London by Pub

I have put up two posts at the same time... so scroll down to get the second one.

Disclaimer: Today's post will all be about Beer Memorabilia Collecting. There will be mentions of London suburbs but they are for Collecting reference only........ Now read on at your own risk

Had a bit of a sleep in this morning and read a bit before going out. Just as I was leaving the house, Stewart returned from an early morning chauffeur hire run, so he took me to a local Cafe for a fry up.

I then left Stewart and caught the 93 bus to Putney Bridge which is the terminus for that bus run. It passes through Morden & Wimbledon on the way. Once at Putney Bridge I started walking back along the route the bus had taken and stopped at every pub looking for beer coasters. Struck it lucky in the first pub and got 5 different coasters from the barmaid. One more coaster in the second pub and then back across Putney Bridge crossing the Thames which again was at low tide. (I have yet to see it at high tide on this trip).

There was another prominent building right next to the river near the bridge. It is a large unit complex.

Walking back up Putney High Street, I visited five more pubs in Putney with mixed results. Found two different Guinness Coasters in one pub, one of them with two different reverses and one other beer and two cider coasters. Other pubs did not have any beer coasters in them. The staff saying that the breweries don't hand them out. Funny that some pubs get plenty of coasters and others none. Must be a reason and I will need to do more research to find out. (memo to self - visit more pubs)

At the end of Putney shops I got back on the 93 bus heading back towards Wimbledon. I got off at Wimbledon Village and visited three pubs there. I got coasters in one pub but once again the other two did not have any. When I visited the first pub there were a heap of people sitting in the pub watching the Opening Ceremony of the Olympics.

Walking down the long hill into Wimbledon shops I picked up a Fosters Pint Glass that had been conveniently left on the footpath by some lout the night before. In Wimbledon I visited two more pubs without any success but had a stroke of luck because I saw a sign advertising the Great British Beer Festival which I had read about before coming over but had forgotten about. It was still on and as it was a Earl's Court which is on the same tube line as Wimbledon I jumped on a train and headed up to Earl's Court.

Getting off the train you leave the station at the opposite end to Earl's Court Road and straight in front of the station is the Exhibition Hall. Entry fee was ten pound, another 3 pound for a souvenir pint glass to use and away you go beer drinking. You can return the pint glass on the way out and get your money back if you want. The beer is then priced relatively cheaply compared to the pub price and you can get a quarter, half or full pints of as many of the over 270 beers on offer. Most of the beers are from the regional breweries with only one or two of the larger British breweries at the show and even they showcase their various beers rather than there big selling brands.

I walked around the pavilion picking up the many different coasters and pamphlets on offer and took many photos of the different pump handle fonts for the different beers.

There were also many stalls selling beer memorabilia and I managed to purchase over 100 different Guinness coasters I did not have in my own collection of about 500 different Guinness coasters. (now I only need about 1200 more to get all of them!!)

Also in the hall were some traditional English Pub games for everyone to try and win prizes.

There were many different coasters, badges, ashtrays, tap handles, shirts, bar runners and many more things on sale. I bought some more small items and picked up more coasters before I left. I was there about two hours and picked up 30 different coasters off the breweries represented at the show.

I caught the train back to Wimbledon and then caught the 93 bus back to Morden arriving home about 6pm. Spent the night sorting coasters and getting ready for my trip away for 4 days.

Will put up some photos when I get a chance as it is getting pretty late here now.

I am going away on tomorrow morning up to Linslade & Wing to visit my fathers cousins, Linslade & Wing are near Leighton Buzzard about an hour north of London just to the left of Luton.

I do not know when I will have computer access again, so it might be up to a week till I post again, then again I might strike it lucky and have access to update while I am away. Keep coming back to find out!!