London prices

[Mobyduck]

I've only been to half a dozen or so Spoons outside the London area, and the only one I can recall being rubbish was the one near Piccadilly Station in Manchester. I vaguely remember an indifference to the one in Reading.

The only one I've been to this year that was rubbish was the one at Potter's Bar.
Prior to that the only one I've had a problem with beer quality is the John Gilpin at Edmonton. There are other issues such as a limited selection of beers or an awful building (the Wood Green one wins my award for that) and the perennial Spoons problem of slow service.

The vast majority of them are pretty soulless as they are not pubs in the old sense of the word, more like a cross between a drinking establishment and a Cafe, and of course almost all of them are much larger than the original Victorian pubs, some alarmingly so. The shop conversion doesn't help either as it means the only natural light is from the doors at the front, although not a problem in the evenings.

I see that the Basingstoke Spoons is currently GBG listed. Is it any good?

I'm going to try a local pub to me that I haven't been to for some 35 years when it was a rubbish keg Truman's house. It's Ye Olde Rose and Crown which is holding a beer festival and the decision to move on will be mainly made on the price issue.
It's been a regulat GBG entry for some years now and is widely regarded as the best pub in Walthamstow. We shall see.

The nearby Bell is still very much WIP, but they seem determined to open in early November. Apparently they have had no end of problems with the refurbishment. There is a website Belle17.com. I'm expecting the prices to be high (over £3 a pint) so there will probably be only one visit by me to see what it's like.

I haven't been in the Basingstoke JDW ,The Maidenhead Inn for about 18 months or so ,Basingstoke itself is not a serious pub goers destination as I seem to remember old boots mentioning in the past,the pub I suppose does not have the usual Wetherspoons look decor wise as you enter from the main entrance,Quinno ,in a recent review mentions it looks like something from an Ikea ad,a good description, I in the past have likened it to walking into a canteen. To be fair the beer I had was in good nick, cant now remember what it was or how much but good enough for another,but as with my past comments on this issue not a place I would want to stay in to long.
Many Wetherspoons seem to find themselves in the GBG even my nearest outlet The Prince Arthurwhich ,my bias aside really is rubbish,there seems to be some mutual back scratching between CAMRA and Wetherspoons,or have I now become totally paranoid.
The Idea of Wetherspoons is a good one, promoting a wide range of real ale at very good prices,but as someone recently said ,and I believe it was old boots again, many of their pubs don't come up with the goods.