Make Mine a Smutty, UK Style!

I’m a little particular about being on time; alright I’m downright anal about it.  So we set off to drop off one co-worker at the airport for his flight, and pick up Jenn and Matt’s fiancée Karen.  You leave early to take into account anything that might pop up on the road, and today it was fog.  Thick fog, so thick you couldn’t see the highway signs.  So with Garmin’s help, and a bit of white knuckle driving, we made it to Manchester with time to spare (my Costa cappuccino really did hit the spot).  Jenn looked great, even though she was jet lagged, and so we headed back to Derby.  We chose (actually I chose) to go back over the Peak Mountains since the fog had cleared and the views were spectacular.  And they were, for the first half of the trip.  However coming down the mountains into Derby was still fogged in, and I had one of the most torturous drives to bring every one home safely.  Jenn and I had planned to drive to Stratford-upon-Avon, the birthplace of Shakespeare, but the fog hadn’t lifted and I decided I’d had enough long distance travel.  So we rested (and avoided the crash on the M5), and went out for a bite of lunch in the nearby village of Makeney at the Holly Bush Inn.

The Holly Bush Inn (http://hollybushinnmakeney.co.uk) was noted to be one of the best pubs in Derbyshire by both Pubs.com and BeerInTheEvening (where it rated a reader review of 9.2/10).  I was looking for a place to relax, outside of downtown Derby, that would remind Jenn of the Bell in Aldworth that she loved on her previous trip.  The drive to the Holly Bush was scenic, going past horse farms and a stream.  The place was warm and friendly, with the locals occupying the room with the fireplace.  We chose outdoor service (we had our own special ordering window) and soaked up the sunshine.  They had Bass and Pedigree, but being a free house I got to try a Pirate Caped Rogue and a Buxton Imperial Black IPA.  For food (they had food service between 12-3, I checked), I got a ploughman’s (boy the bleu cheese is strong) and a ham & tomato sandwich (no bacon), while Jenn got a salad, (no salad dressing).  It was nice to watch the families come in and hang out together.

On the way back to Derby, I took Jenn to the Abbey pub, a Samuel Smith pub, and was located by the water.  The inside was deserted, and that was because everyone was outside enjoying the beautiful day.  Sam Smith is one of the first breweries that began introducing Americans to English ale, and I’ve always been surprised that “real ale” is not what they typically offer in the pubs.  No matter, Jenn got the Reserve Cider on draft and I had the Dark Mild.  We sat outside, watched the geese, dogs, and people enjoy the weather, and counted our blessings for this time together.

We went back to the hotel and rested, and decided on Chinese for dinner (never had Chinese in England).  We walked to the restaurant, arrived at 5:30, and were disappointed (we were really hungry by then) to find out they didn’t open until 6PM.  Where could we wait? Well we went back to the Babington Arms for a drink.  It was the Wetherspoon Real Ale festival, and I was waiting for the Smuttynose Murrikan Mild, brewed at Wadworth brewery, to come up on cask.   I had gone in on Sunday and saw it would come up some time that week from the on-deck wall board. The bartender, "George," informed me that it would be up soon, so I had been getting my 3, 1/3 pint beers all week, always telling George that I'd be back. I repeated this each day.  George saw me and yelled across the pub, "Jeff, my American friend, it is finally up, just for you." Needless to say I got a full pint (and went back for another) and savored the experience.

We made it to dinner, and were the only folks in the restaurant, the New Water Margin.  We were hungry so, we ordered too much food; Chinese tea, a Dim Sum platter, the New Water chow mein and an order of sweet and sour chicken.  It was all delicious.  I love Chinese food, and like showing off with my chopstick skills learned ages ago when I lived in Hawaii.  We had tried Chinese food when we had travelled to Oslo, and were glad we had the opportunity here in the UK.  The place was empty until 8PM, when a line of people came in and filled the restaurant up (they certainly eat later in England). 

We had a great evening, but my baby was tired (remember, jet lag) so we went back to the hotel to call it an evening.  Tomorrow will be a new day, and we were losing an hour (again!) with daylight savings time.  Uggh. – 6000/12146

“Beer that is not drunk had missed its vocation.” – Meyer Breslau, 1880