Latest Posts...
How the love affair with the pub began for me
Posted by Mike Chapple on June 15, 2008 10:55 PM
THE realisation that pubs and Yours Truly were set for a lifetime’s romance came one Christmas Eve at 16 years of age.
Our Kev and I had been grafting hard for seasonal pocket money on the local farm, and the older lads who worked there full time invited us along to make a hefty dent in our brown pay packets at the local, the Blue Anchor, on Aintree Lane.
Continue reading "How the love affair with the pub began for me" »
- Post to:
del.icio.us
Digg
Newsvine
Nowpublic
Reddit
The Pollard Inn, Willaston, Wirral
Posted by Mike Chapple on April 13, 2008 12:17 PM
AS YOU might expect, it being the eve of the clocks going forward and the start of British Summer Time, it was, as they say in politer terms, chucking it down.
Undeterred, the Pub Column, with faithful Wirral good pub sniffer dog Lady Penelope of Pensby on the leash, decided to stick to our original plan – to explore and hopefully discover the first pub for the new season worthy of a grand day out in the sun amid the verdant fields of Albion.
Sometimes it’s a tough task though.
Continue reading "The Pollard Inn, Willaston, Wirral" »
- Post to:
- del.icio.us
- Digg
- Newsvine
- Nowpublic
- Reddit
4p on a pint is a bad blow for pubs
Posted by Mike Chapple on April 13, 2008 12:15 PM
SING along now: “Oh my Darlin’, oh my Darlin’, oh my Darlin’ smarmy swine,
You have lost the plot forever, to commit a ghastly crime.”
A puerile adaptation perhaps, but it’s as nothing compared to the insults many city publicans and “responsible” beer drinkers would have hurled at the Chancellor if he’d popped his head round the door of their locals after Wednesday’s budget.
Continue reading "4p on a pint is a bad blow for pubs" »
- Post to:
- del.icio.us
- Digg
- Newsvine
- Nowpublic
- Reddit
The Clock Face, Prescot
Posted by Mike Chapple on March 27, 2008 12:22 AM
THE trouble with “some people” is they don’t understand how fundamental the application of the wisdom of Bill Shankly is to living a full and happy existence.
That’s in relation to the great man’s famous quote: “Some people think football is a matter of life and death – I can assure them it’s far more important than that.”
Continue reading "The Clock Face, Prescot" »
- Post to:
- del.icio.us
- Digg
- Newsvine
- Nowpublic
- Reddit
The Crown Hotel, Lime Street, Liverpool
Posted by Mike Chapple on February 29, 2008 11:01 PM
FIRST impressions are lasting impressions. Right? Right.
And the primary place the city burghers should want to get right for the first time visitor alighting from the train in this its Capital of Culture year is Lime Street.
Right?
Continue reading "The Crown Hotel, Lime Street, Liverpool" »
- Post to:
- del.icio.us
- Digg
- Newsvine
- Nowpublic
- Reddit
2008 beer festival
Posted by Mike Chapple on February 16, 2008 11:03 PM
IN PAST columns, the traditional image of the male strain of the real ale drinker has come under the spotlight.
He’s a Captain Birdseye type figure, with Space Hopper tum, beard, and ruddy cheeks who has a penchant for whipping out the squeeze box hidden down his dungarees and subsequently warbling a selection of English folk songs about the glory days of black puddings, canals and the utilitarian advantages to be found from living in a brown paper bag.
Continue reading "2008 beer festival" »
- Post to:
- del.icio.us
- Digg
- Newsvine
- Nowpublic
- Reddit
The Heather Brow pub, Claughton, Birkenhead
Posted by me on February 9, 2008 11:03 PM
RECENTLY we found a great little local, the Heather Brow at Claughton in Birkenhead.
It was blessed with a God’s Waiting Room.
Far from being morbid, this is a dry, charming expression which takes an irreverent bow to the inevitable for a part of a pub where older men – and women – will meet their friends. Inevitably, as the Brow’s owner Tony Houlihan – a veteran himself – confirmed, the talk would sometimes turn to days gone by and drinking chums who had moved on, metaphorically speaking, to the room upstairs.
Continue reading "The Heather Brow pub, Claughton, Birkenhead" »
- Post to:
- del.icio.us
- Digg
- Newsvine
- Nowpublic
- Reddit
The Village Inn pub, Aintree
Posted by Mike Chapple on February 3, 2008 11:23 PM
EIGHT months ago, The Valentine, in Aintree, looked dead in the water.
Targeted by arsonists the previous Christmas, it later lost its licence. Local residents – who had come to vilify the once-popular local – even celebrated as a court backed the decision to keep it closed.
Continue reading "The Village Inn pub, Aintree" »
- Post to:
- del.icio.us
- Digg
- Newsvine
- Nowpublic
- Reddit
The ale version of the Champions League Final
Posted by Mike Chapple on January 22, 2008 11:34 PM
IT’S THE ale equivalent of the Champions League Final where demand from supporters far outstrips the ticket allocation.
Yes it’s the annual Liverpool Beer Festival which returns to the Lutyens Crypt under Paddy’s Wigwam for three days from Wednesday February 13.
Continue reading "The ale version of the Champions League Final" »
- Post to:
- del.icio.us
- Digg
- Newsvine
- Nowpublic
- Reddit
JR's Bar City Centre. October
Posted by Mike Chapple on November 6, 2007 2:41 PM
The Wetherspoons chain is now the toast of the real ale drinking classes.
They offer some of the cheapest and best cask beers with quality, affordable food thrown in. There are a burgeoning number of them around the city and two of them have made in to the 2008 CAMRA Good Beer Guide, an honour akin to beiong granted sainthood by the Pope.
Continue reading "JR's Bar City Centre. October" »
- Post to:
- del.icio.us
- Digg
- Newsvine
- Nowpublic
- Reddit
"Me again!!! So many memories have come flooding ba..."
"Just a point of interest..my great grandfather,Joh..."
"Paul, Congratulations on new pub. Nice job! Do ..."
"My many freinds &iplayed pool for many years,we ha..."
"The LORD WORDAN has A new licensee who is making u..."
"I WAS DELIGHTED TO READ MIKE CHAPPELS ARTICLE ABOU..."