109. Fri 2/6/17: Bricklayers Arms, Luton

Beer: Milestone Mild 4%

Post gig (Barton/Stoneman Quintet at The Bear) – back to The Brickies. My notes get less coherent, but they’re mercifully brief. They are (verbatim):

Arguing. 60s pop. Beatles, Dylan, Who, Moon

Sexy cats (house cats – pre-spay)

Plans for Praha

My odd lens. What the f*ck does it do?

See pic. It apparently plays tricks with light and focus. I must have had the lamp that night – but see pic, of the same kind of mild, from our first visit dans L’Briqs earlier in the evening. Quite interesting… colour has come out nice. I’ll have to dabble anon.

122. Wed 21/6/17: The Bear Club, Luton

Beer: Leighton Buzzard Restoration 4.6%
Richard Herring gig; warm-up for his “Oh Flip I’m 50” Edinburgh show. I’m a podcast subscribing fan of Mr Herring, and me brother bought me a ticket for my birthday (although I don’t usually go for live comedy). It is stupidly hot outside, and inside, The Bear. The warm-up acts are forgettable, and the compere picks on just about everyone apart (mercifully) from me. He’s called David. He’s gay. Not seen him before but I’ve since seen him on a talking heads clip show – where he was required to be aghast at 70s TV content… ‘cause it was racist and sexist and almost certainly homophobic too.

Anyway, Richard Herring was good – the crowd were a bit rubbish though; he deserved better levels of enthusiasm than a hot and bothered Luton crowd could muster. Still, I was audience, I should have laughed louder and applauded when me brother tried to start a round (it didn’t take).

At the end of the show I procured a copy of Richard Herring’s book of emergency questions. I asked him to sign it to Timothy. I stopped at least twice on the way home to laugh at the questions therein.

119 Sat 17/6/17: Kelham Island Tavern, Sheffield

Beer: Abbeydale Deception 4.1%

Very busy pub but, as at The Sheffield Tap, there is plenty of room out back – and at least one room entirely vacant before we inhabit it. The bar has a huge (i.e. too much) choice of beer. But how, my notes implore, can one knock a pub with Bosch’s Garden of Earthly Delights triptych framed (in three frames) on the wall?



I think The Last Judgement was up in the front room too – but I might have mis-remembered that.

This is an excellent pub with NO STICKY TABLES.

113 Sat 10/6/17: The Cricketers, Caddington

Beer: Sharp’s Atlantic 4.2%
Hot sultry day to walk up to Caddington to have another haircut (that I don’t even need). Decide on The Cricketers this time round. The curtains are drawn to keep the light off the big screen – on which a lousy projector is trying to show England v Australia in this year's dull fifty over comp’.



So, it’s quite dark in the pub… which my photos might show.

My notes say nothing else, other than the beer’s quite nice.

111 Fri 9/6/17: Half Moon, Hitchin

Beer: Young’s Special 4.5%

Thurls has organised a gig in Hitchin’s Club ’85 with The Knockouts playing after (rather than any thought of headlining over) John Hegley. The venue looks good from the sound check, although I feel for Mart’ in that such a venture was normally his and my concern; over 100 Village Green Cinema shows we put on one gig, again Hegley and Knockouts (at the time, and though it turned out fine, it was very stressful).

 

Afterwards we retire for a couple at the Half Moon, which is an excellent pub – and is suitably packed on a Friday evening as a result. We manage to find a table outside and have a nice little pre-gig drink away from the venue. There we talk of renewed hope in the politic after the unexpectedly promising result of yesterday’s general election. Labour, despite the despicable right wing press, did extraordinarily well (including holding both Luton seats). Good old Jeremy Corbyn (and Kelvin Hopkins).

107 Fri 020617: Bricklayers Arms, Luton

Beer: Nethergate Lemon Head 4%, Milestone Mild 4%

Balmy early summer evening in the Brickies; my brother and I moan about jobs/employers.

Brian Webb arrives and we talk to him/his mate about Luton Town history. We go on to discuss pub crawl opportunity in the town now. It’s pretty poor…

That said, it’s free in for Bear Keepers* down The Bear tonight.

* Bear Keepers are them that pay £8 a month by direct debit to keep The Bear going. My brother and I are BKs. Although I very rarely go Bear – I like that it’s there.



On the evening of the 2nd, Leighton wasn’t out. Leighton hates music and will not entertain the notion of going to The Bear.