Some Thoughts On Pubs

Looking back at my life, I must say that there have not been all that many times when I have been happier than when I was sitting in a pub. It isn't easy to analyse the attraction: it's not necessarily the drink - I'm quite happy to let a single pint share my evening with … Continue reading Some Thoughts On Pubs

Robin Hood And Philosophy

I live my life in line with a number of philosophical precepts - one of the most important of which is "never walk past a pub without taking a photo of it as it might not be there the next time you pass!" When I passed the Robin Hood pub in Brighouse back in 2009, … Continue reading Robin Hood And Philosophy

Old Friend, Old Pub, Old Ship

A very good old friend came to visit yesterday and we went for lunch to a very good old inn. I've been visiting the Old White Beare in Norwood Green for more than half a century, but that's only a moment in the life of this 500-year-old village pub. Some of the timbers within the … Continue reading Old Friend, Old Pub, Old Ship

Brighouse And The End Of The American Civil War

Bethel Street, Brighouse c. 1966 The last of the four photographs from Brighouse back in the 1960s shows the busy pavements of Bethel Street with the unmistakable facade of the Prince of Wales Pub (now The Old Ship) in the background. The renaming of pubs is normally a retrograde process, but in the case of … Continue reading Brighouse And The End Of The American Civil War

Memories

I have so many memories of the Plummet Line Hotel, you could probably fill the old Tap Room with them. Back in the 1960s the family of one of my first girlfriends ran the pub. I remember going to the folk club that used to meet in one of the upstairs rooms. Memories, memories, memories.

Picture The Scene If You Will

Picture the scene if you will. It is the summer of 1588 and Britain faces the threat of naval defeat and invasion as an armada of Spanish ships sails up the English Channel and an army of 30,000 soldiers wait in the Netherlands to capitalise on the expected defeat of the British Navy. The British … Continue reading Picture The Scene If You Will

A Pint At The Shibden Mill Inn

POSTCARDS FROM HOME : Shibden Mill Inn & Lake There are few pleasanter spots to enjoy a pint of beer on a summers' evening than the Shibden Mill Inn, and that has been the case for the best part of two hundred years. This particular postcard dates from the early part of the twentieth century … Continue reading A Pint At The Shibden Mill Inn

Getting Lyrical About The Old Bridge

We had a meal out at the Old Bridge Inn, Ripponden last night. Lovely pub, glorious food and drink, and special friends. I could have got lyrical about it, but then I realised I did 9 years ago. Here's what I wrote then:- Imagine the scene. You are walking through a West Yorkshire village. The … Continue reading Getting Lyrical About The Old Bridge

That’s History For You

It started as the Wheatsheaf, way back when. The current building is part of Halifax Borough Market and dates from the 1890s, but it seems that a Wheatsheaf pub was on Market Street before that. In the 1970s, the pub name was changed to The William Deighton, in memory of the excise officer murdered by … Continue reading That’s History For You