Bier on a Sunday? Hector must be on holiday.
Well so it felt. Two fine nights in Bedford, a very good Curry for lunch with Howard and Tracey at Choudhury and a fly over by a Lancaster Bomber. The day had started well.
[Stan.TB] was waiting for us at Bedford Station, yet again he had shunned the Curry Ritual, we really don’t know who this man is anymore. The birthplace of [Stan.TB] is Kettering, so we took the train to St. Albans. Red-Brick Church? Hideous! There’s two of them. Fortunately the centre of the town was more appealing. The Medieval Core with the Tower and The Boot Pub had charm. I shall stay here with Marg at some point in the future and hopefully have the opperchancity of visiting the Roman Ruins. At ten minutes from Luton Airport this is a fine location.
The Farmers Boy had a Festival on today. There was also a football match on the TV which kept cutting out every-time Manchester City did something positive. This was an Oakham Pub (Peterborough, Cambridgshire), we like Oakham Ales.
First up was JHB Extra at 4.2% This fine Blond Ale has long since been a favourite. Here it was but stronger. It should have been enough but Howard had gone for the Scarlet Macaw which at a whopping (for this weekend) 4.4% was passed around the table for all to sample. We had to stay. This was wonderful, all the Hops and Citrus one could want. We had to come to terms with the Musik blaring throughout the premises. Initially it was Deep Purple followed by Yes, no problem. Then it wasn’t and a Band had started playing outside. Tracey got it sorted, the Band won.
Hector was puzzled by the differing styles and impressed by the range of instruments being played. Then I went out to look and found it was a Band of many Brothers.
The Punters here had a very strange Dress Sense. Was it because of the Fest? Or is this how the Folk dress on a Sunday?
Man City scored. All was well with the world and so we moved on to The Boot at the top of the hill and adjacent to the historic tower. This is another classic English Pub, we cannot find Pubs with such chararcter north of The Border, here one trips over them.
More Oakham, this time the Asylum at 4.5%. This Gold, Hoppy Ale was definitely from the Oakham stable. The Ale was served by Gravity from a Rack on the Bar, alas at Room Temperature it had lost its edge. The afternoon was indeed going well, then QPR scored, and then they scored again. With seconds to go it seemed all over, but it wasn’t. We left when Man City’s triumph had been confirmed. By the time we reached the Blacksmiths Arms their separate screens for separate supporters was no longer required, but the Punters must have enjoyed a good afternoon.
With much Ale to choose from this venue impressed. The available food also came in massive portions. We must note this for the future. It had to be another Oakham Ale, this time the Inferno at a more modest 4.0%. This was another classic Blond, Hoppy Ale, how many do they make? Just how wonderful is this Brewery? I think we are overdue another Cambridge Trip which incorporates a Trip up to Peterborough. Maybe Marg might become desperate to visit the Duxford Air Museum…one day…
In keeping with Hector’s arrival on Friday evening, Howard and Tracey were on a later flight back to Glasgow. [Stan.TB] announced he was going back to Bedford for a Curry. It was time to leave Hertfordshire, a ten minute walk to the Station, a ten minute Train journey and less on the Bus – behold Luton Airport.
The Pubs Visited Today:
Farmers Boy – 134 London Road, Town Centre, Saint Albans, AL1 1PQ
The Boot – 4 Market Place, St Albans, AL3 5DG
Blacksmiths Arms – 56 St Peters Street Saint Albans, Hertfordshire, AL1 3HG