Nooooooooovember

[El Gordo]

Aye, good luck -- and don't make it sound too tough in the report please. Some of us are planning to hare up it this time next year, and don't want to be deterred.

Talking of London Pride, you asked me a while ago to recommend a good Fuller's pub in London. I have a shortlist, but to keep you going, and to while away the hours in Hobart, here is one of my favourites: The Star in Belgravia. The very name sends me into a whirl of nostalgic pleasure. This one will be high on the final list. The Star Tavern

Edited to add running note: And I see from the website that Pride is "the official beer of the London Marathon", so you can enjoy a few pints, knowing that you are merely supporting this great sporting event. (And in fairness, I should add that much as I enjoy a decent pint of the stuff, there are beers close to the hearts -- geographical and emotional -- of some people on here that would run it a very close race, and possibly even sweep past in the final stretch. Step forward Harvey's of Lewes and Timothy Taylor's of Keighley -- GM's Yorkshire manor.)

Despite the plethora of incredible beers that seem to be flooding West Yorkshire (and indeed these Isles) I will always worship Taylor's. Best Bitter has just been renamed "Boltmakers" as an homage to the pub where I drink it. I wonder what the regulars there would make of The Star Tavern? Keighley being a different planet to Belgravia frankly.

Although I have to say, The Star does look to have it's own merits. I'm slightly ambivalent about food in drinking pubs; but The Star looks more like a Gentleman's Club. I'm told Fullers is better on it's own turf as it looses some it's character and "notes" when given a tight head as it is up north. I guess some beer suits the aeration and some doesn't.

Well, I wouldn't want to have a scrap about whether the Star in Belgravia or the Boltmakers is a better pub -- that's like arguing whether San Francisco is a better place to visit than... Edinburgh or Rome or Calcutta. All great places but utterly different, so no point comparing.

Not sure if I've been to the Boltmakers' but I'm certain it's a very fine Yorkshire boozer that I would instantly love. The Star in Belgravia is a very fine London pub, and there are many fine London pubs. But totally different from the Yorkshire variant. You are very familiar with the Slubbers Arms in Huddersfield which is one of my favourite drinking holes anywhere in the world. Or remember The Sair Inn in Linthwaite?

The Star in Belgravia is a million miles and a million pounds away from those places, literally. Probably half full of millionaires, but like all good pubs, a classlessness is created, and prejudices tend to be left at the door. Last time I was in there, I had a natter with local resident Chris Evans while we were waiting at the bar. He could have been some geezer at the bus stop on the way to the football. It's a few minutes from Hyde Park and Knightsbridge, but tucked away in a Regency mews where I suspect no tourist ever goes unless they're visiting the pub. I love the place, and many more besides.

Anyway, come in MLCMM, your time is up...