Craving Quiet

 Now look, we've always like to go to pubs (and their like) when it's quiet - this was a choice well before the ugly bug took hold of the world.

Our typical time to do this is to arrive between 4.30pm and 5pm and stay for 2 - 3 hours.

Yes, yes we have had occasions when we go places at a more conventional time but when given the choice (and mostly we have choice, these days) we're early fillers.

Is it because of places getting busy, or is it something else?  To be honest, I really don't know but it's what we do.

Obviously we know that the week has different dynamics throughout and that early in the week places are likely to be less busy, in any case.

I've always liked to think of us as being welcomed by a place that knows it's going to get busy later, with a bar crammed full but who are pleased that the place is earning its keep for now.

So on Wednesday we tootled off to Martha's thinking we'd get there before the after-work crowd.  We arrived and there were about 10 people already in there - which was nice.  Then suddenly more, and more people arrived. Clearly it was some sort of after-work thing but it consisted of about 30 -40 people.  All of whom queued like sheep at the bar - and completely overwhelmed the bar staff.  Sadly, this coincided us finishing our first drinks.  We abandoned all hope of us getting a second beer in anything like a timely fashion and braved the rain and popped around the corner to reprise the Barley Mow (well, obviously we'd gone to the BM on Tuesday when we'd arrived).

It was busy in the BM but not unpleasantly so.

Yesterday, admittedly a Saturday, we went for a longish walk in a place with no pubs (I know!) but it was a train journey away and, being a subburban line , there were opportunities on the way home.  So we stopped off in Montpelier.  We went to the Cadbury house - arriving around 4.45pm and the place was already humming. Nice brown beer on cask but not much variety so we weren't minded to stay for a second.  Instead we struck out through the now very busy pub and headed to New Bristol Brewery Taproom.  We arrived around 5.30 but there wasn't a seat to be had - the inside and outside spaces rammed to the gunwhales with 30-something blokes.  My knees were in no condition to stand for any length of time so we sighed, and headed around the corner to Basement Beer.

It was reasonably busy but I managed to snag a seat in a corner - the boy returned with beer to say we had about 20 mins to drink it since they were closing for a party.

After an abortive attempt to try the Crofters Rights (closed, again) we decided to cut losses, walk across town and come home.  We did pass LHG on the way and, unsurprisingly, it was also rammed with 30-something blokes.

I know it was Saturday and it was spring-feeling day so maybe it's not so surprising that the place was so busy but we found ourselves quite disappointed that "our" time of day for beer is increasingly becoming more popular.

Of course I'm happy for the great places in the industry who have been so badly hit by the last couple of years' disproportionate effect on the business model but I'm really craving the unfound but brilliant places at quiet times of the day.