Food and drink pub crawl

Number 2 son and I spent some guy time together in Holmfirth today between 4 and 6 o'clock. In the Nook, the Taps and Oscars. No big deal in terms of amounts consumed.

Hell of a pub crawl though. All of 25 yards on a rugby pitch in old money.

Nook blonde is excellent. Punk IPA good too but overpriced.


Goodness me!



Recently spotted at Muker show, Swaledale.

Guess who the following conversations are with:

A labour supporter all his life. His dad is already turning in his grave, "I am not voting for Corbyn. For the first time in 68 years I'll be voting for the unmentionables."

"I love my coffee. I thought I'd save some money, so I tried a stronger brand/strength and added less to the cafetiere. Makes sense - stronger the brew the more dilute you can make it. It didn't work."

'I notice you watch a lot of rubbish on TV."
"True. I fall asleep a lot. If I'm going to miss anything, it might as well be rubbish."

Tan Hill and Kisdon Force

Wainwright said on his TV programme that they measure time here in centuries.

Tan Hill is smoky and busy. They recently had The Arctic Monkeys do a gig. 

It’s also a bit remote, looking back to Angram.


For the full version clic Muker 2016

Semerwater




Raydale is the home to the shortest river in England - river Bain is just 2.5 miles. 

Ii is really quiet. Sheep, birds, postvan and the odd truck going toward Gayle. The only people we meet are other visitors. Today, after a downpour, the sun is out. The clouds are hurried along by fresh winds which ruffle the lake surface as if the tide was coming in.
 We’ve walked up to Stalling Busk Old Church regularly since 1994. It’s a ruin with a cemetary. There is a headstone to a private soldier from 1916 who died in Hartlepool VA. Otherwise the engravings are pitted with age and growth and mostly unreadable. Except the 1985 headstone to a priest and his geologist son. The son died in S Africa and dad followed a month later. Mum waited some twenty years before joining them. It’s a tragedy to which we pay tribute without being intrusive. A spiritual place.

For the full version clic Muker 2016

Another pub ghost

Called in the Tap and Spile, Hexham, on my trip back to Hadrian's Wall to retrieve my phone. £27 each way first class - cheaper than the standard fare. Hexham is a busy town with everything you need, including a lost property office at the bus station. Calling it a station is a bit grand. It's a couple of stops either side of a brick building which serves as changing and rest rooms for the crews. Also an obstacle course for the general public, greeted by door signs labelled as private, staff only, followed by loud banter of a sexual nature between the drivers. I overcame any shyness and the phone was back in my possession. So for a drink.
  We were two men sat either end of the bar. He got up to refresh his drink next door. The landlady put the glass to the tap, pulled a lever and ... all the lights went out and spotify on the pa system went silent. Spooky, or so I thought, until an electrician came through the back door, wielding two pieces of wire.
  The other bloke had sat down with a full pint.
  Hexham also has a pound shop. Three pairs of spectacles were soon mine, one of which I have already misplaced.