I also really enjoyed reading his reviews and we did both agree that we may have rather diverse opinions of what constituted a good pub.
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I had remembered it as the previous pub, the Lymestone Vaults, but on checking my notes I now think I saw him there and wondered if it was him, but he then wandered off without making himself known. I went to another pub before rejoining the rest of you in Weller's, where the ice had been broken by the time I arrived.
He was definitely in the Lymestone Vaults, deliberately ignoring us and watching as we discuss between ourselves whether or not we thought it might be him. His post about it here http://forums.pubsgalore.co.uk/showt...ll=1#post93691 - I always found that endearing as it is exactly the sort of thing I'd do
I will always remember that first encounter.Aqualung was the only customer in Wellers ,sitting at a long table with a bench seat by the bar.I was struck by how much he resembled his avatar,so plucked up the courage to enquire if he was indeed Aqualung.He answered ..."sitting on a park bench " which as a keen Jethro Tull fan I recognised as the opening line to their song Aqualung.Clever answer to my opening gambit.
He managed to appear in all the PuG crawls from that date onwards,going at his own pace but I'm pleased to have met him and had brief chats with him on all these crawls.He even managed to play Aqualung on the juke box in the Salopian Bar,the kick off for the Shrewsbury crawl which for all of us was the last crawl before Covid.
I will raise a glass of Blue Monkey beer in his memory when I next encounter their ales ,which will then be followed by a whole lot more. I share his enthusiasm for their brews.
There's free shipping on Blue Monkey beers ordered from their website this week, should anyone need one last restock before the pubs reopen.
https://bluemonkeybrewery.com/shop/
Very sad news. I met him on several PuG crawls and we seemed to be on a similar wavelength (not to mention both being somewhat ancient, hairy and overweight!). Definitely on for a memorial pint or several in East London, if it comes together.
We had a good chat with Aqualung in the Cask Bar, on the Newcastle under Lyme crawl, mostly beer and music related. He was good company and full of funny stories. Soupy was with us too. We then met him on the train from Stafford.
As you can see from this photo in the Cask Bar, he wasn't keen on having his photo taken
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I was glad to see that Martin / Aqualung was one of those who received a public obituary / tribute during Camra's annual conference today.