Pubs – A London Journal

Resto 15 Larwood & Voce, Trent Bridge

No pace from L&V and a gristle burger to boot.

Restaurant 7 Pie & Ale, Manchester

'Who on earth would have a Chicken Tikka Masala pie?!'

Resto 45 Winchmore Hill Tandoori, Wichmore Hill

Having watched Granit Xhaka and his inept chums only just fail to sabotage a fine attacking display by Arsenal's front five in a lunchtime kick off by the time we'd reached the food part of our post-match festivities in Winchmore Hill stomachs were empty but we were bonhomie full.

Resto 44 The Betjeman Arms, St Pancras

Trying to remember the prices of the food (a key part of a review being the price/quality quotient) I looked at the JB's website to find that they weren't as high as I recalled. But I also discovered atrocious grammar and an insidious whiff of nostalgia-laden commercial bullshit in the copy.

Reminiscent of 1920’s nostalgia and times gone by; a charming spot to wait for your train to Paris whilst soaking up the iconic atmosphere of The Grand Terrace.

Were one of mys students to have written this guff I would have been forgiving of youthful lapses in grammar, syntax, honesty and style. The misplaced apostrophe, the redundant semi-colon, the appearance of the hideous 'i' word, and the frankly idiotic use of the word charming to describe a 'spot' usually inhabited by drunks of varied income and states of dishevelment.

Ah but that 1920's (sic) nostalgia! Who wouldn't yearn for the days of chronic unemployment, Armenian genocide, the rise of fascism and sterile, bat-dominated cricket? Really they could have gone much further back for the authentic whiff of nostalgia. Their toilets need no linguistic gloss, being truly mediaeval most of the time.

Resto 73 The Agricultural Hotel, Penrith

Good beer, decent food and cheerful staff makes the Agricultural Hotel a winner.

Putting on Corbyn Island

A short post as a bit of promotion for Corbyn Island, my adaptation of Marivaux’s L’Ile des Esclaves, which I’ve talked about on here before. Well, previously it was just an idea and a little side project to keep me occupied while doing some long commutes (you can read about it here). Now it’s happening! Rehearsals have…

A short ramble round Leicester

Coming to a brief spell of teaching at De Montfort I thought it might be of use to the casual cultured visitor to point out some of the less well-known elements of Leicester that are worthy of consideration.