Looking back on a traditional Fenland brewery, Pt. One

I mentioned in the previous post about unearthing a “treasure trove” of pub and brewery-related material, which I was sure would prove of interest to blog readers - once I’d knocked it into some sort of shape.  I added that much these writings was out of date, and thus no longer relevant to a modern audience, but I’m pleased to report that with a bit of tweaking quite a chunk of these ancient “scriptures” can still tell a tale, as well as forming a link back to simpler times. A world without personal computers (desktops or laptops), digital cameras and the most modern contrivance of all the mobile phone.

What I’m about to reveal now is a rather lengthy account of a visit I made to Elgood’s Brewery, a classic, country brewery, deep in the heart of the Cambridgeshire Fens. The trip was one of the best and most memorable brewery visits I've been on, as I’m about to impart. First though, a quick look back at the final sentence in the previous paragraph, because back in the pre-digital world, the taking of spontaneous photos, or indeed of any photos, was quite rare, given the performance around getting one’s snaps developed and printed. Consequently, there aren’t that many photos, or indeed other material to illustrate this post.

I'd noticed a trip to Elgood's at Wisbech, advertised in the CAMRA newspaper, “What's Brewing”. It was organised by Maidstone & mid-Kent CAMRA, a branch that I’d formerly been a member of. This was before I moved to Tonbridge.  I was still in touch with one or two members of the branch, so without further ado I booked my place, paid my deposit for the mini-bus and waited for the day of the trip to arrive.

It promised to be a glorious July day, as I set off by train from Tonbridge to Maidstone. The weather, in fact, had been hot for several weeks, and the sun was already beating down as the train rumbled along the picturesque Medway Valley Line between the two towns. The river Medway itself was looking very attractive as it glinted in the early morning sun, and before long my train was pulling into Maidstone. I alighted at the Barracks station and walked across high-level Medway Bridge towards the rendezvous point for the trip outside Maidstone East station. As I crossed the river I was surprised at some of the changes that had taken place since I moved away from the town.

Most of my fellow travellers were already waiting when I arrived at the pickup point, and after a brief wait the that would transport us to Wisbech and back. It turned out I wasn't the only CAMRA member to come from a different branch because on the way we stopped to collect members from various other CAMRA branches. After that we crossed the Thames at Dartford before joining the M25 and M11 motorways, as we headed towards Cambridgeshire.

We stopped for a short break at the Bishop Stortford services, before continuing our journey, arriving in Wisbech with the sun shining out brightly across mile after mile of dead flat Fens. Our hired transport took us into the centre of town and then along the north bank of the river Nene, known locally as the North Brink. This is where Elgoods Brewery is located. This was not my first visit to Wisbech, because I’d stopped off in the town in the spring of 1983, whilst on a journey from Suffolk to Leeds. I’d stopped in Wisbech to have a look at Elgoods brewery – externally, and enjoy a pint of the brewery’s beer, in one of several pubs tied to the brewery.  This was the King’s Head, in the town’s Old Market Place. My memories of that trip enabled me to direct our driver to the brewery.

We were deposited just outside Elgoods, but with a couple of hours before commencement of the tour, it was time for some much-needed liquid refreshment. We walked back along the North Brink, where two options presented themselves. First was the Rose, a pleasant free house, whilst a bit further on, was the Red Lion, an Elgoods tied house. Both pubs were listed in the Good Beer Guide, at the time, but I opted for the latter, as after all, we were there to enjoy the products of the local brewery. I made a good choice, and after a long and hot journey up from Kent, that first pint of the Cambridge Bitter hardly touched the sides! Whilst at the pub, we pumped into the Elgoods' Head Brewer, and his assistant who were enjoying a spot of lunch. We introduced ourselves and mentioned that we were due to visit the brewery, later on.

We made our way back towards Elgoods, calling in briefly at the Rose, on the way. We met up there we met up with the other members of our group and found an excellent range of beers on sale. These included Cains F.A. plus the well-hopped, straw-coloured Geoffrey Hudson Bitter, from Oakham Brewery. That definitely was find of the day, as far as I was concerned, but stay tuned, as there’s more to come in the next instalment.

Seven months into the year, then it's all downhil to December?

So, what should I write about next on the blog? A question I often ask myself at the beginning of the month. The FIFA World Cup has been and gone, and the less said about FIFA, the better, but as the years roll by, it does look increasingly unlikely that I shall witness the national side lift the trophy for only the second time. I’m fortunate to have witnessed England winning the World Cup, sixty years ago, a match I watched, as an 11 year old boy, with my father, on our small, black and white TV, but unlike many of the population, it is a feat that I witnessed with my own eyes. With the world cup finished, it would be interesting to discover how much of a boost the competition has been to the licensed trade overall, and to the nation’s pubs in general.

Moving swiftly on, and whilst there’s always the weather to “entertain” people with, I’m fairly certain that we’ve all had more than enough of what seems like a never ending, heat wave. Not only that, but the climate, or the way that it is constantly changing, is a never-ending topic of conversation for us Brits. Unfortunately, it also seems to define us, so before spending too much time on the subject, I just wanted to share the following snippet with you all.

One would think that the hot weather has been good for trade; a thought I repeated to a couple of fish & chip shop proprietors over the past few weeks. Both told me that excessively warm temperatures are actually bad for trade, especially where it comes to eating, as the heat acts as an appetite suppressant. I’m not sure why, but I’m guessing that it’s something to do with energy that the body has to expend to digest that large portion of chips, or that even bigger deep-fried Moby that seems to overwhelm the plate!

Bailey Towers has a different feel to it, now that not so young Master Matthew has flown the nest, and Mrs PBT’s and I had every good intention of sorting his room out, in order to create some much-needed extra space. However, like many “good intentions” the pair of us haven’t exactly achieved much, as according to my good lady wife, it’s been too hot for that type of work. She is probably right, and in truth it’s too hot for any type of work, especially when it takes place outside. Unfortunately, the garden has taken quite a hit, with many shrubs just about hanging on, and I’m torn between regular watering, or just abandoning them completely, as with drought conditions in place across the south-east, it does seem rather churlish to be using scarce water to keep certain “treasured” plants alive!

As if proof were needed of the shortage of water, this morning much of Tonbridge awoke this morning to find either low pressure, or no pressure in the system, which was due to a burst water main in the north of the town. So, no shower this morning, and no water-related appliances able to run (washing machine or dishwasher).  With little going on outside, I’ve been using my spare time to have a good sort out of accumulated paperwork, files, books and even unwanted clothes, as Mrs PBT’s and I gradually down-size. I don’t envisage us moving house, at least not for a while, but with the lad no longer living here, it does seem the ideal opportunity for a good clear-out, or at least it would if the temperatures.

On a positive note, I’ve unearthed a “treasure trove” of pub and brewery-related material which I’m sure will prove of interest to blog readers, once I’ve knocked it all into shape. The majority of this “material” was typed up, by me, several decades ago, and will require a serious review. Much of it is out of date, has been superseded or is no longer relevant, as it’s surprising what can take place over the course of three decades. They say that a 30-year period constitutes a generation, and I suppose it does, but rest assured, I’m not going to allow any nostalgic look backs at the past, to detract from what is happening in the present, particularly when it comes to pubs, breweries and beers, and our mutual enjoyment and appreciation of them all.

 

All change at Premier Inn, as Beefeater, Brewers Fayre and Table, Table bite the dust

Brewer’s Fayre, Beefeater, and several other Whitbread restaurant brands are all set to close permanently in early September, with final trading dates confirmed below. The following article gives a breakdown of the reasons behind the closure decision, along with a number of key dates.

Basically, Whitbread is shutting all of its stand-alone restaurant brands as part of a major restructuring affecting around 200 sites. The closures are part of a five-year strategy announced in April to save £250 million and cut around 3,800 jobs across the UK and Ireland. 

According to Whitbread, operating separate restaurant brands has become too costly, especially with rising business rates and national insurance.

It wants to focus on becoming a “pure-play hotel business” (whatever that means), where profit margins are higher.

The company plans to replace the restaurant chains with in-house Premier Inn restaurants, which it says are more efficient and popular with guests.

What’s closing — and when

A spokesperson explained, “This plan will transform Whitbread into a higher-margin, higher-returning pure-play hotel business.” The 89-strong Brewers Fayre chain will shut after dinner service on 7^th September, and the group has also confirmed the closure date for all its other restaurant brands. For those interested, the final trading dates for the other brands within the groups are as follows:

Beefeater (106 sites): Closes on 10^th September

Table Table, Bar + Block, Cookhouse + Pub (never heard of the last two) : Closing on 3^rd September

 What happens next?

Whitbread will continue expanding Premier Inns, where the current total of  86,600 rooms will increase to a target of  96,000 rooms by 2031.

The restaurant closures are part of this shift toward a hotel‑only model. Premier Inn isn’t just closing the restaurants and leaving empty spaces behind, as Whitbread has a very specific replacement strategy designed to streamline operations, cut costs, and boost hotel performance. Here’s exactly how they plan to replace the aforementioned outlets:

Every closed restaurant becomes an integrated Premier Inn dining space

Whitbread is moving away from stand-alone restaurant brands and replacing them with in‑house Premier Inn restaurants. These are simpler, standardised dining areas directly attached to or inside the hotel.

The idea is to create one unified food offering rather than running multiple separate brands with separate menus, staff structures, and supply chains.

The group is replacing the chains with restaurants inside Premier Inn hotels, which it said was more efficient and highly popular with hotel guests.

A single menu and service model across all sites

Instead of Brewers Fayre doing pub food, Beefeater doing grills, and Bar + Block doing steakhouse menus, Premier Inn will offer:

A single, consistent menu

Breakfast service (their biggest revenue driver)

A simplified lunch/dinner offering

Lower staffing requirements

Lower food waste and easier supply logistics. Uniformity that is a major part of the cost‑saving plan.

 Physical conversion of restaurant buildings

Most Brewers Fayre and Beefeater buildings sit next to Premier Inns. So as part of their long-term expansion aims, Whitbread plans to refit interiors to match Premier Inn’s dining style, and remove brand-specific décor and signage. 

It is also looking to reduce seating capacity to match hotel demand, and convert unused space into additional hotel rooms where possible. 

Staff consolidation

Rather than running two separate teams (hotel + restaurant), Premier Inn will operate with:

A single management structure

Cross-trained staff who can work in both hotel and dining areas. Reduced overall headcount (part of the 3,800 job cuts announced). 

Unsurprisingly, this is one of the biggest cost-saving elements. 

 

Why Premier Inn restaurants are more profitable

Whitbread’s own data shows:

Hotel guests overwhelmingly choose on-site dining.

Breakfast is the most profitable meal

Stand-alone restaurants rely heavily on local trade, which varies by region.

Running multiple brands increases overheads, so by switching to one internal brand, Whitbread expects higher margins and more predictable revenue.

Whitbread’s CEO summed up  the long-term vision:

“This plan will transform Whitbread into a higher-margin, higher-returning pure-play hotel business.”  In other words, they want Premier Inn to be, simpler, cheaper to run, more focused and more profitable. The restaurant closures are a major step toward that transformation.

The whole things makes sense, from a business point of view, and also from a catering point as well, but unfortunately there is a human cost – as there often is from any cost-cutting exercise.  Sadly, getting on for 4,000 jobs are likely to go over the course of this exercise.

The other point, which isn’t quite made clear, is will the restaurants sited within Premier Inns be open to customers who aren’t residing there, or will they be for the exclusive use of hotel guests?

From a personal perspective, the Bailey family have used Premier Inns quite a lot over the past few decades, even though Mrs PBT's is much more fan of the chain than I am. For the record, I much prefer an independently run establishment, whilst accepting that there is a slight risk of ending up, somewhere like Fawlty Towers. 

 

 It's also worth mentioning that there are good, and bad Premier Inns, as well, and we have come across several of these, over the years. However, being both a pub enthusiast, plus a beer and food lover I'm always going to be in favour, of a family owned hotel, rather than a nationally-owned chain, even though my wife would beg to differ! 

Annafest - a nostalgic look back

Apologies if this post looks somewhat familiar, as this isn't the first time that it's seen the light of day. I'm re-publishing the article, with the odd tweak here and there, because the last week in July is when one of the world's best beer festivals takes place. I'm talking about Annafest; a folk festival, that attracts around 500,000 visitors each year over the course of the 10-day event. Despite its popularity, Annafest is  relatively little-known outside the region of northern Bavaria, known as Franconia, and yet, providing the weather holds, there are few better places  know of in which to enjoy some excellent  locally-brewed beer, in a wooded hillside setting over looking the town of Forchheim.

In the summer of 2013, son Matthew and I enjoyed a week’s holiday in this picturesque town of some 20,000 souls. Forchheim is situated in the valley of the River Regnitz, roughly halfway between Bamberg and Nuremberg, and apart from Annafest, is a town that is well worth visiting at other times of the year, as we did five years later. (Forchheim has four breweries, plus some characterful and atmospheric pubs).

Annafest is quite unlike any beer festival I have ever been to before; but then German beer festivals aren’t the same as those in the UK. For a start they’ve been running a lot longer than home-grown events; sometimes by as much as a couple of hundred years. In addition, whilst British beers festivals are about sampling as many different beers as possible, German beer festivals are about having a good time, with some serious drinking forming an essential component. This is how I would best describe Annafest.

The event takes place at the Kellerwald, a wooded hillside on the edge of Forchheim, where there are a series of natural rock cellars cut into the hillside. These cellars were originally constructed for the storage and maturation of bottom-fermenting beer, in the days before refrigeration was developed. Today there are two dozen such “Kellers”, the majority of which are just open for Annafest, although a handful remain open all year.  During the summer evenings the Kellerwald is the perfect location for a cool beer in the shady woods.  The event is held over a 10-day period around the 26^th July, which is the feast of St Anna (Anne), the mother of the Virgin Mary.

Although pilgrims had been journeying to a nearby chapel consecrated to St. Anna since the early 16^th Century, Annafest in its present form began in 1840, when the Forchheim shooting club moved its main shooting ground from the “shooting meadow” on the river Regnitz to the Kellerwald.  As well as plenty of beer drinking there are other attractions such as fairground rides, various stalls, plus six stages which feature a wide range of different musical acts. The local Forchheim breweries Hebendanz, Greif, Eichhorn and Neder all brew a strong Bock beer especially for this festival, the so-called Annafestbier, and a number of other local breweries also supply brews of their own as well.

With seating for around 30,000 people, the Kellerwald provides sufficient accommodation for the crowds.  A regular shuttle bus service is provided from the town and surrounding areas to the Kellerwald and back again, so getting to the festival is not a problem. For those of a more energetic disposition, it is not that far to walk up from the town and many people choose to do this, working up a king-sized thirst on the way!

We attended Annafest on three separate days (Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday), with breaks in between visits to allow ourselves a bit of a rest. I don’t mean we overindulged, but with one litre (Maß) mugs the only measures the beer was served in, (unless one wanted a wheat beer that is), it can be quite easy to over-indulge, albeit unintentionally! What’s more, the beer on sale was the Annafestbier, which weighs in with an abv of around 5.7%, or more! The day’s in-between did afford a break though from the festivities and allowed us to explore other parts of the area. This was as much a part of our holiday as visiting Annafest itself.

On each occasion we visited three different Kellers, which meant three litres or nearly six pints each over the course of the day. We paced ourselves though and took our time, savouring the tasty, potent beer, served with one notable exception, in tall, ceramic stoneware mugs. For the record we visited the following Kellers: Tuesday - Stäffalakeller (Wolfshöher), Schlöslakeller (Hebendanz) and Loẅenbräukeller (Loẅenbräu – Buttenheim); Thursday – Greiffkeller (Greiff), Eichhornkeller (Eichhorn) and Weiß-Tauben-Keller (Rittmayer-Hallendorf); Sunday – Hoffmannskeller (Monschof-Kulmbach), Nederkeller (Neder) and Nürnberger-Tor-Keller (Wolfshöher).

Of the beers drunk, Hebendanz and Neder (both Forchheim brewers), stood out above the rest, although the beers from the town’s other two breweries, Eichhorn and Greiff were also very palatable. The beer from Kulmbach giant, Monschof, was different from the other local beers in that instead of the darker, Kellerbier common in Franconia; it was a golden, Helles-style beer, served in a glass Maß, rather than the stoneware ones used by virtually all the other breweries.

The beer I was least impressed with was Wolfshöher, a regional concern with expansionist designs, based in the village of the same name, near Neunkirchen. The company has an unduly large presence at the Kellarwald, due to its takeover, and closure of Forchheim’s fifth and largest brewery, Bräuhaus Forchheim. The brewery buildings, standing empty and forlorn, were only a stone’s throw from our rented holiday apartment, but at the time of our visit, there were signs that work was taking place on the site, to convert part of the brewery into residential accommodation.

There was plenty of food available to help soak up all of this beer. Most, if not all Kellers offered various cooked meals, ranging from sausages and potato dumplings to the usual knuckles of pork and roast chickens. There were also various food stalls grouped along the paths between the various Kellers, offering a variety of snacks, both savoury and sweet. This, interspersed with the live music at some of the Kellers, and the fairground attractions at the bottom of the hill, combined to produce a fantastic atmosphere.

We also made a visit to Bamberg as part of the same holiday, and whilst enjoying a few beers in the garden of Café Abseits, got talking to a party of English beer enthusiasts They were also very impressed with Annafest, saying how much better it was than Oktoberfest, and how much cheaper too. Obviously, Oktoberfest is internationally renowned and attracts people from all over the world, whilst Annafest is by nature, much more a locals festival. It is none the worse for that, and we are certainly glad we made the effort to get along to it. and I can thoroughly recommend that you visit.

To sum up, Annafest is very much an event which involves the whole town, plus quite a bit of the surrounding area. On those days when we didn’t attend, we couldn’t help noticing the full trains depositing expectant drinkers at the town’s station, and the crowded buses transporting them up to the Kellerwald.  As I said earlier, the festival appeals to all ages, and it was good to see young people enjoying themselves, quaffing the beer and all without any signs of trouble.

 

Copilot to the rescue

The sharp eyed amongst you, will almost certainly have noticed a distinct change in style with my most recent post. Some might be thinking this isn’t Paul’s normal style, and others might be wondering why this sudden change? You would of course, be right, and the answer lies with Microsoft Copilot, a generative artificial intelligence chatbot. Now that might not mean a lot to some of you, and it doesn’t mean that much to me either, but after witnessing this, and other AI assistants in certain workplace applications, I thought I’d give it a go myself. My prime reason for doing so, is to save time, and it is because bashing out many of these posts takes a lot of preparation. The process normally involves looking through a series of hastily scribbled notes and then scrolling through the numerous photos taken on my phone.

Or at least it does in the “Grand Day Out – What we did on our holidays”, types of post. Others, take a bit more research, but returning to the format mentioned above, a lot of typing is involved, and despite years of practice, I am still a relatively slow person when it comes to generating a coherent and readable, blog post. This is where I have looked elsewhere for assistance-thinking outside the box, if you like, even though it’s a rather cliched turn of phrase. 

The first step was one I took two or three years ago, and that was to purchase a Windows-compatible microphone. These are readily available and compatibly priced, and I have been using this approach for quite some time. However, the technology has its limits, especially when it comes to speech recognition, and whilst some of the text that appears on the screen can be hilarious, other stuff can sometimes appear as pure gibberish. (Obviously it depends on how clearly one speaks, and at what speed, but also when you’re literally talking off the top of your head, whilst thinking on the hoof, it’s perhaps no surprising that what comes out doesn’t equate to what you thought, or indeed hoped, went in). 

Now this is where artificial intelligence (AI) technology comes to the rescue.  I had, in the recent past, used Microsoft’s Copilot software to both spell check and, where necessary re-write, certain chunks of text. This approach seemed to work well, but it wasn’t until yesterday, when faced with four pages of semi-ineligible text that I thought I’d try AI on a much longer piece of prose (such as a blogpost), that my “Day out in Lenham” article came about.

The software took a bit of getting used to, and involved quite a lot of trial and error, but as this approach is the best way to learn, I pressed on. So, the article dated Friday 24th June that you see on you screen is the result of my first, in-depth association with Copilot. It isn’t the entire article as first dictated, but that is deliberate on my part, as I wanted to see what the bulk of the post would look like, and more importantly read like. 

I was pleased with the final result and only needed to make a small number of corrections. I did make a point of removing the sub-headings that Copilot added, as they broke up theft too much, and besides, that’s what I use photos for, but overall, the AI interpretation of my original, recorded text, sums up Friday’s day out in Maidstone and Lenham, perfectly.  For the record, and for the sake of completion, here’s how my afternoon ended.

"After leaving the Red Lion,  my friend John and I walked back to the bus stop with me before continuing a little further to collect his car. I caught the 510 Stagecoach bus back into Maidstone, and soon after, in the narrow village streets of Harrietsham, we encountered the horrendous traffic jam I referred to earlier. How the bus driver managed to get his vehicle through the inconsiderately parked cars, was beyond me. The situation wasn’t helped either by the odd lorry coming the other way.

The situation obviously delayed our journey back to Maidstone, and by the time we arrived back in the county town, the beer had caught up with me. I needed to pay a visit, as they say, and where nearer and more convenient than the imposing Muggleton Inn, which is the large Wetherspoon's pub in the town centre. I think it was either a bank or insurance company office, in a past existence, but whatever its past it’s a rather grandiose building. 

I knew from previous experience that the toilets are upstairs, so I quickly bounded up the two-level ornate staircase, to the welcome relief that came with emptying my bladder. I treated myself to kind of one of the guest ales, in the form of Hop Twister, a 4.5%, pale ale from Salopian Brewery. This citrus flavoured beer didn't really touch the sides, as I was in a bit of a hurry. This was because I wanted to catch the 16:29 train back to Tonbridge, and I was aiming for this service because it's one of the few through trains running between the Medway towns and Tonbridge. Most services involve a change of trains, and platforms at Paddock Wood, but as this one doesn’t, it was worth making the effort to catch it. 

Fortunately, I made it to Maidstone West station in sufficient time to board the train and then enjoy the pleasant, scenic ride back down the Medway Valley, and along to Tonbridge, without leaving my seat. I was lucky too with bus connection at Tonbridge, as I only had a 5-minute wait before the 219 bus came along. It dropped me in Pembury Rd,  just a short walk from Bailey Towers. It was an excellent day out and a good opportunity to catch up with an old, and much cherished, friend". 

A day out in Lenham: trains, pubs, old friends, and changing towns

There’s something quietly satisfying about meeting an old friend in a familiar corner of Kent. A couple of weeks ago, my friend - now living out on the eastern side of the county - and I arranged one of our semi-regular catch-ups. We settled on Lenham, a village almost perfectly placed between us, and one with just enough pubs to make an afternoon disappear very pleasantly.

I opted for public transport, partly out of habit and partly because, after a few pints later on, the presence of a train toilet is a comforting thought. I could have taken the No. 7 bus from Tonbridge to Maidstone and then transferred to the Stagecoach 510 service, but instead I made a hybrid trip: train from Tonbridge to Maidstone West, then bus onward to Lenham.

Changing at trains at Paddock Wood, transferred me onto the Medway Valley Line - a wonderfully scenic route that winds its way up to Strood, following the river Medway through rolling hills and quiet countryside. It’s one of those lines that reminds you Kent is far more than commuter belt and motorways.

Arriving at Maidstone West, I took a stroll toward the river. The old Broadway Shopping Centre - once a must-have feature of any ambitious town in the 80's and 90's - now stood boarded up, a casualty of changing habits and online retail. Maidstone isn’t rundown, but it has undeniably changed since I lived there forty-odd years ago. The traditional shops have thinned out, replaced by vape stores, Middle Eastern groceries, and cafés. Not seedy, just different. A town with a new accent.

The 510 was late, but once aboard, the reasons became obvious. Roadworks, tight bends, and the usual assortment of cars abandoned seemingly at random in villages like Harrietsham - a place that seems to have no parking restrictions whatsoever. Rural bus drivers deserve medals; ours threaded that vehicle through impossible gaps with admirable calm.

Lenham’s village centre is known simply as "The Square", and it really is one. With time to spare before meeting my friend, I ducked into the Dog & Bear - an impressive white-painted Shepherd Neame coaching inn that still offers accommodation. I remember it from decades ago, when it had two distinct bars: Squirrel’s Saloon bar on the left, and Joyce’s Public bar on the right. 

Squirrel, named for his great mutton-chop whiskers, had apparently been responsible for important work on radar installations during the war, and was regarded as something of a "boffin". Joyce, meanwhile, kept the local "lads" in line with effortless authority. There was never any trouble. The modern single-bar layout feels different, but the Master Brew was in good form - better than I’ve had in recent years. Spitfire was also on, but I’ve never been a fan.

Two doors down sits the Red Lion, a 14th-century former Fremlin's pub, now a free house. My friend was already there, sitting in the left-hand bar. We exchanged greetings, he bought the first drink, and I returned the favour, later on. Harvey’s Sussex Best was on tap, and in good form

We spent a couple of hours catching up - life, work, family, the usual threads that weave long friendships together. He’s made a full recovery from a cancer scare a couple of years ago, which added a quiet note of gratitude to the afternoon.

We reminisced about past holidays, including a boating trip with friends, and talked about his writing. His latest book, centred on his uncle Jack’s experiences as a POW on the Burma Railway, seems to be his best yet - full of human interest and extraordinary survival. Jack endured brutal conditions, survived being torpedoed by "friendly fire" from an American submarine,  while being transported by the Japanese, and still made it home to live to a ripe old age.

The food looked good, and I went for the steak pie - proper shortcrust top and bottom, generous filling, succulent steak, rich gravy, mash, peas, and more gravy. Absolutely excellent. One of the best pies I’ve had in a long time, and I told the barmaid so.

It was one of those quietly perfect days: a scenic train ride, a nostalgic wander through a changing town, two characterful pubs, good beer, excellent food, and the kind of conversation that only happens with someone you’ve known for decades.

Sometimes the best days out aren’t grand adventures - just a village square, a couple of pints, and an old friend.

---