writing | Wait until next year

Many people go to the pub for the beer. Others, the food. Some for the peace, the escape. There are those who go for the architecture. A few just like a good example of banquette seating to rest their weary legs. All of the above, in turn, gets its degree of scrutiny. Which pubs take care of their beer? Or have a decent menu? Or just look great?

But one area that often gets overlooked is what are the best pubs for a chat.

If you spend any time in pubs you’ll soon work that out. Some pubs are insular, there is a communal chat, but not for you. Others are for couples and groups to chat but there is no central discussion. There are the quiet pubs, places of contemplation rather than conversation. But then there are the places where you can rock up on your own and join the chat.

If you sit or stand at the bar you’ll almost certainly be brought into the fold. Get the friendly glance, the shared joke, the shared opinion, the invitation to share your own. In some pubs you’ll find people chipping in no matter where they sit or stand. A pub as one big conversation to tune in and out of, company there if you want it and, maybe, sometimes when you don’t.

And so, when I find I have a spare half-hour for a pint, I don’t just think about where I might get a decent pint. I also think about if it would be nice to have a bit of peace and quiet, or if it would be better to be somewhere a bit more social.

When we talk about pubs as being at the heart of the community it can all feel a bit…nebulous. Do we mean somewhere run by the community? Somewhere that puts on events, hosts clubs and the like? Or do we mean somewhere where you can walk in and actually engage with your community, talk to your neighbours and near-neighbours, build connections, friendships even?

And for that to truly work you need staff who are as comfortable curating a conversation as they are at choosing a beer list. There is a fine art to steering the discussion away from the sorts of subjects that might alienate people – the usual suspects of politics and religion, but, no doubt, other things too.

To know how to gently discourage the resident Pub Bore from holding court, but also how to bring the quieter patrons out of their shell. When to diffuse a situation with a joke, when to gently scold, when to just change the subject. Maybe to be the arbiter, the judge, when disputes arise. The final authority on both trivia and matters of great pub importance.

To understand that pub chat can be both serious and daft, but shouldn’t go too far in either direction. But to also get things going when it all goes a little quiet.

I have seen the finest Pub Talk experts navigate all of this with guile and grace, and ultimately turn a good pub into a great one – where you can have a chat, a laugh and always feel welcome and listened to. I have also been in pubs where the conversation has lost its way and soured the whole place – when racism or misogyny creep in, or on a more banal level when the room is dominated by a know-all, a bore or a blusterer. Pubs thrive when they get all this right, but they die when they don’t.

Pubs should be for everyone – and the Pub Talk is integral to that.

I had thought of further illuminating the beauty of pub conversations by sharing some subjects I’ve overheard being discussed, or have discussed myself, but it felt like I would be breaking the sanctity of Pub Talk. What we talk about in the pub stays in the pub. However, I will say this – who knew Bisto is an acronym?

Image from the National Library of Ireland, via Flickr Commons

July 29, 2026

Joshua Ray Walker at The Lower Third, London

A blurry photo from the back of a gig, there are lots of people in front of the stage, a figure on the stage appears to glow white

Ever since I first heard him I knew that Joshua Ray Walker was one of the best singers and songwriters in the world right now. After seeing him live I am more and more convinced he is right up there with the very best active today.

Walker is a Texan country singer who has been performing for over 20 years and releasing incredible records for nearly a decade. This is country music in the more classic sense rather than the plastic sense – storytelling, heartache, humour and humanity. His records show country can still be as meaningful, immediate and vital as it has ever been, that it doesn’t need to be drenched in irony or faux-retro stylings or slick production.

More recently, Walker has faced a cancer diagnosis and treatment, that then progressed to a diagnosis of terminal cancer, followed by the miracle of that diagnosis being misplaced and him coming out the other side cancer-free. My family has had a similar story to tell in recent years so I feel a particular affinity for his work, especially what was produced around and after that terrible time. Surviving isn’t easy, being a survivor isn’t either, but as Walker’s latest album states, he “Ain’t Dead Yet”.

But before I get to his performance, a note for his support act – Malin Pettersen. She was the perfect opener, absolutely setting the scene and creating the right atmosphere for a very special evening. Her songs were a form of otherworldly americana, imitate yet powerful, and balancing both intensely personal moments and much bigger themes and ideas.

Pettersen has a rare voice, one that is technically flawless yet sounds totally effortless, switching from a tender, quiet head voice that transfixed the audience to the kind of looping jet-propelled melodies that filled the room. A really extraordinary artist, and an inspiring one too, someone not afraid to talk about the value of art and creativity in a harsh and unforgiving world.

She is back in London this October and I would very much recommend you getting tickets if you can.

And so to Joshua Ray Walker. Well. This was a real all-timer gig. One I will always remember. Just one man with a guitar commanding a room in the most human and wonderful way possible. I think “authenticity” gets used too much these days, either as some kind of short-hand for hoary old revivalism or as a simulacrum of real that is actually anything but. Yet, Walker is truly, properly authentic – this was a night of true soul, of someone reaching out and making a genuine connection with a room full of strangers.

We got the mind-blowing guitar playing and rattling rhythms of Bronco Billy, the sweetness of Dumpster Diving, the evocative storytelling of Boat Show Girl and Lot Lizard. There was the the tender ache of True Love and the playful arm around the shoulder of Texas Sober. Ain’t Dead Yet became an anthem, everyone encouraged to sing along. Capital Letters was a highlight, one of his greatest songs, one of a growing list of proper, honest-to-goodness country music standards that Walker is writing, the kind of song that gives you the best kind of shivers. Voices might have the been the standout performance, Walker’s voice and delivery literally stunning the audience into hushed awe. An intense, transcendent moment.

Walker is not just a great singer and songwriter but an amazing performer and engaging raconteur too – really funny, relatable, open, silly, heartfelt. With each introduction he brought us closer to the songs, giving them more context, more meaning – from explaining his medical history before Ain’t Dead Yet to the relationship with his grandfather that inspired Capital Letters. We heard how he has been inspired by truck stops and boat shows and rummaging around dumpsters, how he has been able to mine the specific (an overheard conversation, a difficult post-gig exchange, his grandfather’s handwriting in his toolshed) and create something truly universal. This is the alchemy of a truly special songwriter, to move beyond platitudes, to root songs in the real, but find something we can all relate to, whoever we are and wherever we are.

Steve Earle famously said “Townes Van Zandt’s the best songwriter in the world, and I’ll stand on Bob Dylan’s coffee table in my cowboy boots and say that.” Well, if I had a pair of cowboy boots I would do the same on behalf of Joshua Ray Walker. He just might be the best singer and performer out there too.

It is nights like this that remind me how important art can, and should, be. How important live music is, and especially live music that is accessible and intimate and isn’t just a once-a-year treat at some stadium where you realise you’re mainly watching a screen rather than the stage. We live in truly difficult times, politically and often personally, and great art helps you to realise that you are not alone, that there is something common in the human experience, there is something worth treasuring, something worth fighting for. Both Pettersen and Walker reminded me of all that, gave me a little comfort, a little hope, a little glimpse of how life is and how it could be. I was fortunate to be there. We are fortunate to have artists like this. We ain’t dead yet.

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June 26, 2026

Pub Thoughts #14 (Sport at the Spoons)

A corner of a Wetherspoons pub. A TV showing football is mounted high up on the wall. There is bright white light fitting hanging from the ceiling. Pump clips are on the wall.

Several years ago I came to the realisation that I really don’t enjoy watching football in pubs. There might be a good atmosphere, but there is every chance there won’t be…especially if the game isn’t going the right way. I’m not a huge fan of football commentary but I would still prefer to hear the analysis of professionals rather the addled and misinformed musings of a pub bore behind me. I’d prefer not to crane my neck trying not to miss a key moment. I’d rather not miss swathes of the game entirely because I’m at the bar or trying to get in the loos. I’m just not sure that watching sport in a pub, as popular as it is, actually works.

And yet…the other day I found myself needing to get myself some tea, I fancied a drink after a day in a warm office followed by a hotter commute, and realised there was a World Cup game on I would quite like to watch. So, I headed to the local Spoons as it ticked all the relevant boxes.

I remember a time when Wetherspoons didn’t have TVs, prided themselves on not having them. But they are here now. This particular Spoons usually has CBeebies playing in the more family-oriented end – a really smart call, in my book. And across the rest of the pub usually has BBC News on, just to add a little more depression and desperation to your Wetherspoons Experience. But when there is a major sporting event on terrestrial television, like the World Cup, they stick it on.

And it worked! There is table service through the app so you don’t have to worry about a scrum at the bar – as much as there are mixed views about table service in pubs, it works brilliantly when the football is on. Much better having a few staff move about than the whole pub, and getting everyone on a table so they have somewhere to be served. No more tactical dives for a pint during a break in play or rushing to the bar at half-time.

The TV was silenced so it didn’t dominate. Pub bores (if there were any) didn’t need to shout over the telly, so we were spared hearing their insights. You could watch it if you wanted, but ignore it if you didn’t.

I think the inherent facelessness and impersonal nature of Wetherspoons is sometimes its downfall, but in situations like this is its greatest strength. A place where you can do what you want, not be disturbed and have food and drink brought to your table promptly and professionally. A place to watch football, a place to completely ignore it.

It wasn’t your usual football crowd either, and all the better for it. Couples having an early dinner. Families sat surrounded by shopping bags, resting their legs after a bit of a spree. Teens gathered furtively in a booth. Young lads in Adidas and gold chains sipping their Stella, politely. An old woman sat on her own without food and drink watching videos on her phone. I wish she had headphones, though.

Of course it helped that it wasn’t an England game, I think that might be a step too far, but it was a nice surprise to find the whole experience to be far better than I expected. I wasn’t just not overly annoyed or frustrated by it all but actually really enjoyed it.

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June 5, 2026

Pub Thoughts #13 (Tamworth Tap)

Interior of the Tamworth Tap, there are hops and fairy lights hanging from the ceiling, lots of old Belgian beer ads on the walls and wooden pews as seating

The Tamworth Tap is a three-time CAMRA National Pub of the Year. I felt a degree of trepidation before entering. There’s always a worry with anything so acclaimed that it might not live up to its billing, might be a disappointment, might be something I just don’t get.

I get this feeling with books, films, TV, as well as pubs. I don’t think it is quite inverted snobbery, a sense that if something is popular it can’t be good. More, I think it is a feeling that perhaps my tastes might not be calibrated with those who have brought forth the praise. And this is even more keenly felt with anything CAMRA. It is a good organisation, doing good things, but sometimes the pubs its members value can be…odd choices. Other times they get it spot-on, but there is no guarantee. I have spent a few afternoons collared by a CAMRA Man telling me their pub philosophy and their views have rarely matched mine.

So, trepidation, hesitation, doubt.

The backbar of the Tamworth Tap. There are a wide variety of spirits on the shelves and retro illuminated sign saying "Off Licence - WINES & SPIRITS"

I need not have worried. The Tamworth Tap is wonderful, majestic even. It is a validation of whatever process CAMRA undertake when choosing their pub of the year. It’s as good as a pub could be. It’s one of those places where you just keep ticking off your list of what would be in your dream pub.

There are lots of nooks to tuck yourself into. Little booths created out of old pews. A bar as a beacon in the middle, with an old illuminated off licence sign guiding you to a thoughtful selection of cask, keg and spirits – a mix of modern, unusual and old classics. Old Belgian beer ads adorn a wall. Pub memorabilia is dotted about to pique your interest or trigger your nostalgia. Hops and fairy lights hang off the ceiling to soften the corners. Even the music is perfect, a great selection at a volume that’s the ultimate sweet spot – where it masks the chat of others but isn’t so loud that you can’t be heard yourself. Everything adds to a feeling of welcome, cosiness, a home from home.

Frickles (fried pickles) and a pint of beer on a wooden pub table

And then the food! Not just a textbook selection of weird and wonderful crisps (Grouse and Whinberry, anyone?), but also rolls at the bar and freshly cooked snacks from the kitchen out back, essentially pub tapas without any of the pretension that phrase might suggest, something to keep you going but nothing to fill you up, including “frickles” – fried pickles that might just be the perfect accompaniment to a pint.

And then there’s the people. The staff are friendly, helpful, well-informed but not overbearing. The patrons are mixed – not always a given in a place like this. Old boys, solo drinkers, families, a good balance of male and female It is not overrun by Beer Tourists (apart from, of course, myself) and all the better for it. This is somewhere that is lived in, frequented, nurtured, supported, a real living pub rather than an exhibit of pub-ness.

There’s even a display above the door showing the next train times from Tamworth, for if you decide that perhaps its a little too hasty to start a new life here and that you better get home at some point.

One of the greats.

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May 29, 2026

Pub Thoughts #12 (The King Billy, Nottingham)

The exterior of the King Billy pub. A sign hangs off the wall with a picture of a goat.

The World’s Greatest Pub Blogger, RetiredMartin, will occasionally consider a pub one of his Top 100. This place, The King Billy, is one of them. And rightly so. It is unlikely I will ever visit as many pubs as Martin, and will certainly never reach his levels of Pub Expertise, but this pub is definitely in my top 100 too. And probably quite high in that list too. It’s a magical pub.

Sometimes you enter a pub and right away know that it just works. It is cosy, almost a little too cosy for comfort, but that gives it this immediate sense of hubbub and homeliness and place. There are different spaces, each with a slightly different feel, yet all part of a whole.

A row of empty chairs in a pub, lined up against a wall. There are old pictures of landscapes on the wall. In the distance is a strange doll with a little stuffed bear

There’s a bar in the middle that feels a little like a cockpit, serving each space and orchestrating the pub-ness, driving it even, a centrifugal force that influences the whole interior, that doesn’t just hand out the drinks but sets the tone, the feel, the fun.

All good pubs feel like someone’s living room. A public house, public home. The King Billy feels like the living room of someone’s particularly barmy aunt, and I mean that as the highest praise. The walls are covered in old paintings. Toby jugs line a wall. Knick knacks abound. A framed advert of a local visit from Su Pollard. A slightly creepy doll training a stuffed bear. A tartan carpet, a means of ensuring that even the floor isn’t plain. Detail, texture, stuff, everywhere.

A framed advert announcing Su Pollard is making an appearance at Sneinton Market. It looks quite old.

The Cup Final is on but there is enough entertainment in just scanning the walls. You can look around and piece together a whole history.

A man drinks from a pewter jug, another good sign. I love pubs where the regulars have their own receptacles. There’s scattered chat about the game, differences of opinion sportingly accepted. A man yells “Get that flag up!” Couples chat with half an eye on the telly. A man on his own spreads out a set of postcards on his table, takes a photo of them. Soon it’s half-time.

There’s a tremendous selection of cask and keg, and a just as good a selection of snacks. Life is good with a well-kept pint and a packet of honey mustard pretzel pieces. It’s a good place to stop after wandering around Nottingham’s trendy Sneinton Market. Catch your breath. Plan your next move.

Like all good pubs you can make it whatever you want it to be, but I think it is probably at its best with a quick pint on your own on a Saturday afternoon, with a bit of people-watching, a bit of football-watching and a bit of pub-watching.

Top 100, easily.

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