Went to see Mr McPherson in Sunderland the other day. Unbelievable. It’s eight years since his last UK tour, so we’re looking forward to 2033.
Oh, the Fire Station is an amazing venue. The beer’s a bit shit, but better than the bug guys.
Pretty much on impulse, we went to Dubfest at the weekend. The last time we went, a couple of years ago, we couldn’t help but notice that there was an absence of vintage vans. It was much the same this year.
It was still a great break though.
We made some small changes in the bar the other day. It was a lot of work though, meaning we had to close for the day.
We’ve had some decent feedback over the last couple of days, so it was worth the effort.
Kip Moore (and the band) was pretty good last night. We saw him play at a packed Sage/Glasshouse last time, but last night at the City Hall was nowhere near capacity. It was still a great gig though, with a really nice atmosphere.
After its purchase several years ago, the shed stove sat gathering rust, waiting to be fitted.
Meanwhile, rainwater had been getting into the shed, down the chimney (it’s at an angle). This resulted in having to replace an angle bend because water had been sitting, rotting the section of pipe.
It’s a bit of a mess, but the stove’s finally fitted.
I swear this shed will never be finished.
I’ve spent a nice afternoon in the garden, painting and tidying up.
In the three years of the bar, with a couple of years beforehand at the Schooner, I’d not spent much time in what is actually a great little garden.
The next job, delayed from a time when I had a proper job, will be to fit a stove in the old shed at the top of the garden.
At the rate I’m going, I should get round to that next year.
I’ve mentioned this years ago, even gave a copy of the book away to a bloke on holiday once.
Get hold of a copy, read it. See how brutal and unfair life was in the early days of what was to become the RAF.
Written by an ordinary serviceman. Who wasn’t ordinary at all. He wasn’t T E Lawrence when he wrote the book.
There are some disadvantages to having a bar. This is our front room right now.
I had a nice, unplanned, day in Leith with the hound yesterday. She’s really good on trains, so maybe I need to do this more often.
We managed to fit in The Mother Superior, Newbarns tap room, Campervan brewery, The Dreadnought and Lost in Leith, before catching a tram back to Waverley and the train home.
We’d planned to call at the Moonwake taproom and Teuchter’s Landing too, but we were delayed in three places after meeting people who’ve been in our bar.
We probably need to do this again soon.
Back in Newcastle, we called in the Mosaic Tap, since it’s just behind the station, then wandered over the High Level Bridge and called off at Axis and our place.
Quite a few years ago, I’m not exactly sure when, but around 2011-12, I had a nice conversation with a pub chef in Manchester.
It wasn’t a great pub, a place I’d been in a few times previously; mostly when I’d been to the nearby Academy for a gig.
But that particular conversation was something of a game changer for me. A month or two earlier, I’d made the decision to move to a vegan lifestyle.
Looking at the menu, I realised that it was vegetarian/vegan by default, mostly vegan. We’d ordered a couple of burgers and the chef had called by to check everything was ok. This involved a discussion between him and my beloved about hot sauce (they had one of her favourites). Eventually, we talked about veganism. I won’t go into detail, but his words have stuck with me since. He also introduces us to Egg in Liverpool (no idea if it’s still open, I’ve not been in ages).
I’ve only been there again a couple of times, once to eat, once with an old mate after seeing a band. The place wasn’t the best as a bar, it was a bit tired, but always seemed to be doing ok.
I mention the bar because I came across a post on Facebook (while following up comments on posts from the (our/my) bar.
I’m sure the chef has long since moved elsewhere, as pub chefs tend to do, but it was sad to read that the pub’s soon to become an Irish bar. That’ll be the old menu gone too, then.
The beer there wasn’t great, but it was never about the beer.