It's been a busy
time of late for PPPG of late with the Burslern Ale Trail to set
up, licensees to talk to, and the press to liase with and people
wonder why I'm not on a mobile 'phone.
A number of pubs have recently
expressed an interest in 
boosting our group of Corporate
Members and the Vine in Burslem has now signed up. As a one-time
supervisor of the SPACE scheme in Burslem and Tunstall (which
is run by the police and helpers for children in their school
holidays) I remember how popular the Vine was with off-duty police
officers. It is still well patronised on account of the quality
real ale and (on some nights) the trays of free chips! Bernard
Frain and Harold Harper of PPPG are familiar faces at the Vine,
and they are well-fed by the licensee. A photograph of the pub
appeared in my 1998 book, "Potters in Pubs".
The Vine was one of 13 hostelries in and around Burslem which
participated in the annual Burslem Ale Trail, which was organised
for the Burslem Festival. Four members of PPPG set the questions,
the answers to which were to be found inside the watering-holes
- an excellent way of persuading Festival drinkers to help trade
at the featured pubs! The Bull's Head in St. Johns Square also
took part and I was one of many drinkers who patronised its Beer
Festival over this period
At the time of writing,
the PPPG Community Pub of the Year is
about to be announced - more details in the next Potters Bar.
The eleven nominated pubs are the Blue Bell (Kidsgrove), the White
Swan (Middleport), the New Inn and the Coachmakers Arms (both
Hanley), the Albert. the Castle Mona and Ye Olde Smithy (all Newcastle),
the Cricketers Arms (May Bank), the Greyhound (Penkhull), the
New Inn (Burslem) and The Vine unfortunately a non-real ale pub
in Pitts Hill, but the only one in the area listed on CAMRA's
National Inventory of pubs with oustanding heritage interest.
As usual, the criteria for judging will include atmosphere, architechture,
licensee's standards, beer quality and more. There can only be
one winner, but we shall still expect a warm welcome from the
other ten short-listed pubs!
Meanwhile, on the campaigning front, the Black Horse (Betley)
and 
the Rising Sun (Shraley
Brook) are still very much live issues. Rob Shanks (of PPPG and
CAMRA) has been particularly diligent on both fronts, whilst Jim
Wain and I travelled up to Betley one lunchtime before we were
aware that the owners had elected not to open at mid-day. This
said little for their commitment towards keeping the pub viable.
In the event, we took our custom to the nearby Swan, where we
consumed a meal, as well as drinks.
The group continues to keep an eye on the Archer (Wolstanton)
situation, and has twice liaised with Newcastle Borough Council,
expressing concern for the condition of this historic building.
If its long history as licensed premises is over, surely the structure
can be used for some other community function?
Recent reports gleaned
from contacts in the southern end of the city intimating that
Longton's pubs are suffering proved not without foundation when
I last travelled up the A50 in April. The 
Longton
pub scene may not be dead, but it is a bit green around the gills
The Roebuck and the Earl of Clarendon were closed and the George
and Dragon (th' owd 'ut) is awaiting redevelopment as shops and
offices.
I drank in the Gardener's Rest in Trentham Road (which was quite)
busy, and Ye Olde Manor Inne, in Manor Street, Fenton, which re-opened
last September after a highly sensitive restoration of the beautiful
late Victorian facade. PPPG wrote to the owner, praising his efforts.
Inside, the 
pub is basically open-plan
with some partitions and lots of tongue & groove dadoing,
whilst a coal bucket and some large logs were placed by a lovely
open fire when I called.
Regrettably, from the point of view of a pub conversationalist
such as myself, there are two TVs, and the decor is not particularly
original, reminding one of the interior of the Old Iron Cot in
Bucknall. However, the pub is comfortable and the real ale is
excellent. I found the delicious Abbot Ale eclipsed by the nectareous
Fuller's ESB (5.5%). It was only £1.50 a pint, and the best
I've had all year!
Ye Olde Manor
Inn, Fenton. Elsewhere in 'neck-end"
and its environs. the Malt 'n' Hops always rates a mention for
its quality and range of real ale and its chatty atmosphere.
Incidentally, one of my more unsettling pub experiences took place in the Thorley in Meir, when I was a pubs/clubs performer in the 1980s. There'd been a sponsored head-shave in the pub, and my duo were performing as artists on the night in question. It was going well, so I did my party trick of lying down on the floor whilst playing rhythm guitar. Suddenly, ~ found myself being dragged off-stage by my feet (guitar and all) and then cocooned in a circle of electric razor wielding rapscallions. Only the intervention of our entourage and the landlady saved me from an unwanted crew-cut!
