Seasonal Change

 So summer landed with a sizzle this week.  So from huddling in my fleece-lined hoodie to try and keep out the sharp wind to suddenly realising that it was boiling hot outside work (though still blissfully cool inside thanks to a Victorian building with immense thermal mass).

So it seemed fitting when we knocked off work to stroll back to the Gun Brewery Tap at the sports club across the road.

The first beer we tried was a 5% cask beer (can't remember its name but it wasn't one of their regular brews) - brownish, a bit hazy and rather indistinct.  Like the third attempt at making the recipe having gone through tweaks to make it better.  We weren't quite sure what it was supposed to be like - and it felt like the brewer wasn't sure yet either. 

It wasn't awful, by any means, it just wasn't...great.  It unusual for Gun, their brews normal call the style and you can recognise it.

The bar was quiet when we arrived and we opted to sit on the new terrace overlooking the main cricket pitch - sadly no match on, but we were entertained by one of their girls' teams having a training session.

We became aware of more people joining the terrace and how much smarter they were dressed than us (we set a low bar, admittedly, but the contrast was stark).  It was kinda "Ladies who lunch" meets "Off duty estate agent convention" meets "pink flowery shirt with a panama hat" brigade.

We were happy to be outside because the increase in noise would have been difficult were we inside.

Turns out there was a fund raising gala type affair for the local hospice and the great and the good (and the...) had turned out to support it in all their finery.

There was a LOT of lager and local sparkling white being drunk - very little cask beer by the looks.

 It wasn't bothering us one iota, we were happy that the tap room was getting so much custom - and it was nice to see lots of people milling around the sports club.  Sad there wasn't a cricket match to see but you can't have everything. 

Himself fetched the second pint and a half (no 2/3rd here) - having started a little too hard, there was only one place to go: Zanzama at 6.5%

It was so much better than the other one - we enjoyed it and the thronging around us.

We decided a final shared pint would be nice before we strolled home.  So I set off into the bar.

Pandaemonium!  People were about 8 deep at the bar and, clearly, not at all capable of "doing pub" properly.  

Shouted in orders to the bloke being served by people joining at the back.  Blokes gesticulating wildly and nearly punching me in the face (accidentally, obviously because being of Hobbit proportions I was below their eye-line).  "Are you in the queue" shouted at me from behind a couple of times...other guys (it was ONLY blokes buying drinks) aiming to push past (I was having NONE of  it) - and patted on the shoulder more than once (really, WTF!) 

 I've not been in such a quagmire of annoying testosterone at a bar for so long and I nearly ducked out...but then one bloke was especially patronising  and I became determined to dig in.  So I did.  I finally came to get served and asserted my place and the bloke next to me said something facile about what I had just ordered. I shared a sigh with the lass behind the bar, gave him my coldest look whilst I paid for the beer and got out with my beer intact.

When I got back outside the BBB said "you could have given up" and I had to confess it was my stubbornness at fault (again).  

...and yet, I still really enjoyed our time there.  Not really quite sure why, maybe it was being able to sit outside, looking at greenery on the first warm summery evening.  Ach, you get your kicks where you can.