Wait until next year

May 22, 2026

Pub Thoughts #11 (Bleary-eyed notes from a weekend in Nottingham)

Interior of Brew Tavern, Nottingham. White wooden-slatted walls adorned with a Bass mirror and various old metal beer adverts

A fantastic weekend in Nottingham with friends – visited lots of pubs and bars and got at least some kind of sense of the kind of Beer City that Nottingham might be. At least in terms of the city centre I would say it felt like one side was very craft-y while the other was Mega Booze Dome-esque. There were a few good traditional pubs, but it didn’t feel like there were loads of them – and even the ones that were there seemed to offer far more that the usual trad fare.

I carried around a notebook with the intention of taking some notes, making some observations and generally having something to remember the weekend by. I’m not sure how successful I was – in reality I wanted to spend more time chatting and taking everything in rather than scribbling away in a corner.

First stop was the Brew Tavern, right by the station. There was a time when station pubs were almost universally bleak, depressing places. The kind of pubs people went to out of necessity or desperation, not choice. Now, there are plenty of great places to drink either before or after a train journey. This place is a converted cabman’s hut, and I’d love to see more pubs in disused railway architecture. It really ties the whole experience together and adds some character and soul. I went for a pint of Bass, as is obligatory for any beer blogger visiting the Midlands. It was excellent. A lad came in and downed an £11 pint of very strong craft. A group of old boys gathered before the football. A bloke on his own commented on the music, “A bit repetitive!” The track was skipped, to something equally repetitive.

Kilpin Beer Café was lovely. Spacious without feeling cavernous. Clean without feeling sterile. Some good continental beer. A really relaxed atmosphere, just the sort of place you could go to with anyone, a good spot to pop into while shopping, or after work.

Interior of Six Barrels, Nottingham. Two men stood at the bar, there are two screens above highlighting beer choices

Six Barrel Drafthouse, while pretty craft-inclined, felt like a proper boozer, a bit rough around the edges in a good way – lived in, well-used and clearly well-loved. It had a really nice feel to the place – a genuine mix of people and a sense that everyone is welcome.

The Tap Room was one of those places where you pour your own beer and then settle up at the end. I love the idea in theory – you can give lots of things a try, you don’t need to commit to pints, you might try something new, there’s no need to wait to be served. In practice I found it all a little stressful. A lively pint isn’t great when the little screen is showing how much you’ve spent on a glass of froth. Even just seeing how much your beer costs as your bill goes up in real-time isn’t exactly…fun. But it was a classy space with friendly service before and after I struggled with the taps.

Interior of the Tap House, Nottingham. A wall of self-service beer taps along a wall, each with a small screen above

Angel Microbrewery had some good beer on and I think worked as a multi-room pub, although was a little unfathomable – one room was absolutely rammed, while another big space upstairs was entirely empty. The kind of place I couldn’t quite get a handle on.

Neon Raptor’s taproom was very much in keeping with a lot of modern taprooms, stripped back aesthetic, hipster-y vibes, but their beer is great, it all felt very relaxed and there was plenty of room to sit or stand outside. It looks like they are moving to a bigger venue soon and I hope they can keep the feel of the current venue.

Interior of Some Where, Beeston. There is a beer fridge, a comfy sofa and a window painted green with the window sill covers in plants.

Somewhere Beerhouse in the suburb of Beeston is a bit of a hidden gem (the town of Beeston is a bit of a hidden gem too, but that’s another story for another time). Somewhere is more a micro-craft-bar than micropub but manages to successfully juggle being funky and cosy at the same time. There was a really interesting and unusual selection of beer on draft, can and bottle and was the kind of place I would happily lose an afternoon in. Really friendly and patient service too.

Barrel Drop is a micropub tucked away on a backstreet back in the city centre and manages to feel like a proper city centre pub despite its size. I really liked the barrels behind the bar converted into draft tap holders, glass holders, somewhere to keep the bar snacks etc. A good range of craft too, including plenty of stuff I hadn’t seen elsewhere.

Interior of Barrel Drop, Nottingham. A view of the back bar, where old barrels have been converted to house various keg taps, to keep glasses and store snacks

A few doors down from Barrel Drop, 400 Rabbits is a cocktail bar and I thought the cocktails were of high quality, a good mix (excuse the pun) of classics and less familiar recipes and were incredible value for money. Any bar with lucha libre decorations works for me too. A cool bar to spend a little time.

Junkyard is next door to the Kilpin and they seem to…maybe be the same place? They certainly appeared to share a garden and staff. Junkyard is less airy and open that Kilpin, more the kind of sparsely decorated, dark and busy craft bar that seemed to be very popular with younger drinkers, but was a bit crammed and noisy for an old fart like me.

So, that’s as much sense as I can get from my notes and my memory. I think Nottingham is an underrated beer destination. There are loads of different bars, a really good selection of beer, a really good atmosphere and a notable mix of ages out and about. Oh, and there’s also the magnificence of the King Billy, but I think that warrants a whole post of its own…

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May 8, 2026

Rough and ready thoughts on the Bexley Council election

Polling Station sign in the street, a path behind it

Some incredibly rough and ready thoughts on the Bexley Council election results – somewhere I think is interesting at a national level as it was very much a target for Reform but ended up being, at least on the surface, a pretty straightforward victory for the incumbent Tories.

This is obviously a huge generalisation, but Bexley, as a borough is inherently small-c conservative (as well as capital-C Conservative). There is an inherent suspicion of anything radical, to the left or right. People like a good moan about The State of Things Today but they also don’t really want anything to change. I think this absolutely played into people choosing not to vote Reform. It would be risky to have them in power, and while in some parts of the country people may feel they have nothing to lose taking that risk, many voters in Bexley are far too cautious and far too comfortable to roll the dice.
Tories and Labour focused solely on the threat of Reform, unlike the national campaign. We’ve seen a week or so of a concerted effort to discredit the Greens at a national level. This simply wasn’t relevant in Bexley – the Greens were no threat. And so both the Tories and Labour focused their attention on attacking Reform and positioning themselves as the safe and stable options. This was a smart move considering point one above.
Traditionally there hasn’t been a whole load of marginal wards in Bexley. However, with the rise of Reform, several safe seats became anything but. And so many people who were against Reform gaining power held their noses and voted for whoever would keep them out. In many ways it was a simple election – do you want Reform or not? And that kind of simplicity meant tactical voting stood a good chance of working, and the Tories stood to benefit disproportionately.
Policies were interchangeable between parties. Every leaflet went on about potholes, open spaces and HMOs, but not a lot else. There didn’t seem to be a whole lot of ideological difference between the Tories, Labour or Reform on local issues. And so the vote became more about who you didn’t want, rather than who you did.
The Tories had a much better ground game – local MP Louie French was a very public presence, Laura Trott came up from Sevenoaks, Kemi Badenoch made a visit to the Borough. It felt like as the campaign went on the Tories realised they were still in the fight, and responded accordingly.
Meanwhile, Reform’s campaigning was lazy – a brief trip to Welling from Farage, uninspiring leafleting, lack of door-to-door campaigning. It didn’t feel like a particularly “local” campaign.
The Labour vote held up in the north – I think the strong work of local councillors over the last few years helped – people voted for the councillors ahead of the party perhaps. But also in those wards people simply aren’t going to vote Reform or Conservative in any kind of numbers.
In terms of vote share Reform were close to the Tories, but got edged out in multiple wards. With a more focused effort they could have done significantly better. An extra 100 votes here and there and they might have had a significantly more successful time of it in Bexley.
Bexley has always been a divided borough, between the Labour North and Tory South. The middle of the borough has often been what has swung elections, but this time Reform took some of those wards. In the next national and local elections that middle of the borough will need to be the battleground – that’s where things can change.

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May 1, 2026

Pub Thoughts #10 (Pub websites and the Rusty Bucket, Bexley)

Entrance to a craft beer bar. There are wooden tables with yellow cushions. There is green and yellow ornate wallpaper. Blue and white flags hang from the ceiling.

Pub websites should be brilliant. They are a (reasonably) quick, easy and cheap way for pubs to market themselves, keep in touch with regulars and generally articulate what they are all about. At a bare minimum they are a good way to let people know when you are open. Beyond that you can list what beer is on, what food is available, what events you’re holding. Are you dog friendly, kid friendly, wheelchair accessible? Do you take cash, cards or both?

And yet, so many pubs barely bother. If I’m heading somewhere new I’ll often have a quick Google to try to get a sense of a pub. Sometimes the website is sparse, often it is out of date, inaccurate. On other occasions it is not there at all, its only remnant being an expiry notice from a hosting provider. There might be a Facebook page, which can work well, but needs updating, needs some thought. A neglected page says just as much as an active one.

Pubs cannot survive on regulars alone. The internet, for all its failings, provides an incredible opportunity for pubs to attract new drinkers. To convince wary locals that it is worth giving that place a try. To inspire others to travel from further afield. To keep in touch with those regulars, remind them that they are part of a wider pub community. It is a space to show the character of a place, the kind of pub you are and the kind of pub you’re not.

Which brings me to the Rusty Bucket at Bexley (there’s one in Eltham too, maybe another blog post for another day), and its website. The opening hours are up to date. It has a full list of drinks available. But beyond that, and far more importantly, it has some kind of mission statement on the welcome page of the site. After the more usual information, it finishes with:

“We welcome everyone except Bellends. If you’re racist, sexist, transphobic, etc please don’t come, this is not the pub for you”

Fundamentally, this is a policy I’d like all pubs to follow. However, I know that will never happen. But for a pub to come out and say it upfront – to be open that bigotry and discrimination is not welcome – is massively refreshing. It is not enough to welcome everyone, you also need to be clear that anyone without that outlook, who is going to cause trouble, isn’t welcome. I feel like this is allyship with teeth.

It also means a lot in an area that is deeply small-c conservative and increasingly capital-R Reform. As much as Bexley Village is an idyllic place in many ways, there can also be an unpleasant undercurrent if you step in the wrong place and your face doesn’t fit. The statement means much more because of the location.

I guess none of this would matter if the pub was rubbish, but it is not, it is great. It is friendly and welcoming to all, genuinely. There’s a really nice buzz about the place, and a good mix of people drinking there from all manner of backgrounds as far as I can tell. And I haven’t encountered a bellend yet.

I popped in the other day, there was a big mixed group celebrating a landmark birthday, an old couple enjoying a drink, a group of friends catching up, and a few people just enjoying a pint on their own.

There’s also a really thoughtful beerlist, especially for the area – a lot of modern keg, a beer fridge full of unusual craft and continental stuff, and a limited cask offering which is absolutely beautifully kept. The range of snacks are excellent too, which always earns a lot of bonus points from me.

At first glance it could appear to be just yet another craft beer bar – under a railway arch, minimal but tasteful decor, a wooden board behind the bar with beers listed in san serif font, something you would have once called trendy. But for where it is, it is so much more. The area has plenty of good micropubs, but not many places that bring in interesting keg beer. There aren’t that many “craft bars” that feel like a good place for a proper night out but still offer something decent to drink (I think a few places cosplay the craft bar vibe but then just stick on Neck Oil and hope for the best).

And most importantly, it is somewhere that is openly and proudly here for the whole community, not just who fits or who drinks there already.

And the website isn’t bad either.

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March 27, 2026

Pub Thoughts #9 (Queen Charlotte, Fitzrovia)

A pint of mild beer in a dimpled jug on a table in a pub. In the distance is the bar, some banquette seating and on the wall a list of available beers.

The Queen Charlotte is a former Brewdog pub, which in some ways is the least interesting thing about it, but also something that probably needs addressing at some point, if only to acknowledge both its recent history and its potential future – that here is an example of how pubs can not just survive but thrive once they have been released from Brewdog’s grip. It is a fine template of what newly independent pubs can do.

It is a one-room, corner boozer in Fitzrovia, a short walk up from Oxford Street but a world away from that particular thoroughfare in thrall to commerce. It’s all a little more refined up here but also a little more normal – fancy restaurants but also proper shops. A place that benefits from real pubs, and has a fair few of them.

The Queen Charlotte has a rather austere interior. It has been stripped back to its original bones – a traditional bar, wood flooring, banquette seating, leather-topped stools that look like massive Toffifee. It is sparse enough that you can project your own idea of a pub upon it – it can look like a trad boozer, a craft pub, a post-office drinking den.

There is the nostalgic smell of Brasso. The outside light hits the room perfectly, as if the place has been professionally illuminated. Bright, but soft somehow.

I’m the first one in for the day, as far as I can tell. I get a lovely welcome from the barman as he asked for my glass preference. I always go for a dimpled jug, even when it probably isn’t appropriate, because I quite like the idea of looking like an extra from an episode of Whatever Happened To The Likely Lads? The barman approves of my decision – I have made the right choice in his book.

There are two cask beers and they are both a fiver a pint. I think more pubs would benefit from offering this kind of cheaper option. Pubs should be accessible rather than a rare treat. Even the craft beer isn’t too expensive, I’ve seen it cost a lot more in far less fashionable parts of London. And the cask is good too, cool, packed full of flavour, the kind of pint that sings. Cheap beer doesn’t have to be bad beer, and if it encourages enough turnover then you can find yourself with beer that is both reasonably priced and outstandingly kept, that simply doesn’t have time to become dull, tired.

This pub does the simple things well – a fine space with a good choice of drinks, friendly service in a place that offers some escape for a while. Sometimes that is all a pub needs. It sets a high benchmark for independent pubs in Central London, and for all pubs really. I liked having it to myself for a while, but I hope it gets more patrons. It deserves them.

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March 20, 2026

Pub Thoughts #8 (Pubs as homes from home, and the Bird and Barrel)

A pint of beer on a beermat on a wooden table. The glass says "Bexley Brewery Est. 2014" and has a silhouette of a parakeet

I’ve been thinking a bit about pubs as second homes, surrogate homes – public houses as public homes. That sometimes you are away and need to sit somewhere familiar, homely, rather than a sterile hotel room. That sometimes you might be at work and need a break, somewhere to ground yourself, a refuge, an escape – a lunchtime pint or somewhere to decompress on your way home.

These aren’t necessarily places you frequent, some of these places you might only visit once. But there is something about being able to read the language of a pub, to know if it is the right kind of place for what you need. Will it be welcoming or pleasantly diffident? Do you want company or anonymity? A comfy corner to slouch into or a sturdy bar to hold you up?

And then there are the pubs that you go to regularly, that really feel like a home from home. The places that offer a familiar setting, familiar faces, a familiar welcome. A place that reminds you that you have a place in the world, that you are part of a community, that there is something wider out there than the individual. There is such a thing as society.

The Bird and Barrel is that pub for me. As much as I don’t go in there as often as I might like to, when I really need a home from home, a refuge, an escape or just the right kind of pub for a sit-down and a decent pint it is the place I head.

On first appearances it is your typical shopfront single-roomed micropub, but the single room then leads through to a lovely secluded garden and a second room out back for events, hire or just overspill on busy days.

It is run by the family behind Bexley Brewery and that family feel permeates everything they do. There is nothing impersonal about it and you can really tell that their beer and their pub are a reflection of their whole family – a real mix of perspectives pulling together to produce something distinctive, honest and, well, good.

The pub has a mix of beer, both from Bexley Brewery and elsewhere. You might find yourself talking to the head brewer as he pours you a brand-new beer, or you might end up drinking something unusual from the rest of the UK, or on occasion the rest of the world. You’re essentially getting a brewery taproom and a well-curated craft pub in one.

The pub also feels tailormade for the area – a local pub for local people in a positive sense. The feel of the place reflects the community it serves. There are posters for art classes held here, quiz nights too. It’s not just about the beer, that as much as that is clearly important to them it feels like the place is more about fostering a space that gets people out of the house and brings them together. We need these kinds of venues more than ever.

Generally you’ll find a circle of regulars sat around near the bar, but it is a welcoming group – anyone can join the conversation as it pinballs between such subjects as engineering conundrums, 70s pop music, local roadworks to avoid, and the state of Charlton Athletic Football Club. All your classic pub chat subjects, I think.

But even in what is a pretty small space there are nooks to hide away in and read a book, or have a smaller conversation. Like all good pubs there is a balance between public and private space.

The pub has table service and it works perfectly in this context. The wider conversation can flow unabated. The solo drinker doesn’t have to fight their way to the bar and risk losing their spot. But beyond that it helps encourage a much warmer and deeper welcome from staff to customers. Everyone gets greeted as they come in and with each order comes a little chat, a little check that everything is OK. That kind of bond doesn’t just happen in pubs where people line the bar. And, if anything, when done properly, table service enables a significantly more personal and bespoke experience. It doesn’t take long to feel a part of the place, to feel valued, appreciated, understood. To be part of the gang.

Pubs are a pretty personal thing. What works for one person doesn’t work for another, obviously. But feelings around pubs are also bound up in a whole load of emotions and attachments – these are buildings full of memories, places we have come to know intimately, where we know what they are like on a Sunday lunchtime or a Friday night, or when one person is working there compared to another, where we know the individuals who go there but also the kinds of people who go there.

And I think that’s why pubs can be so valuable on a human level. They are a way to tap into those memories, but to also make new ones. A way of feeling like you can be part of a community, to know that people are diverse in background, thought and action, and that spending time with them is no bad thing. Places like the Bird and Barrel aren’t just pubs, they are beacons of hope in a miserable world. A reminder that we still have fun, can enjoy the company of others, that there are places out there that will take care of us for a while.

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