Blog Tracker
06-12-2022, 21:16
Visit The BRAPA site (http://brapa-4500.blogspot.com/2022/12/brapa-in-ere-wig-go-again-more-from.html)
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi98DFwRTWwnM_tKbryPTVobSyB9pnjnq5--bdXKy3ztNax1go7YyMv8LbWwzREWsiWC5UJuNOIFuiUjdea7s8 FwyZ8AlXS3_bUj8acN_S-r_8J3oPnc48esXDgdYJrq9DZbO802ufyewGfu5TR69dQrWivDH OURQvFvwF6Nr_8SzH-iNt51jraZJD3VA/s320/IMG_2106.HEIC (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi98DFwRTWwnM_tKbryPTVobSyB9pnjnq5--bdXKy3ztNax1go7YyMv8LbWwzREWsiWC5UJuNOIFuiUjdea7s8 FwyZ8AlXS3_bUj8acN_S-r_8J3oPnc48esXDgdYJrq9DZbO802ufyewGfu5TR69dQrWivDH OURQvFvwF6Nr_8SzH-iNt51jraZJD3VA/s4032/IMG_2106.HEIC)
(LAST BLOG ON BLOGGER, actually wrote this before Edinburgh when the photo upload was just about bearable). Join me on Wix from tomorrow (link at the bottom, as the kids say).
'Bottle of red for breakfast? I'm not judging (apart from the obvious Wotsits oversight). Mr Pink Shirt looked like a Levellers fan, and he had to neck his final glass as we pulled into Newport. Having found a 10am opener, I was reassured to find someone drinking earlier than me.
Yes, I was back in the town that Gwent nearly forgot. I was aiming for the same kind of strategy that had garnered six ticks yesterday. Do a couple in town, and get a bus out to the villages.
I was getting the impression that Newport was a proper drinkers town. As I peered through a few steamy windows, the only folk smiling were those with a drink in their hand.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizRxjoHWmSHeSFKNqmsYK2fBSaTQlSqu0B3SuesDAehy 4moEayBT4eAqyv-4LNxLPhO6SwvcID-059vwLLgYpws5uO_kATxTpG4JFDjSFh0FvQcufue-nf5SW-EpVkZ-kUsmHpXn0HW-iGj2R4YL5Gdh_FrIvHG5KARDETta3x-fYHB1mCUB6VV95b8A/s320/IMG_2107.HEIC (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizRxjoHWmSHeSFKNqmsYK2fBSaTQlSqu0B3SuesDAehy 4moEayBT4eAqyv-4LNxLPhO6SwvcID-059vwLLgYpws5uO_kATxTpG4JFDjSFh0FvQcufue-nf5SW-EpVkZ-kUsmHpXn0HW-iGj2R4YL5Gdh_FrIvHG5KARDETta3x-fYHB1mCUB6VV95b8A/s3802/IMG_2107.HEIC)
Up a colourful (for Newport) sloping side street, the windows lined with old books, I was expecting the Pen & Wig, Newport (2431 / 3995) to be sweet and quaint. But not a bit of it. It was a moody, sticky tabled, slightly divey basic boarded pub. A surprising number of unusual ales on, but when I see that magic red triangle, all bets are off. It is the #PubMan way. Never touched the stuff pre-2014. The Bass here was not as scintillating as in Abergavenny's Station Hotel, but I'd still put it slightly above halfway in the Bass league table, pushing for a late play off place but losing a key player to injury in April. The soundtrack was very late nineties which was a nice gear change from the lazy Britpop throwback you get in far too many places, but with the constant threat of Cliff's Millennium Prayer, the Vengaboys and Martine McCutcheon hanging in the morning fug, threatening to bring the Wig into disrepute at any perfect moment (thanks!), I decided not to linger (which would've been a great Cranberries pun if they'd only held on a few years).
Still in the GBG? It is, I get the feeling it is probably a regular too. Always the best type of tick.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjYqFrX5_Ih9GKs-sbXQPPbEZJRSivAvr0O6FoDQi60rMMcDZ4Sk206-ZXYFWZiJg9XaTXIlT73scB4gCgKL90wrqu0xk4XMSkAES6kOgf uwDszKLPyPRiKg5KvDaBSybrxRYzH8odYVzWPsNJD_VeJ-YQTcn7TsJmFM35xsh7KFV55fLUpFfVopZabg/s320/IMG_2108.HEIC (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjYqFrX5_Ih9GKs-sbXQPPbEZJRSivAvr0O6FoDQi60rMMcDZ4Sk206-ZXYFWZiJg9XaTXIlT73scB4gCgKL90wrqu0xk4XMSkAES6kOgf uwDszKLPyPRiKg5KvDaBSybrxRYzH8odYVzWPsNJD_VeJ-YQTcn7TsJmFM35xsh7KFV55fLUpFfVopZabg/s4032/IMG_2108.HEIC)
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHUeebnu5R9gn1uCBlQ7bO4db9g82EGGsZzdgJEZX4LA 4zbJUL9lEaxgjX1ZGItzP6iJKDalLvTOIAC34mwfQ4L3-KzlNOJE0ilzoIyHekexCw0nq2KagZ_5_FjtzyuBZCf6Y_FIg4u Crty4dZtNF-YRV_R9E2R7MTcTsNu9Dofqrtwx9qApSPqka74g/s320/IMG_2109.HEIC (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHUeebnu5R9gn1uCBlQ7bO4db9g82EGGsZzdgJEZX4LA 4zbJUL9lEaxgjX1ZGItzP6iJKDalLvTOIAC34mwfQ4L3-KzlNOJE0ilzoIyHekexCw0nq2KagZ_5_FjtzyuBZCf6Y_FIg4u Crty4dZtNF-YRV_R9E2R7MTcTsNu9Dofqrtwx9qApSPqka74g/s4032/IMG_2109.HEIC)
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZY099CY0XYwqERNltNiOykncapPOYAs1sXitrIzhBvg-uczxonAwKJcNXfViGl4Fx3Ede3bQoUyu5dMLaTzwpfH22unwi6 y4K0seqJOot2sRnKltuo5S68BgHe56jLx0sCbFp8w4ebkFSUN8 TZWilxXA4jk3JgYOovfpVNBl2s5hua1qDKl35iPhLtg/s320/IMG_2110.HEIC (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZY099CY0XYwqERNltNiOykncapPOYAs1sXitrIzhBvg-uczxonAwKJcNXfViGl4Fx3Ede3bQoUyu5dMLaTzwpfH22unwi6 y4K0seqJOot2sRnKltuo5S68BgHe56jLx0sCbFp8w4ebkFSUN8 TZWilxXA4jk3JgYOovfpVNBl2s5hua1qDKl35iPhLtg/s3111/IMG_2110.HEIC)
Time to get myself aboard a bus in a Chepstowy direction before my bladder filled up too much. Plenty of ticks to be had in this southern section of Gwent, and at 11.62 precise miles out of Newport, this was my first stop.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTT22RQSWzHuiScU-M3f0fEfY0a7MnnXW3jKcNrHzdkdOvZ2xCOeptoo9Elqi0OWGrH PeAff_F2j7TYJE2Q5QXa7OpMG90rgY9dFRq5EtlvJVXwzVGZ9J Y8eHFCirdtAZfqJ-9yOfR9V8tQekTnTp1B9Rn4i5089i1i8hA8TRS0g1bCl5Fnc4B7 cxNpg/s320/IMG_2112.HEIC (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTT22RQSWzHuiScU-M3f0fEfY0a7MnnXW3jKcNrHzdkdOvZ2xCOeptoo9Elqi0OWGrH PeAff_F2j7TYJE2Q5QXa7OpMG90rgY9dFRq5EtlvJVXwzVGZ9J Y8eHFCirdtAZfqJ-9yOfR9V8tQekTnTp1B9Rn4i5089i1i8hA8TRS0g1bCl5Fnc4B7 cxNpg/s3716/IMG_2112.HEIC)
Quite a grand looking place from a distance, the Wheatsheaf, Magor (2432 / 3996) didn't stand out as particularly special on my visit. It did at least have a smidgen of soft furnishings and warmth which were lacking in the Pen & Wig. 'Swerve Oakham Citra, get punished' has been the message coming through loud and clear so far this year when I've shunned Peterborough's finest in favour of something more crafty (or Whitstable Bay). So no way I'm avoiding it here. Great pint, canny guv'nor, but the so-called child drawing certainly had the hallmarks of an adult trying to passing itself off as a child! Weird behaviour. See pic below, and let me know what you think. The words probably are by the child, but the cat facial features make me suspicious. I reverse my arse into one of the cosier spots facing the bar, perhaps too cosy as a local lady is having lunch for one and I nearly end up with a bum full of sausage & mash. After a while, we get chatting. She seems to think I'll have empathy for her Magor woes despite having a 'Good Beer Guide' and a mascot sheep on my table, and is going on about local road trials and tribulations. "Someone drove between 10-17 mph in front of me all the way here, how do you think that made me feel?!" she complained, in one of the most unanswerable questions ever. The only other customer around this side is a nervous pint drinking man. When his phone rings, he jumps. It is the wife. "Sorry luv, really have very little signal out here, crackle crackle crackle, nope you're breaking up" he says, before hanging up, downing the rest, and rushing off. And so must I, a bus is imminent.
Still in the GBG? It is, deserves it for that Citra alone.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0YsM3hWBo2LB2lU6gZLKZQ63AqjCSvVSkTVBczCXa2B O3h-HAHwZbOPTcAWYv1qyshCnigMr5AxN3ahzQLl8YWTJF5FFUhdRB ohe3AD9aE96152IlIj3Q_p2hRqXHgzz52V4mQ-bqyd9BG-e2dhCkyE-kznXI_SI6GtMMHohvPW8ZUBKg7g6houXtig/s320/IMG_2114.HEIC (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0YsM3hWBo2LB2lU6gZLKZQ63AqjCSvVSkTVBczCXa2B O3h-HAHwZbOPTcAWYv1qyshCnigMr5AxN3ahzQLl8YWTJF5FFUhdRB ohe3AD9aE96152IlIj3Q_p2hRqXHgzz52V4mQ-bqyd9BG-e2dhCkyE-kznXI_SI6GtMMHohvPW8ZUBKg7g6houXtig/s2613/IMG_2114.HEIC)
"You can save this picture to your seasoned cat" Mmm, I'll have a salt n pepper tabby please.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin3FSA7BhYofm_MnYIxCXXqGtkMvXNJptPozfRm1IR6S EjeVYKcVU7--s2REHGozQUhbxsMvd2cBKO9b7S8v0U36bnOQXPauIZq1RQ6Uym 0geqpT6DIAe5QpxUbL2Y3gWAqXROV4pGZ06DJeloHSZBTpI_gi p60GVnV_lEYnTYJiOmxRwnZhEuXicSdg/s320/IMG_2115.HEIC (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin3FSA7BhYofm_MnYIxCXXqGtkMvXNJptPozfRm1IR6S EjeVYKcVU7--s2REHGozQUhbxsMvd2cBKO9b7S8v0U36bnOQXPauIZq1RQ6Uym 0geqpT6DIAe5QpxUbL2Y3gWAqXROV4pGZ06DJeloHSZBTpI_gi p60GVnV_lEYnTYJiOmxRwnZhEuXicSdg/s4032/IMG_2115.HEIC)
Next stop out east, don't go crossing that border into BORING England, is Caldicot. The pub was errrm, quite astonishing!
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1sG0hL8D20PX5mxRmoOcmsLF13Ivgz7Z044I7CnZR0T IzFVyh3zxGij9Fw8vcr09Hy1fLcwRz-hs4HOFmNtXrRRZsspbRr9JGWzTXf8VfeyG1nV_WgaEsVjn5GgL Qg57U1d1YxIf4mLmz_YJvfo7nonHXPYUDBT90Oumc-l1q2r9Wso1odWbYK8MqDw/s320/IMG_2116.HEIC (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1sG0hL8D20PX5mxRmoOcmsLF13Ivgz7Z044I7CnZR0T IzFVyh3zxGij9Fw8vcr09Hy1fLcwRz-hs4HOFmNtXrRRZsspbRr9JGWzTXf8VfeyG1nV_WgaEsVjn5GgL Qg57U1d1YxIf4mLmz_YJvfo7nonHXPYUDBT90Oumc-l1q2r9Wso1odWbYK8MqDw/s2579/IMG_2116.HEIC)
With shopmobility's and walking frames dominating the frontage, I should've been prepared for the step into the twilight zone which was the Cross Inn, Caldicot (2433 / 3997) - all eyes turn on me as I enter, I try to smile warmly around the room, but I'm inwardly taken aback, I hadn't been expecting this level of local Welshitude. For a pub like this to make it into the GBG is increasingly rare, more's the pity. Dartmoor Jail Ale (in a Doom glass) is the only cask on, and nowt wrong with it, as I realise I've got no choice but to sit in the centre and immerse myself in Cross Inn culture. A dividing wall / fireplace seems to contain just as many crazies behind me. I'd say the place has a WMC atmosphere, but it is more 'charged' than that. Even the folk watching 'Doctors' on a giant plasma are doing it with quite a degree of passion. Everyone has 2003 Nokia phones, with polyphonic ringtones, 'The Good, the Bad and the Ugly' theme being the most popular, and the most apt. A gnarly bloke with a face like the planet Mars walks up to a man sat at a table, "I've just seen yer da' Geraint, he's looking well for 83" but the man he is addressing looks 83 too. Strangely falling in love with this place, more rewarding than the previous two, much more life, even if a lot of the life was close to death. Superb.
Still in the GBG? Nah, binned off in favour of a brewery tap room! Sad, but not surprised. Beer guide, not pub guide, or so they say.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhty6JQ4IT5mLldVUALa69VmDLXKSRNkqxnA5mB35pn_X y7VDIa9rOxGWWjLX_bfBCCfzrtGUNCrvu9-18D-KoDaICAovUQmyAnfdqZ9xzl8Rht7QuPB3XD4LkFJnbLTjTUBFS ctEYclz4WhOdOhF60a3hMIWPAYE2Nm36NHtQoKenvzvQNf7x4h Ulo1A/s320/IMG_2117.HEIC (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhty6JQ4IT5mLldVUALa69VmDLXKSRNkqxnA5mB35pn_X y7VDIa9rOxGWWjLX_bfBCCfzrtGUNCrvu9-18D-KoDaICAovUQmyAnfdqZ9xzl8Rht7QuPB3XD4LkFJnbLTjTUBFS ctEYclz4WhOdOhF60a3hMIWPAYE2Nm36NHtQoKenvzvQNf7x4h Ulo1A/s4032/IMG_2117.HEIC)
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpnJVGgBFLDYZsVx9wIL3o4Qna3sUHt9G_dBJmZlioCF oudESMmBFNt96vmlEVOCkE-eorfLupu26bUWNw3BOvaFAmS_GBCJhaKhBJ6pOlHV41pOzuIjX PrRQH0FMkp1wURM5f2xazaUI9ZJ7FyX3bXGn7s91SxofC36BN8 wsWpqeYw0Tz8aRIZnxLjg/s320/IMG_2119.HEIC (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpnJVGgBFLDYZsVx9wIL3o4Qna3sUHt9G_dBJmZlioCF oudESMmBFNt96vmlEVOCkE-eorfLupu26bUWNw3BOvaFAmS_GBCJhaKhBJ6pOlHV41pOzuIjX PrRQH0FMkp1wURM5f2xazaUI9ZJ7FyX3bXGn7s91SxofC36BN8 wsWpqeYw0Tz8aRIZnxLjg/s4032/IMG_2119.HEIC)
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL9tn9iA_3frDbgxUZODD4P24JEZ-Kac-J1TKXtG9fjqLWk2Q4V-7D_O1Tlu-IpdcTlZbO7lb_-YbIxEou5pxHiAXwtIkll1IfEM2D0kf324IVYfE0vLOmFW1RK7G mvtNTtklc3iSjPMbGKyX0-dRgihBramheKpAIzYI_ZkehP2eK-yrKXEiGff6iYQ/s320/IMG_2120.HEIC (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL9tn9iA_3frDbgxUZODD4P24JEZ-Kac-J1TKXtG9fjqLWk2Q4V-7D_O1Tlu-IpdcTlZbO7lb_-YbIxEou5pxHiAXwtIkll1IfEM2D0kf324IVYfE0vLOmFW1RK7G mvtNTtklc3iSjPMbGKyX0-dRgihBramheKpAIzYI_ZkehP2eK-yrKXEiGff6iYQ/s4032/IMG_2120.HEIC)
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOyAUFlU9oZpUHIg_AlavZboVD4gHqSYEd9hhDX6zd4u 8Amj7qSLnc4Nbr_iyO2bWB1q2FJ56dj8FRjfAbaFEtuWQJgE0T vGwKhX9D8szY3HICqZf93tlgn-H2TxPDAlKEouBwN0_g9YKVOiR6NQyF-kc64sp3YFgFTeTYueZe_r-t9wuOt0-6tKAIkw/s320/IMG_2121.HEIC (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOyAUFlU9oZpUHIg_AlavZboVD4gHqSYEd9hhDX6zd4u 8Amj7qSLnc4Nbr_iyO2bWB1q2FJ56dj8FRjfAbaFEtuWQJgE0T vGwKhX9D8szY3HICqZf93tlgn-H2TxPDAlKEouBwN0_g9YKVOiR6NQyF-kc64sp3YFgFTeTYueZe_r-t9wuOt0-6tKAIkw/s4032/IMG_2121.HEIC)
See you all over on Wix! Address is going to be https://simeyeveritt.wixsite.com/brapa
Take care, Si
More... (http://brapa-4500.blogspot.com/2022/12/brapa-in-ere-wig-go-again-more-from.html)
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi98DFwRTWwnM_tKbryPTVobSyB9pnjnq5--bdXKy3ztNax1go7YyMv8LbWwzREWsiWC5UJuNOIFuiUjdea7s8 FwyZ8AlXS3_bUj8acN_S-r_8J3oPnc48esXDgdYJrq9DZbO802ufyewGfu5TR69dQrWivDH OURQvFvwF6Nr_8SzH-iNt51jraZJD3VA/s320/IMG_2106.HEIC (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi98DFwRTWwnM_tKbryPTVobSyB9pnjnq5--bdXKy3ztNax1go7YyMv8LbWwzREWsiWC5UJuNOIFuiUjdea7s8 FwyZ8AlXS3_bUj8acN_S-r_8J3oPnc48esXDgdYJrq9DZbO802ufyewGfu5TR69dQrWivDH OURQvFvwF6Nr_8SzH-iNt51jraZJD3VA/s4032/IMG_2106.HEIC)
(LAST BLOG ON BLOGGER, actually wrote this before Edinburgh when the photo upload was just about bearable). Join me on Wix from tomorrow (link at the bottom, as the kids say).
'Bottle of red for breakfast? I'm not judging (apart from the obvious Wotsits oversight). Mr Pink Shirt looked like a Levellers fan, and he had to neck his final glass as we pulled into Newport. Having found a 10am opener, I was reassured to find someone drinking earlier than me.
Yes, I was back in the town that Gwent nearly forgot. I was aiming for the same kind of strategy that had garnered six ticks yesterday. Do a couple in town, and get a bus out to the villages.
I was getting the impression that Newport was a proper drinkers town. As I peered through a few steamy windows, the only folk smiling were those with a drink in their hand.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizRxjoHWmSHeSFKNqmsYK2fBSaTQlSqu0B3SuesDAehy 4moEayBT4eAqyv-4LNxLPhO6SwvcID-059vwLLgYpws5uO_kATxTpG4JFDjSFh0FvQcufue-nf5SW-EpVkZ-kUsmHpXn0HW-iGj2R4YL5Gdh_FrIvHG5KARDETta3x-fYHB1mCUB6VV95b8A/s320/IMG_2107.HEIC (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizRxjoHWmSHeSFKNqmsYK2fBSaTQlSqu0B3SuesDAehy 4moEayBT4eAqyv-4LNxLPhO6SwvcID-059vwLLgYpws5uO_kATxTpG4JFDjSFh0FvQcufue-nf5SW-EpVkZ-kUsmHpXn0HW-iGj2R4YL5Gdh_FrIvHG5KARDETta3x-fYHB1mCUB6VV95b8A/s3802/IMG_2107.HEIC)
Up a colourful (for Newport) sloping side street, the windows lined with old books, I was expecting the Pen & Wig, Newport (2431 / 3995) to be sweet and quaint. But not a bit of it. It was a moody, sticky tabled, slightly divey basic boarded pub. A surprising number of unusual ales on, but when I see that magic red triangle, all bets are off. It is the #PubMan way. Never touched the stuff pre-2014. The Bass here was not as scintillating as in Abergavenny's Station Hotel, but I'd still put it slightly above halfway in the Bass league table, pushing for a late play off place but losing a key player to injury in April. The soundtrack was very late nineties which was a nice gear change from the lazy Britpop throwback you get in far too many places, but with the constant threat of Cliff's Millennium Prayer, the Vengaboys and Martine McCutcheon hanging in the morning fug, threatening to bring the Wig into disrepute at any perfect moment (thanks!), I decided not to linger (which would've been a great Cranberries pun if they'd only held on a few years).
Still in the GBG? It is, I get the feeling it is probably a regular too. Always the best type of tick.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjYqFrX5_Ih9GKs-sbXQPPbEZJRSivAvr0O6FoDQi60rMMcDZ4Sk206-ZXYFWZiJg9XaTXIlT73scB4gCgKL90wrqu0xk4XMSkAES6kOgf uwDszKLPyPRiKg5KvDaBSybrxRYzH8odYVzWPsNJD_VeJ-YQTcn7TsJmFM35xsh7KFV55fLUpFfVopZabg/s320/IMG_2108.HEIC (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjYqFrX5_Ih9GKs-sbXQPPbEZJRSivAvr0O6FoDQi60rMMcDZ4Sk206-ZXYFWZiJg9XaTXIlT73scB4gCgKL90wrqu0xk4XMSkAES6kOgf uwDszKLPyPRiKg5KvDaBSybrxRYzH8odYVzWPsNJD_VeJ-YQTcn7TsJmFM35xsh7KFV55fLUpFfVopZabg/s4032/IMG_2108.HEIC)
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHUeebnu5R9gn1uCBlQ7bO4db9g82EGGsZzdgJEZX4LA 4zbJUL9lEaxgjX1ZGItzP6iJKDalLvTOIAC34mwfQ4L3-KzlNOJE0ilzoIyHekexCw0nq2KagZ_5_FjtzyuBZCf6Y_FIg4u Crty4dZtNF-YRV_R9E2R7MTcTsNu9Dofqrtwx9qApSPqka74g/s320/IMG_2109.HEIC (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHUeebnu5R9gn1uCBlQ7bO4db9g82EGGsZzdgJEZX4LA 4zbJUL9lEaxgjX1ZGItzP6iJKDalLvTOIAC34mwfQ4L3-KzlNOJE0ilzoIyHekexCw0nq2KagZ_5_FjtzyuBZCf6Y_FIg4u Crty4dZtNF-YRV_R9E2R7MTcTsNu9Dofqrtwx9qApSPqka74g/s4032/IMG_2109.HEIC)
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZY099CY0XYwqERNltNiOykncapPOYAs1sXitrIzhBvg-uczxonAwKJcNXfViGl4Fx3Ede3bQoUyu5dMLaTzwpfH22unwi6 y4K0seqJOot2sRnKltuo5S68BgHe56jLx0sCbFp8w4ebkFSUN8 TZWilxXA4jk3JgYOovfpVNBl2s5hua1qDKl35iPhLtg/s320/IMG_2110.HEIC (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZY099CY0XYwqERNltNiOykncapPOYAs1sXitrIzhBvg-uczxonAwKJcNXfViGl4Fx3Ede3bQoUyu5dMLaTzwpfH22unwi6 y4K0seqJOot2sRnKltuo5S68BgHe56jLx0sCbFp8w4ebkFSUN8 TZWilxXA4jk3JgYOovfpVNBl2s5hua1qDKl35iPhLtg/s3111/IMG_2110.HEIC)
Time to get myself aboard a bus in a Chepstowy direction before my bladder filled up too much. Plenty of ticks to be had in this southern section of Gwent, and at 11.62 precise miles out of Newport, this was my first stop.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTT22RQSWzHuiScU-M3f0fEfY0a7MnnXW3jKcNrHzdkdOvZ2xCOeptoo9Elqi0OWGrH PeAff_F2j7TYJE2Q5QXa7OpMG90rgY9dFRq5EtlvJVXwzVGZ9J Y8eHFCirdtAZfqJ-9yOfR9V8tQekTnTp1B9Rn4i5089i1i8hA8TRS0g1bCl5Fnc4B7 cxNpg/s320/IMG_2112.HEIC (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTT22RQSWzHuiScU-M3f0fEfY0a7MnnXW3jKcNrHzdkdOvZ2xCOeptoo9Elqi0OWGrH PeAff_F2j7TYJE2Q5QXa7OpMG90rgY9dFRq5EtlvJVXwzVGZ9J Y8eHFCirdtAZfqJ-9yOfR9V8tQekTnTp1B9Rn4i5089i1i8hA8TRS0g1bCl5Fnc4B7 cxNpg/s3716/IMG_2112.HEIC)
Quite a grand looking place from a distance, the Wheatsheaf, Magor (2432 / 3996) didn't stand out as particularly special on my visit. It did at least have a smidgen of soft furnishings and warmth which were lacking in the Pen & Wig. 'Swerve Oakham Citra, get punished' has been the message coming through loud and clear so far this year when I've shunned Peterborough's finest in favour of something more crafty (or Whitstable Bay). So no way I'm avoiding it here. Great pint, canny guv'nor, but the so-called child drawing certainly had the hallmarks of an adult trying to passing itself off as a child! Weird behaviour. See pic below, and let me know what you think. The words probably are by the child, but the cat facial features make me suspicious. I reverse my arse into one of the cosier spots facing the bar, perhaps too cosy as a local lady is having lunch for one and I nearly end up with a bum full of sausage & mash. After a while, we get chatting. She seems to think I'll have empathy for her Magor woes despite having a 'Good Beer Guide' and a mascot sheep on my table, and is going on about local road trials and tribulations. "Someone drove between 10-17 mph in front of me all the way here, how do you think that made me feel?!" she complained, in one of the most unanswerable questions ever. The only other customer around this side is a nervous pint drinking man. When his phone rings, he jumps. It is the wife. "Sorry luv, really have very little signal out here, crackle crackle crackle, nope you're breaking up" he says, before hanging up, downing the rest, and rushing off. And so must I, a bus is imminent.
Still in the GBG? It is, deserves it for that Citra alone.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0YsM3hWBo2LB2lU6gZLKZQ63AqjCSvVSkTVBczCXa2B O3h-HAHwZbOPTcAWYv1qyshCnigMr5AxN3ahzQLl8YWTJF5FFUhdRB ohe3AD9aE96152IlIj3Q_p2hRqXHgzz52V4mQ-bqyd9BG-e2dhCkyE-kznXI_SI6GtMMHohvPW8ZUBKg7g6houXtig/s320/IMG_2114.HEIC (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0YsM3hWBo2LB2lU6gZLKZQ63AqjCSvVSkTVBczCXa2B O3h-HAHwZbOPTcAWYv1qyshCnigMr5AxN3ahzQLl8YWTJF5FFUhdRB ohe3AD9aE96152IlIj3Q_p2hRqXHgzz52V4mQ-bqyd9BG-e2dhCkyE-kznXI_SI6GtMMHohvPW8ZUBKg7g6houXtig/s2613/IMG_2114.HEIC)
"You can save this picture to your seasoned cat" Mmm, I'll have a salt n pepper tabby please.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin3FSA7BhYofm_MnYIxCXXqGtkMvXNJptPozfRm1IR6S EjeVYKcVU7--s2REHGozQUhbxsMvd2cBKO9b7S8v0U36bnOQXPauIZq1RQ6Uym 0geqpT6DIAe5QpxUbL2Y3gWAqXROV4pGZ06DJeloHSZBTpI_gi p60GVnV_lEYnTYJiOmxRwnZhEuXicSdg/s320/IMG_2115.HEIC (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin3FSA7BhYofm_MnYIxCXXqGtkMvXNJptPozfRm1IR6S EjeVYKcVU7--s2REHGozQUhbxsMvd2cBKO9b7S8v0U36bnOQXPauIZq1RQ6Uym 0geqpT6DIAe5QpxUbL2Y3gWAqXROV4pGZ06DJeloHSZBTpI_gi p60GVnV_lEYnTYJiOmxRwnZhEuXicSdg/s4032/IMG_2115.HEIC)
Next stop out east, don't go crossing that border into BORING England, is Caldicot. The pub was errrm, quite astonishing!
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1sG0hL8D20PX5mxRmoOcmsLF13Ivgz7Z044I7CnZR0T IzFVyh3zxGij9Fw8vcr09Hy1fLcwRz-hs4HOFmNtXrRRZsspbRr9JGWzTXf8VfeyG1nV_WgaEsVjn5GgL Qg57U1d1YxIf4mLmz_YJvfo7nonHXPYUDBT90Oumc-l1q2r9Wso1odWbYK8MqDw/s320/IMG_2116.HEIC (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1sG0hL8D20PX5mxRmoOcmsLF13Ivgz7Z044I7CnZR0T IzFVyh3zxGij9Fw8vcr09Hy1fLcwRz-hs4HOFmNtXrRRZsspbRr9JGWzTXf8VfeyG1nV_WgaEsVjn5GgL Qg57U1d1YxIf4mLmz_YJvfo7nonHXPYUDBT90Oumc-l1q2r9Wso1odWbYK8MqDw/s2579/IMG_2116.HEIC)
With shopmobility's and walking frames dominating the frontage, I should've been prepared for the step into the twilight zone which was the Cross Inn, Caldicot (2433 / 3997) - all eyes turn on me as I enter, I try to smile warmly around the room, but I'm inwardly taken aback, I hadn't been expecting this level of local Welshitude. For a pub like this to make it into the GBG is increasingly rare, more's the pity. Dartmoor Jail Ale (in a Doom glass) is the only cask on, and nowt wrong with it, as I realise I've got no choice but to sit in the centre and immerse myself in Cross Inn culture. A dividing wall / fireplace seems to contain just as many crazies behind me. I'd say the place has a WMC atmosphere, but it is more 'charged' than that. Even the folk watching 'Doctors' on a giant plasma are doing it with quite a degree of passion. Everyone has 2003 Nokia phones, with polyphonic ringtones, 'The Good, the Bad and the Ugly' theme being the most popular, and the most apt. A gnarly bloke with a face like the planet Mars walks up to a man sat at a table, "I've just seen yer da' Geraint, he's looking well for 83" but the man he is addressing looks 83 too. Strangely falling in love with this place, more rewarding than the previous two, much more life, even if a lot of the life was close to death. Superb.
Still in the GBG? Nah, binned off in favour of a brewery tap room! Sad, but not surprised. Beer guide, not pub guide, or so they say.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhty6JQ4IT5mLldVUALa69VmDLXKSRNkqxnA5mB35pn_X y7VDIa9rOxGWWjLX_bfBCCfzrtGUNCrvu9-18D-KoDaICAovUQmyAnfdqZ9xzl8Rht7QuPB3XD4LkFJnbLTjTUBFS ctEYclz4WhOdOhF60a3hMIWPAYE2Nm36NHtQoKenvzvQNf7x4h Ulo1A/s320/IMG_2117.HEIC (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhty6JQ4IT5mLldVUALa69VmDLXKSRNkqxnA5mB35pn_X y7VDIa9rOxGWWjLX_bfBCCfzrtGUNCrvu9-18D-KoDaICAovUQmyAnfdqZ9xzl8Rht7QuPB3XD4LkFJnbLTjTUBFS ctEYclz4WhOdOhF60a3hMIWPAYE2Nm36NHtQoKenvzvQNf7x4h Ulo1A/s4032/IMG_2117.HEIC)
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpnJVGgBFLDYZsVx9wIL3o4Qna3sUHt9G_dBJmZlioCF oudESMmBFNt96vmlEVOCkE-eorfLupu26bUWNw3BOvaFAmS_GBCJhaKhBJ6pOlHV41pOzuIjX PrRQH0FMkp1wURM5f2xazaUI9ZJ7FyX3bXGn7s91SxofC36BN8 wsWpqeYw0Tz8aRIZnxLjg/s320/IMG_2119.HEIC (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpnJVGgBFLDYZsVx9wIL3o4Qna3sUHt9G_dBJmZlioCF oudESMmBFNt96vmlEVOCkE-eorfLupu26bUWNw3BOvaFAmS_GBCJhaKhBJ6pOlHV41pOzuIjX PrRQH0FMkp1wURM5f2xazaUI9ZJ7FyX3bXGn7s91SxofC36BN8 wsWpqeYw0Tz8aRIZnxLjg/s4032/IMG_2119.HEIC)
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL9tn9iA_3frDbgxUZODD4P24JEZ-Kac-J1TKXtG9fjqLWk2Q4V-7D_O1Tlu-IpdcTlZbO7lb_-YbIxEou5pxHiAXwtIkll1IfEM2D0kf324IVYfE0vLOmFW1RK7G mvtNTtklc3iSjPMbGKyX0-dRgihBramheKpAIzYI_ZkehP2eK-yrKXEiGff6iYQ/s320/IMG_2120.HEIC (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL9tn9iA_3frDbgxUZODD4P24JEZ-Kac-J1TKXtG9fjqLWk2Q4V-7D_O1Tlu-IpdcTlZbO7lb_-YbIxEou5pxHiAXwtIkll1IfEM2D0kf324IVYfE0vLOmFW1RK7G mvtNTtklc3iSjPMbGKyX0-dRgihBramheKpAIzYI_ZkehP2eK-yrKXEiGff6iYQ/s4032/IMG_2120.HEIC)
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOyAUFlU9oZpUHIg_AlavZboVD4gHqSYEd9hhDX6zd4u 8Amj7qSLnc4Nbr_iyO2bWB1q2FJ56dj8FRjfAbaFEtuWQJgE0T vGwKhX9D8szY3HICqZf93tlgn-H2TxPDAlKEouBwN0_g9YKVOiR6NQyF-kc64sp3YFgFTeTYueZe_r-t9wuOt0-6tKAIkw/s320/IMG_2121.HEIC (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOyAUFlU9oZpUHIg_AlavZboVD4gHqSYEd9hhDX6zd4u 8Amj7qSLnc4Nbr_iyO2bWB1q2FJ56dj8FRjfAbaFEtuWQJgE0T vGwKhX9D8szY3HICqZf93tlgn-H2TxPDAlKEouBwN0_g9YKVOiR6NQyF-kc64sp3YFgFTeTYueZe_r-t9wuOt0-6tKAIkw/s4032/IMG_2121.HEIC)
See you all over on Wix! Address is going to be https://simeyeveritt.wixsite.com/brapa
Take care, Si
More... (http://brapa-4500.blogspot.com/2022/12/brapa-in-ere-wig-go-again-more-from.html)