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19-07-2023, 11:20
Visit Beer Compurgation (http://www.beercompurgation.co.uk/2023/07/the-ten-pubs-that-made-me-part-3-dr.html)
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUIEiwlhoj_cam6fa2TgsO3BY7qeT1XW6EhWXDZyxGVx 2EKp0fKV8wDXMY9JGmNU4eX9bMUO6jvd5_LKOqT_Seb7fn40IL pp5n-zQ-kt-ao-lXeXGVRJ0l6WfHirYlrXRYbi9GbuwM1so_FpR05irpatX6Oqxl 8zR4lapdtrUYyy5lJYO21ucOL5PT/w566-h640/361900189_10106032887289289_930916934004911323_n.j pg (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUIEiwlhoj_cam6fa2TgsO3BY7qeT1XW6EhWXDZyxGVx 2EKp0fKV8wDXMY9JGmNU4eX9bMUO6jvd5_LKOqT_Seb7fn40IL pp5n-zQ-kt-ao-lXeXGVRJ0l6WfHirYlrXRYbi9GbuwM1so_FpR05irpatX6Oqxl 8zR4lapdtrUYyy5lJYO21ucOL5PT/s2048/361900189_10106032887289289_930916934004911323_n.j pg)
A pint in Mr Foley's Tap House from December 2022
This is Part 3 (the fourth post) of an ongoingproject. Please see thebeginning of Part 0 (https://www.blogger.com/) for details.
Come the end of this journey, there may be alesson in procrastination that I am unlikely to heed. These posts stem from alist that I made three years ago and a series that I embarked on 18 months ago.We’ve only now reached a 30% completion rate and with this post we are back tofail for the second time.
This odyssey began with a trip (https://www.blogger.com/)to Mr Foley’s TapHouse (https://www.blogger.com/) in February 2022 – named Dr Okell’s bar on my firstvisits in 2005 – only to discover that it was closed. It did reopen by the timethat the post was coming out and I managed a brief visit in December 2022.However, my July 1st 2023 trip to Leeds, on which this post isbased, is met with this sign at the door of the bar:
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3mGz7BQAbVeRsiMZRwx8yNo6u_Q6at6nHtUYGKiwWtS kO-jSifo0bz_nYxUdLquEW4r_Adgr19PaQNDKCli_L-L4dptL1FteJX43nLuKA6MqKkZu9VQK0IUrHo0CDbQAK_TuBh9d SgxPmU5kj4AdcoJzKKzQFlNwCyyRMCnM-SiRldIJHiNwGLVy3/w640-h434/362241999_10106032878297309_8680087958799986621_n. jpg (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3mGz7BQAbVeRsiMZRwx8yNo6u_Q6at6nHtUYGKiwWtS kO-jSifo0bz_nYxUdLquEW4r_Adgr19PaQNDKCli_L-L4dptL1FteJX43nLuKA6MqKkZu9VQK0IUrHo0CDbQAK_TuBh9d SgxPmU5kj4AdcoJzKKzQFlNwCyyRMCnM-SiRldIJHiNwGLVy3/s1950/362241999_10106032878297309_8680087958799986621_n. jpg)
A quick check of social media shows an Instagram post fromthe day before (https://www.blogger.com/)(June 30th) announcing the closure of theplace. The comments on that text picture suggest that the staff found out thatthey no longer had jobs via this social media post, which is barbarous andheartbreaking. The pub was presently owned by Black Sheep brewery (https://www.blogger.com/) and, with the much documentedthreatened closures and change of ownership (https://www.blogger.com/) in recent times of thatbusiness, there seems to be a sense of the corporate cruelty in this move.
This is a post with a common goal and not adeep dive on the poor treatment of hospitality staff like this. However, I'minfuriated by the callousness of this and affect to people's lives. Whilst manyonline were enchanted by the recent rescue of the Black Sheep brand, I'venothing but contempt for those in charge at this point. I’m sorry to any staffaffected by this short notice decision.
There are counter-arguments and furtherdiscussions to be had around this subject, but for this post I'll continue withmy intended subject.
Dr. Okell's/ Mr Foley's Tap House
Dr. Okell’s was formative in my early beeryears whilst I was a Leeds resident. The famous North Bar (https://www.blogger.com/)was slowly changing the city's beer scene but at the time we preferred thecomfort of Okell's. In this Headrow bar we would often spend a few post lecturehours on one of the sofas in the back room, with a newspaper and the puzzlepage. As mentioned in Post 0, the number of famous European beers that Isampled for the first time here was extensive but my first taste of Gordon ScotchAle always holds a strong memory for me. My favourite brewery of the time(and one of them to this day) Abbeydale Brewery (https://www.blogger.com/)would also often pop up on thecask lines. I could hardly hide my excitement at having my housemate sample Absolutionfor the first time, on a post Saturday work shift visit. As money wastight, I conceded a couple of future nights out just to return for more thefollowing day.
In my final year in Leeds, the bar was sold byIsle of Man based Okell’s (https://www.blogger.com/)to York Brewery (https://www.blogger.com/).Little changed about the bar, apart from the understandable presence of more ofYork’s beers on the pumps and, after initial trepidation, it settled into ourfavourite place again.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSxYANUDdwo44aN7o9C-3p-DPrzt-147yY0GE3IpryBsEp6w2W9YC2PWFhlGTbOnmWucidanccKReAJ xczhDC0o4RpoT15eCDFx2oV4xt09ZkAxaBQqB8LUpju4hwKtMG IzHysov_SY_SIIEO1gxngQq-4oZrpzBnTpMAZC6amjnmmJVlfn7CoXV2m/w640-h430/359851328_10106032878352199_6602011778345615821_n. jpg (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSxYANUDdwo44aN7o9C-3p-DPrzt-147yY0GE3IpryBsEp6w2W9YC2PWFhlGTbOnmWucidanccKReAJ xczhDC0o4RpoT15eCDFx2oV4xt09ZkAxaBQqB8LUpju4hwKtMG IzHysov_SY_SIIEO1gxngQq-4oZrpzBnTpMAZC6amjnmmJVlfn7CoXV2m/s2048/359851328_10106032878352199_6602011778345615821_n. jpg)
The view towards the bottom of the pub, where we used to sit
It remained one of the beer highlights of thecity following my exit in 2008, with friends still visiting on every centralpub crawl. I vividly recall a return visit in 2011 where, on the back ofa recommendation from famous beer blogger Ghost Drinker (https://www.blogger.com/) in Beer Ritz, (https://www.blogger.com/)I tried Summer Wine Brewery’s Cohort for the first time – a beer I stilltalk about to this day (and for whom I coined the fruitless #BringBackCohorthashtag.)
The conversation around Foley’s dropped off asbars nearer the station began to spring up. The successful openings of Friendsof Ham, The Brewery Tap, Bundobust and Tapped Leeds drew crowds backtowards Boar Lane area, with lonely Foley’s feeling like a step too far. Theaddition of The Turk’s Head, Banker’s Cat and Head of Steam inlater years would cement this. I remember finding it strange that people didn’tflock to Foley’s after a session at Leeds International Beer Festival atthe Town Hall, despite it being opposite the venue. There were either otherestablishments higher on the priority list or people just weren’t aware of itanymore.
Whilst I was disappointed early last year whenit was closed, I was also not surprised. And when I visited the reopened bar inDecember 2022, I didn’t feel the wave of sentimentality that I’ve felt fromother pub visits through this blog series. It still felt very similar. A pooltable was now in the area that we used to sit, though I didn’t mind that as anaddition. There were plenty of great beers from the likes of Beak Brewery on –as well as a lot of cider. The various screens were showing the Women’sFootball and the pubs multi-levels still felt like a bit of a novelty. I had agood couple of hours.
Yet somehow it felt dated. Pubs are timelessin nature. They arouse nostalgia. They hold a moment in time. But bars havemore of a shelf-life and Foley’s had started to expire. I’d never viewed theplace like this before but it occurred to me that if you stuck a few macrobrand fonts on the bar, instead of the wide-ranging options, and took the plants down, it would beidentical to a lot of mid-2000s Sports Bars. If my first visit to one of my 10favourite places had been in 2022 then I don’t think I would have beenenamoured by it. Perhaps this is what others have been seeing for the lastdecade.
Indeed, the fact that my socials had nothingto say about this abrupt closure shows how far off the radar it was.
Dr Okell’s / My Foley’s will be a place I talkabout for the rest of my days but I find myself not as sad as I thought at itsdemise. Pubs are timeless but their modern day cousins tend to have a shorterlifespan. I think it was time.
Town HallTavern
I pondered. I rocked on my heels. I looked upand down the street. Eventually, I continued down the Headrow to an old haunt alittle further on. Curiosity got the better of me even if I came to dance withthe devil.
The Town Hall Tavern (https://www.blogger.com/) is another place that I amsurprised is not on the Beer-spotters radar. Owned by everybody’s favourite****** ***** Timothy Taylor’s, it would appear on paper to be the sortof venue that would be undeservedly venerated by the beer crowd, in thatunfunny cult way that they sometimes do. And within weeks you'll have the localbrewers turning up in their Trillium merch, with the International brewersthey've collaborated with on that day, to try an ironic pint of Landlord andeat a bag of Scampi Fries. The accompanying social media post will talk abouthow this is a real pub experience. The whole thing will be eye-rollinglymirthless but it'll happen again and again anyway. Hang on, I best stop givingthem ideas.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOHsdGDzHtkjHofeDpyqO3_tK4frzUlQ4yM9va09RvnH o9j-qeFhJlZvS8S0eXxdywDcV2S3hMCWEl2LdLW7J171CxVQZcTg_j 6aN8_PpRyDq8cIQ3-0GuykXS2zYgzYyfmv5T3uF5PU_xYTcczG1S-lMShtrpdu4IMQfDXmu7yy9X4SP1DcURa_3Y/w640-h480/361917714_10106032878237429_197687358362566196_n.j pg (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOHsdGDzHtkjHofeDpyqO3_tK4frzUlQ4yM9va09RvnH o9j-qeFhJlZvS8S0eXxdywDcV2S3hMCWEl2LdLW7J171CxVQZcTg_j 6aN8_PpRyDq8cIQ3-0GuykXS2zYgzYyfmv5T3uF5PU_xYTcczG1S-lMShtrpdu4IMQfDXmu7yy9X4SP1DcURa_3Y/s2048/361917714_10106032878237429_197687358362566196_n.j pg)
I liked the Town Hall Tavern at a time when Ididn't mind Taylor's and loved Ram Tam. Okell’s and here made a nice 1-2 on aweekday afternoon, although this was always the lesser establishment. I have nohumorous stories to tell of the pub and fewer standout memories, to the pointthat revisiting was almost researching.
If it was a bit unmemorable then, the smellmakes it memorable now. It has a very distinctive scent - like an old sandwichthat used a lot of raw onion. The interior is now mostly done up in thatparticular grey shade that a lot of modernised pubs are. I believe it is knownas “Ruined Pub” on the Dulux chart. There's plenty of outer wall seating; someof which has been raised. There are 7 cask pumps of Timothy Taylor beer.There's a interesting mix of people; from a post work solo office drinker, to adaughter drinking with her parents, to a couple of bikers parked outside, to alarge mix of stereotypical student types wearing a great variety of hats. The service is great and so is the atmosphere.
Yet the beer quality matches the smell. MyDark Mild isn't bad enough to return but definitely has some cellar issues.There are hints of swimming pool water blending with Taylor's already harshhouse yeast. I sip it slowly.
I have wondered for 15 years what it was aboutthe Town Hall Tavern that hadn't made me rush back and for nobody else to evermention it. I have my answer as I try to dry my hands under a dryer that cutsoff after two seconds. It somehow feels like both a biker's bar and a studentpub and neither of those places are for me. Still, it clearly does a decenttrade so… maybe get an Air Wick plug-in.
The AngelInn
The Angel (https://www.blogger.com/) is one of the four pubs down an alleyoff Briggate and is a Sam Smith's (https://www.blogger.com/) place. This was easily my second mostused pub in my time in Leeds, primarily due to the price, although locationmattered.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-V6eLCOsYIwatXWWrih1X6pn4a8BZcktGhgqfVB66HnxAxebt6Z MQTArvFry5c7c9ELB8XOOUOPBaqNzXbdqk9E8pcSiilzHAX5kT 2vJDBs49D7q0i_k5S2Gpm5wztADudW_AicUwvm6r6vpfjfLSHz E9xWfS_PJG5Zz_trwiChgBXoBXAC48g2Rj/w524-h640/360092607_10106032878067769_7367536559048389914_n. jpg (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-V6eLCOsYIwatXWWrih1X6pn4a8BZcktGhgqfVB66HnxAxebt6Z MQTArvFry5c7c9ELB8XOOUOPBaqNzXbdqk9E8pcSiilzHAX5kT 2vJDBs49D7q0i_k5S2Gpm5wztADudW_AicUwvm6r6vpfjfLSHz E9xWfS_PJG5Zz_trwiChgBXoBXAC48g2Rj/s2048/360092607_10106032878067769_7367536559048389914_n. jpg)
I worked for a time at a local shop and theshifts could be horrible. We were often scheduled into two 4-hour shifts in aday that had a 2 hour break between them. For many it was worth returning homefor an hour but, predictably, I took a seat in the nearby pub for this period,with a newspaper and cold food that we were allowed to bring in. Often one ofmy housemates would plan his day around dropping into town for this couple ofhours to join me here.
We were poor and so the prices, which I seemto recall being around £1.35 a pint, were most welcome. The upstairs bar of TheAngel (the pub has four rooms across two floors and a bar on each floor) wasused at the time, something that doesn't appear to be the case now, and so wewould often converge up here. Whilst it never felt intimidating, thedownstairs bar was usually more populated by locals and a little louder.
Like many of Sam Smith's pubs, The Angel isvery neatly preserved and exactly as I recall. I last visited in December 2022when, hand on heart, I forgot entirely about the mobile phone ban in Humphrey'spubs and snapped the below picture. I was given a scathing look by a gentlemennearby and it took a moment to realise why.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhp8JUM_RCptFzi1a3N-7OllLhRvr0LUyjtJoz31myxsJjhcgD9kqYZFpz2jjamxN7EBBT 17CrA_h0HgyuXzEe-zXZN8dFs7LrW4eK7N4OFuubBxlzMFcQsUtc5ZN6aIFubPuxGLO 63tGMC-LvyPfhoI2bON6cIAwQv8a3ghrQhbMHSbN9TtoRgqdg/w498-h640/360093936_10106032878422059_8710201887664269696_n. jpg (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhp8JUM_RCptFzi1a3N-7OllLhRvr0LUyjtJoz31myxsJjhcgD9kqYZFpz2jjamxN7EBBT 17CrA_h0HgyuXzEe-zXZN8dFs7LrW4eK7N4OFuubBxlzMFcQsUtc5ZN6aIFubPuxGLO 63tGMC-LvyPfhoI2bON6cIAwQv8a3ghrQhbMHSbN9TtoRgqdg/s2048/360093936_10106032878422059_8710201887664269696_n. jpg)
The seemingly now disused upstairs bar in The Angel Inn
On this visit on a Sunday in July, I find theplace nearly empty and have the left downstairs room to myself. I sit with apint of OBB which is now £3.00/pint. I gaze out of the window. I walk theexterior of the room, treating the various pictures on the wall like aparticularly uninteresting museum. I gaze out of the window some more and allthese thoughts about this pub and Sam Smith's pubs in general come flooding tomind and I have no method of jotting them down.
The romanticised idea of mobile phone bans inpubs would seem to come from a good place on the surface. Conversation isencouraged. Making new friends is the desired goal. It creates a niceratmosphere apparently. It sounds idyllic.
But it is absolute poppycock.
I think back to 15 years prior, sat in thisexact pub with a newspaper and a pint. Now my phone is a newspaper, holding allthe articles that I could read whilst I'm here. But I can't. I can't repeatthat experience any longer. I could do with checking the train times, to see ifI have time for another here. But I can't. What was the name of that pubfurther down Briggate that we sometimes stopped in? I'll check if that is open.But I can't. I could do with letting my partner know how I'm getting on too, sothey can go about their day. But I can't.
I even wonder about The Ashes score. That mayhelp me strike up a conversation in the other room, except it won't other than:"How are England getting on in the cricket?" "I don't know. Ihave a device in my pocket that holds all the answers but I can't use it. Isanybody carrying a portable wireless that we can find out from?"
All that is left to do is jot down theseopinions about this pub, to form into a blog post at a later date. But I can't.
Then I picture the times that my mother and Iwould meet for a drink at the station for a quick catch-up. She would spend theentire time showing me the pictures of recent visits to my niblings on hermobile telephone device, giving me updates on their progression with visualevidence of the funny faces that they now pull. The idea that such activityshould be banned from pubs seems to go against everything that the technophobesdesire. We wouldn't bother meeting in a pub at all if we couldn't share thosetales with the appropriate digital imagery.
As I retreat outside to check my train times,I realise that I haven't taken any pictures of the pub. Sam Smith's pubs areoften beautiful inside. Do you know what really helps attract people to yourpubs in this day and age? Pictures that they see online of their gorgeousinteriors. It is free advertising. Why would you want to prohibit that?
Personally, I tend to avoid Humphrey's pubs nowas I want my phone to be available to me. I also don't often have cash on meand I had heard that they are all cash-only establishments (however The Angeldid seem to have a card machine lurking next to the till.) I didn't think Ifelt too strongly about Sam Smith's rules but as I leave The Angel Yard thistime I realise it is entirely unjustifiable in 2023 and will stifle anypotential pub turnover. If I’m wrong, then I assume that the business andall of its pubs are flourishing currently.
Whitelock'sAle House.
I briefly considered whether it was worthincluding the infamous Whitelock's (https://www.blogger.com/) as part of this. It isn't exactly shyof promotion or general awareness of its presence. But I called in on this dayas my memories differ greatly to its recent untouchable status.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPuVRBrF0p-AXcNjHnUt9KV2xIujXQgXvaFplRF3sBQckZeGnTTcACDuDCRSS Asg8nZZRHAg6gBaFZAN55qiYCBi39MkpMXT0Rc4n85atmfjLgo L8fW0c6ryRrMnzxD9h98U7E5TcbEdAsVicIzFEv_i2J3sJwWFv bH5pZok3OjIbujFxoiyhDlhDW/w480-h640/360091281_10106032878137629_4896516432603602200_n. jpg (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPuVRBrF0p-AXcNjHnUt9KV2xIujXQgXvaFplRF3sBQckZeGnTTcACDuDCRSS Asg8nZZRHAg6gBaFZAN55qiYCBi39MkpMXT0Rc4n85atmfjLgo L8fW0c6ryRrMnzxD9h98U7E5TcbEdAsVicIzFEv_i2J3sJwWFv bH5pZok3OjIbujFxoiyhDlhDW/s2048/360091281_10106032878137629_4896516432603602200_n. jpg)
I need to remember to take more interesting pictures in future
In the days when Mr Foley's was my regular,Whitelock's was not in good form. Pubs frequently have dips and this was in themidst of one. It was a pub that my older friends would call into on city centrecrawls to show any newbies the place itself. The beer wasn't kept brilliantlythough, and it was infamously the most expensive pub in town, something thatdidn't sit well with the countymen.
This view was immortalised in one trip in2007. A group of us were on a day crawl around Leeds centre and sat in theWhitelock's alley (because in 20 years I think I have found an internal seattwice.) It was the one time in three years that my staunch lager-only housemateturned to me and said, "Go on then - let's try this shit that youdrink. I'll let you pick for me."
The beer was an IPA from YorkBrewery (that I recall being just called IPA but this is likely a falsememory) and it was off. Really off. Not end of the barrel off, just poorlytended to swill. I wasn't confident or experienced enough to return or questionit, but my memory was that all beers tasted like that in the pub. "This- THIS! - is what you like?" said my housemate, and he never touchedale again.
I was so affronted that I still answer the FAQ"What is the worst beer that you have ever had?" with thatparticular pint. Perhaps it has tainted my view of Whitelock's to this day asI've never held the same affinity for it that others do. This is nonsense ofcourse as it is a beautiful pub, with terrific staff and always a perfect pintof Five Point's Railway Porter, as I enjoyed on this visit. It is as good aseverybody says.
I'd probably like it more if I ever managed tosit inside.
I intended to visit The Grove InninHolbeck (https://www.blogger.com/) to complete my old Leeds haunts but bus replacementservices home made this unreachable. It's a shame because The Grove is likelyto be the one pub I still hold in the same high regard as I did back then.Still, regardless of my surlier opinions, it is still nice to revisit theseplaces that hold such vivid memories to me. I can't wait for part four.
More... (http://www.beercompurgation.co.uk/2023/07/the-ten-pubs-that-made-me-part-3-dr.html)
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUIEiwlhoj_cam6fa2TgsO3BY7qeT1XW6EhWXDZyxGVx 2EKp0fKV8wDXMY9JGmNU4eX9bMUO6jvd5_LKOqT_Seb7fn40IL pp5n-zQ-kt-ao-lXeXGVRJ0l6WfHirYlrXRYbi9GbuwM1so_FpR05irpatX6Oqxl 8zR4lapdtrUYyy5lJYO21ucOL5PT/w566-h640/361900189_10106032887289289_930916934004911323_n.j pg (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUIEiwlhoj_cam6fa2TgsO3BY7qeT1XW6EhWXDZyxGVx 2EKp0fKV8wDXMY9JGmNU4eX9bMUO6jvd5_LKOqT_Seb7fn40IL pp5n-zQ-kt-ao-lXeXGVRJ0l6WfHirYlrXRYbi9GbuwM1so_FpR05irpatX6Oqxl 8zR4lapdtrUYyy5lJYO21ucOL5PT/s2048/361900189_10106032887289289_930916934004911323_n.j pg)
A pint in Mr Foley's Tap House from December 2022
This is Part 3 (the fourth post) of an ongoingproject. Please see thebeginning of Part 0 (https://www.blogger.com/) for details.
Come the end of this journey, there may be alesson in procrastination that I am unlikely to heed. These posts stem from alist that I made three years ago and a series that I embarked on 18 months ago.We’ve only now reached a 30% completion rate and with this post we are back tofail for the second time.
This odyssey began with a trip (https://www.blogger.com/)to Mr Foley’s TapHouse (https://www.blogger.com/) in February 2022 – named Dr Okell’s bar on my firstvisits in 2005 – only to discover that it was closed. It did reopen by the timethat the post was coming out and I managed a brief visit in December 2022.However, my July 1st 2023 trip to Leeds, on which this post isbased, is met with this sign at the door of the bar:
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3mGz7BQAbVeRsiMZRwx8yNo6u_Q6at6nHtUYGKiwWtS kO-jSifo0bz_nYxUdLquEW4r_Adgr19PaQNDKCli_L-L4dptL1FteJX43nLuKA6MqKkZu9VQK0IUrHo0CDbQAK_TuBh9d SgxPmU5kj4AdcoJzKKzQFlNwCyyRMCnM-SiRldIJHiNwGLVy3/w640-h434/362241999_10106032878297309_8680087958799986621_n. jpg (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3mGz7BQAbVeRsiMZRwx8yNo6u_Q6at6nHtUYGKiwWtS kO-jSifo0bz_nYxUdLquEW4r_Adgr19PaQNDKCli_L-L4dptL1FteJX43nLuKA6MqKkZu9VQK0IUrHo0CDbQAK_TuBh9d SgxPmU5kj4AdcoJzKKzQFlNwCyyRMCnM-SiRldIJHiNwGLVy3/s1950/362241999_10106032878297309_8680087958799986621_n. jpg)
A quick check of social media shows an Instagram post fromthe day before (https://www.blogger.com/)(June 30th) announcing the closure of theplace. The comments on that text picture suggest that the staff found out thatthey no longer had jobs via this social media post, which is barbarous andheartbreaking. The pub was presently owned by Black Sheep brewery (https://www.blogger.com/) and, with the much documentedthreatened closures and change of ownership (https://www.blogger.com/) in recent times of thatbusiness, there seems to be a sense of the corporate cruelty in this move.
This is a post with a common goal and not adeep dive on the poor treatment of hospitality staff like this. However, I'minfuriated by the callousness of this and affect to people's lives. Whilst manyonline were enchanted by the recent rescue of the Black Sheep brand, I'venothing but contempt for those in charge at this point. I’m sorry to any staffaffected by this short notice decision.
There are counter-arguments and furtherdiscussions to be had around this subject, but for this post I'll continue withmy intended subject.
Dr. Okell's/ Mr Foley's Tap House
Dr. Okell’s was formative in my early beeryears whilst I was a Leeds resident. The famous North Bar (https://www.blogger.com/)was slowly changing the city's beer scene but at the time we preferred thecomfort of Okell's. In this Headrow bar we would often spend a few post lecturehours on one of the sofas in the back room, with a newspaper and the puzzlepage. As mentioned in Post 0, the number of famous European beers that Isampled for the first time here was extensive but my first taste of Gordon ScotchAle always holds a strong memory for me. My favourite brewery of the time(and one of them to this day) Abbeydale Brewery (https://www.blogger.com/)would also often pop up on thecask lines. I could hardly hide my excitement at having my housemate sample Absolutionfor the first time, on a post Saturday work shift visit. As money wastight, I conceded a couple of future nights out just to return for more thefollowing day.
In my final year in Leeds, the bar was sold byIsle of Man based Okell’s (https://www.blogger.com/)to York Brewery (https://www.blogger.com/).Little changed about the bar, apart from the understandable presence of more ofYork’s beers on the pumps and, after initial trepidation, it settled into ourfavourite place again.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSxYANUDdwo44aN7o9C-3p-DPrzt-147yY0GE3IpryBsEp6w2W9YC2PWFhlGTbOnmWucidanccKReAJ xczhDC0o4RpoT15eCDFx2oV4xt09ZkAxaBQqB8LUpju4hwKtMG IzHysov_SY_SIIEO1gxngQq-4oZrpzBnTpMAZC6amjnmmJVlfn7CoXV2m/w640-h430/359851328_10106032878352199_6602011778345615821_n. jpg (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSxYANUDdwo44aN7o9C-3p-DPrzt-147yY0GE3IpryBsEp6w2W9YC2PWFhlGTbOnmWucidanccKReAJ xczhDC0o4RpoT15eCDFx2oV4xt09ZkAxaBQqB8LUpju4hwKtMG IzHysov_SY_SIIEO1gxngQq-4oZrpzBnTpMAZC6amjnmmJVlfn7CoXV2m/s2048/359851328_10106032878352199_6602011778345615821_n. jpg)
The view towards the bottom of the pub, where we used to sit
It remained one of the beer highlights of thecity following my exit in 2008, with friends still visiting on every centralpub crawl. I vividly recall a return visit in 2011 where, on the back ofa recommendation from famous beer blogger Ghost Drinker (https://www.blogger.com/) in Beer Ritz, (https://www.blogger.com/)I tried Summer Wine Brewery’s Cohort for the first time – a beer I stilltalk about to this day (and for whom I coined the fruitless #BringBackCohorthashtag.)
The conversation around Foley’s dropped off asbars nearer the station began to spring up. The successful openings of Friendsof Ham, The Brewery Tap, Bundobust and Tapped Leeds drew crowds backtowards Boar Lane area, with lonely Foley’s feeling like a step too far. Theaddition of The Turk’s Head, Banker’s Cat and Head of Steam inlater years would cement this. I remember finding it strange that people didn’tflock to Foley’s after a session at Leeds International Beer Festival atthe Town Hall, despite it being opposite the venue. There were either otherestablishments higher on the priority list or people just weren’t aware of itanymore.
Whilst I was disappointed early last year whenit was closed, I was also not surprised. And when I visited the reopened bar inDecember 2022, I didn’t feel the wave of sentimentality that I’ve felt fromother pub visits through this blog series. It still felt very similar. A pooltable was now in the area that we used to sit, though I didn’t mind that as anaddition. There were plenty of great beers from the likes of Beak Brewery on –as well as a lot of cider. The various screens were showing the Women’sFootball and the pubs multi-levels still felt like a bit of a novelty. I had agood couple of hours.
Yet somehow it felt dated. Pubs are timelessin nature. They arouse nostalgia. They hold a moment in time. But bars havemore of a shelf-life and Foley’s had started to expire. I’d never viewed theplace like this before but it occurred to me that if you stuck a few macrobrand fonts on the bar, instead of the wide-ranging options, and took the plants down, it would beidentical to a lot of mid-2000s Sports Bars. If my first visit to one of my 10favourite places had been in 2022 then I don’t think I would have beenenamoured by it. Perhaps this is what others have been seeing for the lastdecade.
Indeed, the fact that my socials had nothingto say about this abrupt closure shows how far off the radar it was.
Dr Okell’s / My Foley’s will be a place I talkabout for the rest of my days but I find myself not as sad as I thought at itsdemise. Pubs are timeless but their modern day cousins tend to have a shorterlifespan. I think it was time.
Town HallTavern
I pondered. I rocked on my heels. I looked upand down the street. Eventually, I continued down the Headrow to an old haunt alittle further on. Curiosity got the better of me even if I came to dance withthe devil.
The Town Hall Tavern (https://www.blogger.com/) is another place that I amsurprised is not on the Beer-spotters radar. Owned by everybody’s favourite****** ***** Timothy Taylor’s, it would appear on paper to be the sortof venue that would be undeservedly venerated by the beer crowd, in thatunfunny cult way that they sometimes do. And within weeks you'll have the localbrewers turning up in their Trillium merch, with the International brewersthey've collaborated with on that day, to try an ironic pint of Landlord andeat a bag of Scampi Fries. The accompanying social media post will talk abouthow this is a real pub experience. The whole thing will be eye-rollinglymirthless but it'll happen again and again anyway. Hang on, I best stop givingthem ideas.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOHsdGDzHtkjHofeDpyqO3_tK4frzUlQ4yM9va09RvnH o9j-qeFhJlZvS8S0eXxdywDcV2S3hMCWEl2LdLW7J171CxVQZcTg_j 6aN8_PpRyDq8cIQ3-0GuykXS2zYgzYyfmv5T3uF5PU_xYTcczG1S-lMShtrpdu4IMQfDXmu7yy9X4SP1DcURa_3Y/w640-h480/361917714_10106032878237429_197687358362566196_n.j pg (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOHsdGDzHtkjHofeDpyqO3_tK4frzUlQ4yM9va09RvnH o9j-qeFhJlZvS8S0eXxdywDcV2S3hMCWEl2LdLW7J171CxVQZcTg_j 6aN8_PpRyDq8cIQ3-0GuykXS2zYgzYyfmv5T3uF5PU_xYTcczG1S-lMShtrpdu4IMQfDXmu7yy9X4SP1DcURa_3Y/s2048/361917714_10106032878237429_197687358362566196_n.j pg)
I liked the Town Hall Tavern at a time when Ididn't mind Taylor's and loved Ram Tam. Okell’s and here made a nice 1-2 on aweekday afternoon, although this was always the lesser establishment. I have nohumorous stories to tell of the pub and fewer standout memories, to the pointthat revisiting was almost researching.
If it was a bit unmemorable then, the smellmakes it memorable now. It has a very distinctive scent - like an old sandwichthat used a lot of raw onion. The interior is now mostly done up in thatparticular grey shade that a lot of modernised pubs are. I believe it is knownas “Ruined Pub” on the Dulux chart. There's plenty of outer wall seating; someof which has been raised. There are 7 cask pumps of Timothy Taylor beer.There's a interesting mix of people; from a post work solo office drinker, to adaughter drinking with her parents, to a couple of bikers parked outside, to alarge mix of stereotypical student types wearing a great variety of hats. The service is great and so is the atmosphere.
Yet the beer quality matches the smell. MyDark Mild isn't bad enough to return but definitely has some cellar issues.There are hints of swimming pool water blending with Taylor's already harshhouse yeast. I sip it slowly.
I have wondered for 15 years what it was aboutthe Town Hall Tavern that hadn't made me rush back and for nobody else to evermention it. I have my answer as I try to dry my hands under a dryer that cutsoff after two seconds. It somehow feels like both a biker's bar and a studentpub and neither of those places are for me. Still, it clearly does a decenttrade so… maybe get an Air Wick plug-in.
The AngelInn
The Angel (https://www.blogger.com/) is one of the four pubs down an alleyoff Briggate and is a Sam Smith's (https://www.blogger.com/) place. This was easily my second mostused pub in my time in Leeds, primarily due to the price, although locationmattered.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-V6eLCOsYIwatXWWrih1X6pn4a8BZcktGhgqfVB66HnxAxebt6Z MQTArvFry5c7c9ELB8XOOUOPBaqNzXbdqk9E8pcSiilzHAX5kT 2vJDBs49D7q0i_k5S2Gpm5wztADudW_AicUwvm6r6vpfjfLSHz E9xWfS_PJG5Zz_trwiChgBXoBXAC48g2Rj/w524-h640/360092607_10106032878067769_7367536559048389914_n. jpg (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-V6eLCOsYIwatXWWrih1X6pn4a8BZcktGhgqfVB66HnxAxebt6Z MQTArvFry5c7c9ELB8XOOUOPBaqNzXbdqk9E8pcSiilzHAX5kT 2vJDBs49D7q0i_k5S2Gpm5wztADudW_AicUwvm6r6vpfjfLSHz E9xWfS_PJG5Zz_trwiChgBXoBXAC48g2Rj/s2048/360092607_10106032878067769_7367536559048389914_n. jpg)
I worked for a time at a local shop and theshifts could be horrible. We were often scheduled into two 4-hour shifts in aday that had a 2 hour break between them. For many it was worth returning homefor an hour but, predictably, I took a seat in the nearby pub for this period,with a newspaper and cold food that we were allowed to bring in. Often one ofmy housemates would plan his day around dropping into town for this couple ofhours to join me here.
We were poor and so the prices, which I seemto recall being around £1.35 a pint, were most welcome. The upstairs bar of TheAngel (the pub has four rooms across two floors and a bar on each floor) wasused at the time, something that doesn't appear to be the case now, and so wewould often converge up here. Whilst it never felt intimidating, thedownstairs bar was usually more populated by locals and a little louder.
Like many of Sam Smith's pubs, The Angel isvery neatly preserved and exactly as I recall. I last visited in December 2022when, hand on heart, I forgot entirely about the mobile phone ban in Humphrey'spubs and snapped the below picture. I was given a scathing look by a gentlemennearby and it took a moment to realise why.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhp8JUM_RCptFzi1a3N-7OllLhRvr0LUyjtJoz31myxsJjhcgD9kqYZFpz2jjamxN7EBBT 17CrA_h0HgyuXzEe-zXZN8dFs7LrW4eK7N4OFuubBxlzMFcQsUtc5ZN6aIFubPuxGLO 63tGMC-LvyPfhoI2bON6cIAwQv8a3ghrQhbMHSbN9TtoRgqdg/w498-h640/360093936_10106032878422059_8710201887664269696_n. jpg (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhp8JUM_RCptFzi1a3N-7OllLhRvr0LUyjtJoz31myxsJjhcgD9kqYZFpz2jjamxN7EBBT 17CrA_h0HgyuXzEe-zXZN8dFs7LrW4eK7N4OFuubBxlzMFcQsUtc5ZN6aIFubPuxGLO 63tGMC-LvyPfhoI2bON6cIAwQv8a3ghrQhbMHSbN9TtoRgqdg/s2048/360093936_10106032878422059_8710201887664269696_n. jpg)
The seemingly now disused upstairs bar in The Angel Inn
On this visit on a Sunday in July, I find theplace nearly empty and have the left downstairs room to myself. I sit with apint of OBB which is now £3.00/pint. I gaze out of the window. I walk theexterior of the room, treating the various pictures on the wall like aparticularly uninteresting museum. I gaze out of the window some more and allthese thoughts about this pub and Sam Smith's pubs in general come flooding tomind and I have no method of jotting them down.
The romanticised idea of mobile phone bans inpubs would seem to come from a good place on the surface. Conversation isencouraged. Making new friends is the desired goal. It creates a niceratmosphere apparently. It sounds idyllic.
But it is absolute poppycock.
I think back to 15 years prior, sat in thisexact pub with a newspaper and a pint. Now my phone is a newspaper, holding allthe articles that I could read whilst I'm here. But I can't. I can't repeatthat experience any longer. I could do with checking the train times, to see ifI have time for another here. But I can't. What was the name of that pubfurther down Briggate that we sometimes stopped in? I'll check if that is open.But I can't. I could do with letting my partner know how I'm getting on too, sothey can go about their day. But I can't.
I even wonder about The Ashes score. That mayhelp me strike up a conversation in the other room, except it won't other than:"How are England getting on in the cricket?" "I don't know. Ihave a device in my pocket that holds all the answers but I can't use it. Isanybody carrying a portable wireless that we can find out from?"
All that is left to do is jot down theseopinions about this pub, to form into a blog post at a later date. But I can't.
Then I picture the times that my mother and Iwould meet for a drink at the station for a quick catch-up. She would spend theentire time showing me the pictures of recent visits to my niblings on hermobile telephone device, giving me updates on their progression with visualevidence of the funny faces that they now pull. The idea that such activityshould be banned from pubs seems to go against everything that the technophobesdesire. We wouldn't bother meeting in a pub at all if we couldn't share thosetales with the appropriate digital imagery.
As I retreat outside to check my train times,I realise that I haven't taken any pictures of the pub. Sam Smith's pubs areoften beautiful inside. Do you know what really helps attract people to yourpubs in this day and age? Pictures that they see online of their gorgeousinteriors. It is free advertising. Why would you want to prohibit that?
Personally, I tend to avoid Humphrey's pubs nowas I want my phone to be available to me. I also don't often have cash on meand I had heard that they are all cash-only establishments (however The Angeldid seem to have a card machine lurking next to the till.) I didn't think Ifelt too strongly about Sam Smith's rules but as I leave The Angel Yard thistime I realise it is entirely unjustifiable in 2023 and will stifle anypotential pub turnover. If I’m wrong, then I assume that the business andall of its pubs are flourishing currently.
Whitelock'sAle House.
I briefly considered whether it was worthincluding the infamous Whitelock's (https://www.blogger.com/) as part of this. It isn't exactly shyof promotion or general awareness of its presence. But I called in on this dayas my memories differ greatly to its recent untouchable status.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPuVRBrF0p-AXcNjHnUt9KV2xIujXQgXvaFplRF3sBQckZeGnTTcACDuDCRSS Asg8nZZRHAg6gBaFZAN55qiYCBi39MkpMXT0Rc4n85atmfjLgo L8fW0c6ryRrMnzxD9h98U7E5TcbEdAsVicIzFEv_i2J3sJwWFv bH5pZok3OjIbujFxoiyhDlhDW/w480-h640/360091281_10106032878137629_4896516432603602200_n. jpg (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPuVRBrF0p-AXcNjHnUt9KV2xIujXQgXvaFplRF3sBQckZeGnTTcACDuDCRSS Asg8nZZRHAg6gBaFZAN55qiYCBi39MkpMXT0Rc4n85atmfjLgo L8fW0c6ryRrMnzxD9h98U7E5TcbEdAsVicIzFEv_i2J3sJwWFv bH5pZok3OjIbujFxoiyhDlhDW/s2048/360091281_10106032878137629_4896516432603602200_n. jpg)
I need to remember to take more interesting pictures in future
In the days when Mr Foley's was my regular,Whitelock's was not in good form. Pubs frequently have dips and this was in themidst of one. It was a pub that my older friends would call into on city centrecrawls to show any newbies the place itself. The beer wasn't kept brilliantlythough, and it was infamously the most expensive pub in town, something thatdidn't sit well with the countymen.
This view was immortalised in one trip in2007. A group of us were on a day crawl around Leeds centre and sat in theWhitelock's alley (because in 20 years I think I have found an internal seattwice.) It was the one time in three years that my staunch lager-only housemateturned to me and said, "Go on then - let's try this shit that youdrink. I'll let you pick for me."
The beer was an IPA from YorkBrewery (that I recall being just called IPA but this is likely a falsememory) and it was off. Really off. Not end of the barrel off, just poorlytended to swill. I wasn't confident or experienced enough to return or questionit, but my memory was that all beers tasted like that in the pub. "This- THIS! - is what you like?" said my housemate, and he never touchedale again.
I was so affronted that I still answer the FAQ"What is the worst beer that you have ever had?" with thatparticular pint. Perhaps it has tainted my view of Whitelock's to this day asI've never held the same affinity for it that others do. This is nonsense ofcourse as it is a beautiful pub, with terrific staff and always a perfect pintof Five Point's Railway Porter, as I enjoyed on this visit. It is as good aseverybody says.
I'd probably like it more if I ever managed tosit inside.
I intended to visit The Grove InninHolbeck (https://www.blogger.com/) to complete my old Leeds haunts but bus replacementservices home made this unreachable. It's a shame because The Grove is likelyto be the one pub I still hold in the same high regard as I did back then.Still, regardless of my surlier opinions, it is still nice to revisit theseplaces that hold such vivid memories to me. I can't wait for part four.
More... (http://www.beercompurgation.co.uk/2023/07/the-ten-pubs-that-made-me-part-3-dr.html)