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Also inside Pub News • Brewery Updates • Mile Tree • Beer Festival Listings • Newcastle Trip and more!

Issue 170 | April - May 2013

Inside: Pub of the Year2013 Award Presentation

Peterborough & District Branch of CAMRA | www.peterborough-camra.org.uk

Here we go again! Yes I’m referring to yetanother debate on the unfair practicesby the pubcos, which have resulted in

the closure of over 3000 pubs since 2009.

Business secretary Vince Cable says he is goingto clamp down on the pubcos, who have notkept promises or made any progress towardschanging their behaviour, towards their publicensees. Cable said he had given them twoyears to make progress on a voluntary code andit was clear it was not doing enough. He haspromised licensees the help of an independentadjudicator to address unfair practices in theindustry. He also said he would introduce astatutory code governing the relationshipbetween pubcos and publicans. The code wouldbe enforceable by the new adjudicator. Abuse ofthe beer tie, which obliges publicans to sellparticular types of beer and then pay ‘hiked-up’prices for their supplies must stop. Excessiverents paid by licensees to these companiesshould be at the market rate and if they domanage to make a few bob, not to reward thelicensee with another hike in the rent.

Now I know that we’ve heard a lot about thisbefore but, I’m going to be optimistic and hopethat this time it will happen. Cable has been toldby some MPs to get this new statutory codeenshrined in law before the end of this year. Nowthat would be progress!

From a local point of view we have lost severalpubs due to the very reasons that the pubcosare being hauled up about. Even now one of ourpopular local pubs near the city (I won’t name itto save the licensee undue embarrassment), isunder threat of leaving the pub due to notice ofan unfair rent ’review’ meaning rise. Unless thesecodes are strictly enforced and the pubcosbrought to heel, some pubcos want todiscourage any potential publican from taking ona lease with any of them.

Whilst the pub industry is going through itsworst period for years, it’s great to hear that anincrease in cask beer sales has been celebratedby some of the county’s oldest brewers. TheIndependent Family Brewers of Britain (IFBB)found that its 29 members grew cask sales by 2% to 47.7% of production. Brewers such asCharles Wells, Fullers and Hook Norton are afew of the names that have seen their cask alesales increase. So a small glimmer of good newscomes through the gloom.

I would like to thank all our members who tookthe trouble to vote for the pubs that we haveselected as possible entries into the 2014 GoodBeer Guide. The surveys of the pubs thatreceived the most votes were carried out by oursmall band of volunteers. They have been passedon to the regional coordinators for scrutiny.

By the time this issue of BAE is published thechancellor will have prepared and maybe deliv-ered his budget. As mentioned in our last issuewe have been vigorously campaigning for him toscrap the Duty Escalator on beer, which pushesthe tax up even more on our pints. Whether hehas listened to us or not will be revealed in hisbudget speech. If he has not, then the tax onyour pint will start rising to above one third ofthe total cost, resulting in even more drinkersabandoning their local pubs in favour of cheapersix packs from the supermarkets.

We welcome our new Pubs Officer to ourteam, Neil Holmes has a vast experience of beer,brewers and of course pubs. So any news isalways welcome to him.

Roll on the summer when we will hopefullyhave some cheerier news to look forward to!

Cheers

David Murray, Branch Chairman

Chairman’s Corner | 3

Chairman’s Corner

4 Real Ales and Cider~

Log Fire Every Evening~

Great Music Every Day~

Pool Table & Dart Board~

Whisky Rack~

Lagers - Bitters - Ciders~

Bottled Real Ales~

Choice of 9 Wines~

Covered Heated Smoking Patio~

Free Parking~

Hot Drinks – Costa Coffee & Twinings Tea

~Big Screens - Live Sports

~Bar Food & Snacks

~Free Function Room

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Ales – Ciders – Music – FoodFA Cup Final Party 11th May

Welcome to pub news. First of all Iwould like to give my thanks to SteveWilliams for the many years of good

reading he has given to us. If my stuff is half asgood as Steve’s I will be happy.

So, a bit about myself ? Those of you who doknow me will know I am passionate about my realales. I have been a CAMRA member for about 10years after joining at Peterborough Beer Fest. Ispend most of my weekends travelling around thecountry visiting various beer festivals and pubsand yes I have been known to tick the odd beer.I’m also a keen home brewer and even have a barset up in my kitchen called The Drunken Duck. Ialso play cricket for the Peterborough CAMRACricket Club. But enough about me let’s get tothe latest pub news.......

Palmerston Arms on the RiseIf anybody has been in to the Palmerston Armsrecently they will have seen the pub is gettingback to its best! They held the first beer festival ofthe year from the 21st to the 27th of Januarywhich included celebrating Burns night. Overall 21beers were on offer with a number of Scottish alesavailable. Our very own chairman even did thetraditional speech and ‘pipe in the haggis’. A verygood start to the year which has continued onwith 12+ beers always available, with many new

beers from mico-brewerys coming every week.Theme nights have continued as well with eventssuch as Vinyl night, Philosophy night, Polishnight, organised by Ewa the barmaid, and Ukulelenight. So if you haven’t been in for a while Isuggest a visit.

Real Ale back on the menuIf you had been in the Carpenters Arms inStanground over the last year or so you wouldhave seen no real ale on offer, but not any more!New Landlord Wayne Baxter and his Aunt Anniehave brought real ale back to the pub. Slowlybuilding up from one beer engine to two there arenow plans to install a third pump. The pub is amember of the Oakham Ales ‘Oakademy ofExcellence’ and JHB is the permanent ale. Theother two pumps will constantly change usinglocal and national brewers such as Grainstore,Oakham Ales, Tydd Steam and Greene King.

New Brewery on the cards?The Jolly Brewer in Stamford has plans outlinedto add a micro–brewery on the premises. It’shoped to have the work completed and brewingstarted by late summer. The first new brewery inStamford for many a year.

It pays to be a CAMRAmember...Over the last couple of monthsit has certainly been a benefitto be a CAMRA member inthese difficult financial times.As well as receiving £20 worthof Wetherspoon vouchers whenyou join, a number of local pubs and clubs aregiving CAMRA members some incentives. TheCrown, on Lincoln Road, held a winter sale inFebruary with CAMRA members receiving a 50pdiscount on all real ale. The Burghley Club hadspecial rates for CAMRA members re-joining inJanuary. The Ostrich on North Street is still

Pub NewsPub News| 5

Continued Overleaf

6 |Pub News Continued

giving Peterborough CAMRA member the chanceto get their £20 discount cards, with 50p off apint. Just pop in with your membership card andpick up yours.

Congratulations to Si Fitch and his wife Kay ofthe Prince of Wales Feathers, Castor. They wererecently awarded by Peterborough CAMRA inrecognition of ten consecutive years in the GoodBeer Guide. Well done!

News from RamseyThe Jolly Sailor in Ramsey has increased theirrange of beers to include several beers from localbreweries. With the pub getting a bit morefreedom from the pubco Punch Taverns, licenseePaul tells us that his regulars have been enjoyingthe likes of Digfield, Tydd Steam and Nene Valleyto name a few.

The George in the centre of Ramsey hasreopened (on 22 Feb 2013) after a 6 week,£200,000 refit by Punch Taverns. It is aiming tocater for the whole community with refurbishedbars, a restaurant, coffee shop and function room.It currently sports 3 hand pumps with St AustellTribute and Adnams Southwold on two of themand plans for a regularly changing guest beer onthe third.

The Hawk, a street corner bar overlooking theAbbey Green, which previously sold no real ale,has been closed since the autumn and is now upfor sale.

The Cross Keys in Upwood is up for leasefrom Enterprise Inns. The pub is still trading andis the only pub in the village. It is probably themost south-westerly pub in the branch area.

Pub ClosuresThe Westwood Herald Club, formerly the LordWestwood, closed down on the 18th of February.Not to be confused with the Westwood onMayors Walk, which closed some time ago. Aplanning application to turn the Westwood HotelPub into flats and shops was refused by a plan-ning committee on the 19th of February. Reportshave come through that the Great Escape inStamford has closed.

The Wildfowler at Gedney Drove End hasbeen put up for sale and the Red Lion at GedneyHill will be losing its licensees shortly and thetenancy will be vacant.

Travelling from Pub to Pub in PeterboroughFor those of you who use public transport regu-larly like me will know all about the new busroutes and bus times. But for those of you whomay only use them occasionally on say maybe apub crawl might be in for a surprise or a longwait. An example would be if you used to get thenumber 7 or 8 to the Coalheavers Arms youwould now need to get the number 5 or 6. Thiswebsite will give you all the new timetables, mapsand information you need. Peterborough BusTimes www.pbt.org.uk

Oaka open first London pubOaka, the pub companywhich owns Charters,Brewery Tap and theBarton’s Arms inBirmingham has recently

opened it’s first London venture. The pub, called‘Oaka at The Mansion House’ was a former pubon Kennington Park Road and has been totallyrefurbished, with great care taken to preserve thebuilding’s many original features. Aside from thelarge restaurant area and bar, Oaka at TheMansion House will also feature a spaciousoutside terrace. Oakham’s award-winning brewsJHB, Citra, Inferno and Bishop’s Farewell, will beavailable on tap alongside freshly prepared dishesfrom Thailand, Japan, Korea and China.Oaka is also using the pioneering GeoBAR HeatRecovery System in its cellar, designed to savearound seven tonnes of carbon a year. If any

readers are in the area, please report back withyou comments and photo’s.

News from Chris Imbibers enjoying the delightful surroundings ofMelbourn Bros Brewery in Stamford finally havea real ale available to them. Sadly not brewed onthe premises, it’s regular Old Brewery Bitter fromSam Smith’s other site in Tadcaster. On the plusside it’s priced at just £1.89

The Grade 2 listed Angel Hotel bar in North St,Bourne won’t be familiar to many our readers as ithasn’t served real ale in living memory – this looksunlikely to change as a lack of trade has encour-aged the owners to lease it out as a women’sclothes shop!

The Bull Hotel in the Market Place in MarketDeeping, known as the birthplace ofPeterborough CAMRA, passed another signifi-cant milestone recently when landlord BertMurray and wife Eileen celebrated 20 years at thepub. The former Chelsea and Posh footballer alsosimultaneously celebrated his 70th birthday.Bert’s always happy to talk about his footballingdays mixing with the likes of Venables, Osgoodand ‘Chopper’ Harris while dispensing well-keptpints of Everards Tiger, Old Original plus guestbeers.

JD Wetherspoon have announced their contro-versial plans for a new pub in Stamford, with a £1million development of the current StamfordMercury building. The plans can be viewed atwww.southkesteven.gov.uk /planning.

Just over the border in Rutland, the White Horsein Empingham has been bought by husband andwife team Steve and Claire Glencross. TheNorthwick Arms in Ketton also has new tenantsin the shape of Marcus Welford and Tim Luff,formerly of the nationally acclaimed Olive Branchat Clipsham.

Easter Fund Raising EventFor those who are unaware Tydd Steam Breweryare running a promotion to raise money for

Breast Cancer Care, this is a subject close totheir heart at the moment. Will at Tydd hasbrewed a special beer to raise money for thischarity; White Rabbit is a new beer and not a re-hash of an existing ale.

The Letter B at Whittlesey (PeterboroughCAMRA and Cambridgeshire Pub of the year2012) are running an event over Easter weekend toraise money for this worthwhile cause. On EasterSunday, from lunchtime through to close, in addition to Tydd’s donation Bruce and Denisewill also pledge 10p per pint served to this worthycause. As a bonus there will be a raffle with prizesranging from a meal for 4 to a flight over thePeterborough area. There will also be a HogRoast with Richard from Fenland Roasterdonating to the charity and entertainment in theevening from “Where’s the Dog”. There will alsobe at least 8 real ales on offer over the course ofthe weekend.

If anybody has any pub news they would like toshare please feel free to send it to me.

Neil Holmes - Pubs OfficerEmail: pubs-officer@real-ale.org.uk

www.real-ale.org.uk

| 7

The Blue Bell wins RutlandCAMRA Pub of the Year

The Blue Bell Inn, in Shepherds Walk,Belmesthorpe has been crowned the 2013 RutlandCamra Pub of the Year. Graham Proud, branchchairman of the campaign group, presented theaward to pub landlord and landlady AubreyJohnson and Caroline Graziano.

You might have been out lately having apint or two (or three…) and noticed a newpump clip with a LocAle designation on

it. If you have, more than likely it is one ofPeterborough District’s newest breweries: Mile Tree.

Richard Matthews is the owner and brewer atMile Tree brewery, which is located at the pictur-esque location of the Secret Garden Touring Parkjust outside Wisbech. With over 25 years ofhome brewing experience, Richard knows how tomake good beer. His first beer produced,Adventurer, was a 4% session bitter that has gonedown well with not only the locals but also withthose attending the Ely Beerfest and theCambridge Winter Ales Festival. He has justbrewed a second beer called Wellstream which is a4.9% full-bodied premium ale which is sure toplease the masses.

The dream of starting a brewery began 3 yearsago with a simple conversation between Richard,his wife Karen, and their friends Neil and LesleyPollington - owners of the Secret Garden TouringPark. Following that fateful conversation, muchtime and effort from themselves and family andfriends was put into transforming a stable blockinto what is now the brewery. Applications weremade to, and granted by the Rural DevelopmentProgramme England to help finance the purchaseof a specially built 5 Barrel brew kit from ABUKand stainless steel casks from Kammac. A small100L test kit was also ordered and is currently onits way. It will be used to not only perfect recipes

that will be produced on the larger kit but to alsoproduce some smaller more specialised one offbeers. Now, finally after two years, all of the hardwork has paid off…to our benefit !

If you have not been fortunate enough to runinto his beers yet, Mile Tree has been sighted inpubs such as the Letter B in Whittlesea, theHand and Heart in Millfield, the Blue Boar inEye, The Crown on Lincoln Road, and MamaLiz’s in Stamford. If you don’t happen to frequentthese places then perhaps you ought to ask yourlocal landlord to start stocking these beers.

Now that Mile Tree Brewery is no longer adream, we can expect to see great things from thismicro. If Richard’s first two beers are any indica-tion of what he can brew, then we are definitely infor a treat! All I can say is, we are truly lucky tohave such a skilled brewer on our doorsteps.

Contact Richard on 07858930363 for orders orany further information.

Steve Saldana

www.real-ale.org.uk

8 | New Brewery News

)“If Richard’s first two beers are any indication of what he can brew, then we are definitely in for a treat!”(

Mile Tree Brewery

Brewery News | 9

Oakham AlesOakham Ales Acquires Bellwether Wines Oakham Ales has acquired Bellwether Wines. The Peterborough based wine companyspecialises in supplying to the licensed on-tradewithin a thirty-five mile radius of Peterborough.The Bellwether Wines name has been retained tobecome the wine division of Oakham Ales

Oakham Ales scoops gold and silver at National ‘Brewing Oscars’Green Devil IPA and Inferno have been honouredin the Brewing Industry International Awards,widely dubbed the ‘Brewing Oscars’. Green DevilIPA scooped the gold medal (4.9% - 6.9% A.B.V.cask ale category) and Inferno was awarded thesilver (2.9% - 4.4% A.B.V. in the bottle category).

The Brewing Awards are highly respectedaround the world. Green Devil IPA and Infernohave been judged by experts to be one of thefinest of their type found anywhere in the world.

Adrian Posnett, Managing Director of OakhamAles comments: “To win a gold and silver medalwhen competing with over 1000 beers from over45 countries is a fantastic honour, particularly aswe are being judged by our peers. This is GreenDevil’s fifth gold medal at a brewing competition,and it was only launched two years’ ago andInferno’s first accolade in bottle format (seventhas a cask ale). We are up against some majorinternational breweries, so it’s great to see that theteam’s hard work and brewing innovation isrewarded”.

ElgoodsThe only new item is the launch of this year’sseasonals. The theme is a play on words withanimals and films. The January beer was MortalWombat, a 4% blond ale. February’s offering hasjust been released. This is From Russia withDove which is a 3.7% copper beer. The beer forMarch is Lizard of Oz and other beers in theseries, in no particular order, will be Saturday

Night Beaver, Prawn Free, Easy Spider andApocolypse Cow. There will be others!

Nene Valley BreweryFriday 1st February saw a group from BrigstockBeer Festival present the brewery with their BeerOf the Festival Award for BSA. A few pints weresupped and an enjoyable evening was had by all.

On Monday 4th February, a planning applica-tion was submitted for the refurbishment ofanother building on the site to create a restaurantand brewery tap. It is hoped that both could beopen for Christmas 2013.

Jacky Rees has joined the Nene Valley team asHead of Sales. She has already made a number ofnew contacts and opened up pubs that werepreviously closed to such a new producer. She willbe running the shop every other Friday so shecan meet some of the brewery's off-salescustomers too.

There is a new addition to the Nene Valleystable – MLD – a 3.8% Seasonal Dark Milddescribed on the website as: “A classic dark mildwith dark malts giving chocolate and coffeeflavours. Backed with subtle spicy notes from thehops.” The brewery are looking forward to ourvisit as part of our Mighty Micros 2 trip andwould welcome more members to visit the shopto sample their beers and take some away forlater, if driving.

Tydd SteamWill is brewing a new beer called White Rabbit at4.2% ABV. The beer will feature Eldorado hops inthe recipe. This beer is being brewed to help raisefunds for Breast Cancer Care with a donationbeing made to the charity for each pint sold.

Brewery News

www.real-ale.org.uk

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When Oakham Ales won S.I.B.A. NationalChampion Beer in 2012 with Green Devil theydecided to put the 6.6% beer into 660ml bottlesas their first bottle conditioned beer. May last sawthe beer go out, sales went well and as the daysgot shorter and the year end approached thoughtsturned to bottling a second batch. Thinking capswere donned and they did their sums. Mmm. Itsoon became apparent that cost was becomingprohibitive so the idea was kicked into the longgrass and their Devil was to be no more.

Head bean counter John Bryan explains. ‘Weanalysed all costs of producing the beer as incertain instances we had made a loss with somepurchasers. We itemised the cost and found thattwo areas were killing us, bottling and surprise,surprise duty. Bottling alone was 30% of cost,add labelling to this and it becomes 40% but dutyalone is 42% of overall cost. Even the mileage inthe tanker to the bottling plant in Cornwall isnegligible, despite the high cost of fuel, and thecost of the raw materials that become the beer arealso small by comparison’.

It’s a subject that’s covered many a page inrecent years as the beer duty escalator that was

introduced by the previous government sees dutyrising at 2% above inflation annually. A change ofgovernment has seen no change of policy andcouple duty with higher fuel costs we’ve seen beerprices increase sharply. Pubs have gone out ofbusiness by the hundred and when jobs havebeen shed all over the industry it seems crazy tokeep punishing it like this. It’s just one example ofsomeone in the industry struggling to sell adecent product with brewers publicans anddrinkers all suffering along the way. Either a freezein duty or a small cut would be good. Better stilla levelling out of duty with the supermarkets whohave profited hugely in recent years with theircynical ‘Drink Responsibly’ logos strewn acrossthe aisles awash with give-away slabs of fizz. (Only6 per customer)! All to the detriment of the pubtrade.

So new thinking caps on then and what to dowith their Devil in a bottle. Thankfully certainareas of cost have been cut, particularly bottlingand labelling. It looks as if Green Devil will bebottled again and available for sale in earlysummer providing Chancellor Gorgeous Georgedoesn’t scupper the plans.

Dave Allett

Oakham Ales Bedevilled By Duty

www.real-ale.org.uk

Brewery News | 11

On Saturday, March 9th, Bexar County Brewerywas graced with a visit from the CambridgeUniversity Real Ale Society. A group of 20 or somembers of the society were given a guided tourof the brewery plant and were able to sample 5different Bexar County brews. Richard Matthewsfrom the Mile Tree Brewery joined in on the funand brought along some bottles from his latestbrew for the group to sample.

This was a significant milestone for BexarCounty Brewery because it was the first officialbrewery tour. The tour provided a good platformto talk to the society members about the signifi-

cance of different brewing methods, as well as thefuture of real ale and how the breweries canattract more young drinkers. It also provided agood forum to discuss different styles of beer thatare becoming more in vogue vs more traditionalbeers.

After the tour, the group headed over to theHand and Heart in Millfield to have a few morebeers before catching the train back toCambridge. All in all, the evening was a hugesuccess for everyone!

Steve Saldana

CURAS Visits Bexar County Brewery

At Peterborough railway station, on a coldgrey Thursday morning towards the end ofFebruary, twenty or so semi-professional

beer hunters set out for a day trip to Newcastle-upon-Tyne, a fine city noted for its heritage pubsand several award-winning breweries. As I hadspent three years at college up there in the dimand distant past (well, ok, the seventies) andfinished my working life up there just five yearsago, it was obvious that I would be the tour guideand all-round know-it-all (not for the first time, it was pointed out by more than one other so-called ‘friend’).

So, by eleven o’clock and having already safelynegotiated our way out of Newcastle CentralStation, I led the band of eager drinkers throughthe narrow streets of China Town to our firsthostelry, the Newcastle Arms, where a plethora offully-charged handpumps awaited our selection. As the number of pubs on the list supplied by

tour manager Mick Slaughter totalled a staggeringtwenty-three, I had determined to drink in half-pint measures all day, thereby widening the rangeof the beers I could sample.

Kicking off with a 6.6% Quiet Riot IPA from theAnarchy Brewing Co at Morpeth was maybe notthe best of ideas I had that day. To temper myrashness, the second beer I tried was Allendale

www.real-ale.org.uk

The magnificent faience interior of the Centurion, formerly the First-Class Refreshment Rooms of Newcastle Central Station.

One of the huge stained-glass domes at the Bodega.

Pale Ale (5.5% - much more sensible!). Taking noteof the fine mosaics and the bevelled mirrors onthe way out, we headed back the way we’d come,to the Bodega (the first two pubs had kindlyoffered to open early, just for us, hence the convo-luted route).

Here, the decor was just as magnificent as Iremembered it. Two huge stained-glass domes arethe most striking features of this Sir JohnFitzgerald pub. Big Lamp Brewery’s PrinceBishop Ale at 4.8% was my first choice, followedby what had been my favourite beer when I lastlived up here, Magus, 3.8%, a wonderful, goldenale from the Durham brewery. It seemed onlyminutes later that we were on our way, this timeto the Town Wall, part of Bewick House (the swanman). I necked a swift half of Doc (4.1%), from the1st Chop Brewing Co., Lancashire and it was onto our next Fitzgerald pub, the Bridge, right nextto the 13th century castle. (So if it’s so ancient,why isn’t Newcastle called Oldcastle?). Every beeron each of the nine handpumps was fromYorkshire, so I chose Ossett Admiral (4.8%) andWhite Rat (4%).

By now, our team was beginning to spread out,as some made their own way around the city tothe pubs by alternate routes. I led a crocodile-likecrowd over to the south bank of the Tyne insearch of The Central, a pub that didn’t existwhen I was up there, probably because it was onthe ‘wrong’ (Gateshead) side of the river. Turnsout that the Head of Steam chain bought thislong boarded-up pub and restored it to its formerglory at great expense, but the result is stag-gering; the decor has to be seen to be believed.Bar staff opened up the Buffet Bar for us – this isone of less than 300 pubs that CAMRA has iden-tified as ‘Britain’s Best Real Heritage Pubs’, to beincluded in a new book available in April. Thebeers for me: Love & Peace (4.8%) from GreatHeck and Harviestoun’s Bitter and Twisted (4.2%).

Back over the river for a pie and mash lunch formost of us at the recently-refurbished RedHouse, washed down with Moor beer Gold(5%)and a Tempest (of Kelso) beer that might havebeen called Evolution(?) before the long-awaitedreturn to my favourite Newcastle pub, the CrownPosada. Small at the entrance and tiny at theback, this vaguely triangular pub hasn’t changedmuch in over 130 years. Astounding stained-glasswindows (depicting a Portuguese sailor and hislady) and a fabulous moulded ceiling make thisanother of ‘Britain’s Best Real Heritage Pubs anda must-see for any visitor. Bristol Beer’s Acer waschoice no.1 for me, followed by the first (of many)Wylam beer of the day – Gold Tankard (4%). Iwanted to stay a little longer than the rest of thebut they dragged me out to point them in the

direction of the four Byker pubs, on the east sideof the Ouseburn, three-quarters of a mile away,along the quayside. Just why I found myselfwalking there own my own will always remain amystery to me, but on arrival at a pub called theTyne, I quickly quaffed a half of Wylam’s Chinook(4.1%). The last time I was here, on a Sunday after-noon five years ago, a chap by the name of MarkKnopfler showed up to join in the afternoonjamming sessions. Climb up the slippery steps todiscover the Free Trade, a tatty looking pub, bothoutside and in, but with a great range of beers on

Beer Hunting on the TyneNewcastle Trip | 13

Cumberland Arms, Byker, a CAMRA Real Heritage Pub.

continued overleaf

eight pumps. The pub was showcasing MagicRock’s beers and Curious (3.9%) was on offer, so,not wanting to miss the opportunity, I had a halfand wondered what all the fuss was about.

Reunited with my fellow-travellers, the next portof call was another ‘real heritage pub’ theCumberland Arms, an unspoilt, traditionalboozer with a resident team of (really sharp) sworddancers. They weren’t at home when we called in,just as well, as they have been known to drawblood – mostly their own, but why take the risk?Wylam Rapper (3.8%) and Fyne Ales Superior IPA(7.1%) were on offer, so it would have been rude topass on ex-Oakham brewer Wilbur Wood’s finestcreation.

The trip back towards the city centre involvedpassing a couple of pubs described on our cribsheets as “if time allows” (Our illustrious leaderMr. Slaughter doesn’t want to be blamed forencouraging immoderate drinking). One such pubwas the New Bridge, which had in its line-up thefirst examples I’d seen of beers from very localbreweries, TyneBank Monument (4.1%) andCullercoats Lovely Nelly (3.9% and named after aboat that foundered in 1861, only to be saved bythe fisherwomen of Cullercoats, who launched alifeboat after dragging it two miles up the coast).

By this stage, with the exception of JohnHolland, a lovely chap from Newcastle CAMRA,I’d lost everybody again. Had they grown wings?On arrival at Bacchus, a pub that had moved 50yards eastwards since I was a student, the rangeof beers was once again so very impressive, as Ihad noticed at all the pubs we’d visited. Our happyband of weary imbibers had regrouped again (howhad they got there so quickly?) Unfortunately bynow, my notes were becoming so spidery that I canno longer tell you what beers were on offer. Goonline and check it out for yourself.

The same applied to our last venue – TheCenturion. Built into the station as the first-classrefreshment rooms in 1892-3, this apparently hasamazing glazed earthenware (faïence) tiles every-where. I didn’t notice. Someone (probably one ofthose Shilling brothers) gave me a beer and myste-riously, I woke up at Peterborough railway station!

Friday was a dull day...Dickie Bird

Pictures courtesy of Mick Slaughter.If you require photographs of your pub interior / exterior you can contact Mick on01733 390598 or email m.slaughter45@ntlworld.com to discuss your requirements.

14 | Newcastle Trip - continued

The Peterborough ‘beer hunters’ at the Town Wall, Newcastle.

Our pubs keep struggling onBut so many are down in the dumps,‘Cos the beer’s not f lowing fast enough From out of the bar pumps.

The government taxes, encouraged by those,Who would seem hell bent,That our pubs should all close.

Tesco, Asda and all their ilk,Are f logging their booze,Cheaper than milk.

Camra has started on a great mission, ‘Scrap the Duty Escalator‘, With a 100,000 e-petition.

To London we went on the 12th of December,To lobby our politicians, On a day to remember.

We hoped to see as many of our MP’s And get them to listen, To our serious pleas.

Although they have stated ‘We won’t change the tax’, We still wanted to give them All of the facts.

At end of the day and still in good cheerWe all headed to the pub, For a welcoming beer!

So remember this drinkers When your landlords looking glum, Tell him we tried But it may not be done..

We will still keep on campaigning for a fair andlevel playing field for our pubs whatever theoutcome of this petition!

DMM

Cheers to a Beer

NOW SERVING SIX REAL ALESplus Ciders and Perries. Over 30 Malt Whiskies

• Food served daily •12-3pm Monday - Sunday6-9pm Friday & Saturday

• Sky HD and 3D showing Football and Rugby •

t. 01780 755141 w. jollybrewer.comFoundry Road, Stamford, Lincolnshire PE9 2PP

NOW SERVING SIX REAL ALESplus Ciders and Perries. Over 30 Malt Whiskies

• Food served daily •12-3pm Monday - Sunday6-9pm Friday & Saturday

• Sky HD and 3D showing Football and Rugby •

Real Ales - Open FireLarge Selection of Beers & Spirits

Function Room for Private Parties

Disco every Fri, Sat and Sun

SKY and ESPN Sports in HD

Pool Table • Outside Garden • Car Park • Free WiFi • Freshly Ground Coffee

Warm and Friendly AtmosphereOpening Hours

Mon/Tues/Weds 11am - 1pmThurs/Fri/Sat/Sun 11am-2pmFood Served daily 11am - 9pm

45 Alexandra Road, Wisbech PE13 1HQTel: 01945 467435

Real Ales • Large Selection of Lagers & SpiritsPool Table • Darts • Fruit Machine

Coffee to drink in or takeawayOpen Fire • Friendly Atmosphere

Outside Garden • Taking Bookings for Private Parties

Open Sunday to Thursday 11am - 11.30pmFriday and Saturday 11am - 1.30am

Old Market, Wisbech PE13 1NJTel: 01945 464589

www.real-ale.org.uk

18 | Please support our advertisers

Real traditional ale house in the heart of the city

North Street, behind Westgate House, Peterborough Tel: 01733 746370www.facebook.com/ostrichinn

5 Regularly Rotating AlesOpening Times :- 11am -11pm Monday to Thursday, 11am -1am Friday to

Saturday, 12 - 11pm Sunday,

Live Music Fridays and Saturdays - ring or check facebook for details!

IN THE CAMRAGOOD BEERGUIDE 2013

On 23rd February the Peterborough andDistrict branch of CAMRA presentedthe award for the 2013 Pub of the Year

to the Queen’s Head in Bulwick. The pub whichnotched up a CAMRA Gold award back inAugust 2012 received enough votes to becomeonly the second branch area Northamptonshirepub since 1990 to win the award.

Peterborough CAMRA vice-chair and originalproposer of the Gold award, Matt Mace, said ofthe pub:

“It was a recent visit to the Queen’s Head thatimpressed me. Since new owners Rob and Julietook over, the quality of the beers on offer, andthe changes they had made, marked a significantimprovement in quality since my previous visit acouple of years earlier.”

Despite the distance from the city centre – andthe fairly inclement weather too - a good numberof CAMRA members made the journey over tothe Queen’s Head to support the award. Alsopresent was Brian Bosworth, owner/brewer of

Rockingham Ales whose Bulwick Gold was flyingthe flag for LocAle on the bar that evening.

Named after the wife of Charles II, the pub is agrade II listed building dating back to the 17thcentury. Many of the original features remainincluding date stones for 1675 and 1685 embeddedinto the front wall and the Collyweston slate roof.

Under the management of Rob and Julie thepub has gained a reputation for serving bothexcellent food and drink. Real ale is provided inthe form of Oakham JHB and Shepherd NeameSpitfire with additional handpumps for guestbeers. On our visit we were also treated toRockingham Bulwick Gold and Church End OldPal. In the restaurant the emphasis on seasonaland local produce is evident as is the attention todetail with the well crafted menus.

First and foremost however the Queen’s Head isa fantastic traditional local village pub occupyingan important place within the community andPeterborough CAMRA are delighted to endorse itas the winner of their 2013 Pub of the Year.

www.real-ale.org.uk

Campaigning | 19

Pub of the Year 2013Award Pesentation

The latest instalment of The Coalheavers’global travels to find the perfect pint tookus to sunny Huddersfield, and it was

sunny! And very cold. Unfortunately only 11 of uswere able to go as most of the tickets for theLeeds train were snaffled up by a certain Mr.Slaughter. My own fault really, I should have beenon East Coast website every day waiting for thetickets to be released. If anyone intends usingEastcoast trains for group travel, book 12 weeksin advance for groups of 3 to 9. You can set up analert that will send you an email 24 hours beforetickets are released and you can go online firstthing in the morning and get all your tickets at thelowest cost. You can save a lot of money.

I had never been to Huddersfield before and,sorry to say, I thought it might be a bit grim butwas pleasantly surprised - it was a really niceplace. The first thing you notice is the large statueof local former PM, Harold Wilson and then yousee The George Hotel, the birth place of rugbyleague. One of our crew, Maurice was desperateto see it, being a league fan, but he missed it. Itwas a big enough hotel ! First pub of the day wasThe Vulcan and, very conveniently, it opens at 9am. 6 beers were available here from the likes ofMoorehouse, Mallinsons, Holts and GoldenDragon and all at £2.20 a pint! This was a verybusy pub even at 11.15 in the morning and was agreat starting point.

During the walk to the Vulcan, somebodyspotted what looked like a bar with a sign sayingsomething about beer brewed on site. Time to

investigate and we were all glad that we did. TheHand Drawn Monkey is a small brew pubfeaturing 2 of their own beers, a plethora ofciders, though I prefer the collective noun a“nastiness” of ciders. (Sorry, don`t like cider),several key keg type beers and a good range ofEuropean and American bottled beers. It’s a smallplace and the bar when you enter is about 5 feethigh so if you are short, head to the back up thesteps or you may not get served. The 2 beerswere pale ale and “Jeffers wouldn’t like it” which Ihad and was very nice. There is usually a guestcask beer too.

Next stop was a 10 minute walk away, The Star.I really liked this pub. It was a friendly, cosy, localspub with a great range of about 10 beers fromTim Taylor, Salamander, Owenshaw Mill, SteelCity and the rarely seen in our area, Pictish. Itwas very comfortable and the log burner providedmuch wanted heat and a lovely smell. Once again,the prices were quite reasonable. This was thefurthest pub out but if you visit Huddersfield youmust make the effort.

Just a 5 minute walk away and across the roadto The Rat and Ratchet, home to the Ratbrewery. This is another nice looking pub bothoutside and inside. Again about 10 beers were on,4 of their own and others from the likes ofFernandes, Ossett and Mallinsons. I thinkbetween us we tried all the beers and were all ingood nick. It has quite a large bar with thebrewery situated beneath it and a smaller quietarea round the corner.

Coalies go to Huddersfield

Coalheavers Crew on Tour | 21

Next pub was TheGrove, a great littlepub just outside thecity centre. Is it justme that thinks mostof the better pubs areoutside the towncentres? Or do other people think the same?Discuss! Anyway, The Grove, what a great littlepub. It has 2 bars each with 10 different beers onand a range of ciders, keg beers and bottles.Definitely something for everyone, unless ofcourse you are a lager drinker, but if you are, youprobably won’t be reading this anyway. The pubwas very busy but the staff were quite efficient andknowledgeable about the beers. The problem wasthere were a few strong ones on and having one ortwo of those kickstarts the amnesia problem.Maybe one day I’ll learn to write everything downand not have to rely on memory.

I’m not too sure but I think the next pub wasThe Sportsman. Today was the first round of the6 Nations and we were hoping to watch some of ithere as the pub always shows major sporting

events. But not today alas, as we got there atabout 4 o, clock a band were just starting. We hada look at the beers on offer and unfortunately werenot too impressed, fairly run of the mill, so we leftand headed to The King’s Head.

The King’s Head is one of two pubs on thestation platform so ideal for the last port of call asthere’s not far to go. According to our researchThe King’s Head was the better of the two. Thebeer here was fine but there was nothing to thepub, it was just a fairly boring square building with8 beers on the bar. Great for last pint but that’sabout all it had going for it. A bit disappointing..We’ve been to so many great pubs over the yearsthat sometimes a pub that is still good falls a littlebit below our expectations. Maybe we are gettinga bit too fussy in our old age. Please don’t get mewrong, Huddersfield really is worth going to andnext time we go we will do the pubs in a differentorder and maybe see the last two in a differentlight.

Dave Botton

www.real-ale.org.uk

22 | Please support our advertisers

7th Annual Festival ofTraditional Ales

THE BLUE BELLTHE BLUE BELLEaston on the Hill, Stamford

Held in the grounds of The Blue Bell, 9 High Street, Easton on the Hill, PE9 3LR. Tel 01780 763003 www.eastononthehill.com Email: gala@eastononthehill.com

20+ Local Ales plus Ciders and Perrys during theVillage Gala Weekend,

Saturday 25th – Monday 27th May

Music Festival Bank Holiday Monday

27th May 2pm - 10pm5 Live bands featuring “The Big 10”

Plus: Cricket Match, Talent Show, Village Fete, Pet Show, Wheelbarrow Race, Local Artists

Display, Barn Dance (Sunday),Hog Roast & BBQ

For further information see www.eastononthehill.com

and www.thebluebellpub.com

EOTH.village.gala

www.real-ale.org.uk

Campaigning | 23

In this section you will find listings andadverts of Pub beer festivals across theGreater Peterborough area. After a long, coldwinter what can be better than popping outto your community pub and taking part inone of the many beer festivals available overthe next few months.

Sitting in a beer garden and enjoying thespring sunshine while supping a great ale,maybe listening to a local musician or band,taking part in a pub quiz, discussing philos-ophy, picking up the ukelele or trying yourhand at a pub game like crib - its all availableat a pub near you!

Some of the beers on offer at these beerfestivals will have been specially brewed forthe event and may not be around for long.These festivals are a great opportunity to tryout new flavours from breweries you don’tnormally see in this area.

Of course there’s more to pubs than beerand skittles, with 84% of people believingthat a pub is as essential to village life as ashop or post office; and the closure of a pub– especially in areas that lack other socialamenities - can be devastating for the localcommunity.

A well-run pub can cater for all ages, offeringa place where friendships can be formed andproviding a convenient stopping point for afamily enjoying a bike ride on a sunny day. To help you plan your travel to and fromthese events we have also included a brief

guide to bus and train travel and where tofind further information and timetables.

If you’re watching the pennies, but still wantto enjoy the finer things in life then the puboffers the ideal solution. From old favouriteslike steak and kidney pie to the exotic tastesof Thai cuisine,many pubs offer high qualitymeals – often cooked by award winningchefs.

From acts including Madness and VicReeves, pubs have even been responsible forkick-starting the careers of some of thebiggest names in music and comedy. Younever know; one of the acts playing in a pubnear you could be a star of the future. Sowhether you want a quick pint after work ora night out with your friends; look in at thelocal, you won’t regret it.

ARE YOUMISSING OUT?Only the beer-stained copy left?

Get Beer Around Ere delivered to your door!For a year (6 issues) send a £3.30 for second

class or £3.90 for 1st Class cheque/POpayable to “Peterborough CAMRA” and your

address to:-

Daryl Ling, 19 Lidgate Close, OrtonLongueville Peterborough PE2 7ZA

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24 | Please support our advertisers

Greater Peterborough is well served by train andbus services between all the major villages. There arealso many cycle and walking routes available for themore adventurous beer hunter or those with familieslooking for a full day out with some exercise thrown in.

By TrainCrosscountry and Greater Anglia Trains runservices everyday from Peterborough to Oakham,Stamford, March and Whittlesey. The service runs regularly from Peterborough stationbut check their web sites:www.crosscountrytrains.co.uk andwww.greateranglia.co.uk for accurate timetables.

Heritage Train servicesThe Nene Valley Railway is a standard gaugerailway which runs for seven and a half milesbetween Yarwell Junction and Peterborough. Itsheadquarters are based at Wansford beside theA1, the old Great North Road. The NVR operatessteam and diesel services between FerryMeadows, Orton Mere, Peterborough City Centre(Nene), Wansford and Yarwell Junction. There are manylovely walking opportunities from all the stations andyou are not far from a Real Ale venue from any of them!For further information and timetables please go tohttp://www.nvr.org.uk.

Bus ServicesPeterborough and surrounding area is well served by afast and efficient bus service. The Citi buses byStagecoach cover all of central Peterborough andsuburbs. The majority of these services are every tenminutes and go until 11pm or later. Further afield thefollowing villages are served by these bus numbers:Wansford and Oundle - service 23 and 24Whittlesey - service 31 and 33March - service 33Eye - service 36, 37 and 38Yaxley - service 46Bourne Delaine service 101 / 102Market Deeping Delaine service 101 / 102A full timetable is available online atwww.peterborough.gov.uk/traffic,_travel_and_parking/buses/timetables/or use www.pbt.org.uk.You can purchase a Dayrider ticket on theStagecoach services which allow you to get

around Peterborough as often as you like all day.You can buy them from drivers and a standardDayrider costs £3.70 and lets you travel betweenWansford, Elton, Whittlesey, Thorney and Werrington -a bargain day out! for further info go to www.stage-coachbus.com

CyclingThe Sustrans National Cycle Network passesthrough Peterborough and is designed to makecycling fun, safe and simple as you cover hugestretches of the UK.

One third of the Network is completely free from motortraffic, using old railway paths, foresttracks, country parks and bridleways, and the rest usesquiet minor roads and traffic-calmed streets in townsand cities. so if you’re having a drink - get out of the carand on yer bike!

Routes are available through Whittlesey, March,Crowland, Eye, Northborough, Peakirk, Ettonand Helpston. More information is available atwww.sustrans.org.uk

Getting Around the ‘boroCampaigning | 25

29 North Street, Stanground PE2 8HR. 01733 753544

Up to 4 Real Ales available • Friendly village pub with riverside mooring • Large garden • Dogs welcome

Food served: Tues to Sun 12 - 2.30pm, Mon to Sat 6pm - 9pm

MAYDAY WEEKEND BEERFESTIVAL 3rd - 6th MAY10+ BEERS FROM YORKSHIRELive Music Sat night and Sun afternoon

Thursday 28th March, 8.30pm: Gold Award presentation to the Ostrich,North Street, Peterborough. (Make ownway). Chairman David Murray would like toinvite all branch members to the presenta-tion of a Gold Award to the Ostrich.

APRILSaturday 6th April: Community PubsMonth North to South City Communitypub Crawl using Citi 1 and Day Rider. Meetat Queensgate bus station at Midday.Our new pubs officer Neil Holmes is organ-ising the itinerary so it should be good!

Thursday 18th April at 8.30pm "GoldAward" presentation to the Ploughman atWerrington (Make own way)

Thursday 18th - Tuesday 23rdHand & Heart 4th St George’s Beer &Music Fest. A full itinerary of events &bands for the (very) long weekend will beposted on the Facebook page & website.

Tuesday 23 April at 8pm 10 years in theGood Beer Guide" presentation to theHand & Heart, Highbury Street, Millfield,Peterborough. (Make own way)

April 19th - 23rd St George’s BeerFestival, 20+ Ales and 5+ Ciders and Perry -The Crown Inn, Uppingham

April 20th St George’s Day Beer FestivalRuddy Duck, Peakirk

April 25th - 28th Coalheavers SpringBeer Festival. Over 50 Real Ales, Live Musicand BBQ. Coalheavers Arms, Woodston

MAYSaturday 4th May: “The Big Cheese” Meetat Peterborough railway station at 9.30am forthe 9.52 to Melton Mowbray.We then visit the Melton Mowbray ArtisanalCheese Fair at the Cattle Market followed by

a crawl of the town. (Please note, comearmed with a supply of cocktail sticks for allthe samples!) Cost £16.00 for off peak returnand £1.00 for Cheese Fair.

May 3rd - 6th Woolpack, Stanground -Mayday Weekend Beer Festival. 10+ BeersFrom Yorkshire. Live Music Saturday Nightand Sunday Afternoon. BBQ And FoodAvailable.

May 4th - 5th Knobworth - Real Ale,Cider and Music Festival in aid of ProstateCancer UK - The Angel Inn, Yarwell.

May 10th - 15th Beer Festival - Prince ofWales Feathers, Castor

May 22nd - 27th Beer Festival - DoveStreet Inn, Ipswich

May 24th-27th Beer Festival - DragonWerrington

Friday 24th May "Cambridge Beer Festival"working trip. Depart the Brewery Tap at6pm and depart Cambridge at midnight.Cost free to Festival workers and £7.00 toFestival visitors

May 23rd - June 2nd Norwich City of Ale.Over 30 pubs and 30 breweries in this city-wide event with loads of music andentertainment. www.cityofale.org.uk

JUNESaturday June 1st Mighty Micro’s 2. VisitingDigfield, Nene Valley and Castor Breweries.Cost £7.00. Please book all places throughSocial Secretary John Hunt

June 20th -23rd Beer Festival - SolsticePeterborough,

Diary Dates & Festival ListingsDiary Dates | 27

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28 | Please support our advertisers

Pub Merit Awards & Gold AwardsThe committee feel that pubs outside of Peterborough are missing out on Gold Awards and so theyhave introduced a new Merit Award for pubs that are continuously outstanding. If you know of a pubin our area that deserves a Merit Award or Gold Award then please complete the following form andsend it to our Secretary.

Pub name:

Pub address/town/village:

Reason for award:

Your name:

Your phone number or e-mail address:

Your membership number:

Six Real Ales with four on rotation

3 Ciders • 2 Lagers • Fine Wine & Spiritslarge beer garden • Pool room

Opening Times open from 4pm week days

1pm saturday and 12pm sundays

Tel: 01778 560238 Barholm, Stamford, Lincs PE9 4RA

A Traditional Ale House with an open fire

Matt and Emma welcome you to the

freshly madepizza’s cooked in an authenticwood fired pizza ovenevery Friday from

5.30-10pm

bbq on easter sunday

by Groovy Foods 2-6pm

Please support our advertisers | 29

1 Main Road, Etton, Peterborough PE6 7DA Tel 01733 252387 info@thegoldenpheasant.net

Web www.thegoldenpheasant.net

THE GOLDEN PHEASANTEtton Village

A CAMRA award winningFreehouse and Restaurant

Spring will be busy at The Golden Pheasant!

EASTER WEEKENDGreat food, fun for kids and music...

Good Friday 29th March Real Ale batter fish and chips andother fish specials

Saturday 30th March All day dining and live music with TheCollaborators

Easter Sunday 31st March Sunday Roast served from Middayall day and at 2.30pm a fun Easter Egg Hunt for under 10s.

Monday 1st April Relaxing in the countryside with our new allday dining menu.

ST GEORGE’S DAY - 23RD APRILCelebrate the day with our great value English Real Ales and

Great British Pub Grub Classics!

MAY BANK HOLIDAY SAT 4TH - MON 6TH MAY

ETTON REAL ALE AND MUSIC FESTIVAL! Sat 4th Live Music with The Country Knights at 8pm

Sun 5th – Classic Sunday Roast and Real AlesMon 6th – Real Ale, Live Music, Morris Dancing, Food Fayre

www.real-ale.org.uk

30 | Please support our advertisers

Beer Festival May 8th to 13th

Live music during festival from OasisTrbute Band & The Dead Rabbits

Award winning village local in historic Castor. Close to the Nene Valley Railway & Ferry Meadows.Serves 5 guest ales & real cider. Walker & dog friendly. Home cooked food lunchtime & midweek evenings

The Prince of Wales FeathersCastor, Peterborough Tel: 01733 380222

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ter 2

009

The Jolly Sailor, 43 Great Whyte,

Ramsey PE26 1HH

Tel 01487 813388

Five Real Ales and Stowford Press CiderIncluding Abbot, Tribute, Bombardier

and two changing guest ales

Good Sized Car Park Heated Smoking Shelter

JOLLY SAILOR RAMSEY

Now Serving freshly prepared foodMonday to Friday 12 to 2.30pm and 6 to 9pmSaturday 12am to 9pm Sunday 12 to 4pm

Booking is advisable

Broad Street, Stamford - 01780 763426 A FREE HOUSE

Six Real Ales including Fullers London Pride,Abbot Ale and our very popular Doombar.

Food Served Monday - Friday 12 - 2pmSaturday 12 - 2.30pm

Open all day - every day • Large Beer Garden

Six Nations Rugby Live on Big Screen Starting 2nd Feb to 16th March

All weekend fixtures have been arranged for the 2013 season with highlights including a July weekend tour toWorcester and a defence of PACT Trophy against Bradford Telegraph and Argus XI in August. We havebeen entered into the Peterborough mid-week league but details of fixtures can be found on our Play-Cricket website. Thanks again to Orton Park who will be allowing us to use their ground for home fixtures,together with lending us some of their younger players to make up the numbers in the mid-week team.

Upcoming fixtures:Date Home Team Away TeamSun 14th Apr Orton Park CC - Friendly XI vs 1st XISun 21st Apr Old Eastonians CC - Friendly XI vs 1st XISun 28th Apr Bourne Optimists - 1st XI vs 1st XITue 30th Apr Wansford - Midweek XI vs 1st XISun 5th May 1st XI vs Islip - Friendly XISun 12th May Clipston CC, Leics - Friendly XI vs 1st XISun 19th May Braybrooke CC - Braybrooke vs 1st XISun 26th May Witham on the Hill - 1st XI vs 1st XISun 2nd Jun 2013 1st XI vs Rushden Town CCSun 9th Jun 2013 Welney - Friendly XI vs 1st XI

Throughout the winter we have been playing in the Peterborough indoor league based at Bushfieldssports centre. With a few games remaining we are second in the table thanks to superb skipper Pete Jex,and opening partner Alan McLean, who seem to always have to retire when each reach 25 (league rules).If you feel like joining us for a game and drinks afterwards please call Matt Mace on 07809629241.

Peterborough CAMRA Cricket UpdateCAMRA Cricket | 31

www.real-ale.org.uk

32 | Please support our advertisers

The Cherry Tree9 - 11 Oundle Road,

Peterborough PE2 9PB

Tel: 01733 703495

FOUR Real Ales available includingOakham Inferno,Timothy Tayor

Landlord and two changing guest ales.

OPEN ALL DAY EVERYDAY

Traditional Meals

Served Mon - Thurs and Sundays

Private Function room holds up to 40 people

Ideal for small meetings, weddings and parties

Covered Smoking Area

AMPLE PARKING • CAMRA GOLD AWARDwww.cherrytree-inn.co.uk

PALMERSTONARMS82 Oundle Rd

www.palmerston-arms.co.uk

14 Ever-changing, gravity fed real ales Wood burner for winter

Opening Times

Mon - Thurs3-12pm

Fri and Sat12 - midnight

Sun12-11.30pm

QUIZ NIGHTEvery Sunday from 7.30pmCash jackpot and a gallon of ale!

VINYL NIGHTBring down your favourite recordsCheck Facebook for next event

UKELELE SESSIONSEvery second Thursday from 7.30pm

PHILOSOPHY NIGHTCheck Facebook for next event

LAZY SUNDAYSfrom 3pm

For information on live entertainment go to

Palmerston Arms

Freehouse

London Street, Whittlesey PE7 1BH Tel: 01733 351001

3 Cask Ale pumps with at least 1

LocAle and others from far and wide

Food served every day • Sunday CarveryFunction rooms available to hire for all occasions

Quiz Night every Wednesday 8.30pm start

Easter SundayCarvery Lunch

£12.953 Courses including coffee

APRIL1st April - Shelley Tickner - Charters, Town Bridge

5th April - Little Dave Band - Cross Keys, Oundle Rd

5th April - Undercover - Charters, Town Bridge

6th April - Steve Bean - Woolpack, Stanground

7th April - The Guards - Charters, Town Bridge

12th April - Dizzy Miss Lizzy’s - Charters, Town Bridge

12th April - Soloist Kenny J - Cross Keys, Oundle Rd

13th April - Freeze - Angel, Yarwell

13th April - The Pulse - Prince of Wales Feathers, Castor

14th April - Best of Unplugged - Charters, Town Bridge

18th April - Captain Backwash - Hand & Heart, Eastfield

19th April - One Nation; Raidon & Ignition- Hand

& Heart, Eastfield

19th April - Supernova - Charters, Town Bridge

19th April - Tunnel - Cross Keys, Oundle Rd

19th April - Karoake - Prince of Wales Feathers, Castor

20th April - New Generation, Crash & Burn, TheNuggets and Haylie-Mai - Ruddy Duck, Peakirk

20th April - The Black Cases; The Librarians &Columbian Necktie- Hand & Heart, Eastfield

20th April - Pennyless - Angel, Yarwell

21st April - Rob N Dave - Charters, Town Bridge

21st April - Chris Barrie; Dave Reid & Friends;Riot City Blues; Ian Graham & Kat Moore;Uncertain Midnight- Hand & Heart, Eastfield

26th April - Live music with Crash & Burn - Cross

Keys, Oundle Rd

26th April - Stone Pony - Charters, Town Bridge

27th April - Porky Pig - Prince of Wales Feathers, Castor

28th April, 5pm - The Hound Dogs, £15 a ticket -The Shuckburgh Arms, Southwick

28th April - Pennyless - Charters, Town Bridge

MAY4th May - Ian Graham and Kat Moore - 9pm -Woolpack, Stanground

4th May - The Overdubs - Prince of Wales Feathers, Castor

5th May - Joe Solo (Geoff the chef). 4-6pm -Woolpack, Stanground

10th May - The Collaborators - Cross Keys, Oundle Rd

10th May - Definitely Maybes- Prince of Wales Feathers,

Castor

11th May - Dead Rabbits- Prince of Wales Feathers,

Castor

17th May - Elvis Tribute Night - Cross Keys, Oundle Rd

18th May - 101 Proof - Angel, Yarwell

24th May - Ska and Reggae night with LowlandSkank - Cross Keys, Oundle Rd

31st May - Faster Muttley - Cross Keys, Oundle Rd

REGULAR EVENTSCharters Unplugged takes place on the firstMonday of every month, hosted by Bon Rogers-White and featuring a guest artist. Also at ChartersPint of Poetry & A Dash of Drama remain onevery 2nd Wednesday.

Live Bluegrass Session every third Monday of themonth at the Shuckburgh Arms, Southwick.

Send any details for June / July gigs toinfo@orchardhousemedia.co.uk before 10th MayIt’s FREE to list your gigs here!

Rhythmand Booze

GIG GUIDE

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34 | Please support our advertisers

EASTER WEEKEND BEER FESTIVALFRIDAY 29TH MARCH - 1ST APRIL

Starts noon FridayLive Music • Serving Food Fri, Sat and Sun

For further information please contact THE GREEN MAN 29 SCOTGATE, STAMFORD, LINCOLNSHIRE TEL: 01780 753598

Greenman Stamford thegreenmanstamford@thegreenman8

NEWFood Men

u

starting in April

Real Cider

Belgian Beers

World Whisky’s

Brewery Collectibles World ConventionMartin, Slovakia3rd - 6th October 2013

Do you collect breweriana? Then this is THEevent for you in 2013! For the first time inhistory, breweriana collectors club worldwide willcome together for their first World Conventionto be held in the northern Slovakian town ofMartin, hosted and organised by Martin PorterClub based in the town and run by a multi-faceted committee under the chairmanship ofthe foremost Slovak breweriana collector Ing. JanPokrievka. This event will be the largest andonly one of its kind in the world in 2013 and willcater for all collectors of breweriana such as beermats, bottle labels, beer glasses, crown caps,bottle openers, key rings, lighters, playing cards,pens, old bottles, pump clips, cans, postcardsetc. An ideal opportunity to enrich and enlargeany collection.

The convention will run over four days fromthe 3rd to the 6th of October, 2013 in the hugevenue of Martin’s sports hall. The organisers willarrange specially priced accommodation for allparticipants, transport from hotels to and fromthe venue, catering and refreshments, medicaland first aid services, a social programme as wellas translating and interpreting services.

As well as participants from every country inEurope, collectors are expected from Australia,USA, Canada, Africa and Asia. with participantsfrom many other countries to be confirmed.Several small, independent Slovak and Czechbreweries will be serving their beers. With a beerin Slovakia costing an average of only one euro(£0.5l) this is reason alone to visit this event in asmall, picturesque, friendly and welcoming townin a beautiful part of Europe!!!

There are many ways to reach Martin, by air,by rail via Vienna and Bratislava or by road, but

by far the most economic and convenient wayto travel there, especially if you have a lot ofluggage and exchange material is by "Eurolines"coach from Victoria Coach Station in Londondirect to Zilina (Slovakia), and from there with alocal bus, train or taxi to Martin. It is a pleasantand comfortable journey of around 23 hourspassing through some of Europe’s most scenicareas and historic cities such as Lille, Brussels,Aachen, Luxembourg, Cologne, Nurembourg,Vienna, Prague and Bratislava. Accommodationwill be arranged in all manner of places from 5star hotels, B&Bs and student hostelsdepending upon the level of service required byeach visitor. Martin is not far from the borderwith Poland and the Czech Republic so daytrips to these countries are also very easy tomake by road or using local bus or train serv-ices.

In each participating country of Europe thereis a coordinator and an assistant coordinatorwho will be able to give full information aboutthe event, accommodation, travel, languages,reservations, local amenities and places ofinterest. They will be able to assist with bookingtables at the event, as well as accommodationand travel arrangements, both to and withinSlovakia.

The assistant coordinator for the UK isTyneside and Northumberland CAMRAmember (331396) Matt Debinski in Newcastleupon Tyne. If you wish to attend his unique andenormous first world congress of worldwidebreweriana collectors, or should you require anyfurther information, please contact Matt bypost at:

55 Waverley RoadNewcastle upon TyneNE4 7SD(Please enclose a stamp addressed envelope)

Breweriana World Convention

www.real-ale.org.uk

Breweriana | 35

Instruction to your Bank orBuilding Society to pay by Direct Debit

Please fill in the whole form using a ball point pen and send to:Campaign for Real Ale Ltd.

230 Hatfield Road, St.Albans, Herts AL1 4LW

Name and full postal address of your Bank or Building SocietyTo yteicoS gnidliuB ro knaBreganaM eht

Address

Postcode

Name(s) of Account Holder

Bank or Building Society Account Number

Branch Sort Code

Reference

Banks and Building Societies may not accept Direct Debit Instructions for some types of account.

Service User Number

FOR CAMPAIGN FOR REAL ALE LTD OFFICIAL USE ONLYThis is not part of the instruction to your Bank or Building Society

Membership Number

Name Postcode

Instructions to your Bank or Building Society

Signature(s) Date

This Guarantee should be detached and retained by the payer.

The Direct Debit Guarantee

9 2 6 1 2 9

• This Guarantee is offered by all banks and building societies that accept instructions to pay by Direct Debits.• If there are any changes to the amount, date or frequency of your Direct Debit The Campaign for Real Ale Ltd will notify you 10 working days in advance of your account being debited or as otherwise agreed. If you request The Campaign for Real Ale Ltd to collect a payment, confirmation of the amount and date will be given to you at the time of the request• If an error is made in the payment of your Direct Debit by The Campaign for Real Ale Ltd or your bank or building society, you are entitled to a full and immediate refund of the amount paid from your bank or building society - If you receive a refund you are not entitled to, you must pay it back when The Campaign For Real Ale Ltd asks you to• You can cancel a Direct Debit at any time by simply contacting your bank or building society.Written confirmation may be required. Please also notify us.

Please pay Campaign For Real Ale Limited Direct Debits from the account detailed on this instruction subject to the safeguards assured by the Direct Debit Guarantee. I understand that this instruction may remain with Campaign For Real Ale Limited and, if so will be passed electronically to my Bank/Building Society.

Join CAMRA TodayComplete the Direct Debit form opposite and you will receive 15 months membership for the price of 12 and a fantastic discount on your membership subscription.

Alternatively you can send a cheque payable to CAMRA Ltd with your completed form, visit www.camra.org.uk/joinus or call 01727 867201. All forms should be addressed to Membership Department, CAMRA, 230 Hatfield Road, St Albans, AL1 4LW.

Your Details

Title Surname

Forename(s)

Date of Birth (dd/mm/yyyy)

Address

Postcode

Email address

Tel No(s)

Partner’s Details (if Joint Membership)

Title Surname

Forename(s)

Date of Birth (dd/mm/yyyy)

Direct Debit Non DD

Single Membership £2 £2

(UK & EU)

Joint Membership £2 £

(Partner at the same address)

For Young Member and concessionary rates please visitwww.camra.org.uk or call 01727 867201.

I wish to join the Campaign for Real Ale, and agree to abide by the Memorandum and Articles of Association

I enclose a cheque for

Signed Date

Applications will be processed within 21 days

Campaigning for Pub Goers& Beer Drinkers

Enjoying Real Ale& Pubs

A Campaign of Two Halves

Join CAMRA today – www.camra.org.uk/joinus

38 | Contact Details

The next issue of BAE will beavailable on: 23rd MayWe must have your stories,news and advertisements by: 4th MayLate copy cannot be guaranteed entry.

Please contact Chris Shilling01778 421550Mobile: 07736 635 916 or Jane Michelson01778 420888Mobile: 07732 393621jane@shillingmedia.co.ukfor all of your advertising needs.

Neil Holmespubs-officer@real-ale.org.uk or 07886 974977 isalways looking for pub news.

Please send stories and othercopy to bae-editor@real-ale.org.uk

Beer Around ‘Ere is published by Peterborough &District Branch of CAMRA Copyright © 2013, TheCampaign for Real Ale Ltd.

Views or comments expressedin this publication may not necessarily be those of theEditor or of CAMRA.

Beer Around ’Ere

Editor: Jane Flewbae-editor@real-ale.org.uk

Distribution: David Murray(See Chairman on the left)

Advertising: Jane Michelson01778 420888Mobile: 07732 393621jane@shillingmedia.co.uk

Magazine & AdvertisingProduction: Daniel Speed01733 211001info@orchardhousemedia.co.uk

Proofreader: Bob MelvilleSee details below

Brewery Liaison Officers

Blue Bell: John Hunt07923 489917Bexar County Brewery:Steve WilliamsCastor Ales: Mike Lane07850 334203Digfield: Dave Waller07821 912605Elgoods: John Hunt07923 489917Hopshackle: Noel Ryland07944 869656Melbourn: Lew Clayton01780 765063Nene Valley: Bob Melville07941 246693Oakham Ales: Dave Allett07966 344417Tydd Steam: John Hunt07923 489917

Trading Standards08545 040506www.consumerdirect.gov.uk

Check out our websites at:www.real-ale.org.ukwww.beer-fest.org.uk

Branch Committee

Secretary: Dickie Bird4 Cissbury Ring,WerringtonPeterborough, PE4 6QH01733 574226 (tel & fax)07731 993896 info@real-ale.org.uk

Chairman: David Murray01733 560453chairman@real-ale.org.uk

Treasurer: Paul Beecham01733 31198107710 0086930870 7620848 (fax)treasurer@real-ale.org.uk

Vice Chair: Matthew Mace07809 629241vice-chair@real-ale.org.uk

Social Sec: John Hunt07923 489917social-sec@real-ale.org.uk

Pubs Officer: Neil Holmes07886 974977pubs-officer@real-ale.org.uk

Press Officer: Karl Simpson07737 297072press-officer@real-ale.org.uk

Young Members: Katie Barrett07951 919451young-members@real-ale.org.uk

Membership: Steve Saldana07988 067260membership@real-ale.org.uk

Festival Org: Mike Lane07850 334203festival-organiser@real-ale.org.uk

LocAle Officer: John Rice07759 342702locale@real-ale.org.uk

Webmaster: Harry Mortenwebmaster@real-ale.org.uk

Hodgson Centre, Hodgson Ave PE4 5EG Tel: 01733 578088

18 Real Ales • Hot and Cold FoodLive Music from the Nuggets

KELLY SIMMONDS TRUST

CHARITY BEER FESTIVALFriday 24th - Bank Holiday

Monday 27th MayRaising Funds in loving memory ofKelly Simmonds forthe RSS (RespiratorySleep Study) Unit Papworth Hospital

4TH - 7TH JULY•59+ ALES!

THE PLOUGHMAN Staniland Way, Werrington centre PE4 6NA Tel: 01733 327696

Charity Auction, Raffle, German BBQLive Music Day and Night

Charity Auction, Raffle, German BBQLive Music Day and Night

Friday Night: Hooker Saturday Night: Motor City Vipers

Sunday Night: Citizen Smith Other Bands TBC - check Facebook

www.savetheploughman.com

The Ploughman

A great welcome awaits you at The Farmers, Yaxley. We are famous for our fresh vegetables and great carverymeats, succulent and served with all the trimmings, thenfinished off with a tantalising hot or cold dessert!

Check out our lunch time grill menus and our ever changing specials boards. Put it all together with three fine cask ales and you have the perfect place toenjoy dinner with friends or a family celebration. We have a self contained function suite which is ideal forparties, weddings and all of life’s celebrations.

So if you’ve not been before give us a try and you’ll bepleasantly surprised.

More than just a Carvery!

At Least Three

Real Ales!

Open Every Day10am - 5.30pm All Day Menu & Coffee

Midday - 2:30pm Carvery & Specials Menu5:30pm - LATE Carvery & Grill MenuSunday Open From 12 Noon - 9pm

All Day Carvery

Big

Breakfast

every Sat 8 to 11am

Help yourself from the carvery,

as much as you can eat for

only £5.95!

200 Broadway, Yaxley Tel: 01733 244885Email: thefarmers@btconnect.comwww.thefarmersyaxley.co.uk

Now taking bookings for Father’s Day Sunday 16th June

Treat your dad to a meal and a pint!