The
Pub Pages
BEER & SK ITTLE S P. A. BAXTER ANYONE WHO HAS had the dubious pleasure of being a regular reader of this column over the years will have realised that I have a passion for pubs and pub games. Yes, one doesn't need to be a Sherlock Holmes to work that out! Ever since I visited our local pub in the early days of my boozing career, I was bemused by the trail of blokes in and out of the bar for beer, the cheery look
26 THE VISITOR April 2022
on the faces of one set of them by the end of the evening, and the dour look on the other, and the subsequent ‘three cheers’ which I'm pleased to say is still part of the ritual. It was only one evening when I saw a chap I was apprenticed to that I found out they were playing this mysterious games called ‘skittles’. I looked, and I was hooked! Way back in those pre-internet days of a night out for half-a-quid and petrol at 35p a gallon, the only way to find out ‘stuff’ was a visit to the library. Yes, I spent many a happy hour poring over various tomes searching out the history. Despite my fascination and the occasional casual game organised with my work colleagues, it was more than ten years before I joined a team to play in a league, and other than time off for injury and whilst I worked away (the perils of self-employment) play has continued. One would think, perhaps, that play (and scores) would have improved over the years, but sadly I think my peak was some thirty years ago! If you feel like dropping me a line about your experiences with the game, then please do so (via email address at end of this column). As we related last month, we've lost a huge amount of pubs over
the years and none more so than in the last two, for obvious reasons. Sadly, most have gone for good, although I have heard that ‘The Armoury’ which effectively was one of Yeovil's ‘newest’ pubs anyway, which closed not long ago, has now reopened. I wish the hosts the very good fortunes they deserve for taking on a pub in these times. However, I would hope that they get the phone numbers sorted very quickly as I was unable to contact them (both were ‘not recognised’) so unfortunately I cannot mention their names and their concept on the new direction that the pub will be taking (although a sneak report I have received from an informant is that the new direction is definitely the right one). Incidentally it has one of the shortest alleys in the Yeovil skittle league, and our results there in the past variable. Another Yeovil pub I must mention is the Quicksilver Mail. I've known host Pete Lambden for some years and whilst we don't see each other very much, it's always good to carry on from where we left off and catch up. His beer is always in tip-top condition (and one always gets a full pint!) and his pub is a regular in the CAMRA Good Beer Guide, deservedly so. I popped in for a pint on the way back from the Theatre the other week and he
tells me it was exactly twenty years since he took the pub over. These days that is one hell of a record and it only comes from good management and looking after the customers, so I can confirm that the sign outside the pub saying ‘Warm beer, cold food and grumpy landlord’ is in fact not quite true! Congratulations Pete; I wonder what lies in store for the next twenty? One of the significant changes to the pub scene over those last 20 years has been the advent of the ‘craft beer’. I believe there is still some discussion over the exact definition by the more pedantic, although I would simply say ‘keg beer with flavour’. Whilst I know that there are many now served in tins and bottles, the appearance on the bar of a font with a familiar name but unfamiliar beer is becoming more common. In case that sounds a little contradictory, the latest ‘big name’ to add to the ever increasing craft brewers is none other than Timothy Taylor’s of Keighley, West Yorkshire. Whilst many might swoon in amazement (or disgust, even) this incredibly successful real ale brewer now produce ‘Hopical Storm’ their first-ever keg beer. It’s described as ‘a 4% ABV aromatic, dry-hopped, modern pale ale that is citrusy and sessionable with a pleasant fruity body’. Whilst there is the word
