The Guinness and Gold Cup Blog
I thought I’d set up a thread to cover the events of an upcoming trip. Some of you may be familiar with previous ones covering trips to Bath and to Folkestone. The title of this one is more about the timing than the destination as it will cover both St Patrick’s Day next Wednesday and Cheltenham Gold Cup day on the Friday. On St Paddy’s Day I’ll be in Edinburgh and by the time Gold Cup day comes around I should, trains permitting, be in Manchester. Gold Cup day in Manchester is a regular trip for me when I meet up with a few work colleagues who take a half day and trawl around the pubs watch the racing and have a few beers on the way.
At various stages during the tour I will be accompanied by mates Graham (fellow PG member Grailhunter) and also Chris. You may recall Chris as FP (Fizzy Piss) from the Bath Blog. We may possibly also encounter the Happy Frenchman of Folkestone Blog fame. Who knows what the week will hold but provided I can get my netbook to work I’ll let you know.
The pubs of both cities are well known to Graham and I so I expect we will be visiting a few old friends and maybe discovering some new ones. The Oxford Bar in Edinburgh will no doubt be on the agenda plus the Halfway House – although all those bleeding steps always put me off. In Manchester it will be the old favourites, Marble Arch, Smithfield, City Arms etc., plus I also want to visit the ‘refurbished’ Castle Hotel. On the Sunday we’ll probably be looking to get out of the City Centre, given that it’s the day of the Man U v Liverpool game at Old Trafford, so if anyone has any ideas for a day trip with some decent real ale pubs let me know.
Tuesday afternoon - in foreign lands
The flight arrived a bit early and was largely uneventful. Got a bulkhead seat 1A, no doubt a benefit of an early check in. Aircraft was an Airbus 319-100 for anyone interested, or in case anyone from FlyerTalk is looking in. Called up the Hilton and within minutes a courtesy bus was there to pick me up. What? Well I'm not going to stay at a bleeding Travelodge like Grailhunter am I, plus I got a nice half price deal through BMI.
Just going to freshen up, check out the bar for later and find which pub Grailhunter is in, as he surely must.
Posts will now start to get a little fewer and further between as the bias moves quite rightly from blogging to drinking :drinkup:
Tuesday night - the aftermath
Well, the journey to the City Centre was a long one. There's a bus stop outside the hotel and as I was told "hold oot your hand dearie or they'll gie whizzing by". Just as I arrived a no 35 arrived so I hopped on. 30 minutes later and we've been through more Business Parks, Shopping Centres and Park & Rides than I knew existed. We even went through RBS headquarters Gogarburn which was a bit disconcerting, I can't say too much as they deign to pay my salary. We had a conference once near Wembley just as they were pulling down the famous towers, an historic tradition raised to the ground by philistinistic greed and self interest, and then there's Wembley ;)
Eventually met up with Grailhunter at the Blue Blazer, which is as good as ever. Dark Island and a Craigmill Brewery Avondale at a London price-like £3.20.
Next a walk down then up to the Bow Bar, a little known fact is that Caledonian Deuchars IPA was first brewed as a house beer for this pub. As we were in one of Scotland's historic pubs I had an Oakham Pompey Royal and GH had a Skinners Keel Over. Then GH spotted a bottle of Orkney Porter from the Swannay Brewery and his eyes lit up, when I informed him that it was 9% and £4.25 for a 275ml bottle he was even more determined so we had to have one each.
Next after a bit of a detour was the Halfway House, down the steps on fleshmarket close. I can confirm that despite the rumours this has not been taken over by JDW, it's about 20 times too small for them anyway. They have also stopped the CAMRA discount, some rubbish about local regulations. We both had the Caley Three Monkeys.
A walk down to Princes St and a 48 bus towards our respective hotels and an interim stop at the Oak Inn. All keg a Belhaven Best for me and a Tennents for Grailhunter.
Off next for a curry, I had made it very clear that with a three and a half hour train journey on Thursday I wasn't going to have a curry Wednesday night so we had one tonight. A little cafe type place called St John's Curry Club, just a shame the prices were so high, this is an expensive City. The food was good though.
Back to our respective hotels, me having an anxious 10 minute wait at a deserted Park & Ride hoping that my connecting bus would turn up. Grabbed a quick bottle of Budvar from the bar to help with updating the blog.
Also discovered that my only Cheltenham bet so far, Punjani, came nowhere :(
So that's it, Tuesday has gone long live Wednesday.
Wednesday morning alarm call
Well that was an unwelcome diversion from my slumbers. No sooner had I pressed the snooze button on my ill-advised 7am alarm than a hideous caterwailing, the like of which had not been heard since last half-term, filled the air - it's a bleeding fire alarm, frankly I don't expect this in a hotel chain of Hilton's standing. Not that I am a stranger to fire alarms in Edinburgh hotels, I recall a number of years ago when staying on Grassmarket with the man latterly known as the Happy Frenchman (you may meet him later in the tour) and the fire alarm went off about 2.30am. On looking out the door I saw my mate weaving along the corridor bouncing off the walls after an exploration of Edinburgh's night life. To this day I'm still convinced he set off the alarm.
Anyway back to today and it was damn cold outside at 7am and starting to rain. But I have to say the good people at the Hilton looked after us, even bringing around those foil blankets to the less hardy guests (i.e. the girlies). At one stage it resembled the finishing line of a marathon - not that I'd know what that's like of course. Once we were allowed back in I employed all those time management skills I have learnt at work (I can hear Rob laughing now) and went straight to breakfast. Hilton breakfasts really are top notch.
Back in the room now to update the blog and I've also been exchanging text messages with a certain Mr Leonard Lonsdale who has threatened to make a cameo appearance on Friday evening, whether any of us will be sober enough to recognise him by that stage I'm not sure.
After my harrowing journey to the City Centre on the No. 35 bus yesterday Grailhunter has worked out that the number 48 route is more direct (I am actually quite impressed with his knowledge of the local buses, as I texted him yesterday to say I was on the bus journey from hell he came straight back with "you must be on the 35 then"). The 48 has the added advantage of going right past his hotel - but unfortunately not mine. I must have a word with the good people at Hilton about that, frankly I expect more from a hotel chain of their standing. So I have to make my way to the nearby Park & Ride to pick up the No. 48, exactly how nearby it is I'll find out when I try walking there - I wonder if the Hilton's courtesy bus would do the honours.
Have arranged to meet Grailhunter on the 10:58 bus so have a little time on my hands this morning. I do need to formulate a plan for today, we want to get to Leslies bar at some stage and also take a trip out to Leith, the Oxford Bar in the centre is also on the wish list. Plus I also need to work out an abridged version of Trainman's Stockport crawl, I really don't think that by Sunday we'll be in any fit state to get round all those pubs.
Wednesday afternoon - somewhere in Edinburgh
At somewhere called the Meadows Bar & Kitchen - well we have to eat. Been to the Guildford, Leslies Bar and the Dagda bar all GBG entries.
Now sitting with pints of Caledonian Flying Dutchman waiting for 3/4lb burgers with brie and jalapenos and taking advantage of this free internet connection.
Until later
Wednesday - a travel cock-up
I have to admit to having been let down badly this morning. Before going out I thought I should check the time of tomorrow's train to Manchester. 12:08 said the ticket, fine I thought, then I did a double take on the date, 19th March. Well today is St Paddys day so it must be the 17th, so why have I got a train ticket for Friday instead of Thursday. I regretted trusting my travel arrangements to Thompsons Travel Services, frankly I expect more from an outfit with a proud history of arranging trips on the piss. So the first stop today in the City Centre was at Waverley Station to change tickets from Friday to Thursday at a cost of some £20, I wonder if I can claim on the travel policy I took out with Thompsons Insurance Services.
Wednesday Review - Good Beer
After sorting out my train tickets we headed for Waverley Bridge to catch a No. 42 bus to find Leslies Bar. On arrival at the bus stop we noted that buses were every half hour and the next was at 12:02. It was now 11:45 and an unspoken agreement seemed to pass between Grailhunter and I, we couldn't possibly wait here for 15 minutes, we'd go for a beer and get the 12:32 . And so it was that two bitter and twisted blokes had the first beer of the new day in the Guildford Arms which coincidentally was Harvieston's Bitter & Twisted. The 12:32 bus then transported us back to an era when pubs were proper pubs and to the wonderfully decorative Leslies Bar, loads of wood panelling, etched glass and brass inlaid tables. There are also the interesting serving hatches in the left hand side of the bar that look a bit like ticket office windows. We both had the Golden Amber Ale from Atlas here.
On leaving the pub we noticed a bus coming up the hill and decided to run for it, well I say run it was more of a slow jog really, OK maybe a quick walk but it was uphill. As the bus came nearer I spotted the 'Private Hire' sign, all our efforts had been in vain, Grailhunter and I both agreed that we would never again put our lives in danger with such a frivolous endeavour, right where's the next pub.
The next pub was the Dagda Bar, I'd been here before bt it was full of whining-voiced American students, one of whom shrilled her way through every word in a way that would only be audible to dogs three streets away. Different this time though, we found a welcoming laid back bar with four handpumps and a few Czech, German and Belgian bottles. We pumped a few quid into the quiz machine with only fleeting sucess until our last 50p was lost on the question "Who was the Greek Godess of Wisdom?" neither of us believed that it was Aphrodite but the quiz machine thought otherwise. What could we expect though from a quiz machine so loaded in favour of the Scottish community that it asked questions about the year that an ex-Celtic manager was born and who won the first Scottish championship (we actually got that one right with Hibs). the jukebox provided a little entertainment but was nowhere near as good at the one at the Lifeboat in Folkestone - no Russ Abbot and no Zig & Zag.
After three pints at the Dagda Bar our thoughts turn to food, whilst I may have feasted on a Hilton breafast Grailhunter had only managed a cup of tea and a couple of chocolate biscuits. Near to the Dagda was the Meadow bar which advertised food so we had a couple of Caledonian Flying Dutchmen and a couple of big burgers. Bit of a student feel to this place, not surprising given its proximity to the university. Free Internet.
A couple of buses now and we get to the Malt & Hops on the Shore at Leith, a first visit to this great real ale pub for Grailhunter. We had a couple of Scapa Specials from the Highland Brewing Co. and entertained ourselves by looking through an old 1993 edition of the Good Beer Guide. Had a call from AT from Manchester who informed me that midday was far too late to start the drinking on Friday and that my presence was required at 11:00am at the latest. No peace for the wicked as they say.
Wednesday Review - Bad Beer
Grailhunter wanted to go to the Foot of the walk (JDW) to see the queuing system in action and to revisit the Central Bar, so off we set. As we got to the Foot of the Walk we prepared to queue up at the right hand side of the bar as is local tradition only to be told by some self-appointed queuing steward to line up behind a bloke in the centre of the bar. Maybe the rules have changed we though but later on things were back to normal as a queue formed at the right hand side whilst the entire bar was empty. A magnificent spectacle that vies with the migration of wilderbeest in the realms of behavioural conditioning. Being St Paddys Day we plumped for something called Gael Rua (?) from the Hilden Brewery, it was bloody awful and we both left half and headed for the Central Bar.
Just one handpump in here, the ubiquitous Deuchars. Give me a minute to pull it through he said, which seemed positive. What he meant was that he needed to pull the cleaning fluid through, at 7PM !! We finally got a couple of pints and I sent mine back, Grailhunter said that it was OKish but clearly irt wasn't and neither was my replacement. So once again we left without having a full pint. Bit of a shame as this is a really nice looking pub but not the sort of place where you take a pint back - twice.
Sanity was restored with a visit to the Cafe Royal which, whilst being very busy, served up a couple of good pints of Kelburn Pivo Estivo. Buses then back to our respective hotels and we resisted the temptation to stop off again at the St John's Curry club, which was probably just as well in view of Grailhunters current fragile constitution and my three hour train journey tomorrow.
See you Thursday
Thursday Morning - Wet & Windy
Not sure what the weather's like.
Didn't get around to having a bet yesterday and looking at the Cheltenham results that's probably a good thing. I may have backed Kalahari King each-way but that wouldn't have returned much. Bit of a shock that Master Minded got beaten so badly. It's difficult to see beyond Big Buck's in today's big race but I'll probably have an each-way bet on Sentry Duty as Geraghty seems to be in good form (Please note there is a subscription only 0845 number should you wish to take full advantage of the lucky pin used by Thompsons Tipping Services).
I intend having a lazy morning today in preparation for the secong leg of this tour, particularly tomorrow which I suspect will get a little messy. I think a late breakfast is on the cards then a bus down to the centre to get my hastily re-booked train :o . I'm definitely not going to get that bleeding no 35 bus this time, there an Airport Express that goes right to Waverley so I'll be on that.
As Grailhunter has mentioned he's off to Glasgow today, so that week acclimatising in Tashkent should stand him in good stead. I believe he got a £1 eack way coach deal so I hope for the sake of his fellow passengers he lays off the black pudding and kedgeree for breakfast this morning.