local


Save our Boozer 2

Well, I was wrong about the Blighty TV series, ‘Save our Boozer’. It featured three, not five, different pubs struggling to survive. Although all three were taken on by the local community, each had different problems which were tackled in different ways. I particularly enoyed the second programme which featured the Greyhound. They organised a pub crawl by steam bus which called in at surrounding village pubs for a quick half before dropping everyone back at the Greyhound for dinner […]


New Pub series on TV

A new series started on the Blighty channel last night (Sky 538, Virgin 206) called ‘Save our Boozer’. It’s on for five nights at 8pm and features  ‘pub expert’ Jay Smith going around the country trying to save pubs that are in danger of closing. Last night was the Raven Inn, somewhere in Wales that I’ve forgotten, but couldn’t pronounce anyway. He persuaded a group of villagers to take it on voluntarily for a month to see if they could […]


Thursday night out

We had a walk into town last night for a bite to eat and a few beers. Those that know me won’t be surprised to hear that the first port of call was Wetherspoons for a pint and a curry. Chicken Jalfrezi, rice, 2 pops with a pickle and a nan bread and a good pint of Directors, all for £4.99 – unbeatable value! Very busy – no surprise. After a second pint of Directors we went to the Fox […]


Tuesday night out

Went for a little walk round last night and tried a few pubs not been in for a while: Crown & Mitre – excellent pint of Milestone Hoptimism, well kept and the barmaid serving clearly knew what she was doing. They aim to keep 2 milestone beers at anytime as well as John Smiths Cask. Might be worth holding a meeting there? Malt Shovel – closed??? Post Office – Black Sheep which was OK, and Bombardier. Also went into the […]


Short Bennington

I’ve just returned from a short trip to Long Bennington (Nottingham post codes, Lincolnshire council, Newark CAMRA zone), arguably one of the most quintessentially English villages in our region. Wide main street, good local facilities, and 3 pubs which in the past have catered for the different tastes and pockets of the residents and visitors. Time to get controversial:- The Wheatsheaf – Guest ales off, barrel behind the bar under blanket pressure hadn’t “got anything in it yet”(!?!?!?), John Smith’s […]


LocAle: just to clarify

It has become apparent in the recent months that some of our pubs with the LocAle accreditation may not be keeping up their side of the bargain as well as might be expected. Whilst we realise it is not always possible to guarantee having a local brew on offer 100% of the time, there have been a few instances that have come to our notice of accredited pubs not fulfilling the requirement a little too often. So, in return for […]


Go West, Young Man (to Oxton)

Just occasionally we get an urge to do something different. To break the mould. To push the boundaries. A quick look at the Newark CAMRA website showed me exactly where the boundaries were – and arguably the furthest boundary was on the west; Oxton to be exact. With my trusted travelling beer-drinking companion beside me we set off to be the first reviewers of “The Green Dragon” – unchartered territory indeed. Armed with wallets, hope and empty stomachs, we pulled […]


Sutton beer list

Just received beer menu for Sutton-on-Trent Sports Club beer festival, held 1-3 May. ECCLESHALL SPRING FORWARD 3.8% MORDUE SPRING TYNE 4.0% WARWICKSHIRE DARLINGS BUDS 4.0% RINGWOOD BOLD FORESTER SPRING ALE 4.2% HOPBACK SPRING ZING 4.2% NEWMANS SPRING COTTAGE BISCUIT 4.2% TOM WOODS SPRINGTIME 4.2% BATEMANS EGGS-B 4.2% MALLINSON SPRING SUN 4.5% SHARDLOW MAY FLY 4.8% CROPTON DANGLEBERRY 5.2% SPRINGHEAD ROARING MEG 5.5% MAYPOLE MAYDAY MILD 3.5% CATHEDRAL ALES BLACK IMP 4.7% MAYFIELD FARM TREMLETTS BITTER?? 7.0% MAYFIELD FARM MEDIUM 6.0%


Upcoming beer beano

There is a plethora of local beer festivals coming up. There is an Easter fest on this weekend at the Castle, featuring about 12 ales. Sutton-on-Trent Sports Club hold a well organised festival which takes place on the 1st-3rd May, about 18 real ales from near and far. A CAMRA bar will be present again at the County Show on May 9th and 10th, 24 LocAles, 8 available at any one time. The 14th Newark Beer Festival is on the […]