Bird’s Eye View: A Breath of Fresh Air?

So there I was, sitting in one of the ‘best beer gardens in the UK’ (according to the Daily Telegraph), after having been dragged on a ten-mile trek by The Chap.  I was hot.  I was tired.  My feet were sore.  In fact I looked a right mess.  Why had I agreed to this?  Ah yes, the pub stop at the end of the walk.  After a lovely pint of Adnam’s Oyster Stout and a light lunch of homemade hummus, olives and pitta bread my spirits lifted.  The pub in question was the Eel’s Foot in Eastbridge, and it did indeed have a glorious garden; a large grassed area which included a ‘Ghost Ship’ for kids, a landscaped section, and a sheltered patio.  All within walking distance of the RSPB’s Minsmere Nature Reserve - ideal for a bit of twitching, if that’s your thing.  But this was Suffolk.   We have equally lovely pubs and gardens in Norfolk, don’t we?

I’m a city girl, and when the sun comes out you’ll often find me in one of Norwich’s truly wonderful pub gardens; shorts on, beer in hand, topping up my tan.  For the benefit of visitors to the city who are reading this, or Norfolk drinkers that are not familiar with Norwich pubs, here are the Beer Bird’s Top Norwich Pub Gardens (in no particular order):

The Plough; an upper grassed garden, a lower patio with sheltered booths, and outdoor heaters! 

The Playhouse; a groovy riverside location, some fancy lighting, and colorful furniture! 

The York; a large grassed garden, a great kid’s play area, and hammocks! 

The Georgian Townhouse; a walled garden, a croquette lawn, and herbs! 

The Garden House; a big lawn with picnic benches, plenty of patio seating, and a water feature! 

The Eagle; a tree-lined garden, a climbing frame, and a dog menu! 

There are more; the fabulous riverside locations of The River Garden, The Town House and The Rushcutters. And then the inner-city gems like The Wig and Pen where you can just sit outside and watch the world go by, or The Sir Garnet, an ideal spot for people watching, or The Lamb, an oasis of quiet and calm, only a stone’s throw from all hustle and bustle of Primark (other retailers are available). 

If you like a cigarette with your beer, whilst you’re out in the fresh air, you may have been disturbed by recent headlines that suggested local councils may soon ban smoking in pub gardens.  The sensationalist reporting of Haringey Council’s investigation into improving mental health by strengthening licensing powers around alcohol and tobacco had smokers up in arms.  The smokers’ rights group Forest claimed that “.... extending the smoking ban to beer gardens would be an outrageous attack on people’s rights to smoke in the places where they are not harming anyone else.”  And the Minister for Local Government, Marcus Jones, called Haringey Council ‘municipal killjoys’.   The council responded by saying they hoped to “…extend smoke-free areas" to protect public health, and added their policy would involve pub gardens and restaurant 'alfresco dining areas', saying 82% of Brits back current "smoke-free" legislation.

So where do I stand on this one?  Well I admit, I used to smoke.  Not 40 a day, but I did enjoy lighting-up with my mates.  A few drinks, a bit of a giggle, a couple of ciggies.  These days I really don’t appreciate cigarette smoke, particularly when I’m eating, something that I love doing in a pub garden in the summer months whilst topping up my tan (see above!).  However, I don't think it is reasonable to ban smoking entirely.  With apparently one in five people still smoking it wouldn’t be right, nor fair, nor proper.  But I do think that if a pub has a kid’s playground, or a designated outdoor dining area, it would be fair to ask folk not to smoke in the vicinity.  Most of the top Norwich pubs I’ve mentioned have gardens large enough to be able to allocate smoking and non-smoking areas.  That’s where I stand.  What d’ya reckon?

My shorts are on, I’m off to the pub.  “A packet of crisps and a pint of suntan lotion please landlord!”

Cheers

The Beer Bird

(first published in Norfolk Nips May 2017)

My First Time

Confessions of a beer festival volunteer  

  

For years I'd been thinking about volunteering at the Norwich Beer Festival but always found a reason not too.  However, when I saw a CAMRA email asking for volunteers at the Winter Ale Festival I thought….why not!

As I was responding to the email, entering the dates and times I would be available, I was thinking; “Do I really want to do this?”  Even after I had clicked send, I thought - they won't pick me - I have no experience.  So you can imagine my surprise when I received a reply informing me of the shifts I had been selected for. 

My first session was on Tuesday, this was a session for CAMRA members only.  As I was walking to St Andrews Hall the nerves started to kick in. On arrival at the staff entrance,  I was greeted with a smile and escorted to the staffing area.  There sat the lovely Jane Edrupt who gave me a badge, pointed me towards the t-shirt, and most importantly of all,  gave me my beer glass for the evening.  Boy was I desperate for a drink! 

On arrival at the St Andrews bar, I listened to the bar manager who told me what to do.  I then made my way to an area of the bar to start my shift.  The other staff who were working on the night were very friendly and helpful.  I got to work.  In between serving we chatted about volunteering and my colleagues discussed the beers they’d had tasted.  It wasn't until that moment I realised I had not yet sampled any beer - disaster.  This was soon rectified by my first tipple; Electric Milk Stout.  What a lovely beer - dark, creamy, smooth and tasty.  My next beer was Thornbridge Vanilla Stout, this was a whopping 6 4% but it certainly didn't taste like other 6.4% beers I had sampled in the past.  My third ale was Harvey's XXXX, another outstanding beer.  Before I knew it, it was 10.30pm and my shift was nearly over.  A clean down of the bar area and cooling of the barrels and I would be off.  It had been fun and I was actually looking forward to my next shift. 

So many beers....

On the Wednesday I returned keen and eager to get stuck in. When I arrived I was informed that the turnout during the the day had been low and that it was still not busy.  As I was walking to the bar, I was surprised by the low turnout and wondered why it was so quiet. This time round I was more outgoing during my shift, and began to chat to the customers.  I asked about their favourite beers, why they had come to the festival, and why they thought it was so poorly attended, at least in comparism with the annual October festival which is always jam-ppacked.  Throughout my conversations it became apparent that many people assumed a Winter Ale fest would only feature porters and stouts, and even a lot of real ale drinkers don’t dark beers.  In actual fact, the event had the usual vast array of different beer types from all over the country, it’s just that there were more beers of the darker variety than you’d expect at a traditional festival.

So for all of you who have ever thought about volunteering, stop thinking about it and do it. I met and worked with a nice bunch of people and sampled some excellent beers.  Roll on October so I can once again serve all you wonderful beer drinkers!

Cheers

The Beer Bird

(first published in Norfolk Nips May 2017)

Oh What a night!

The Norfolk and Norwich CAMRA Awards  

At the Epic studios in March I had the pleasure to present an award to Winters Brewery for their wonderful Winters Mild. 

Yep, that's me on stage

It was a top night; good food, lovely company, excellent beers.  The ticket price included a lovely buffet and a pint of award winning quality ale - with all subsequent beers being only £3 a pint.

The Chap had a 4.30 alarm the following morning so we decided to leave the party at about 10.00-ish.  As we made for the door we heard an announcement over the PA that all beers had to go, and were selling for a £1 a pint.  Should we stay or should we go……..?

Cheers!