Visit the Paul Bailey's Beer Blog site

Looking back over the years, and in particular over the past couple, I’ve managed to clock up a minimum of 10 posts each month on the blog. There are times when I only just made it into double figures, but then are others where I hit the dizzy heights of 14 posts – few and far between, but still 14, one-four! February 2021 though, will only see 8 posts, even with the addition of this one, but as we approach the end of the second month of the third National Lockdown, the cause of this fall off in creative output, isn’t exactly hard to guess.
With no pub or brewery visits to report on, no days out to describe, and no holidays or trips away to enthuse about, there hasn’t been much in the way of beer or travelling for me to write about. Veteran blogger, the Pub Curmudgeon, has concentrated on the existential threat that continued lock-down poses to the nation’s pubs, along with the concern that the licensed trade is being treated as a “perpetual whipping boy” – a subject I have touched on myself.
On the other hand, prolific blogger, Retired Martin, has kept us entertained with “Guess the Pub” competitions, alternating between posts describing has walks around Sheffield; the city he has recently moved to. These have alternated with descriptions of walks around his new place of residence, characterised by closed pubs and photos of urban decay. Martinmight not thank me for saying it, but there are only so many pictures of derelict workshops, boarded up commercial premises and faded graffiti that those of us who crave good-looking, pleasing and attractive vistas, can stomach. So, with no wish to sink any deeper into the all-encompassing gloom, what is there for a beer blogger to write about?
There are still subjects I can entertain readers with, and despite the feelings of boredom and can’t be bothered, that seem to be the salient features of what is definitely the worst and most difficult to endure of the lock-downs to date, I still have a few aces up my sleeve. One or two might be revealed next week, when we move into March and herald the arrival of spring, but It’s a sobering thought that we’re just six days away from the anniversary of the “Proper Day Out” that I enjoyed in Burton-on-Trent, in the company of half dozen or so, like-minded beer and pub enthusiasts.
Despite an excellent day spent sampling some of Burton’s finest pubs and their beers, there was an underlying feeling, prevalent amongst us, that it might be some time before we could enjoy another such trip. Even so, I don’t think any of us envisaged pubs would be closed for as long as they have, or that severe restrictions, affecting the movement of all UK citizens, would still be in place, a year later. Watch this space then, but I promise no photos of burnt out buildings, boarded up pubs or graffiti, masquerading as art!
Follow Blog via Email Click to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.


More...