“er indoors TM” says that the jury is still out on the new
mattress. Judging by the lack of snoring last night the thing has gone up
slightly in my estimation.
I
got up and took the puppies into the garden. Recently I’ve remarked on how
quick they get done in the garden, but over the last few days they’ve been
playing silly beggars in the garden during the first tiddle. I *think*
they like playing in the snow and ice as they certainly won’t come in when
called.
As
they made themselves comfortable on the new bed with “er indoors TM”
and Treacle I opened today’s window on the Advent Calendar… and again wished
I’d opened the thing months ago when I first bought it.
I
scraped the ice from the car, and we drove the dogs over to the Repton estate
for Dog Club. As we turned up the drive to the car park so the puppies started
squealing in excitement; they knew where they were going.
We
had a good Dog Club. The puppies loved it, and despite an initial grouchiness,
Treacle eventually started joining in; she found a pug with whom she wasn’t
entirely disagreeable. Morgan charged around like a loon with everyone and
everything. It was a shame that Bailey had to eat another dog’s poop, but that’
the kind of dog she is.
Several
people had bought cup of coffee (in
an insulated mug); next time I might just do the same. I took a few photos of Dog Club; it is a simple idea,
but such a good one. For a pound per dog we get to charge round in a contained
area playing with other dogs and talking to other dog-herds. And with an early
start we are home by ten o’clock.
We
came home via the co-op where we got buns for morning coffee. And as we got
home so the rain started. It has to be said we need rain to wash away the ice
which is the aftermath of Monday’s snow.
We
then took care not to wake the now sleeping dogs, and “er indoors TM”
drove me and “My Boy TM” to Rye where she abandoned us. She
and sister-in-law went off doing whatever it is that they do, and together with
my brother and more nephews than sense (two) we went on a little pub
crawl.
Back
in the day a pub crawl round Rye was one of my favourite pastimes, but I’d not
had a session there for years… Had the place changed much?
Our
first port of call was the
Crown. It was one of those places that looked rather scary as you walked
in, but the locals were friendly, and we stayed for a couple of pints of Timmy
Taylor and a few games of pool (which were free). After the pool, the
first fruit of my loin suggested a game where everyone starts with three points
and you lose a point every time you fail to pot a ball. Bearing in mind I was
first one to get rid of all my points, I’m claiming a victory.
From
there we walked up to the
Cinque Ports Arms. Very welcoming locals here as well. One of them was
having a birthday and very kindly invited us to share the spread. Sausage
rolls, pastry things… very tasty. And a pint of Directors in a Shepherd Neame
pub too – unheard of.
We
then went to the toilet. Quite literally. The
Water Works is a tiny little micro-pub built in what used to be the old
public conveniences. The place was wonderful, and despite its miniscule size
they had ten ales and fourteen ciders on. I had a pint of plum porter and a
pint of something from somewhere near Tonbridge. Others in our bunch had toffee
apple cider, rhubarb cider, and the best pepperoni sticks you ever did taste.
And
the toilet flush was a “Doom Bar” hand pump too.
An
excellent beer selection, and such attentive staff… If it hadn’t been a week
before Christmas we would have stayed all day, but the place was so full we’d
had to set up in the outdoor seating area. The heaters were doing their best,
but it was time to move on.
Just
up the road was
the Outside Inn; a relatively new addition to the Rye pub circuit. The
staff were friendly enough but the place seemed deserted… Our previous five
rounds had averaged about twenty quid. A round of drinks in here was thirty-six
quid. And the bottled ales were taken from the fridge. Seriously?
We
had one drink (for me a rather grim bottle of Harvey’s Christmas Ale)
then moved on.
The
Queens Head
was a disappointment. Many years ago it was warm and quirky. I can remember
sitting in leather armchairs playing chess with “Daddy’s Little Angel TM”.
But today all that had character had been stripped out. We had a pint of the American
Red and a game of pool then went down to the
Mardi Lounge for a rather good curry.
The
pint of Tiger that went with the rather good curry made for the gallon of beer,
and then it all was rather vague. We went back to the Crown for another pint
and a game of pool, and found that one of the normal people was covered in
blood having somehow hit his head on the low ceiling in the toilet. We joined in
the fussing for a while, and then got the message that the ladies had arrived
to take up home.
I’m
told that the car heading towards Hastings was equipped with buckets, and that one
was needed…
Must go on another pub
crawl round Rye again…
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