So, I’ve been to three gigs in three weeks; something I’ve not done in a long time. Only because I don’t get a lot of time away from the bar right now.
Anyway, all three were great. There’s nothing more to say really.
CMAT, the Rescue Rooms, Nottingham.
Kip Moore, the Sage, Gateshead.
Interpol, O2 Academy, Edinburgh.
So, a few days ago, we set off for Nottingham in the van.
Needless to say, it broke down. Maybe that’s a little harsh. It wasn’t exactly a breakdown. We stopped at Wetherby services for coffee.
And then the van wouldn’t start.
After 20 minutes, a twelve year old RAC guy turned up. And fixed it in five minutes. A wire had fallen off. We both made the obvious judgement that someone so young wouldn’t have a clue.
And we were so wrong.
And we made it to Nottingham and back.
While we were there, we visited (among a couple of other places) the Partizan Tavern; a lovely micropub. We’ll, they’d been to our bar a few months ago. If you ever find yourself in Nottingham, it’s worth a visit.
And Neon Raptor’s just around the corner.
Weirdly, a cool T3/25 (depending on which bit of the world you’re from) drove pass when we were there.
Oh yes, CMAT was brilliant.
Right next door to a new hotel; remnants of something not so old.
So, our little bar has somehow been voted CAMRA Gateshead pub of the year.
We’d not expected this; there’d been a hope of coming in as runner up, but we couldn’t have imagined coming so far in our first year.
Our only real target was to make the 2024 Good Beer Guide; pub of the year wan’t really on our radar.
You know, while I’m only in this for the short term, I do love this place. We made this.
Due to a Network Rail arch inspection, the bar is closed and we’ve some time off.
Quality time with the dog.
Christmas, the perfect time of year for camping.
Think about it; Boxing Day bus services end pretty early in the day. And it can be a real pain to get a cab late at night.
Fortunately, when faced with a long, cold walk home last night, there was an alternative.
While waiting for a bus after work last night, I noticed that the scaffolding (which has been there for months) around the railway bridge was being taken down.
It all looked good in the snow.
We went to our first gig in a while the other night. The surprisingly good Kiefer Sutherland.
Surprisingly because I’d assumed that music was a bit of a hobby for him. Sometimes it’s good to be wrong.
You know, my love of public transport is beginning to wane.
As usual, I locked up with four minutes before my bus home was due. We have a live display, so bus times are pretty accurate.
And then the bus disappeared from the display. This has happened before, so I hung around a bit. But the bus didn’t reappear on the display as it has done sometimes in the past.
So I’m now having a pint of our rather excellent new house beer. Waiting for the next bus (01:05).
