Category Archives: Dog

Time off

I’m just a few days away from the end of a fortnight off work. The most time off I’ve had since opening the bar four and a half years ago.

While some days were almost work related, it was great to put some distance between me, the dog and the bar.

Halifax, York, Shipley, Saltaire and Hebden Bridge; crammed into a few days.

There was even a T2 for the hound to pose with. Sort of.

London & Peterborough

The past few days have been a bit of a blur, beginning with Bon Jovi at Wembley on Wednesday.

I’d never seen them live and I’d not previously been to the stadium, either in its original or current form.

The band were better than I’d expected, so I’m glad I bothered. they really weren’t bad.

We were actually closer than in the picture, but this one looks better.

There was an unplanned gig in a bar in Hackney the following day too; Ten Eighty Trees, a northeastern band who’d recently played at a little festival in Gateshead.

So, home yesterday, then a train to Peterborough today. The day was weird and I can’t say it was fun.

Although, here’s a picture of the dog in a bar.

Stockton

I used to spend a lot of time in Stockton. A long time ago.

Between lockdowns, I went with a bunch of blokes for a Teesside micropub crawl and Stockton had a bit of a good beer scene back then.

There’ve been a couple of brief visits to the Golden Smog, more recently, but both were quick stop-offs.

I’d wanted to spend an afternoon in the town for a while, partly since a couple of guys who have bars there have been coming to our bar for at least a couple of years. The Kopper Keg was top of the list, and the first bar of yesterday.

Followed, of course, by the Smog.

And there were a couple more. It was definitely worth the trip and I’m sure I’ll do it again.

It was kind of cool that the dog was recognised in a couple of bars too.

Manchester/Liverpool

When I had a proper job, I used to go to both Manchester and Liverpool quite a lot. A long time ago.

Both cities now have a much better beer scene.

We started in Manchester on Sunday, so managed to catch a few brewery taprooms. And some other places, new (to me) and old.

We even found a T2 for the dog to pose with, although it was a more recent version with one of those weird radiators on the front.

Liverpool was pretty good, even though there were no taprooms open on the Monday. The hound had their first Photo Booth experience too.

The dog also had her visit to Bolton, after getting on the wrong train.

Leith

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.