Issue25

rhythm and booze Brews, News, Bands & Reviews - Issue 25 - May/June 2014

Fun-raisers

A beer and music festival, largely serving beers brewed less than 30 miles away, has raised more than £1,000 for charity. The Skool of Rock & Roll, held between 11 and 13 April at the Iron Horse Ranch House in Market Deeping, offered exclusive beers from the likes of Castor Ales and The Star Brewing Company,

and music from acts such as Let The AC/DC tribute Let There B/DC were one of the headline acts B/DC. at the Iron Horse Ranch House’s Skool of Rock& Roll.

One of raised is to be split between the first major events to be National Association of held at the Iron Horse Ranch Bikers with a Disability, House since moving to its Extreme Clowning and Sense. new premises, the money

Peterborough • South LincoLnShire • rutLand

Ten Real Ales from £2.00 a pint

Werrington Centre Staniland Way PE4 6NA Tel: 01733 327696

Peterborough CAMRA Pub of the Year 2014 The only estate pub ever to win this prestigious award, and the only pub to win TWICE within five years.

Live Satellite Sports n Live Entertainment Happy Hour Mon - Fri 5-7pm

Hodgson Centre,

Six Hodgson Ave Real Ales PE4 5EG from £2.50 a pint Tel: 01733 578088 Live Satellite Sports n Live Entertainment

On 22 March the Kelly Simmonds Fund donated more than £15,000 to Papworth Hospital’s RSS Unit. The Ploughman, The Dragon and The Queen’s Arms, Brixham would like to say a massive thank you to all our customers, supporters and friends.

Pub News

Following an unsuccessful planning application to demolish it for flats, the heron, Stanground has been renovated and taken over by new licensees. Now run by Rob and Merri, the pub has a range of real ales from local and national breweries.

Elgoods is looking for a tenant for the blue bell inn at Werrington. Interested parties are asked to apply to the brewery.

The black horse at Elton is thriving again and open all day with four real ales available including two from Digfield Ales All Saints Hotels limited has put three of its venues up for sale – the crown hotel, Stamford, the White hart at Ufford and the exeter arms, Easton-on-the Hill. the griffin inn at Irnham, near Bourne reopened at Easter after an extensive refurbishment. Owner/chef Chris Overend and wife, Liz, offer three local real ales, food, award-winning accommodation and monthly Classic Car and Bike meetings. The pub is open Wednesday-Sunday (11am3pm and 6-11pm). For details, see www.thegriffinirnham.co.uk Despite opposition from neighbours the Sugar Mill in Bourne has been granted

The Blue Bell, Werrington.

The Griffin Inn at Irnham, near Bourne has reopened following an extensive renovation.

permission to extend its opening hours. It now operates from 8am until1am.

This year’s grimsthorpe Festival will be held on Monday 25 August and features a variety of stages and a beer festival. Potential acts are invited to apply via www.grimsthorpefestival.com A sister event is to be held at Kelham Hall near Newark on 31 May - details are at www.kelhamfestival.com The northwick arms at Ketton is currently closed and for sale, but tucked away down Church road in the same village is the delightful railway inn – unlike the Northwick it’s not a food outlet but four well kept real ales are always available.

The drum & Monkey in Casterton Road, Stamford has new licensees - John Fennel and Sara Crook.

Stamford’s new JD Wetherspoon pub in Sheepmarket, due to open in

May is to be named the Stamford Post – the original name of the Stamford Mercury in whose former building the pub will be housed. Opening hours will be 8am-midnight (1am at weekends).

Mama Liz’s Voodoo Lounge, Stamford has been selected by the UK Subs as one of the venues on their tour to celebrate lead singer Charlie Harper’s 70 th birthday.

The band have also chosen March to the Grave as their opening act. Tickets for the 22 May gig are available from www.mamaliz.co.uk and www.wegottickets.com For further information on March to the Grave, turn to the centre pages.

The annual Welland Valley beer Festival, linking pubs on the Northants/Rutland border by bus, has been cancelled this year due to ‘pub closures and unavailability of buses.’

Continued over

Pub News

(continued)

Stamford Music Festival will run from June 20-29 alongside the Stamford Festival with gigs planned across a number of venues including the arts centre, green Man and Mama Liz’s. Details: www.facebook.com /stamfordmusicfestival The Arts Centre also plays host to Gypsy Fire on 31 May, Barbara Dickson on 21 June and punk legend Glen Matlock with his show I was a Teenage Sex Pistol on 25 June.

Gig-goers familiar with the legendary charlotte in Leicester which has played host to many rock legends, will be interested to hear that after a long period of closure, it has just reopened as a regular pub.

Pubs no more…

The former dun cow at Cowbit, victim of a fire several years ago has been demolished.

Stamford councillors are resisting a plan by developers to knock down the former hit or Miss pub in Foundry Road, citing potential parking issues as a major concern.

The boro bar in Oundle Road, Peterborough (formerly the boy’s head) is being converted into a branch of Tesco.

Handmade in Castor

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bridge end inn, bridge Street ruabon, Wrexham LL14 6da 01978 810881 Just over the Welsh border lies the small town of Ruabon, possibly not a destination town itsfelf, but handy if you’re travelling to the more familiar tourist spots of North Wales. The town has a number of pubs and a railway station, and just beyond the end of station road, tucked down an embankment, lies the Bridge End Inn. The beauty of this pub is that it appears not to have changed in centuries, but in fact it’s been in the hands of the McGivern family for just over four years. They took over an unlikely run down establishment from Enterprise Inns and turned it into CAMRA’s National Pub of the year by 2011 (the first in

Wales to do so). Clearly no fluke, it followed this with a runner-up accolade the following year.

Owner Peter Mc Givern was keen to tell us the history of the place. It seems that some locals still refer to it as the ‘Bricks’ after it’s original guise as the Bricklayer’s Arms, but remarkably it assumed its current moniker way back in 1846. He’s still aghast that his humble establishment achieved such accolades but what he’s created is a perfect example of the original great British boozer. Don’t expect exotic food offerings – there’s a choice of pork pie or sandwiches – although the policy of allowing customers to bring their own takeaways makes him very popular with the Chinese restaurant

next door.

Eight real ales are usually available including three brewed on the premises by son, Matt, in his own 2.5 barrel plant, plus a gravitydispensed cider. McGivern Ales boasts a range of six brews ranging from pale ales to a stout, a porter and a winter warmer – the Bridge Pale is a permanent fixture.

There’s no telly (unless there’s a major rugby fixture) but there are regular live music nights (on Sundays), weekly quiz nights (Tuesdays), real fires and a beer festival each August.

See www.mcgivernales.co.uk for further information.

Chris Shilling

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O n t h e ( Ti m e ) l a s h A visit to the pubs seen, however briefly, in Doctor Who.

the drayton court hotel 2 the avenue ealing London W13 8Ph 020 8997 1019 www.draytoncourtlondon.co.uk The final Doctor Who story in the programme’s original run, 1989’s Survival saw the Doctor (Sylvester McCoy) take companion Ace (Sophie Aldred) home to Perivale. As the suburb seems to be drier than a Sally Army picnic, a pub and shop front for Hale and Pace’s (that’s the level of

celebrity the show enjoyed back then) grocery business had to be found elsewhere.

Over the road from West Ealing railway station, and previously seen in Carry On Constable, The Drayton Court opened in 1894 as a hotel, becoming a public house with accommodation in the 1940s. A fairly large place – the beer garden is the largest in London – with loads of different seating areas, the pub even has a basement theatre, which hosts regular jazz and comedy nights. A Fuller’s

house with a full complement of its ales available; a pint of Chiswick Bitter was a more than reasonable £3.24, while the menu offers something for all budgets.

Given that the Doctor has met Kublai Khan and alleges to have been on friendly terms with Chairman Mao, it’s a surprise that he’s never claimed kinship with Ho Chi Minh. If he had, then I’m sure the Doctor would have been as surprised as me to discover that the future Vietnamese leader once worked in the kitchens here.

Matt and eMMa WeLcoMe you to the Barholm, Stamford, Lincs F i V e h o r S e S h o e S PE9 4RA • 01778 560238 Enjoy a welcoming open fire in a Traditional Ale House open from 4pm week days, 1pm Saturday and 12pm Sundays AS FRESHLY MADE PIzz c wood nti the au an in ed cook ery Friday fired pizza oven ev 0p from 5.30-1 m

LiVe MuSic

one eyed catS 8th June - 2-6pm

Pub Quiz

First Wednesday in the month Starts 8:30pm

Teams of Four • Cash prizes

barbecue

from Groovy Foods 8th June - 15th June

Six Real Ales with four on rotation • two draught ciders • two Lagers • Fine Wine & Spirits • large beer garden • Pool room

Hand & Heart

12 highbury Street. Peterborough Pe1 3Be 01733 564653

A traditional back-street pub with up to six real ales at any time nReal open coal fire in the bar nTraditional pub games nLarge enclosed beer garden with outdoor stage nCAMRA Cambridgeshire Pub of the Year 2010 nCAMRA Gold Award Winner 2010 nLocAle Accredited nListed in the CAMRA 2014 Good Beer Guide nCheck our Facebook page ‘Friends of the Hand & Heart’ for updates on beer festivals and live music

The Surrealist Sportsman’s Club david ‘dai’roll is having a bit of a wobble.

Up in Whaplode Drove in Lincolnshire the summer fête (held in July) has, for the past few years, included the Jelly Throwing World Championships. I know nothing about this but the photographs I’ve seen seem to suggest that catching the jelly is as important (if not more so) than the actual tossing. The day is held at The Elizabethan Centre, Parsons Lane (PE12 0TW), for details about this year’s event, go to alanpell.com/wd ‘owzat As it is summer my memory turned to those distant days of my youth when our family (Mum, Dad, my sister Diana, my brother – now a Detective Inspector in the police – and myself) used to drive off on holiday. The car, despite being some elderly secondhand vehicle, was always described in conversations as the Roll’s. On the back seat the three of us played pub cricket, a game I fear seldom played today.

One of us would start as in, and then would count the legs on pub signs as runs, until a royal pub came along (ie The King’s Head) at which point they were out and then the next would be in bat.

Favourites to pass while in were a Coach and Horses (two horses, two people visible on the coach, giving 12 runs) or the very occasional on route to an aunt, The Duke of York.

That sign had the duke

sitting on a horse followed by ten visible men (26 runs). I know that a variant of the game is played using the name of the pub, and so Plumstead’s The Million Hare, scores 4m runs.

Now though, with pubs closing and motorways and bypasses taking drivers away from country towns, this game is becoming a thing of the past…

Photo © Whaplode drove community Website

a SuMMer

With the best part of a year’s rain having already fallen, the weather over the next few months should be much brighter. This is especially good news for those planning on visiting one of the region’s many beer festivals.

Our ‘season’ starts at the coalheaver’s arms in Woodston, between 1 and 4 May. Offering more than 50 real ales, ciders and perries, there’s live music on Friday and Saturday, and a Jamaican barbecue on the Sunday. the golden Pheasant at Etton is the centre point of the village’s May Day

celebrations between 3 and 5 May. Expect 30 real ales, ciders and wines, along with locally sourced food. The final day of the beer festival features a vintage car display, morris dancers and, at 2pm, a performance from The One Eyed Cats.

The following weekend, 8 to 11 May, sees the Prince of Wales Feathers at Castor (princeofwalesfeathers.co.uk) offer more than 30 beers – including specials from the village’s brewery, Castor Ales – plus ciders and perries.

There’s live music all weekend with Pogues tribute

The Dead Rabbits playing on Saturday 10 May. Combining beer with food is the 4th Rutland Cider and Sausage Festival, held at the grainstore in Oakham (www.grainstorebrewery.com) between 22 and 26 May. Along with 40 or so ciders and perries, there’ll be a selection of sausages from Grasmere Farm of Deeping St James and live music from Soul Slider (23 May), The Sam Kelly Blues Band (24 May) and McGoo (25 May). the blue bell at Easton on the Hill (thebluebellpub.com) is holding its Spring Beer

oF SuPPing

Clockwise from left: Latino Sound play The Blue Bell, Easton on the Hill on 26 May; Pogues’ tribute The Dead Rabbits play The Prince of Wales Feathers, Castor on 10 May; Rockabilly trio Relentless appear at Iron Horse Ranch House on 23 May. Festival between 23 and 26 May. Starting with a ‘meet the brewer night’ on the Friday, it’ll be offering 24 local ales and eight ciders.

Entertainment comes in the shape of Easton’s Got Talent on Saturday and a village fête and barn dance – led by Akmed’s Camel, tickets are £10 in advance and include a hot meal – on Sunday, while the music festival on Monday features performances from Velocity, Indigo Child, Latino Sound, Evil Puppies and Motor City Vipers.

The first of what will be an annual event, the Ranch

House Rock Out Weekend, takes place at iron horse ranch house, Market Deeping (ironhorseranchhouse.co.uk) between 23 and 25 May. There’ll be plenty of bands and DJs over the weekend, with the headline acts confirmed as Relentless (23 May), Sixteen and the Sidewinders (24 May) and Jack Rabbit Slim (25 May).

Down the road, in Frognall, the goat (thegoatfrognall.com) will be holding its beer festival between 23 and 26 May. Among the ales on offer, the pub will be championing two local breweries, Market

Deeping’s Hopshackle and Star Brewing Company.

Held in its leafy, waterside beer garden, the Woolpack in Stanground’s beer festival takes place between 29 May and 1 June. Offering ten real ales, plus ciders, live music includes Retrolux’s Ian Graham and Kat Moore on the evening of will be performed Saturday 31 May. Organised by Bourne Round Table, Bourne Festival (www.bournefestival.com) takes place on the Well head Field, Bourne from 30 May until 1 June. There’s live music all weekend, catering

for everything from rock and pop to metal and soul, with headline slots from a Robbie Williams’ tribute (30 May), The League of Mentalmen (31 May) and The High Rollers (1 June). There’ll be 100 ales and ciders from local microbreweries and national brewers, plus a flypast from the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight’s Spitfire takes place on Saturday and Sunday. Along with craft and food stalls, there’ll be a fun fair, a tag rugby demo from Bourne RUFC, while younger visitors can learn circus skills from PartyWorkshops.co.uk Raising money for Prostate Cancer UK, the 3rd annual Knobworth Festival returns to the angel inn, Yarwell on 31 May and 1 June. Bands will be playing all day on both days, there’s a barbecue and up to 20 real ales, plus ciders. the King’s head, Apethorpe (kingsheadapethorpe.co.uk) is hosting a Bavarian Beer and Food Festival on 7 June.

Along with German lagers – served in steins – and wursts, there’s real ale, a hog roast, live music and a bouncy castle for younger visitors.

And there’s a prize waiting for the person dressed in the best Bavarian costume.

Taking the idea of LocAle to its logical conclusion,

The League of Mentalmen are at The Bourne Festival on 31 May; the Ruddles exhibit at Rutland County Museum;

burghley homebrew in Northborough (www.burghleyhomebrew.com) is holding its first beer festival on 21 and 22 June. Offering 20 beers and cider, each brewed on the premises from kits, there will also be food and live entertainment. rutland county Museum, Oakham is the location for the 4 th Rutland CAMRA Beer Festival (rutlandcamra.org.uk) between 26 and 28 June.

Along with 40 real ales, ciders and parries, and continental bottled beers, you’re free to browse the museum itself. Of special interest to beer fans is an exhibition dedicated to Ruddles, which is housed in a mock-up bar.

Finally, 20-29 June sees The Stamford Music Festival (www.stamfordfestival.co.uk) take place at venues around the town. Real ale friendly locations taking part include the green Man, the

cellar bar at Stamford arts centre and Mama Liz’s where a grand final BBQ and open stage, hosted

by Pennyless, takes place on 29 June from 2pm. Bands and venues can be found in the listings pages at the back of the magazine. nIn our next issue we’ll be covering the Beer Festivals that take place during July and August. Highlights include The 11th Deepings Beer Festival at deepings ruFc, Deeping St James (www.deepingsbeerfest.co.uk) on 25 and 26 July, and of course, Peterborough Beer Festival at The Embankment, Peterborough (peterboroughcamra.org.uk) between 19 and 23 August.

If you’ve got a beer festival at your pub or venue in July and August, don’t forget to send your details to us, by one of the methods in the listings pages

by Friday 6 June.

beer Festival all Weekend - Starts Friday with 'Meet the brewers'

25 May - barn dance with music from akmed’s camel Starts 8pm, tickets £10 (advance) £12 (on door) and includes a hot meal

26 May - Music Festival (Free entry) starts at 2pm

Motor city Vipers

Evil Puppies l Latino Sound l Velocity l Indigo Child

the blue bell

9 High Street, Easton on the Hill, East Northamptonshire PE9 3LR Tel 01780 763003 Fax 01780 753295

www.thebluebellpub.com

The Goat, Frognall 55 Spalding Road, Lincolnshire PE6 8SA - 01778 347629

Come and Join us for our 10th Beer Festival May Bank Holiday Weekend: Friday 23rd – Monday 26th May 20+ Different Beers around the UK, including several Local Breweries. Various Bands, Comedians and Entertainment across the weekend including: I’m Spartacus and Mainstreet.

Join us Sunday Evening for our beach themed party 6pm onwards; BBQ (weather permitting) and anyone in fancy dress receives free cocktail.

Monday is Family Fun Day, with Bouncy Castle and Face PaintingCome and Join us for our 10th

Book Your Private Party with us!

We cater for all private parties with a range of food options to suit all needs.

Contact us today for further information.

Funerals - Office Meetings - Anniversaries, birthday celebrations - Weddings Rooms available 12 – 45 people

www.thegoatfrognall.com

The Golden Pheasant Good Food, Acclaimed Real Ales, Great Entertainment

etton Village May day & Beer festival

Join us in our marquee, gardens and paddock for our annual Beer Festival weekend

Saturday 3rd May - Monday 5th May 30 Real Ales; Ciders; Wines and other refreshments s Home cooked, locally reared foods s Fun family entertainment & Live Music s Free Entry

3rd May - Hog Roast, Bouncy Castle, live music from 8pm 4th May -Traditional Sunday Roast, Bouncy Castle, live Country Caelidh band from 4pm 5th May - BBQ favourites, Live Music @ 2.30pm with The One Eyed Cats s Vintage Car display in the paddock Peterborough Morris Dancers s Bouncy Castle Main Street, Etton, Peterborough PE6 7DA - 01733 252387

www.thegoldenpheasant.net

Poacher'S PubS PaSt & PreSent

the boat & railway hotel, Stamford Stamford has a plentiful choice of pubs and bars, but like many communities has lost quite a few of its traditional watering holes over the years. The Boat & Railway Hotel dated back to the late 18 th century (originally being The Boat), but as the date over the door reveals, was rebuilt in 1849.

It stood at the junction of St Mary’s Hill (on the old Great North Road before the A1 bypassed the town) and Wharf Road.

It closed in 1962 and was semi-derelict when

photographed in 1974. It has since been rebuilt as office accommodation.

As the stillvisible sign painted on the end wall reveals, it sold beer from Melbourn’s Brewery.

There has been a brewery in All Saints, Stamford from 1825 and this was purchased

by Herbert Melbourn in 1869.

This continued in operation until 1974, when it was closed by the then-owner Lord Liverpool as the brewing equipment was in poor order.

Samuel Smith of Tadcaster, North Yorkshire took over

the supply of beer to many of the former Melbourn’s pubs and for a time the old brewery was a museum. A range of bottled fruit beers is currently handcrafted at All Saints (and are finished and bottled at Tadcaster), while Samuel Smith has converted the front of the brewery into a bar called Melbourn Bros.

The Poacher

Marching to t

Motor vehicles and musicians, not always the greatest of bedfellows. Think Marc Bolan and Eddie Cochran, and now, March to the Grave’s Andy Goodacre. Don’t worry, he’s not dead, but he’s on the phone with a novel reason for rescheduling our interview, “My tractor’s broken down, any chance you can get over to the farm?”

After a bit of a drive, somewhere off the A1, I find the farm and in one of the buildings, MTTG HQ, the band’s rehearsal space. Judging by the photos, posters and press clippings on the wall, it’s also their black museum.

March to the Grave began life at Stamford School in the late1970s, when they were called

GBH and the Riot Squad. They took on their current name at the end of 1979 and played their first gig at the long-gone Scotgate Cellar Bar, Stamford in April 1980.

Andy and guitarist (originally bassist) Rick ‘Ricky Starr’ Simpson have been with the band from the start. And with the exception of the six months Andy spent in Australia in 1989, have played around the Midlands ever since. “We’re actually playing in Berlin in May,” says Andy, we’re over for a stag night so I asked Arturo Bassick from The Lurkers if there were any venues we could play there. An hour later he rang back to say he’d got us a gig at a bar called Wild at Heart.”

To this day, Andy counts The Lurkers and Slaughter and the Dogs as his biggest influence. A cover of Slaughter’s Quick Joey Small makes regular appearances at gigs but it’s another habit of that band’s singer Wayne Barrett that Andy replicates at the end of every performance. “I followed Slaughter and the Dogs around quite a bit in 1978 and remember the singer putting talc in his hair and the dust storms it created looked really good under the lights. So I decided to throw talc into the audience.”

Is it always talc? “Nah, if I’ve forgotten to buy any, a bag of flour will have to do.”

The band’s eye-catching performances are enjoyed by a loyal fan base, with many

their oWn beat

Clockwise from left: Andy ‘Gus’ Goodacre in MTTG HQ; a young Rick Simpson is flanked by The Destructors’ Andy ‘Boom-tit’ MacDonald and Allen Adams, circa 1981; the current line-up up – Stuart ‘Sticks’ Meadows (drums), Andy ‘Gus’ Goodacre (vocals), Paul ‘Sponge’ Selby (bass) and Rick ‘Ricky Starr’ Simpson (guitar); the ‘heritage’ plaque and Gus, all talc’d up.

members of it having followed them since 1980. Even children of original fans can now be found in the audience, leading Andy to remark, “The youth element keeps us young at heart.”

Being young at heart has led to the band getting accused of a variety of pranks around Stamford including the ‘Clay Badger Superpub incident’, where signs promoting the aforementioned venue were put up on a derelict building.

But one prank the band are definitely involved with is putting up a plaque, their take on an English Heritage blue plaque, on a house that Andy owns and once lived in with the band.

“There’s a plaque nearby for Sir Malcolm Sargent so it’s only right that we’re suitably recognised.”

The band recently released The Raven Tapes, a four-track EP on CD and vinyl picture disc.

Containing the band’s trademark knockabout three-chord thrash, the lyrics cover serious matters such as an ex-girlfriend taking back her record collection and – in the case of Whose Chicken?

– reminding listeners of the work put in by farmers in feeding the nation. There’s more to come, with a live CD and DVD – recorded in March to a packed house at Mama Liz’s Voodoo Lounge, celebrating the band’s 35 th anniversary – scheduled for later in the year.

It won’t be the first time that Rick Simpson’s appeared on a live album, having been snapped in the crowd at a UK Subs’ gig for the cover of their 1980 release Crash Course. Since then, March to the Grave have opened for the Subs several times and are looking forward to supporting the band at Mama Liz’s on 22 May as part of lead singer Charlie Harper’s 70 th birthday tour.

“Charlie’s such a humble bloke,” says Andy, “a really nice guy.” But is Andy prepared to follow in his footsteps and continue playing into his 70s?

“I hope so, I have no plans to give up, my philosophy on life is to get out and have a good time.”

raiLroVing in rutLand

Rail and ale make the perfect combination for a stress-free excursion. In this first in a series looking at cheap day returns from Peterborough, we visit Oakham.

Rutland’s attractive county town can be reached by the hourly CrossCountry train in just 26 minutes from Peterborough. A return fare costs £11.90 (£9.80 from Stamford) and a variety of good ‘all day’ pubs are within walking distance of Oakham railway station.

You need not go far for a first taste of good ale, as the grainstore – home of it’s namesake brewery – occupies an original railway building adjacent to the station exit. Open every weekday from 11am (9am at weekends), the full range of Grainstore beers are available (but no guests) and can be enjoyed fresh from

the brewery in authentic surroundings and a convivial atmosphere. Live music is an important part of the Grainstore offering and guided brewery tours are available on Sundays for a fee of £7.95.

It’s tempting to stay for a while here, but we opted to move on, building in a return visit at the end of the tour while keeping an eye on the return train times.

As you reach the end of Station Road, take a moment to admire the pretty ex-Midland Railway signal box guarding the town centre railway crossing. This has its place in history as the prototype for Airfix’s (later Dapol’s) model railway accessory.

From here you

can see the railway inn on Station Road, also open at 11.

This Enterprise house offers regular live entertainment, has Fullers London Pride and a guest beer on handpump (Moorhouse’s Pride of Pendle on our visit). Licensee Shaun Jackson is a keen sport fan – there are an incredible number of screens throughout the pub – and it tends to be the meeting place for the local branch of the Leicester City supporters club (no great animosity towards Posh fans but we are, it seems, a bogey club for them). Hanging from the ceilings are mugs from every Football League club, indeed every Scottish Premier club except Partick Thistle, apparently,

so if any one has a spare…?

Round the corner, in Northgate, you come to Oakham’s newest real ale watering hole – the three crowns, part of the Steamin’ Billy group mentioned in our last issue, offers real ales, ‘craft’ beers plus a cider and a perry. Steamin’ Billy beers are brewed independently at the Belvoir brewer in Old Dalby.

Three – Bitter, Tipsy Fisherman and 1485 – were available to us, all in good form. For lovers of ‘craft’ beers, there are eight available from all over the place including familiar breweries such as Brewsters and Thornbridge, but also America and the continent.

Despite my aversion to beers containing bubbles, I just had to try the Jaipur, and yes, it was very good indeed.

Regular entertainment includes jazz, quiz and ‘open mic’ nights.

At the end of Northgate sits the Wheatsheaf, an Everards house with the usual Beacon, Tiger and Original on, plus Greene King IPA, Directors

The Three Crowns features ales from Steamin’Billy and craft beers from around the country. and a cider. It’s an exquisite low beamed, multi-roomed traditional pub, but the quality of the beer was decidedly iffy so we didn’t hang around.

Turning right into Church Street, passing the closed Merry Monk, you arrive in the busy High Street. We made for the admiral hornblower another very attractive building, but much larger with accommodation and lots of

The Admiral Hornblower, under pressure from Wetherspoons?

diners. Greene King Yardbird and IPA, and Grainstore 1050 were available, plus an extensive menu. Although a tempting place to eat, we weren’t blown away by the quality of the food or the service. One wonders whether this place may have been affected by the recent opening of the Wetherspoon pub over the road?

The new Wetherspoon outlet, the captain noel newton has to be visited – up to ten beers are available, plus the usual value food offering.

We visited in International Beer week, so were faced with a mind-boggling variety of ales from as far away as Australia and the USA. I opted for something far closer to home – a very tasty Black Dragon Cider from Gwynt-yDraig in Wales Turning left outside the pub and along the High Street it’s worth a quick diversion into the Crown arcade – looking like an old hotel complex, but now home to a variety of small shops – where you can

find a small café bar known as the crown tavern where a single handpump was dispensing Grainstore Red Kite.

Turning into the Market Place, you’ll be tempted by the delightfully named Whipper inn hotel, again offering a single Grainstore variety (Triple B), friendly staff and clean facilities, but if you’re looking for

Antique charm at The Lord Nelson.

something more akin to a traditional pub, the Lord nelson a couple of doors down is a must. Fans of other ‘Thurlby Group’ pubs such as Smiths in Bourne of the Tobie Norris in Stamford, will feel at home here with its traditional décor, enamel signs and other memorabilia. The Nelson is deceptively large with many rooms, a good range of beers including London Pride, Castlerock Harvest Pale and three guests (Grainstore Red Kite, Navigation Arctic Blast and Derby Double Mash when we visited) plus pizzas and other good quality food offerings.

Oakham’s Pubs

If there’s time it’s worth wandering up to the odd house at the junction of Station Road and Burley Road – this is a beautiful old building with an incredible baronial style hall at one end.

There’s an enormous fireplace, which is sadly not in use, replaced by a rather ugly metal pipe blowing hot air. Beer offering includes the ubiquitous Abbot Ale, Bombardier and Doombar.

From here it’s a five to ten minute walk back along Station Road – we tried the White Lion in Melton Road but had to leave it for another day as it’s closed between 3 and 6pm, so… time for a swift one back at the grainstore.

Chris Shilling, with help from Tony Shilling and ‘Jocky’ Martin

the green man w Stamford 29 Scotgate, Stamford

Tel: 01780 753598

SerVing eight reaL aLeS and Six reaL ciderS

ESTABLISHED IN 1796 AS ONE OF THE ORIGINAL STAMFORD ALE HOUSES WITH A LARGE BEER GARDEN, A WELCOMING REAL FIRE, ACCOMMODATION WITH FREE WI-FI. Now Showing We host two annual beer festivals at Easter and in September

Regular live music events, please call for more information.

oPen aLL day LunchtiMe Food SerVed SeVen dayS a WeeK

Monday - Saturday 12-3pm • Sunday 12 - 4pm

One Course £8.00 • Two Courses £10.00 Three Courses £12.00

by Cardinal Cox

Pub Scrawl

May marks the 150th anniversary of the death of John Clare and various commemorative events have been lined up. Northampton Museum and Art Gallery (www.northampton.gov.uk /museums) is currently holding an exhibition of some of his original manuscripts, which runs until 8 June.

Peterborough Museum (www.vivacity-peterborough.com) is also hosting an exhibition of its collection of Clare’s manuscripts from 10 May to 22 June. The Museum will also be hosting various events through this time. On 17 May there will be a concert featuring Clare’s poems set to music at St John’s Church, Cathedral Square. Tickets for this cost £12.50 for a reserved seat or £10 for an unreserved one. Then on 21 May (at 7pm) artist John Lincoln will be talking at John Clare Cottage, Helpston (www.clarecottage.org) about his work inspired by Clare’s life and locality.

Tickets for this cost £6 and include a glass of wine and light refreshment.

Over in Oundle on 6 May, to coincide with the start of the Ladies Cycle Tour the Guardian’s cycling editor, William Fotheringham, will be talking about his new book, Racing Hard, at St Peter’s Church, North Street from 7.45pm. Tickets are £7 (£5 concessions) and available from Oundle Box Office, 4 New Street, Oundle or by ringing 01832 274734. Full details of this and other literary events in the town can be found at oundlelitfest.org.uk Peterborough’s Central Library is hosting a talk on 21 May with two authors who have set their novels in Elizabethan England. Rory Clements writes the John Shakespeare detective series, and Marina Fiorato’s latest book, Beatrice and Benedick, is a re-telling of the play Much Ado About Nothing. The Evening starts at 7pm, tickets

the cardinal’s calendar 6 May/3 June - Poets united meet at the PCVS building on Lincoln Road (opposite Geneva Bar). Usually they have a loose theme for poems for the first half of the evening and then general readings for the second. For details ring Viv on 01733 340560.

14 May/11 June - Pint of Poetry, dash of drama @ Charter’s.

Starts 8pm, be there early if you want to read.

21 May/18 June - the Poetry Factory offers support and constructive criticism, and is held at the PCVS building. For information, ring Pete Irving on 01733 890537.

21 May/18 June - Fen Speak is a new poetry night, alternating between the Fenland Museum, Wisbech (May) and the Babylon Gallery, Ely (June). Visit www.adec.org.uk for more details.

28 May/25 June - Stamford’s Pint of Poetry takes place from 8pm at the cellar bar at the Arts Centre on St Mary’s Street.

Events to mark 150 years since John Clare’s death are taking place in May and June.

are £5 (£3 concessions) and are available from either the Central Library or from Waterstones on Bridge Street.

Local boy made good Mark Grist will be at the Key Theatre on Saturday 24 May with his show Rogue Teacher.

The show starts at 7.45pm but get there early. Tickets are £12 (£10 concessions).

As part of Peterborough’s Heritage Festival fringe, Judith Allnatt will be talking about her new novel, The Moon Field, on Friday 27 June at the Central Library.

Her new book is set during World War One and explores the loss of innocence experienced by the men (many little more than boys) sent to the trenches. The talk starts at 7pm and tickets cost £5 (£4 concessions), available from any Peterborough library.

Cardinal Cox is currently celebrating his four years of writing this column with informal, one-man cheese and wine evenings. It’s just a shame no one told the security staff at Tesco before he started swigging from the bottle before paying.

the Palmerston arms “oundle Road’s Permanent Beer festival”

Ukulele Night (Every Thursday) See our band and join in.

Vinyl Night (Check Facebook for dates) Bring your favourite record along.

Quiz Night (Every Sunday) Cash and Beer Prizes 82 Oundle Road, Peterborough PE2 9PA Tel: 01733 565865 o p e n i n g T i m e s : Monday - Thursday 15.00 - 23.00 Friday and Saturday 12.00 - 00.00 Sunday 12.00 - 23.30

LiStingS

May 01 - Acoustic Open Mic, Mama Liz’s, Stamford Open Mic, Hand & Heart, Peterborough Open Mic, The Crown, Peterborough 02 - Twenty4, The Pear Tree, Stamford Children Of The Revolution, The Dragon, Werrington George McCranor, Charters, Peterborough The Colonel’s Boogie Band, Iron Horse, Market Deeping The Influence, Coalheaver’s Arms, Woodston Davison Woods, Cock Inn, Werrington The Chattertons, Mama Liz’s, Stamford NewGen Crash & Burn, O’Neill’s, Peterborough zeb Rootz, The Crown, Peterborough CJ Hatt, North Street Bar, Peterborough (11pm) 03 - SOS Rock Band, Grainstore, Oakham Mistreated, Cock Inn, Werrington Triple 7, The Blue Boar, Eye The Limit, Straw Bear, Whittlesey Anything Goes, The Crown, Peterborough The 707, Ebenezer’s, Woodston Della, Stilton Country Club Dead Bone Ramblers, Iron Horse, Market Deeping Circa ‘73, The Dragon, Werrington The Overdubs, Coalheaver’s Arms, Woodston Diamond Empire, Charters, Peterborough Roller Derby Fundraiser Gig, Mama Liz’s, Stamford 101 Proof, Angel Inn, Yarwell The Sound Injectors, The Birds, Spalding Hooker, London Inn, Stamford 04 - Circa ‘73, The Stage, Market Deeping Bianca & The Top Cats, Mama Liz’s, Stamford James Edmonds, The Crown, Peterborough (3pm) Quiz Night, The Crown, Peterborough (8pm) Cheesy Disco, Stilton Country Club Cash Quiz, Dragon, Werrington The Influence, The Stage, Market Deeping Detourz, London Inn, Stamford 05 - The Guards, The Talbot, Stilton One Eyed Cats, Golden Pheasant, Etton (2pm) Stilton Cheese Rolling May Day Party, The Crown, Peterborough Charters Unplugged, Charters, Peterborough 06 - Stacey’s Open Mic, Dragon, Werrington 07 - Charity Quiz, Grainstore, Oakham The Good Knives, Mama Liz’s, Stamford 08 - Hammerlock and Rattleshack, Iron Horse, Market Deeping New College EP Launch, Mama Liz’s, Stamford Sleaford Ukulele Orchestra, Poacher Line Music Train Captain Backwash, Hand & Heart, Peterborough 09 - Let There B/DC, Cherry Tree, Woodston Crossing the Tracks, Iron Horse, Market Deeping I Am The Dice, Mama Liz’s, Stamford Dr A’s Rhythm & Grooves, Cock Inn, Werrington Overdubs, The Crown, Peterborough Gina Baker, The Railway, Oakham Bon & Justin, North Street Bar, Peterborough (11pm) 10 - The Limit, The Blue Boar, Eye Pennyless, The Mason’s Arms, Bourne Porky Pig, Cock Inn, Werrington The Overdubs, London Inn, Stamford

Quiz, Hand & Heart, Peterborough Dizzy Miss Lizzys, The Crown, Peterborough Lee Enstone, North Street Bar, Peterborough (11pm) Dead Rabbits, Prince of Wales, Castor Fuse (House/Deep Tech), Mama Liz’s, Stamford KickBack, Straw Bear, Whittlesey Chris King Robinson, Iron Horse, Market Deeping Rocket Dogs, Dragon, Werrington 101 Proof, Swiss Cottage, Woodston Litvenenko, Charters, Peterborough (10.30pm) 11 - Twenty4, The Crown Inn, Uppingham Lesley Curtis, Mama Liz’s, Stamford (4pm) Shane Poole Elvis, The Crown, Peterborough (3pm) Quiz Night, The Crown, Peterborough Cash Quiz, Dragon, Werrington 12 - Real Ale Club, The Crown, Peterborough 14 - Sheppys Cider Tasting, Grainstore, Oakham 15 - Accidents & Stars, Mama Liz’s, Stamford Open Mic, Hand & Heart, Peterborough 16 - The Limit, The Ostrich, Peterborough Rock Out, The Crown, Peterborough Tallawah, Iron Horse, Market Deeping Voodoo Lounge Live (TBA), Mama Liz’s, Stamford Haze, Cock Inn, Werrington New Generation Crash & Burn, Cherry Tree, Woodston Under_covered, Dragon, Werrington

Special events coming up...

Thursday 22nd May

Thursday 29th May

‘Hearts in Harmony’

Little Miracles Charity night 2 rooms, 20 different artists inc. Opaque, Lexie Green, The Deltaphonics, Jessies Ghost. £7.50 Admission includes CD. All proceeds to charity.

Friday 6th June

with support from John Quinn

Saturday 31st May

2 rooms 2 bands

“Intimidatingly Good” Nick Hornby, 31 Songs Tickets £10 available from North Street Bar or wegottickets.com

Courtyard Room:

The Nuggets Upstairs bar:

Bianca & The Topcats 11pm – free admission

Saturday 14th June

WORLD CUP England v Italy 2 rooms 2 bands plus music from Shane Poole Courtyard Room:

The Fleeting Minds Plus support Upstairs bar:

The Rainmen

Charity weekend in support of NSPCC Childline in the Courtyard room Charity Fun Casino Night,

Saturday 21st June Top local Ska band

Tickets £25

Tickets £5

Friday 20th June

including Champagne Reception

The Gangsters

FREE entry to the main bar every weekend! @northstreetbar

@northstreetbar

For a full listing of what’s coming up visit www.northstreetbar.co.uk t. 01733 343 785

Tickets on sale for events in Courtyard Room.

NORTH STREET

the Woolpack Stanground's Best Kept Secret - A 15 minute walk from the centre of town

Open all day, every day from 12 noon (11.30am Saturday) n Up to four real ales available n Food served Tuesday to Sunday lunchtimes and Monday to Saturday evenings n Quiz on Sunday evenings with cash prizes n

beer Festival

Thursday 29 May - Sun 1 June 10 real ales outside plus ciders and live music including Ian Graham & Kat Moore (31st May)

Now Showing

North Street, Stanground, Peterborough PE2 8JF (01733) 753544

Offshore Rivers, North Street Bar, Peterborough (11pm) 17 - Circa ‘73, The Blue Boar, Eye The 707, The Dragon, Werrington The Relics, The Crown, Peterborough Dave Cass, Angel Inn, Yarwell The Guards, Cock Inn, Werrington Jackson Creek Band, Iron Horse, Market Deeping Red Wine Blues, Straw Bear, Whittlesey Cheese Night, Mama Liz’s, Stamford Percival Filth, Stilton Country Club 18 - Paspatou, Mama Liz’s, Stamford (4pm) Cash Quiz, Dragon, Werrington Meg McPartlin, The Crown, Peterborough (3pm) Quiz Night, The Crown, Peterborough 19 - Real Ale Club, The Crown, Peterborough 22 - Two Gentlemen Play the Pops, Grainstore, Oakham The UK Subs, Mama Liz’s, Stamford Charity Band Night, North Street Bar, Peterborough (8pm) 23 - Soul Slider, Grainstore, Oakham Children Of The Revolution, O’Neill’s, Peterborough One Eyed Cats, Dragon, Werrington Voodoo Lounge Live (TBA), Mama Liz’s, Stamford Slide to Open, Cock Inn, Werrington New Generation Crash & Burn, The Crown, Peterborough Rocket ’57, Cherry Tree Woodston Velocity, London Inn, Stamford Shane Poole, North Street Bar, Peterborough (11pm) 24 - The 707, The Railway, Whittlesey Pennyless, The Plough, Horbling Off Shore Rivers, Charters, Peterborough (10:30pm) Porky Pig, The Fenman, Stanground White Spirit, Cock Inn, Werrington Children Of The Revolution, Ebenezer’s, Woodston Tallawah, Straw Bear, Whittlesey Alpha, The Crown, Peterborough From A Dark Place, Mama Liz’s, Stamford The Mollgrips, Dragon, Werrington Marmalade, Stilton Country Club Albion, Pear Tree, Stamford The Ex-Tones, The Railway, Oakham UK Gangsters, London Inn, Stamford 25 - Children Of The Revolution, Hub’s Place, Whittlesey The Overdubs, The Stage, Market Deeping Joe Solo, The Crown, Peterborough (3pm) Quiz Night, The Crown, Peterborough (8pm) Poorboy, Mama Liz’s, Stamford (4pm) Spirit of Hendrix, Charters, Peterborough (2.30pm) Cash Quiz, Dragon, Werrington 26 - Bank Holiday Party, The Crown, Peterborough 28 - New College Event, Mama Liz’s, Stamford 29 - Funhouse Comedy Club, Grainstore, Oakham Voodoo Stands Up, Mama Liz’s, Stamford Gone to the Dogs, Poacher Line Music Train Boo Hewerdine, North St Bar, Peterborough (8pm) Cheese Club, Hand & Heart, Peterborough 30 - The Guards, O’Neill’s, Peterborough Electric Warriors, The Crown, Peterborough One Eyed Cats, London Inn, Stamford The Gangsters, Brewery Tap, Peterborough Soul Runners, Iron Horse, Market Deeping Voodoo Lounge Live - (TBA), Mama Liz’s, Stamford Cuttin’ Loose, Bourne Festival (7.45pm) Bullet Tooth, Bourne Festival (8.15pm) Robbie Williams Banned. Bourne Fest (9.45pm) NewGen Crash & Burn, Fayre Spot, Bretton zack zoot, North Street Bar, Peterborough (11pm) The Brays, Dragon, Werrington

Whole Point, Charters, Peterborough 31 - Twenty4, London Inn, Stamford The 707, The Ostrich, Peterborough The Guards, The Golden Fleece, Stamford Porky Pig, The Swiss Cottage, Woodston Domino, Prince of Wales, Castor The Malingerers, Iron Horse, Market Deeping Easier Said, Straw Bear, Whittlesey Go With The Flow, The Crown, Peterborough Ramshackle Serenade, Cock Inn, Werrington Dr A’s Rhythm and Grooves, Bourne Festival (12.15pm) Clutching At Straws, Bourne Festival (1.15pm) Albion, Bourne Festival (2.15pm) Soul Solution, Bourne Festival (3.15pm) The Lazlo Device, Bourne Festival (4.30pm) Autumn Storm, Bourne Festival (5.30pm) The Influence, Bourne Festival (7.15pm) The Nuggetts, Bourne Festival (8.15pm) The League of Mentalmen, Bourne Festival (9.45pm) Karaoke, Dragon, Werrington The Moll Grips, Stage, Market Deeping The Nuggets, North St Bar (main), Peterborough (11pm) Bianca & The Topcats, North St Bar, Peterborough (11pm) The Sound Injectors, Stilton Country Club June 01 - High Rollers, London Inn, Stamford Big Lunch + Stacey, The Crown, Peterborough (3pm) The Little Red Kings, Bourne Festival (12.15pm) The Alter Egos, Bourne Festival (1.15pm) The Red, Bourne Festival (2.15pm) Maxwell, Hammer & Smith, Bourne Festival (3.15pm) Walkway, Bourne Festival (4.30pm) Sons Of Kalel, Bourne Festival (5.30pm)

Revolver, Bourne Festival (7.15pm) The High Rollers, Bourne Festival (8.45pm) Pennyless, The Meadows, Stamford (1pm) One Eyed Cats, Charters, Peterborough (2.30pm) Cash Quiz, Dragon, Werrington 02 - Charters Unplugged, Charters, Peterborough Real Ale Club, The Crown, Peterborough 03 - Stacey’s Open Mic, Dragon, Werrington 04 - Charity Quiz, Grainstore, Oakham Borderland Brawlers Quiz Night, Mama Liz’s, Stamford 05 - Quiz Night, The Goat, Frognall Open Mic, The Crown, Peterborough Acoustic Open Mic, Mama Liz’s, Stamford Open Mic, Hand & Heart, Peterborough 06 - Retrolux, The Cock Inn, Werrington Children Of The Revolution, North St Bar, Peterborough Circa ‘73, The Crown, Peterborough Radius 45, The Falcon, Whittlesey NewGen Crash & Burn, Blue Bell, Dogsthorpe Front Cover, Dragon, Werrington Alan’s Jam, Pig n Falcon, St Neots Cuttin’ Loose, Mason’s Arms, Bourne On Dis Ting (Drum & Bass), Mama Liz’s, Stamford The Fleeting Minds, North Street Bar, Peterborough (9pm) The Rainmen, North St Bar (main), Peterborough (11pm) 07 - Replica, Grainstore, Oakham Undercovered, The Blue Boar, Eye Dan Cooper, The Railway, Oakham Dirty House Wives, Mama Liz’s, Stamford The Limit, Ebenezer’s, Woodston Lexie Green, Angel Inn, Yarwell The 707, The Peacock, Fletton Pennyless, King’s Head, Apethorpe The Overdubs, The Straw Bear, Whittlesey Radius 45, Prince of Wales, Castor Kickback, Cock Inn, Werrington NewGen Crash & Burn, Dragon, Werrrington Susanne Webb, Stilton Country Club Rocket ’57, Railway, Ramsey Tallawah, Old Coach House, Market Deeping World Cup Warm Up Party, The Crown, Peterborough zeb Roots, London Inn, Stamford Chris Hatt, Charters, Peterborough UB40 Reunited, Burghley House, Stamford 08 - Cash Quiz, Dragon, Werrington Bianca & the Topcats, Mama Liz’s, Stamford (4pm) One Eyed Cats (+BBQ), Five Horseshoes, Barholm COTR acoustic, The Crown, Peterborough (3pm) Groove Cartel, Charters, Peterborough (2.30pm) 12 - Captain Backwash, Hand & Heart, Peterborough World Cup Launch Party, The Crown, Peterborough 13 - The Limit, Dragon, Werrington The Guards, The Solstice, Peterborough High Rollers, O’Neill’s, Peetrborough Phoenix, Cock Inn, Werrington NewGen Crash & Burn, Cross Keys, Woodston Revolver, Golden Fleece, Stamford Johnny Cash Tribute, The Crown, Peterborough Dan Collins, North Street Bar, Peterborough (11pm) 14 - England v Italy, The Blue Boar, Eye Karaoke, Cock Inn, Werrington England World Cup Party, The Crown, Peterborough DB5, Golden Pheasant, Etton Punk All Dayer, Mama Liz’s, Stamford 8 Miles High, The Railway, Oakham Shane Poole + England v Italy, North St Bar, Peterborough Quiz, Hand & Heart, Peterborough

Ex-Pistol Glen Matlock, Stamford Arts Centre on 25 June.

Fedz, London Inn, Stamford 15 - Pennyless, St Mary’s Church, Whaplode (3pm) Fathers’ Day Party, The Crown, Peterborough (3pm) Cash Quiz, Dragon, Werrington Grounded, Charters, Peterborough (2.30pm) BBQ, Five Horseshoes, Barholm 19 - England - World Cup, The Blue Boar, Eye (8pm) Open Mic, Hand & Heart, Peterborough England World Cup Party, The Crown, Peterborough 20 - The Guards, London Inn, Stamford Porky Pig, The Firkin, Bourne Veltones, The Crown, Peterborough Children Of The Revolution, The Solstice, Peterborough The Overdubs, The Rose, Frognall Rocket ’57, Cock Inn, Werrington Rock Out, Dragon, Werrington Young-plugged Open Mic, The Cellar Bar, Stamford Tallawah, Cherry Tree, Woodston Cuttin’ Loose, Swiss Cottage, Woodston Charity Casino Night,North St Bar, Peterborough (7.30pm) Tom & Pete, North Street Bar, Peterborough (11pm) 21 - Evil Scarecrow/DValley Pile Driver, Mama Liz’s, Stamford Petrology, The Green Man, Stamford Liam Robinson Dance Band, UReform Church, Stamford The Mistreated, The Angel Inn, Yarwell Electric Warriors, Cock Inn, Werrington Son of a Gun, Stilton Country Club Brotherhood’s Roundabout, The Crown, Peterborough The Mistreaters, Angel Inn, Yarwell Hooker, Dragon, Werrington Heartbreaker, The Blue Boar, Eye Porky Pig, Waggon & Horses, Langtoft Reverb, Charters, Peterborough (10.30pm) Fenboy 3, The Nags Head, Eastree Leon, London Inn, Stamford 22 - Pennyless, The Castle Inn, Castle Bytham (12pm) ChildrenOfT Revolution, Charters, Peterborough (2.30pm) Cash Quiz, Dragon, Werrington Kat & Ian, The Crown, Peterborough (3pm) Quiz Night, The Crown, Peterborough (8pm) Poorboy, Mama Liz’s, Stamford (4pm) 24 - England - World Cup, The Blue Boar, Eye (5pm) England World Cup Party, The Crown, Peterborough 26 - Funhouse Comedy Club, Grainstore, Oakham Paspatou, Mama Liz’s, Stamford The Freefall, Poacher Line Music Train Cheese Club, Hand & Heart, Peterborough 27 - Retrolux, The Swiss Cottage, Woodston The Guards, Cherry Tree, Woodston Children Of The Revolution, O’Neill’s, Peterborough Leon, Dragon, Werrington Rocket ‘57, The Crown, Peterborough The Whole Point, Brewery Tap, Peterborough 101 Proof, Cock Inn, Werrington

The Wattingers, London Inn, Stamford Rocket ’57, The Crown, Peterborough John Quinn, North Street Bar, Peterborough (11pm) Captain Obvious, London Inn, Stamford 28 - Opaque/Tin Pigeons, Voodoo Lounge, Stamford The 707, The Straw Bear, Whittlesey Pennyless, The Church, Deeping St Nicholas Emerald, Cock Inn, Werrington Circa ‘73, Ebenezer’s, Woodston The Wattingers, The Railway, Ramsey Young Buskers in the Bar, The Cellar Bar, Stamford Shake Hands Eric, North Street Bar, Peterborough (11pm) Karaoke, Dragon, Werrington Grumpy Old Men, The Crown, Peterborough Groove Cartel, London Inn, Stamford 29 - Stamford Music Festival Finale, Mama Liz’s (2pm) Cash Quiz, Dragon, Werrington Leon, Charters, Peterborough (2.30pm) 40s Veterans Day Party, The Crown, Peterborough (3pm)

9a north Street Stamford pe9 1el 01780 765888 www.mamaliz.co.uk

Real ales, liVe MUsic & DJs caMRa PUb

of the

Y eaR 2 0 1 0

beer Festivals May 01-04 - Coalheaver’s Arms, Woodston 02-05 - Stilton Country Club 03-05 - Golden Pheasant, Etton 08-11 - Prince of Wales, Castor 22-26 - Grainstore, Oakham 23-25 - Iron Horse, Market Deeping 23-26 - Blue Bell, Easton on the Hill 23-26 - The Goat, Frognall 29-01 - The Woolpack, Stanground 30-01 - Bourne Festival 31-01 - Angel Inn, Yarwell June 07 - King’s Head, Apethrope 20-29 - Stamford Music Festival 21 - Steamin’ Blues, Nene Valley Railway 26-28 - Burghley Homebrew, Newborough 26-28 - Rutland County Museum, Oakham

rhythm & booze, issue 25 - May/June 2014 All written material, unless otherwise stated, © Simon Stabler All events are listed free of charge. To ensure inclusion in the July/August issue, or have any other news included in the magazine, email simonstabler@aol.com by 6 June 2014. Entry cannot be guaranteed for late submissions.

For advertising queries, contact Chris Shilling on 01778 421550, 07736 635916 or by email chris@shillingmedia.co.uk

advertising rates £100 - full page £70 - half page £40 - quarter page * Discounts for series bookings.

aMeRicaN bottleD cRaft b eeRs & coNtiNeNtal lageRs steakhoUse, c Reole & c aJUN RestaURaNt aND b aR/lUNch MeNU Follow us on Twitter @mamalizsbar

REVIEWS the big Melt DVD, BFI, BFIVD999

Like last year’s From the Sea to the Land Beyond, The Big Melt combines clips from the BFI National archive with a musical soundtrack to create an entirely new film. In this case, it’s a celebration of Britain’s industrial heritage and in particular, steel. One of Sheffield’s most famous sons, Jarvis Cocker, is responsible for the music, while Martin Wallace, his colleague from Central St Martins College of Art and Design, directs.

Both men have worked hard on the film with some brilliant and unusual clips, accompanied by a sympathetic score that echoes the sound of northern England over the last 100 years; electronic classics such as The Human League’s Being Boiled are given new depth being played by a brass band, while Cocker’s band Pulp, reunited in all but name, provide the backbone of the orchestra.

Accompanied by a book of essays, extras on the disc include an interview with Wallace and Cocker, and the orchestra performing live during a screening of the film. That only downside to the disc is that unlike From the Sea to the Land Beyond, it doesn’t include a subtitle track to identify where a clip comes from. giving it both barrels!

By Alan Goldsmith, Fallow Publishing, hardback, £14.99 Knowing early on that a life of subservience, and bowing and scraping, wasn’t for him, Alan Goldsmith did what he could to make money. A period was spent as a junior poacher and despite finding work after school in a timber yard, it just provided

him with resources – a phone and secretary – to operate his sideline as a music promoter.

Starting as manager of his cousin’s band, Goldsmith brought the likes of The Who, Small Faces and Billy Fury to his hometown, Bishops Stortford, he later put on concerts at country estates featuring Dionne Warwick and Gladys Knight among others. Always one to move on to something new, he found himself up against Russian gangsters when attempting to borrow a Soyuz rocket and learnt the final secrets of the Nazis when he reunited Adolf Galland with Robert Stafford Tuck for an air show.

While there’s a lot to celebrate in his life, Goldsmith finds time to berate the tax man and believes that health and safety legislation, which put paid to his stunt show spectaculars, is turning Britain into a fourth world country.

Given what happened to Eddie Kidd, who often performed at these events, I would have thought that he’d understand the authorities’ concerns.

RoCk ouT WeekeNdeR 23rd-25th MAY

Live music from Relentless (23rd May, 9pm), Sixteen and The Sidewinders (24th May, 9pm) and Jack Rabbit Slim (25th May, 9.30pm) -

£5 entry per evening

great Food and neW extended Menu LiVe MuSic • reaL aLe • theMed nightS

every Sunday - club Sundays (10am-2pm) all bike, trike, Scooter, classic car clubs Welcome 10% off food and drink for club Members. Free entry - book your club visit now

every tuesday - hot rod night (6-11pm) all hot rods and classic cars Welcome Food and drink available

every thursday - bike night (6-11pm) Food and drink available & Live entertainment

check Listings Pages for other March & april events 2 High Street Market Deeping, Peterborough PE6 8EB info@ironhorseranchhouse.co.uk • www.ironhorseranchhouse.co.uk