Beer: Haresfoot Hoppiness 5%
It’s me birthday, so get to do something a little unusual – and that involves firing up whichever GBG application works on my device, to find a pub we’ve not been to before.
Tow Steph’s folks along for the ride. Roy’s driving and, out in the wilds at the back of the airport, The Strathmore Arms isn’t an easy place to find. The satnav gets us there eventually.
It’s a great place: a ramshackle old local in the middle of nowhere (as far as we’re concerned).
There’s a few old boys sat at the bar. One (wearing an Escape to Victory TOFFs shirt) has a couple of springers – which are set upon by Steph’s Mum. The young dog is very friendly, the older bitch, not so much.
On the bar, on a large serving plate, under cellophane are a few remaining large samosas – selling for £1.30 a pop.
Anyway, yes, as I’ve suggested – this is a wonderfully chaotic place. One gets the feeling these kind of pubs used to be far more the norm, even in town centres, than they are now. Pubs surely benefit from being allowed (and/or left alone) to take on the idiosyncratic character of their landlords and patrons… I can’t really say, on an isolated visit; but the ambience here seems like a breath of fresh air.
We sit round the corner, in a room barely furnished with church pews. I notice a nearby (dusty old) bookcase, piled upon which are a collection of Good Beer Guides going back to 1976. I thumb through a few; the books used to be a lot thinner, the descriptions extremely brief, the artwork often appalling. In terms of Luton pubs, The Brickies wasn’t listed until 1996 and, before then, The Gardeners Call was a 1980s mainstay.
It’s a great place: a ramshackle old local in the middle of nowhere (as far as we’re concerned).
There’s a few old boys sat at the bar. One (wearing an Escape to Victory TOFFs shirt) has a couple of springers – which are set upon by Steph’s Mum. The young dog is very friendly, the older bitch, not so much.
On the bar, on a large serving plate, under cellophane are a few remaining large samosas – selling for £1.30 a pop.
Anyway, yes, as I’ve suggested – this is a wonderfully chaotic place. One gets the feeling these kind of pubs used to be far more the norm, even in town centres, than they are now. Pubs surely benefit from being allowed (and/or left alone) to take on the idiosyncratic character of their landlords and patrons… I can’t really say, on an isolated visit; but the ambience here seems like a breath of fresh air.
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