Interesting or historic pubs in Britain.
There’s no shortage of things to do and see in Britain. But if you were visiting for the first time, what would you recommend? Here are a few arbitrary suggestions, in no particular order, just to get the ball rolling: Get out of London Many visitors to Britain head straight for London. It is one […]
Ten things you really should do in Britain Read More »
I’m not easily given to hyperbole; I’ve told you that a million times. But it is genuinely hard to think of a British town that can be quite so achingly beautiful as Oxford. Perhaps I should qualify that by saying that I refer to the few square miles of the city centre where, quite frankly,
Walking around Oxford Read More »
Why on earth would anyone suggest that I might like to visit a pub? More to the point, why would someone I’ve never met suggest I might like to visit a pub? But that’s exactly what my ether-friend, Adrian, over on Google Plus did. It was a few years ago, when A Bit About Britain
How often do you walk into a pub mentally dwelling on things like wizards and talking lions? Be honest now. If you need help with this, try stepping over the threshold of Oxford’s Eagle and Child, because it was a favourite watering-hole of close friends JRR Tolkien and CS Lewis. Disappointingly, there’s nothing obviously magical
Aslan and Gandalf go for a pint Read More »
I was on a boys’ weekend in Whitby. You know, don’t you, that ‘boys’ in this context actually means ‘grown men’. In fact, it would be more accurate to say ‘mature men who should know better’. But we’ll settle with ‘boys’; it’s a comforting euphemism. It’s just occurred to me that ‘euphemism’ can be a
The train will arrive in a heartbeat Read More »
So there it is, then; The Cavern. 10 Matthew Street, Liverpool 2. Where Brian Epstein first heard and saw The Beatles perform their lunchtime session on Thursday 9th November 1961. You know it’s not exactly the same Cavern that the Beatles used to play in, but even so…and, anyway, it’s the closest thing you’re ever
Liverpool’s legendary Cavern Club Read More »
“Sell the sizzle, not the steak”, the old hand tells the young salesman. In other words, people buy what they think a product does for them, not what it is. Sky Garden is a bar and restaurant complex on the top 3 floors of the Walkie-Talkie – 20 Fenchurch Street – a 38-storey office block
London’s Sky Garden Read More »
What might be called ‘the Royal Oak Incident’ took place when the future King Charles II hid in an oak tree after the Battle of Worcester in 1651. This was a real event, which might have had a very different outcome, and is a fascinating story. You can visit the spot where it happened, Boscobel
Why 467 pubs are called the Royal Oak Read More »
They seemed an unlikely pair. That wise-cracking, aggressive, scruffy teddy-boy Lennon was a world away from the demure, composed, Cynthia Powell, who came from Hoylake ‘over the water’ on the Wirral and spoke posh. It started in the lettering class at Liverpool College of Art. John Lennon’s speciality was cartoons – often cruel caricatures –
When Cyn and John got it together Read More »
Robin Hood is one of England’s enduring legendary heroes. Deprived of his rightful inheritance and outlawed, Robert of Locksley (or Loxley) shelters in the King’s forest of Sherwood, where he assumes natural leadership over the vagabonds and other outlaws in hiding there, all victims of medieval England’s harsh laws and brutal penalties for infringement. Robert
In search of Robin Hood Read More »
I wonder how many pints of ale have been supped here? Let me see: if just twenty people drank a modest 4 pints every night, that would be, er, 29,200 pints a year – 2,920,000 for every century. But the revenue generated by that amount of beer would not be enough to make the place
The George Inn at Borough Read More »
