church was closed several years ago and is now a solicitors’ office. The Herald in Portland Street is now closed and will not apparently reopen as a pub. The Lathom Slipway now appears as just the Slipway, appropriately, as it is not in Lathom! Royal Mews in Coronation Walk has disappeared, and is probably at the location now known as the Phoenix. 26

The Sandpiper in Ainsdale was demolished a few years ago. The Steamboat on Cable Street was replaced by the Fox & Goose. The Two Brewers in Kingsway was closed a long time ago and is now a sales warehouse. There followed a “Pint-Potted History of Southport” which said that the settlement at Churchtown from AD 882 formed the origins of the town where St Cuthbert’s remains were temporarily deposited, and then in 1792 William Sutton, licensee of the Hesketh Arms, (then called the Griffin) built a hotel off the beach called the South Port Hotel (later the Original Hotel), and everything followed on from that through the Victorian era. The town has had at least two breweries, the Southport Brewery Company (not to be confused with the present similarly titled organisation) which was registered in 1873 in Scarisbrick New Road. There was also the Birkdale Brewery Co. at 115 Upper Aughton Road (later a famous racehorse’s home), this closed around 1935. The town’s famous disaster in 1886, the shipwreck of the Mexico was referred to, and the naming of the pub the Fishermen’s Rest after the Eliza Fearnley’s lifeboat crew was lost (note: the name is wrongly referred to in the first AleScene article as the Fisherman’s Rest (this is a common mistake). There then followed an article about the confusion over beer strengths then referred to by their OG (original gravity). The present situation now uses ABV (alcohol by volume), which is easier to understand. Finally if the assumed dates are correct, then the newsletter celebrates its 25th anniversary this year (albeit with a five year gap), not bad going for a free magazine, and is due to great support from active members, the printers and the advertisers. Issue 2 of Alescene appeared dated just ‘1988’ and was similar to the progenitor except that the pubs list had extended to three pages, and included some clubs. The Chairman had changed to Mike Scott, and he produced a short article on how the availability of real ale had improved over

SOUTHPORT PAS’T’ALES... Cont’d from page 26 the preceding five years. It still had eight pages on in black and white, with much of the information inputted using a typewriter or similar, the setting up and very basic artwork provided by the printers. There were seven advertisers, the back outer cover again from the Windmill Inn. Alescene 3, dated ‘1990’, had extended to 12 pages, and sported a black on yellow cover sheets, still on flimsy non-art paper, and mainly typed. A three-page pub spread appeared again, with some articles repeated from earlier issues. The Martin Inn now occupied the back outer cover. There were now 12 advertisers, and a useful town centre pub location plan had appeared in all three first issues. One interesting point was that at that time, CAMRA had a policy of not advertising Whitbread’s pubs – how things have changed! ALE AND HEARTY: Five years now passed by, as the branch had only the active support of six members at the time, but an issue now appeared still under the Southport Alescene name, and under the guidance of the now official editor Robert Barnes, who was keen to get the newsletter out, improve its quality, and produce it regularly. It was dated May/July 1995 and had the official but bureaucratic number Vol 1 No.1 (the system was later simplified). In it Rob was asking for suggestions for a permanent new title for

the publication, and a reward of one gallon of beer was offered for the winner (whom I believe never collected the prize for his/her success). The new publication had improved in appearance, with some computer assistance, and had more artwork, but the whole thing was produced in blue type on white nonglossy paper. it was later policy to change the type colour for each edition, prior to the days of full art productions. It had only eight pages, covered the history of the CAMRA Branch, which commenced in 1983, referred to CAMRA itself originating from 1971, and quoted the membership then at 48,000 (now over 130,000!). Southport Branch then had 105 members (now around 450). Featured pub article was the Lakeside Inn, and Classic Pub was the Crown Liquor Saloon in Belfast. The title Ale and Hearty (now Ale & Hearty) was adopted and has continued, with the publication appearing regularly, occasionally with a few hiccups, since 1995. It is intended to cover items of interest from selected publications down the years, but this is an introductory article and enough has been said for the time being. Please let the Editor know what items of interest from the past would be popular to you, the reader. Mike Perkins

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Discounts available for booking in multiple issues (payable in advance). All advertising enquiries to Fred Harris !"01704 222987 or email us on alehearty@aol.com Ale & Hearty is the CAMRA Southport & District Branch’s local magazine, published four times a year and distributed free of charge to pubs, clubs, beer festivals, tourist offices and other outlets within and beyond our branch area of North Sefton and West Lancashire. 4,500 issues are printed, supported by advertisers, and each copy is usually read by several people, often real ale drinkers.

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WARSTEINER LAGER ALWAYS AVAILABLE 29

THE LION SUPS TONIGHT The Lion Tavern in Moorfields, Liverpool, is named after the Lion, one of two locomotives built in 1838 by Todd, Kitson & Laird of Leeds, the other being called the Tiger. It was a freight locomotive used on the Liverpool and Manchester Railway. It was later sold to the Mersey Docks and used as a stationary pumping engine until 1928, after which it was restored. It later starred in the 1953 Ealing comedy, The Titfield Thunderbolt. For many years, the Lion was on display at the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester. On 27 February 2007, the Lion was moved by road from Manchester to Liverpool for conservation work prior to it taking pride of place in the new Museum of Liverpool, which opened on 19 July 2011. To commemorate the Lion’s return to Liverpool, the Lion Tavern has commissioned an inhouse beer from the George Wright Brewery of Rainford called The Lion’s Return because, as licensee Sean Porter said, “We thought it would be a great idea to commemorate the Lion.” So what’s it like? It’s a pale, dry beer, hoppy but not so much as to scour your

taste buds, and of a style that is increasingly popular nowadays, so I’m not surprised that it has already received good write-ups. At 3.9%, it’s a good strength: enough to provide body and flavour but it’s not going to blow your socks off; you can safely enjoy a few pints over a chat without tripping over the doorstep as you leave. I first tried it during one of the singaround sessions that take place on the 2nd Thursday of the month (open to all), and enjoyed it. In my experience, George Wright doesn’t tend to set a foot wrong, and this beer is no exception. The Lion Tavern is a wonderful old multi-roomed pub with tiles, wood panels and engraved glass, and it holds a number of events every month, the singaround being just one. Please see the pub’s advert for a full list. The pub is just yards from Moorfields station, so any commuters on the Southport line can drop in after work and try the beer before catching their train home. Recommended. Neville Grundy

NEWS FROM WETHERSPOONS IN SOUTHPORT Things are happening at the Willow Grove on Lord Street, Southport. Check out their CAMRA corner to keep up to date. In February, managers Mark Ryan and Mick Hall promoted a series of “Meet The Brewer” evenings, receiving visits from Titanic, Peerless, Cains and Moorhouses brewing staff. These took place on consecutive Wednesday evenings throughout the month. Also during February, a full day coach trip was arranged to visit six Wetherspoons establishments in the West Lancashire area.

Starting with breakfast at the Willow Grove, the trip then called at the Leyland Lion, the Grey Friar in Preston, the Jolly Tars in Cleveleys, the Leyton Rakes in Blackpool, the Albert and the Lion also in Blackpool and the Trawl Boat in St Annes. During the trip, lunch was served and finally we returned to the Willow Grove to receive a free pint of real ale. A grand day out and all for the inclusive price of £15.00. The six handpulls at the Willow Grove will shortly be joined by another three to give an impressive selection of real ales.

See our Branch Website at www.southportcamra.org.uk 30

PARBOLD PUBS PROSPER An early evening survey late last year found the four main pubs in Parbold well thronged. The first port of call was the Wayfarer on the A5209 Ormskirk to Wigan road. Although a fine restaurant with an extensive menu, it has six hand pumps with five available on the night in question: Tetley Bitter, Bombardier, Allgates Sybilla, George Wright Pure Blonde and the rare Ilkley Mary Jane, a frequent award winner. The last two were found to be very acceptable. The staff were friendly, knowledgeable, and keen to welcome those customers who merely wanted to have a drink. Plans are advanced for a brewery on site – the Problem Child Brewery – despite some local opposition. A short walk down the main road to the junction with Mill Lane and the Stocks Tavern was ready for our custom. Of the three handpumps, one had a real cider and the only real ale was the excellent Phoenix White Tornado. A goodly number of people were in attendance at this pub, which has had a somewhat chequered past. Halfway up Mill Lane on the left is the hugely popular Windmill. There were tables available to sit at but each one had a reserved sign on. This is a hostelry which

majors in both food and real ale with four on tap on the night in question: Castle Rock Harvest Pale, Fuller’s London Pride, Copper Dragon Challenger IPA and George Wright Pipe Dream. The last named was fine and we would have tried others but the only place to sit was outside. A couple of showers meant an early departure to our final pub. The big advantage of the Railway is its location. Once the barriers go down, so does the last of the ale in order to catch the train back to Southport. Wychwood Hobgoblin, Marston’s Pedigree, Banks’ Bitter and Jennings Cocker Hoop could be sampled. The last two were sampled, the Banks’ Bitter being refreshing and the Cocker Hoop a little tired. Again the pub was full of people and we were able to shelter from the rain. The price of the beer varied from £2.80 per pint to a high of £2.95 per pint between the four pubs. I will definitely return to the Wayfarers, hopefully when the new brewery is up and running, but all four Parbold pubs appear to be doing well and are well worth supporting. David Wright

PULL THE OTHER ONE! If you happened to be at Southport Beer Festival last September, held at the Scarisbrick Hotel and providing an exceptional range of beers kept in excellent condition, on Saturday afternoon you will have been treated to a wonderful display of traditional dancing by your local morris teams, Southport Swords and Argarmeles Clog Morris. Both teams have been long established and dance for the sheer joy of it, in the hope of entertaining the punters also. Pubs, beer and morris dancing have, down the years, walked hand in hand and continue to do so.

In fact, in February this year we had the pleasure of performing at the Liverpool Beer Festival in the crypt, which must be one of the most atmospheric places to dance; and in September last year at the Roscoe Head Beer Festival for the second year. If you have not attended this one, I can tell you that the range and condition of the ales offered by Carol, the landlady, is outstanding and I hope that this will become an annual event, as it is increasing in popularity, particularly when the sun comes out, as it did when we were there. Continued on page 32 31

PULL THE OTHER ONE!... Cont’d from page 31 We are often made welcome at local pubs, where we like to dance inside, if room allows for this, or outside, weather permitting. Included in this number is the Guest House, where we are frequent visitors, particularly on Community Pub Week, Lancashire Day and, a longstanding tradition, the Swords dance there on Boxing Day, to the delight of the crowds. We know where to get a good pint! Other locals we have graced with our presence are the Barons Bar, the Windmill, the Hop Vine, the Ship (Blood Tub), Scotch Piper, Ship Inn (Haskayne), the list goes on! The Southport Swords have been in business for 43 years now, dancing English Longsword and rapper dances from the North East, Cotswold dances, with handkerchiefs and sticks alongside their own original dances and are highly respected in Morris circles.

The Argarmeles Clog Morris have also been about for almost as long, dancing traditional North West Clog styles; we also have some very talented clog steppers in our midst. All dances are performed to the music provided by our very own accomplished musicians – no backing tracks for us! If you haven’t yet seen us, do look out for us; maybe you would like to give us a try. It’s the best fun you can have with your clothes on and is guaranteed to build up a thirst for that next pint! Take a look on our websites: www.southportswords.org.uk and

www.argarmelesclog.org.uk or you can follow us on Twitter: argarmeles Look forward to seeing you all! Carole and AleIan Ellis

The Argarmeles Clog

The Southport Swords

NEW BREWERIES Brightside in Bury, Greater Manchester. It’s some way from Southport, but I’m hoping the beers will find their way to north Merseyside. It’s called Brightside because it was set up at the height (or should that be the depth?) of the recession, and no doubt bar staff are already weary of punters singing the Monty Python song ~ I like to think I’d resist the temptation, but I’m not sure. Its core range is: Best Bitter, 4.3%, a dark amber best bitter; Maverick, 4.8%, a light amber IPA; Darkside, 4.3%, a black stout; Solstice, 4.5%, a light golden ale. While that seems a rather good range that would meet most preferences, 32

they also have plans for occasional special beers. At present they are sold in and around the Bury area, but they plan to sell further afield: let’s hope they come our way soon. Blackedge Brewery is a new microbrewery has opened in Horwich, Bolton, on the edge of the West Pennine Moors. It’s a 2.5 barrel brewery. The website states that it is now in full production and at present shows two beers: a 3.8% pale ale called HoP and Pike pale ale (4.0%),with the promise of more to come. Another to keep an eye out for. I like the fact that the pump clip is shaped like a guitar plectrum!

11 Handpumps with ever changing Guest Beers Hot and Cold Snacks Available 11.30 - 2.30 Every Day

THE GUEST HOUSE 16 Union Street, Southport PR9 0QE Tel: 01704 537660 Community

ar Pub of the Ye 2011

Awarded CAMRA Pub of The Year 2001, 2004, 2007, 2009 & 2010 Best Winter Pub Award 2003, 2004 Licensee of Excellence Award 2005 -2012 In the CAMRA uide Good Beer G 2012 Cask Marque Accredited

Opening Hours: 11.30am - 11.00pm Mon - Thurs Fri & Sat 11.30am - 11.30pm, Sunday 12 noon - 10.30pm Secluded Beer Garden to the Rear

Try Our Bottled Beers Golden Sands - Cyclone Carousel - Old Shrimper Available at all of our usual outlets

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Lancashire Heroes Off-Licence Party Barrels of Real Ale available Large range of British & Foreign Bottled Beers NEW - Southport Brewery Beers available in Polypins and Mini Casks Open 8am to 10pm - 7 days a week

82 Shakespeare Street, Southport Tel. 01704 540217 www.beerandgiftsdirect.co.uk 33

A CAMR e shir Lanca ear f the Y Club o 11 0 2

65 Burscough Street, Ormskirk L39 2EL Tel: 01695 572172

!"#$%&'($" of )*'"++",'"

Serving Cask Ales along with a variety of other beers, draught & bottled Friendly Atmosphere Non-Members Welcome Sky T.V.

Darts

Full Snooker Table s

Dominoes

Opening Hours 12 noon -11.30pm 34

A DAY IN THE BROAD ACRES On a Friday I often take the X2 bus to Preston and catch the York train to Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire, for a day out in the beautiful Calder Valley. From the railway station a leisurely one-mile walk along the Rochdale canal will bring you to the canal side Stubbins Wharf, King St, which usually has six real ales on offer with Taylors Landlord and Copper Dragon Golden Pippin regulars with four other guest beers and a good selection of ciders. The pub has a good reputation for food and holds an annual cider festival. Taking the highway route towards town, you will soon arrive at the CAMRA favourite Fox and Goose, Heptonstall Road, which is a tiny multiroomed pub with six ales on offer and no shortage of characters to keep you entertained; no juke box, fruit machines or TVs here, just real ales and real people. Continuing back into town to the main square you will come across the Shoulder of Mutton, Bridge Gate, which often sells Abbeydale Absolution or Moonshine and has plenty of outdoor seating. Almost next door is the White Lion Hotel which offers four real ales and is popular with diners for bar and restaurant meals. Still on Bridge Gate, the White Swan also sells a limited selection

of cask ales. Heading back towards the station you will find the Railway on New Road, a proper local pub with a decent mix of original born-n-breds, imported hippies and a few posh people chucked in for good measure. Harvest Pale from Castle Rock, which won CAMRA Beer of Britain 2010, is a permanent fixture, with two others usually available in this lively local. Moving upmarket next door to Moyles Hotel and the award-winning Moyles Bar where five ales are on offer in modern surroundings and a 20 pence discount is offered to CAMRA members with a valid card. Pictish Brewers Gold is a regular and the other four pumps usually support the local independent breweries. You can sit outside at the front and watch the world go by, with the canal basin and performing swans and ducks just across the road. It is now time to visit the nearby Crown Fisheries for a traditional Yorkshire fish supper before catching the rattler back to Preston and climbing cardiac hill to catch the number 2 bus back to Southport. Jeff Carter.

USEFUL CONTACTS: Sefton Trading Standards (Environmental Protection Dept.) Sefton Metropolitan Borough Council, Environmental Protection Department, 1st Floor, Magdalen House, Stanley Precinct, Trinity Road, Bootle, Merseyside. L20 3QZ. (0151) 934 2089 Fax: (0151) 934 2106 Email: consumer.advice@sefton.gov.uk

Sefton Licensing Authority Sefton MBC, The Licensing Authority, Magdalen House, 30 Trinity Road, Bootle, L20 3NJ. Tel: 0151 934 4015 Fax: 0151 934 4276

West Lancashire Licensing Service West Lancashire Borough Council - Licensing Service, Robert Hodge Centre, Stanley way, Skelmersdale, West Lancashire, WN8 8EE. 01695 577177 Fax: 01695 585126 Email: licensing.enquiries@westlancs.gov.uk

Lancashire Trading Standards Trading Standards Service, County Hall, Fishergate Hill, Preston, PR1 8XB. 01772 533569 (General Enquiries) E-mail: tsgeneralmail@lancashire.gov.uk 31 35

APPLE – THE CIDER AND PERRY ARM OF CAMRA In the beginning (1971) there was CAMRA, set up to protect and promote real ale. And without it, we would be in a real state, shuffling around trying to find the one pub in a hundred that still served proper beer. And very successful we’ve been. But in the mid seventies, it was agreed that we would also fight to preserve and promote real cider and perry. And we’ve been very good at that as well, but not a lot of people know CAMRA for cider and perry. So let me explain.

festivals are almost the only events where you will find a range of perries, although in the early days, most customers didn’t know what perry was. Now there are customers who go to beer festivals just to drink the perry, as they can’t find it anywhere else, unless it’s some poor imitation in a bottle labelled “pear cider”. I have to point out here that a lot of the people who inhabit cider bars at beer festivals are usually one token short of a full pint, and the customers are nearly as bad.

In 1986 a committee was set up within CAMRA specifically to deal with cider and perry called APPLE, which stands for the Apple and Pear Produce Liaison Executive, although we did consider Always Paralytically Pi**ed Late in the Evening but decided, “better not”. And since then, with just a small band of us, we have achieved a great deal.

And since those early days of CAMRA, when we held four national cider and perry festivals long before the current fad of pub cider festivals, we now run a Cider Pub of the Year competition, a Cider and a Perry of the Year award (with the finals taking place at Reading Beer and Cider Festival in May), we have produced window stickers for pubs selling real cider, we liaise with producers, give technical advice, run a cider training course at the Great British Beer festival, monitor what is happening in the industry, communicate with Parliament, organise a cider and perry month each October, encourage pubs to stock real cider, and a great deal more that I can’t mention here, because I’m running out of breath.

One of the first things we did was to create a definition of what CAMRA would accept as real cider and perry. This isn’t us telling producers what they should make; it is only telling them what CAMRA will accept. Producers, as far as I’m concerned, can make as much crap as they want, but we won’t promote it and you won’t find it on sale at CAMRA festivals. In the early days of APPLE, we launched the first annual cider trip, which visited several producers in Somerset, and we’ve been doing it every year since. But that first trip did have its problems, after the Chair of APPLE who organised it forgot to add the VAT to the price. Typical of an accountant. On a later trip there was the woman who, at a relief stop in total darkness in Herefordshire, jumped over a very small wall for some privacy. Unfortunately, nobody noticed the 10-foot drop the other side. She eventually got home via Hereford Hospital. But was she put off? Of course not, and has been on several trips since. We have also been instrumental in getting CAMRA festivals to have separate bars for cider and perry, and have found this to be the best way to campaign for perry. CAMRA 36

APPLE meets four times a year, and despite the seriousness of what we are doing, we often have the meetings at a festival, so there is a social side to things. I remember a meeting in Keighley many years ago, where 80 pints were consumed during some very serious business, followed by an evening crawl which visited every pub in the town, as I vaguely recall. We also had a meeting on the Yorkshire Dales Railway, as it was called then, where we had a reserved compartment for the day, complete with a tub of cider. But, as volunteers, we need to be having a good time and enjoying ourselves, otherwise we wouldn’t be doing it for nothing. So let’s hope that it continues for another 40 years. Mick Lewis

THE LAST WORD - A PERSONAL VIEW FROM NEVILLE GRUNDY At the CAMRA national AGM in Cardiff in 2008, I went to a discussion group about the neoprohibitionists. Who? The people who, flushed by their success in getting the smoking ban through, then decided to turn their attention to alcohol. They wish to contain and restrict the sale of alcohol so that consumption is brought down to a level they approve of, which in some cases is nil. Why do they wish to do this? They give several reasons: t 0VS IFBMUI t $PTU UP UIF /)4 PG USFBUJOH BMDPIPM SFMBUFE disorders. t 1VCMJD EJTPSEFS t $PTU PG QPMJDJOH t &GGFDU PO UIF FDPOPNZ PG TJDL EBZT MPTU UP drinking. t $PTU PG CFOFmUT QBJE UP BMDPIPMJDT OPU XFMM enough to work. These are considerations that cannot be ignored, so what imaginative approaches are being brought to bear on the problem? Er, none at all. The only tools the government is prepared to use are tax, pricing and fines. Tax: British beer tax accounts for 40% of the entire European beer tax bill, even though the UK accounts for only 13% of EU beer consumption (EU figures). Our beer is taxed on an escalator whereby the tax increases at more than inflation, which is a particular burden when most people are getting below inflation pay rises, pay freezes or even cuts. Plus all those who are losing their jobs. Minimum pricing: Scotland is trying to bring in a minimum price per unit, and the Coalition is looking at something similar. There may be problems with EU law, but they are looking for ways around that. The trouble with both tax and minimum pricing is that they are in effect a poll tax, whereby everyone pays the same no matter what income you have. On other words, the poorer you are, the harder these measures will hit. Conversely, they will make little difference to the pleasures of the rich. There seems no logic to me in bringing measures that have less effect on you the more money

you have. Our Cabinet consists mostly of millionaires whose pleasures - and whose childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s pleasures - will not be restricted by the price rationing that they are imposing upon everyone else. But the double standards donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t end there. Several prominent politicians, including the Prime Minister and the Mayor of London, belonged to the Bullingdon Club at Oxford University. This is a dining club in which members not only go out for meals, but they also get very drunk and smash up the restaurant. The damage is always covered by daddyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s chequebook, but even so, they often have to make their bookings under an assumed name, as many restaurants donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t welcome the ensuing mayhem. The message that sends to me is that rich hooliganism is fine, but if your parents donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have a big chequebook, weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll come down on you like a ton of bricks. In my book, no hooliganism is acceptable. Fines: mostly imposed on licensees for breaches of law relating under-age drinking. Under age drinkers used to go into a pub and behave themselves because they knew that if they didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t, theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d draw attention to themselves and get thrown out. So now they get cheap supermarket booze and drink at each otherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s homes or in the park, and itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not ordinary beer: itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s strong cider, lager or cheap vodka. And in an unsupervised environment, they donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t learn how to behave when drinking. The consequence is that binge drinking develops at an early age without social controls, resulting in bad behaviour. So the rigid enforcement of a law to prevent under age drinking has probably had quite the opposite effect. Contrary to the propaganda, alcohol consumption in the UK has been in slow decline for a long time. By concentrating on price, tax and fines to deal with the problems that undoubtedly do exist, the government has gone for the cheap, easy option. Education about alcohol would be more effective, but would cost a lot more money. As for disorder, we all know that there are problems with people falling out of pubs, throwing up in the streets, creating noise and Continued on page 38

THE LAST WORD - A PERSONAL VIEW FROM NEVILLE GRUNDY Cont’d from page 37 getting into fights. Or do we? I’m a regular pub goer, but it’s so long since I’ve seen bad behaviour that I can’t remember that last time. In Southport at weekends, the number of people drinking in pubs, social clubs, night clubs, bars, restaurants and hotels will be in the thousands at least, if not more. Nearly all of these people behave themselves, and the troublemakers are a tiny percentage. I don’t dismiss the impact they have, but the measures the government favours punishes the many for the bad behaviour of the few, while at the same time leaving wealthier people largely untouched. This is inherently unfair, and it is having a bad impact upon pubs now: pubs are closing down every week as more and more people find they cannot afford the prices, and so either cut back or stop going altogether. What about the real alcoholics? Will price rationing deter them? I’ve known a few over the years and, in the worse stages, they ignore everything in their lives except drink. They don’t eat properly, don’t pay their bills, and don’t replace their clothes, which can

end up in tatters: most of their money goes on drink. If the price goes up, they will simply cut back even further on everything else. Price rationing will not do anything except make their situation even worse. You may have noticed the recent heightening of the government’s rhetoric and the intense media attention on Britain’s “problem drinking culture”. This is simply to smooth the way for their only solution: further rises in the next budget in March. MPs love to say they support the pub, but most of them won’t challenge the government’s tax policies that are closing pubs week after week. They won’t risk the accusation of being soft on crime and disorder, so despite the damage that they know tax rises are doing to the pub industry, they’ll still nod them through and perpetuate a failing policy. Government policy on alcohol misuse is a mess that will resolve nothing. Stern ministerial words may win rounds of applause at conferences and on BBC Question Time, but won’t amount to much, except to deprive the majority of ordinary, well-behaved drinkers of a simple, sociable pleasure.

Southport & District CAMRA Branch Website www.southportcamra.org.uk Don’t miss the opportunity to have a look at our Branch Website: www.southportcamra.org.uk when you have a chance. We’re always striving to improve it and introduce as many interesting items as possible. If you have any ideas about the site please contact our website organiser Phil Morris, who would like to hear your comments. If you’ve any interesting or news items to go on it, also please contact 01704 575454. Phil on Phil_Morris@talk21.com or

STOP PRESS: NEW BRANCH NAME As we went to press, I learnt that CAMRA’s National Executive had agreed to our Branch changing its name from “Southport and District” to “Southport and West Lancashire”. Most of West Lancs has been passed to our Branch over the years by the former West Lancs Branch, which is now called Central Lancashire. We hope that this name change will enable our West Lancs members and pubs to feel better represented. 38

The Cheshire Lines 81 King Street, Southport (Tel. 01704 532178)

Marge & staff give a warm welcome to everyone at Southports oldest pub. Food served Monday to Saturday 11.30 - 2.30pm and 5.00 - 7.30pm Prices from £3.95 2 course Mon-Fri, 11.30am - 2.30pm £4.50 In the CAMRA On Sundays, Marges famous Prize Winning traditional roast, Good Be er Lamb, Beef, Pork, Turkey or Chicken Guide Served from 11.30am - 6.00pm - Large Roast only £4.95 2012 Optional 2 Course Sunday Roast only £5.95 See also Specials Board, changed daily. All home cooked food, No frozen chips.

Licensee of ce Excellen Award

2007

Quiz night - Wednesday Singalong nights - Tuesday & Thursday with Bob Murphy Karaoke Nights Friday 8.30pm & Sunday 7.00pm plus Southport’s own great singer Billy Johnson Saturday nights - Live Music

Our traditional late evening hospitality always includes free sandwiches and pies

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Southport & District Pub of The Year 2011 Fine Wine, Good Food, Cask Ales and a Warm Welcome vw Liverpool Road North, Burscough, Lancashire L40 4BY Tel: 01704 893799

NOW STOCKING Belgian Beers from Chimay to Roquefort to Triple Blond all served with cheese - from ÂŁ3.00

FREE HOUSE - 7 HANDPUMPS Home Brewed Priory Gold and Ringtail Bitter Home Cooked Food Served Daily Mon - Sat Lunchtimes 12 noon - 2.00pm Evenings 6.00pm - 8.30pm Sunday all day 12 noon - 8.00pm QUIZ NIGHT - Tuesday 9.00pm LIVE MUSIC EVERY FRI & SAT SEE OUR WEBSITE FOR DETAILS

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This famous old inn is now back in business, !"#$%&'()#"!*()++,(-&,(.&"( ales, including George Wright and Bank Top.

Food served every day Monday - Friday 12 - 2.30 Sat/Sun all day 12 - 9.00

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The

Fishermen’s Rest 2 Weld Road, Birkdale, Southport, PR8 2AZ Tel: 01704 569986

4 CASK ALES ALWAYS AVAILABLE ! HOME COOKED FOOD AVAILABLE ALL DAY, EVERY DAY ! THURSDAY NIGHT QUIZ !

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Andy & Lynne welcome everyone to

THE CROWN Station Road, Croston. Tel: 01772 603253 Breakfast Available Saturday and Sunday from 10.00am

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t 5IXBJUFT 0SJHJOBM t " TFMFDUJPO PG G JOF BMFT t (BNFT 3PPN t -JWF &OUFSUBJONFOU t 'SFODI #PVMFT t 1PPM %BSUT t .JOJ 'BSN t $IJMESFO T (BNFT t -PH 'JSF t 'VO %BZT ##2 T t -BSHF #FFS (BSEFO t -JWF 4QPSUT t 1PLFS 8FEOFTEBZT t 'SFF 8J 'J t #VGGFU $BUFSJOH Opening hours: Mon/Tues: 4.00pm - 11.30pm Wed/Thu: 3.00pm - 11.30pm Fri: 3.00pm - 1.00am Sat: 10.00am - 1.00am Sun: 3.00pm - 1.00am 21