Hare & Hounds (4)

Here is the latest Hare & Hounds.

This one is in Altrincham, and was visited yesterday afternoon after a sunny Sunday Cheshire saunter.

I didn't like it much, but to be fair, this was probably not the best time to visit. The Sunday Carvery was in full flow, people were queuing up at the buffet to help themselves to roast potatoes, gravy and something else that didn't smell very nice, and the background music(and I use the term loosely) was Celine Dion whinging and moaning and generally lowering the tone. Ambience was about nil.

In its favour, this pub does have a lot of outdoor seating, so that's where I sat - and watched a couple of little kids kick a football around and listened to an Australian on the next table who said the word fuck a lot.

Still, it's another Hare & Hounds visited. Well done me!

Two Fangs, You've only got Two Fangs

Today I am as giddy as a particularly giddy goat!

This is because the sun is shining, tonight FC United are playing Whitby Town, and in an hour's time I shall be leaving work and heading across the country to the seaside.

Whitby is wonderful. It is where Dracula first came ashore in England. You can see the little beach where he landed in the above photo.



I could have posted a cheesy vampire photo here, but instead I've chosen this fine Folio Society edition of the novel. This is meant to be a Library Blog, you know.

Another thing Whitby is famous for is the Magpie Cafe - the country's most popular fish cafe. You can see by the queue just how popular it is.



This is where we will be dining tonight. And then it is on to the match Hurrah!

Fat Tuesday

Isn't that a cracking name?! It would be churlish not to celebrate.



It is, of course, PANCAKE DAY.

The scene in my kitchen tonight will be something like this - but only a bit. There are no chubby-cheeked tots in my house, and nor are there any wizened crones. I won't even be wielding a frying pan.

But later on I will microwaving some zesty lemon pancakes from M&S. I am a lazy trollop.

Happy Fat Tuesday!




PS. I have heard that Americans will eat pancakes for breakfast. That can't possibly be true, can it?

Hare & Hounds (3)

Oh, the pubs are coming thick and fast now, aren't they?!



This is the Hare and Hounds in Uppermill.
The photo is from Craig H1's flickr set - more pictures of his Saddleworth Pubs here.

After a long, happy and muddy ramble yesterday I popped in here for a well earned pint.

Many people have a perception that Saddleworth is bleak. Much of this, I think, is rooted in history - some VERY BAD THINGS happened here in the 1960s. And Saddleworth Moor does present a rather forbidding aspect if only ever seen from the motorway.

But if you get off the motorway and get out of your car and go for a walk, it is a lovely area. High craggy hills, green valleys, woods, streams (like this), Yorkshire villages, impressive examples of Victorian engineering (and this) - and some jolly fine little pubs. And all of that only 20 minutes by train from Manchester Victoria.

Speaking of which. Despite what we saw on Corrie on Friday night, and despite Leanne Battersby's best attempts, you cannot catch a train from Victoria to London. Never could, never will. Especially not from that platform - the best she could have managed from there would have been, err, right back to Saddleworth.

So that worked out well, didn't it?

Hare & Hounds (2)

This one was an unexpected (and delightful!) bonus. I've not been here since early October and at that time it had closed down.

This is the Hare & Hounds at Bower Fold in Stalybridge - and Hurrah! it is open again.



Once again the photo is from Google Streetview. It didn't look like this last night - it was dark (okay, there was a full moon) and there were a lot of happy FC fans outside. Nice little pub, isn't it?

What was I doing in Stalybridge last night? No, I have taken up midnight rambling. We were playing a home game at Bower Fold against Chasetown.

And we won! 4-2!
With only ten men.
And, my god, those ten men played well!

What an all-round excellent evening that turned out to be!

A Day to Celebrate!

Today is the Chinese New Year, and this year it's the Year of the Rabbit. Woohoo!




Or if, like me, you grew up somewhere with a substantial Vietnamese population, you will know it as the Year of the Cat.

Here is a lovely painting of some cats on their way to a party.


This is from Look at Vietnam - click the link for more happy cat paintings.

A long time ago I was told (by a Vietnamese person, so it must be true) that being an agricultural nation, the Vietnamese don't like rabbits (they eat the crops) but they do like cats (the farmer's friend, they eat rats and mice) - hence Year of the Cat, not Rabbit.

Something like the Australians, who for similar reasons have an Easter Bilby instead of an Easter Bunny.

Don't know what a Bilby looks like? Here he is:


How cute is that?!


Cats, Rabbits, Bilbies. They're all good.
And on that mellow note, here's Al Stewart to sing you into the New Year.



Happy New Year everyone!

A New Year's Resolution

As I have mentioned before, more than once, I love walking. Walk, walk, walk. All over the place. I love it. At final count, I'd racked up 1,870 miles last year.

This year it is my ambition to walk with a purpose. No more aimless rambling for me! It is my resolution to involve as many pubs called Hare & Hounds as possible in my walks.

Why the Hare & Hounds?
1. There are a lot of them.
2. The first pub I went in, on my first real walk this year ('real' in the sense that it involved hills and a friend and a pint) was called the Hare & Hounds.
3. We will soon be entering the Year of the Rabbit, and Hares are as close to the theme of Rabbits as I could get.

Here is Hare & Hounds no.1:


This photo comes from Google Streetview. I didn't have my camera with me at the time - and to be honest, the weather wasn't this nice last Sunday. By the time we got to the pub it was pissing down.

Never mind! The pub was cosy, clean, friendly and thoroughly comforting. We didn't eat there, but the food looked and smelled gorgeous. Should you wish to visit yourself, it is in Simmondley Village, Glossop.

Hopefully I will have more Hare & Houndses to report on in the coming months. Please wish me success in the my brave and intrepid quest!