Reflections on Cask Ale Week - with the Grundys

As I sipped a pint at a splendid south Cheshire pub beer festival at the end of National Cask Ale Week, I pondered what the week may have achieved. Certainly, I witnessed many people – the young and female especially - trying and enjoying cask-conditioned ale for the first time.

So that was encouraging then. Nevertheless, I had already learnt from fellow scribes that the St Pancras Station launch with the garrulous Oz Clark, the equally verbose mayor of the capital Boris and the rather luscious Melanie Sykes - of the wonderful 'Cream of Manchester' Boddie’s ad fame - had not attracted the interest of a single main stream journalist. No change there then.

"Eigh up, some posh bloke is pinching me ale"

However, perhaps organisers Cask Marque should still be proud. News reaches me that ‘real ale’ was mentioned at least six times on The Archers during the run up to Easter. So presumably this was ‘a result’.

The longest running soap in the world, BBC Radio 4’s ‘everyday story' of the gay farmers, dodgy spivs, adulterers and just plain daft folk with a very feminist agenda attracts more than one million listeners.The Beeb says it is the most listened to non-news programme - with an international audience to boot. Funny, though’, how you can rarely find anybody who admits to listening.

"By 'eck Oz love, I'll have another ale"

However, my (very reliable) informant tells me that the scoundrel father and son duo Eddie and Joe Grundy went on the razzle at ‘that real ale pub’ during the week long celebration of cask. Of course they got legless, which we know proper upstanding cask ale drinkers would never do. We’ll let that pass as dramatic licence (or was it the prog's hidden PC agenda?).

The good news is this national radio institution, born of the post Second World War austerity years, is finally recognising Britain’s unique national beverage. What concerns me most however is this; just what has Sid been serving in the Bull as ‘a pint of Shire’s’ all these years? Time for Cask Marque to get on the case there methinks. (Ok, ok, I know it’s not real and why should I care? And I don't listen to it anyway!)

PS: In the course of my meticulous research for this blog I came across the website Saddicts.com - an unoffical site for Archers fans it is well worth checking out.

Bottoms (really) up for some high level drinking

It never ceases to amaze me just where some people will venture for a drink. And there are some pretty far out tales out in the world of beer.


This one is from the North East, where it’s a very wacky world nowadays as the region morphs from its erstwhile industry roots to a rising star of culture and tourism. And they’ve come up with what must rank among the wackiest of beer stunts.

It’s happening in the increasingly hip city of Gateshead, with its imposing Baltic Arts Centre - a former flour mill - and hugely impressive Sage Concert Hall.

But, remember the seventies cult gangster movie Get Carter with Michael Caine? Set on Tyneside, it featured Gateshead’s Trinity Car Park in one of its many horrendously violent scenes. An icon of ‘Brutalist’ design it still stands-just-complete with a never-ever-used-for-forty-years roof top restaurant that commands amazing panoramas.

Now, as the highlight of the EAT! NewcastleGateshead promotion of the region’s food and drink next month (May) both diners and beer drinkers will be able to capture the spirit of the would-be high level dining spot.

Except in this one guests will experience the wind in their hair and perhaps a slight longing for a parachute; the only thing between derriere and terra firma will be some 150 feet of the River Tyne's freshest spring breeze. Volunteers - or victims maybe - will be suspended on a platform next to the car park for the hour long sessions.

Festival organiser Simon Preston, a man with a long pedigree in far-out ideas including ‘guerrilla restaurants’ and ‘blind’ dining and in the past two year’s fests, came up with the wheeze. So he asked the Belgian based Dine in the Sky team to tackle the task. They will raise the platform to the height of the forlorn restaurant for a couple of days to offer a fine dining and beer sampling experiences to ‘adventurous’ souls.

Two beer tasting events are being run by award winning beer writer and Newcastle journalist Alastair ‘I don’t like heights’ Gilmour.

Alastair will take guests through a range of great regional ales while pointing out the location of the Tyne’s brewers both past and present – if he can bear to look down. The sessions are one hour long and cost £15. See www.newcastlegateshead.com/2790/EAT_carter.html for details. Despite his vertiginous inclination Alastair told me over a beer that he just could not say no to some high level tasting. “If someone else had done it instead I would have regretted it forever.”

Well, let’s hope he enjoys himself. If it appeals, there’s something else you should know. While you will be perfectly safe strapped into your seat you will need to take suitable precautions in another department; there is definitely no popping to the loo!

*Footnote: If you want to keep your feet firmly on the ground but still enjoy the EAT! festival you can book one of 10 Secret Paladares – a Cuban eating concept where you visit a private home to eat. There’s a wide range of ethnic foods available including Jewish and Colombian.