In the US we certainly hear a lot about going to the pub in England, and its not exactly an observation to note that there is a pub culture in the UK, but Im finding that staying here for a bit and spending time with friends who live here (that is: not as a tourist per se) Im gettiing a much clearer sense of just how different this is than in the US. Yes, in MN we have Merlins Rest (still the best pub in the world, Tracie Munce), and Morris sides (and sports teams) often go out after practice, but going to the pub is just such an essential part of things here. You go to the pub after shapenote singing, for example, or in some cases you *hold* your shapenote singing in a pub (as will be the case tonight). And this may be a result of who I hang with, but from what I can see the Campaign for Real Ale (which was already around when I came here in 1984) has had tremendous success and Ive been to real ale pub after real ale pub and seen more beers than there are stars in the sky. Emma Rock (who actually works in a real ale pub, and knows her beers as they all must) reminded me of what Id read before about Norwich, which is that theres a pub for every day of the year and a church for every Sunday -- and then she pointed up and down the street we happened to be on and said Pub, pub, pub, pub.... We had begun our evening with dinner at the first pub pictured here (Adam and Eve), pretty much on the grounds of the Norwich Cathedral and claiming to be the oldest pub in Norwich. We ended our evening at her pub -- her living room she says -- the White Lion, where she hosts her folk club (the second picture here, blurry but thats Emma playing box). I snapped a few random shots of other pubs -- not selected or searched out, just everywhere you look, pubs just like this. Sheffield is a much bigger city, and there are pubs and pubs and more pubs, quaint and plain, charming and pedestrian, old and modern. In corners, on main roads. Its amazing.
Posted on: Thu, 18 Sep 2014 17:47:53 +0000
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