Samuel Oldknow Micropub, Marple

Today I had a day out in Marple. After a long walk along the canal (some of the photos I took will be published tomorrow) I had a session at the Samuel Oldknow micropub in order to rest my weary bones.

It has six hand pumps. I was drinking Mobberley Dark Mild at 3.6% and really enjoyed it. A nice session beer that left me relatively sober. Some interesting bottled beers are available, mainly from Belgium. They also serve four or five real ciders. It’s well worth a visit.

The pub is in an old shop and is not very big. There is a seating area downstairs, where there is a log burning stove. On my visit it was burning away. Downstairs is the sort of place you want to sit when it’s bitterly cold outside, warming yourself by the fire.

The pub is in the god beer guide and is open in the early afternoon every day of the week.

The only food they sell, apart from crisps and nuts is pies. Just round the corner is Mr Chips, an award-winning fish and chip show. I had fish and chips and they were excellent. The chippy is a takeaway one, though there are benches on Market Street where you can sit and eat your meal.

A Stammtisch

The pub was empty when I arrived, so I sat at a large table near the bar, with seats for 10. Supping my mild, reading a book about an English waiter in Paris, resting my weary bones. Happy.

Gradually the table filled with locals until all seats were taken.

I gave up and moved to the bar; my seat was quickly grabbed.

It was clearly a Stammtisch, which is German for a regulars table. It’s a feature of most traditional pubs in Bavaria. As an outsider, you are not allowed to sit at one, even if you’re German. Once I understood what one was, I tried to stay clear of them. But there were times when I just didn’t realise that a table was a Stammtisch.

There were a few times when I was allowed to stay. Often, in a brewery taproom miles off the tourist track. When someone told me I couldn’t sit there, I sometimes said, sorry I only speak English. Usually, there was someone around who did. The first question was along the lines of what the fuck are you doing in a pub, in an out of the way place like this. When I answered because there’s a brewery here and I love finding obscure Bavarian breweries, an interesting conversation started, often I become an honorary member of the Stammtisch.

Once, I came across an interesting brewery taproom an hour or so’s walk from the centre of Bayreuth, someone told me it was excellent. So, I went there (it was hard to find, try asking for directions when you don’t speak the language). The bar was smoky (remember those awful days when people smoked in pubs). I found myself a corner and ordered a beer. No one guessed I wasn’t German, until someone spoke to me. The locals found someone who did, and an excellent session started. Talking to the locals and drinking the larger. They were impressed that an Englishman liked Bavarian beer and was prepared to seek out some of the more obscure brewery taprooms.

Fairport Convention

So, when I moved, I sat at the seat nearest the bar in the above photo.

Someone came up to me and said I see you like Fairport Convention. I was wearing my Silver Jubilee Fairport sweatshirt. I answered yes, the person talking to me said he preferred Richard Thompson. He’d also been to Fairport’s Cropredy Festival, as had the man behind the bar. So, we had an interesting conversation about Fairport and Cropredy, and music in general.

Solo Drinking

This week a bar in Manchester hit the news, it had banned solo drinkers after 9PM!

I’ve had a lifetime drinking on my own, in this country and continental Europe. I’ve never come across a bar banning solo drinkers. Luckily, it’s a karaoke bar, so I won’t be visiting it. The bar in question has got some free advertising and a lot of critical press. Especially about loneliness.

One of the papers published this wonderful quote from Stanley Tucci (a superb actor) one is never drinking alone, someone else is always drinking somewhere.

This pub has no problem with solo drinkers. It’s an excellent place to while away a few hours.