Paul Bailey
Sydney
Editor, Australian Financial Review
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Articles by Paul Bailey
Paul's Beer & Travel Blog
Well for the second morning this week, we've woken to some much needed, and very welcome rain.It’s still raining now, which is good news not just for gardeners but also because it will help replenish dwindling water supplies. Without wishing to appear over virtuous, we have tried to limit our use of water a number of small ways. Still, every little helps as "the lady that pissed in the sea" said, but moving swiftly on, we’re banking on the rain stopping for Bank Holiday Monday and beyond.
Paul's Beer & Travel Blog
Despite its position as one of the UK’s most influential consumer organisations, the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) is confronting one of the most challenging periods in its 55‑year history. The group has reported significant financial losses, shrinking membership, and a rapidly changing beer market that threatens the future of traditional cask ale - the very product CAMRA was founded to protect.
Paul's Beer & Travel Blog
drinking in all the Shepherd Neame pubs during my first twelve months of retirement. My response was that I’ve been there, and done that, even though it was over 40 years ago. It was a labour of love slog back then and having experienced the mad dash of getting round all 286 Shepherd Neame houses, it is not an experience I’d care to repeat. However, that’s not to say that it’s a topic I don’t wish to write about, as I certainly do, but the trouble is where to start?
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AI involved in the drafting of this post, just good old-fashioned, hard slog on the keyboard. That is apart from me using the CAMRA pub website, for useful and relevant facts, figures and other relevant information, intended to convey a visual images) of the pubs concerned. I therefore trust that readers will find, what is in effect, a guide to five of Frome’s best, and most interesting pubs.
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heat wave is exactly what it says, “Never ending,” and last Sunday weather wise was pretty much the same as it is today another, Sunday, and one where the sun is beating down making the heat it's just too intense to do much in the way of outdoor activities. Furthermore, with a lawn that consists of nothing but scorched grass, there is precious little to do on that score, anyway.
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“treasure trove” of pub and brewery-related material, which I was sure would prove of interest to blog readers - once I’d knocked it into some sort of shape. I added that much these writings was out of date, and thus no longer relevant to a modern audience, but I’m pleased to report that with a bit of tweaking quite a chunk of these ancient “scriptures” can still tell a tale, as well as forming a link back to simpler times.
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FIFA World Cup has been and gone, and the less said about FIFA, the better, but as the years roll by, it does look increasingly unlikely that I shall witness the national side lift the trophy for only the second time. I’m fortunate to have witnessed England winning the World Cup, sixty years ago, a match I watched, as an 11 year old boy, with my father, on our small, black and white TV, but unlike many of the population, it is a feat that I witnessed with my own eyes.
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Paul’s normal style, and others might be wondering why this sudden change? You would of course, be right, and the answer lies with Microsoft Copilot, a generative artificial intelligence chatbot. Now that might not mean a lot to some of you, and it doesn’t mean that much to me either, but after witnessing this, and other AI assistants in certain workplace applications, I thought I’d give it a go myself.
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Kent. A couple of weeks ago, my friend - now living out on the eastern side of the county - and I arranged one of our semi-regular catch-ups. We settled on Lenham, a village almost perfectly placed between us, and one with just enough pubs to make an afternoon disappear very pleasantly. No. 7 bus from Tonbridge to Maidstone and then transferred to the Stagecoach 510 service, but instead I made a hybrid trip: train from Tonbridge to Maidstone West, then bus onward to Lenham.
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Saturday morning though, to oversee an outdoor project, that involved having our car-parking area delineated with some carefully measured and marked out white lines. The task was only possible out of normal working hours, so me and a colleague drew the short straws to go in and supervise the work. Rock Inn, at Chiddingstone Hoath, is an absolute gem of a pub, which certainly ticks all the right boxes, as far as I am concerned. Rock, an old drover’s inn, which has retained many original features.
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Tonbridge mid-morning, having left my car at one of the local garages, for a re-gas of the air-conditioning system, of all things.It was Mrs PBT’s idea to address the issue of the failing air-conditioning, even though she is not a regular occupant in the passenger seat, but with a week or more into the third heatwave of the summer, I had to admit that the prospect of yet another journey home from work in a steaming hot car, had definitely lost its appeal.
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Royal Standard, where I’d just received an update to the itinerary, from the CAMRA group I was travelling with. Consequently, I drank up and made my way towards the Jenny Lind. The pub was only a couple of streets away, which meant I actually arrived at this well-known Hastings establishment in advance of my companions.The group’s arrival, coincided with that of the ambulance crew, who returned our casualty.
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2026, I made an all too brief visit to the historic, seaside town of Hastings, a settlement situated on the sunny south-east coast of Sussex and famed for a battle that took place 960 years ago. The Battle of Hastings took place between the Anglo-Saxon forces of Harold Godwinson, and the French-speaking invaders, of Duke William of Normandy.
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Retired Martin’s blog, about sitting next to someone on a plane, whose country is at war, reminded me of a polar opposite experience that occurred on our not so recent, cruise to Norway. Martin mentioned about being seated next to a Ukrainian national, whereas my experience involved a person representing the other side in the appalling conflict that is continuing between two former, East European neighbours.
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Greyhound at Charcott isn’t the nearest pub to where I work, although it is the second closest. It’s a 10–15-minute stroll away, with a choice of two routes, one of which means keeping one’s wits about oneself due to the way drivers treat a country lane, as a racetrack. That road is known as Camp Hill, and I imagine here that the name refers to a former gypsy encampment, rather than the former grass-track airfield that occupied the flatland between the B 2027 and Camp Hill.
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Pub visits have been somewhat curtailed over the past week, for a variety of reasons, most of which have been family related. There’s also been quite a lot of boring, DIY – home improvement projects going on, nothing major, but still time-consuming and not the stuff that people will necessarily want to read about. On the plus side though, there are a number of out of town* events on the horizon, so there is plenty to look forward to. *Out of Tonbridge.
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Blogger account, were enough to try the patience of a saint. In the end, the problem boiled down to a conflict between my username and my chosen password, where just one digit was incorrect. I’d spotted it, but wasn’t sure how to rectify the problem, and when, after numerous attempts, I eventually managed it, I realised the issue dated back to when I registered my latest Samsung phone – two and a half years ago.
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Blogger Dashboard have been successful. In effect it’s a test post, based on a Word document I produced last summer, relating to the Beer & Pubs Forum visit to the Hampshire town of Farnham. As it’s a test piece, I make no apologies if some of it looks familiar, but by using this part-written post as a “base”, so to speak, I want to confirm one way or the other, that my numerous attempts to log on to Blogger, have been successful. Farnham, having passed through en route to Southampton for a cruise.
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Easter time, and was the result of a regular Windows update that failed to install. I could still use the machine, but I wasn't able to get online - something to do with two critical "drivers" that had failed. I left it for a while, and switched to using the neat, little laptop PC, that I originally purchased to take on holiday with me.
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Doom Bar, the beer that was the subject matter of the article, I had called in at the one Tonbridge pub where I thought I'd be guaranteed of finding a pint of this once legendary Cornish brew. The pub in question was the Station House, a pub that in its heyday, had been known as the South Eastern, the name coming from the pre-grouping name of the railway company that constructed the original line from the capital, and down to Tonbridge and beyond.
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35 years of living with Mrs PBT's and I, son Matthew finally moved out of the family home. He'd been hinting and threatening to do so for a while, but last Saturday the big move began in earnest, leaving Eileen and I to experience being "empty nesters" for the first time.
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Mrs PBT's and I undertook to Norway. Although our cruise ship embarked on this voyage to northern Norway at the beginning of March, travelling as far as we did beyond the Arctic Circle, was always going to be chancy, especially with regard to the weather, and associated sea conditions. And so it turned out, even though despite careful consideration, I don't think either of us were quite prepared for the strong winds and high seas we experienced.
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"cloudy murk", a phrased used by others, but most dismissively, by northern-based, vintage Beer Blogger, Tandleman, to describe a style of beer that seemed to come from nowhere, before coming something of a sensation in the land of its birth. The style is New England IPA - NEIPA, for short, and the land of its birth, as well as its conception, is the US of A.
Getting It Right by Elizabeth Jane Howard
Winner of the Yorkshire Post Novel of the Year Award. From the bestselling author of the Cazalet Chronicles, Elizabeth Jane Howard, Getting It Right is a touching comedy about a young man trying desperately to come of age. Gavin – a sensitive, shy, hairdresser in the West End – is, at thirty-one, still a virgin. He's a classic late developer, and he's worried that it's getting too late to develop at all. Then, one night, Gavin finds himself at a penthouse party.
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London place. I wasn't there to experience some of the capital's finest watering hole, but instead was there on a visit that can best be described as "compassionate". Showing some care and support for an old friend/colleague who is currently languishing in a hospital bed, following a fall, and temporary loss of mobility.
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Rose Revived, situated on the edge ofthe village of Hadlow, is now known as the Kentish Tap, at the Rose Revived. The idea behind the name change is to promote all things Kentish, whether they be animal, vegetable or mineral - perhaps not the last one, but definitely a celebration of the very best of all that Kent has to offer.
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Tonbridge pubs. Some of these changes have already occurred, some are taking place, even as I write, and two or three are still to happen. Let's get started then with a well-known Tonbridge establishment, the Hilden Manor, that acquired new owners, back in the late summer. This Grade II-listed pub and former Beefeater in Hildenborough, had been a familiar, local fixture for several decades, but after closing its doors in August, this characterful building underwent an extensive renovation.
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Holy Goat, almost a month ago now, I thought it was high time that I gave this latest addition to Tonbridge's drinking scene a further try. The recent May Day holiday seemed as good as any for another look, although if I'm honest, I managed to squeeze in a visit a couple of weeks previously. The slightly chaotic scenes described in my initial piece, had fortunately disappeared, and a responsible and more mature crowd seems to have taken over.
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Norwegian adventure, and its heavy seas, I realised that I hadn't written much about Ambience, the cruise ship we sailed on, or the cruise line, Ambassador, behind our voyage. Choosing this particular operation wasn't quite a spur of the moment decision, but it was strongly influenced by Mrs PBT's and I looking for a holiday that would provide a welcome break between Christmas and Easter, a period where it seems as though winter is never going to disappear and spring is never going come along.
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Birmingham. It wasn't even a Friday, but the combination of sunshine, a sprinkling of stunning looking new buildings, plus the aforementioned populace at large, was sufficient to lift my spirits, following the earlier disappointment. Wellington would be my next stop, and for those not in the know, this specialist cask ale pub situated in the heart of the city's business district, is something of a local legend in Birmingham.
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Wednesday, and it was rarer still, because it was work-related. I've been employed in my current part time position for around four and a half years, and apart from a four day spell helping to man the company trade stand in Cologne, at what was the world's largest dental show, I've been largely office-based. Health & Safety Event, at Birmingham's NEC.
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"Pub Friday". With this is mind I was thinking where to go, especially as the weather this particular Friday was set to be unbroken sunshine. But where to go, and looking for inspiration I turned to a list of potential destinations that I'd drawn up, some time last year. I hit upon the last pub on that list, which was the Elephant's Head, in the tiny hamlet (if you can even call it that), of Hook Green, situated on the boundary between Kent and East Sussex.
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Alta. In the previous post, we covered the town's location, its role as a well-protected naval anchorage, that provided a safe refuge for the Nazi battleship, Tirpitz, as well as its troubled history in the final weeks of World War II, but in what continues to be something of an enigma, we haven't really looked at why our cruise line decided to mark our visit with a two-day stay.
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Mrs PBT's and I were blissfully unaware of, was the strange ritual associated with crossing the line on the map, known as the "Arctic Circle". Whilst both of us had heard of crossing the equator, by passing from the northern hemisphere into the southern hemisphere, and vice versa, we naturally assumed that was it as far as "Crossing the Line" was concerned.
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Trondheim, an historic port, and Norway’s third largest city. The settlement lies on a sheltered peninsula on the southern shore of the deeply indented Trondheims Fjord. As a significant industrial and commercial hub for the surrounding region, Trondheim offers visitors an authentic experience of urban life in Norway. Trondheim. Trondheim that stood out to me was its abundance of shops, cafés, and dining establishments; initially, there appeared to be fewer locations serving beer.
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Norwegian adventure, was the small, and attractive settlement of Åndalsnes, located at the mouth of the river Rauma, on the shores of Romsdalsfjord. The village is approximately 12 hours sailing from Ålesund, so after an early evening departure from the latter, the following morning saw our cruise ship, Ambience, berthed in the calm and reflective waters of the fjord.
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Mrs PBT’s and I set sail on our spring cruise to Norway, and with my case almost packed, I’ve been scratching around catching up on one or two outstanding jobs around the house. I shan’t bother you with the details, apart from saying the fast-draining, super-grip shower mat that I ordered online is proving to be most satisfactory.
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I write these words whilst just four days away from setting sail on another cruise and providing I can steer my Tele-addict wife away from the likes of Sky News, our voyage should be a welcome escape from the madness that’s occurring in the world at large. Cunard – all “Queen” ships, we’ve decided to cut loose and try something completely different. In doing so, we’ve moved away from Carnival’s flagship brand – thereby saving ourselves a tidy packet.
Random pub conversations at the Punch
Punch & Judy, in Tonbridge, a back-street local, with a Tardis-like interior, looking across the rear of the town’s police station. It’s a pub that has seen several changes of name, and when I first moved to Tonbridge, it was known as the Gardener’s Arms. Despite these changes, the pub’s current name appears to have stuck, even though it is usually abbreviated to the Punch, or sometimes, just the PJ.
Why not start your own blog? Boak & Bailey claim that you can, and I believe they are right!
Boak & Bailey have made it their mission to encourage people to write about beer – get them blogging for want of a better description! The pair claim, quite rightly in my opinion, that anyone can decide to write about beer.
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Friday’s trip to the charming Sussex town of Lewes, saw me notching up a further four pubs, taking my total for the first month of the year to 20. If I can keep this rate up over the next 11 months, then I should quite easily pass last year’s total of 106 different hostelries. Despite this flying start, I’m not really in the numbers game, as if I was, then I’m sure I could squeezed in a few more pubs.
As German beer sales tank, some unwelcome changes start appearing
Weltenburg Abbey, which has been brewing beer for the best part of 1,000 years. The monastery, which lies to the south west of Regensburg, occupies a spectacular setting on the banks of the river Danube, and acts as a place of pilgrimage for both religious devotees and beer lovers.
Four more books to be enjoyed at bedtime
six, so far, since starting the ball rolling back in August 2020. You may recall we were still in the grip of the COVID pandemic back then, and despite a brief respite over that summer, the insidious corona virus was getting ready to launch a new wave of infection, and associated restrictions across the country. Now, having set the scene, and possibly whetted your appetites for some further literary reviews, here we go with Book Review No. 7.
The Year in Beer - a beery look back at 2025
It’s that time of the year again, when bloggers take a look-back at the past 12 months, with particular reference to all things beery, and in my case with a little travel and personal stuff thrown in for good measure. In previous years, I’ve written reviews, either under the banner of “The Year in Beer,”or that of “Golden Pints”. For several years I’ve considered the latter as rather naff and even sparked off a brief discussion on Ed Wray’s site, about the origin of the term.
Farewell to 2025 - a gentle look back
New Years’ Eve, and I’m painfully aware that I haven’t published an end of year review. I have been working on one, but it’s been slow progress, and at times like this, I’m easily distracted, and not just by trivia. One distraction was to book a trip to the local tip – sorry, "Waste Transfer Station" as Deform UK controlled, Kent County Council like to call them these days, although to be fair, it was the previous Tory administration that came up with this euphemism.
Every pub in Tonbridge - No. 13 out of 15 - the George & Dragon
100+ pubs during the course of a calendar year, I realised I was inching close to another goal, not quite as impressive, or in the same league as the main one, but by an objective that was both achievable and relatively easy to complete. The goal was also a simple one, as well as a logical one. The idea was to visit every pub in Tonbridge, but at the time of embarking on this quest, I had no idea how many public houses there are in the town.
In two day's time, it will be all over bar the shouting!
“Big Day” begins in earnest. I’m not quite sure what’s so big about the 25th December, but whatever it is I shall be relieved when it’s all over, as I’m certain dozens of other folk will be, up and down the land. I chose, quite deliberately, to go into work these past two and a half days, and with minimal production, packing and selling, it provided an opportunity to catch up on a number of tasks that had been hanging around for ages.
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UK Passport arrived in the post yesterday, and today, my soon to expire old passport, was also delivered by Royal Mail. The latter was just a week after returning the document, whilst the actual application took just 9 days from filling out the online application, attaching the electronic photos and paying the fee, prior to approval. Three days later, my shiny new passport arrived in the post, as advised via email, from HM Passport Office. CAMRA – organised day out in Broadstairs.
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Ind Coope’s Draught Burton Ale, or DBA for short. Those of us with long memories aka, those of a certain age, will remember this classic Burton beer, and the storm it caused within the beer world when it first launched in 1976 – 50 years ago to be precise! The appearance of this beer marked a turning point in what CAMRA had described as the “Real Ale Revolution.” It was certainly the moment in time when the large brewing conglomerates began to take “Real Ale” seriously.
Breakfast catch-up, at the Chaser
Friday’s day out, and the drama of the journey home, here is a quick, stop-gap post before we return to the picturesque town of Topsham, and its legendary heritage pub, the Bridge Inn. The day before my trip, son Matthew and I enjoyed a bit of father-son bonding over a cooked, pub breakfast.
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