The London Pub Guide

 The NW5 public houses visited in July for the CC meet. And unlike previous Hartlepool/Sunderland etc pub guides they weren't all rough as fuck - all were welcoming, friendly and serving superb ale...

London CCalling

 Casualco forum meet, Camden & Kentish Town.

GBOL.

Durham's Listed Pubs

A dry pub crawl of Durham, spotting the grade Listed public houses of the City...

Strongarm Beer Mats

Camerons flagship ale Strongarm was first brewed in the 1950s. Some twenty years in the Hartlepool brewery supplied it's pubs with these iconic "with the lads" beer mats. I love the vibrant colours depicting typical 1970s blokes only pastimes, of course with a pint of the ruby red ale on the go. Probably couldn't get away with them these days though.

The Hartlepool Pub Guide

They're all rough as fuck.

The Sunderland Pub Guide

They're all rough as fuck.

Stone Roses Bar York

It may have crossed your minds, after reading my previous posts, that I'm quite a little bit fond of that whole Madchester thing. Well you'd be right of course. I enjoy a whole host of varying musics, but especially this era - love everything about it. The bands, the swagger, the attitude, the clobber etc. Everything but the drugs really. I also love the pub it inspired...

This quaint little place in the centre of York is certainly my favourite boozer in the whole wide world. If any normal day lad was going to run a pub, surely this is the model to go with? Classy wall art and framed records, plethora of pool tables, an antique fuss-ball, jukebox, Coors on tap and most importantly Scampi Fries. The women who go in see it as just a pub, the lads who go in see it as an experience, neigh, a way of life. Actually I suppose that's true of most pubs but more so in this one.

Get to visit semi regularly with Hartlepool playing YCFC every year in pre-season, and this makes a nice (and usually quiet) drinking hole prior to watching the ministermen beat us (2-1 this year). Makes going away with Pools that little bit extra special surrounded by all this quality swag on the walls whilst supping a nice cool pint and listening to some solid sounds. Magic.

Strangely two of these bars exist in the UK and are both in Yorkshire (the other in Leeds), suggesting that the Madchester scene broke down the barriers of that whole War of the Roses thing.