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)