Beer Compurgation

      For an introduction to these posts see Part 0.    People find their homes. Some visit cities and find that they are suited to the cosmopolitan lifestyle. Some find idyllic spots in the Lakes or in little villages in the Peak District or along the North Yorkshire coast. These become frequent holiday destinations, or a retirement plan, or even their actual home. You can never be sure where that place is until it imprints upon you.   For me, there was great surprise that my place was Hartlepool.  I felt an instant connection to it back in 2008 and moved there for a year in 2009.   Others have never quite understood this. From an outside perspective the appeal of the town is minimal. Even the locals were hard-pressed to relate with my sense of local pride when I lived here. More often than not my enthusiasm for the town and surrounding area was met with a confused “…Why?”   The New Alma. Shut circa 2014. Still unused ...

  I just like pubs. The rise of the "micro-pub" has been rather incredible in the last five years. It often feels as though you will find one previously non-licensed and repurposed small drinking venue in every town you can name. They have become the anti-thesis to the Pubco and Tied-Lined controlled public houses, that have been losing customers on a constant downward trajectory for years. Their main positives are that they often seem satisfactorily busy and have a more diverse customer base than the more traditional pub. Yet on a recent trip to Middlesbrough, I accepted something that I have always known. I just like pubs. My experience of Middlesbrough was one that I was going to form into one of my "Football and Pubs" ongoing blog series, having been in town for Huddersfield Town's away fixture in October, but so much of my visit was rushed and negative that I didn't feel any enjoyment trying to put it into words. What did come from the few ...