Pielarks present a jolly evening of seasonal songs

This is the time of year for jolly evenings filled with seasonal songs served with good cheer and so I went to see the Pielarks at the Canbury Arms. I knew about the event from two friends, Peter and John, who were part of the around twenty singers collected to entertain us and their presence was another encouragement to go.

It seemed easiest to eat there beforehand and while the veggie options were somewhat limited, as is the rule in gastro pubs these days, the curry was excellent. All three of us who were eating at that time chose it. The beer was fine too and by the time the band started I was comfortably fed and watered.

The music was, as expected, reassuringly folky like the songs we all learned to sing at primary school  thanks to Singing Together on BBC Radio. I knew none of them which mattered not one whit as the style of the songs was familiar and there was plenty of repetition to breed new familiarity with the words.

Each song was introduced with a short story saying something about the origin of the song and how it had been rediscovered and/or kept alive in recent times. There was a variety of soloists, choruses and musical instruments that kept the evening lively and interesting as well as simply enjoyable.

We were in the covered overspill from the main bar and that was packed with people who had come to see the Pielarks and that produced quite a buzz in the room and lots of applause after each song.

The combination of the songs, the people, the food and the drink made it a rather jolly evening and I had a great time.

A cracking night at the Canbury Arms

For various reasons, I have not been to the Canbury Arms for a few months (October to be precise), despite considering it to be one of my locals.

This unhappy and unexpected state of affairs was satisfactorily resolved on Tuesday night which, being the first Tuesday of the month, was Irish music night.

The snow provided an additional drop of excitement into the mix but somehow we managed to get there on the K5 hoppa despite the fact that some of the route takes in roads that would have seemed narrow to a motorcyclist in those conditions. The last K5 of the evening is ideally timed for evenings like this and takes us almost door-to-door.

From outside, the Canbury Arms proudly shows its heritage as a Victorian corner pub, though the fresh look lets you know that it has been done-up in keeping with modern times.

Inside the Canbury Arms is a bright, busy and welcoming gastro pub.

Even with the recent heavy snow the punters were out in force to enjoy the food and drink. I suppose that this means that most of them are local enough to walk, which is a good sign.

Tuesday is also curry night so I started the evening with a Butternut Squash and Chick Pea curry washed down with Winter Cheer, another fine ale from the local Twickenham Brewery.

Around the witching hour of 9pm the Irish music started. They settled themselves quietly down at the table reserved for them and started to play, mingling in nicely with the winers and diners - you have to look fairly closely at the picture to see where the band are.

Adding the companionship of some friends to the brew (including John who is playing with the band here) made it a superb evening. Only four weeks until we do it again.

English beer, Indian food, Irish music

The first Tuesday of every month is Irish music night down at the Canbury Arms which provides a good excuse for a night out, particularly when one of your friends is playing in the band and is about to disappear off around the world for two months.

The Irish music is provided by a loose collective that sits at a large table in the middle of the bar and entertains us from around 9pm to closing time. I think that you can see around 11 musicians in this picture but the number changes throughout the evening and I am sure that there were 14 or 15 playing at one point.

The Canbury Arms is a fairly standard gastro pub with an interesting, if limited, menu that is well presented and well cooked. I normally stick to the small dishes (bar bites and starters) but there was a curry available for the main course so the decision was made. The curry was butternut squash and chick peas, which I would probably have gone for even if they were not curried, and the spiciness was just right, almost a madras.

There was the usual good selection of real ales available and I settled on the Sundancer from local brewery Twickenham Ales. They produce several beers and I enjoy all of them!

Good music, good food, good beer and good friends makes for a great evening.

Bars and beers

My social life tends to go in waves as I sometimes work away from home, e.g. recent trips to Kiev and Sao Paulo, and my friends also spend time in exotic locations like Liverpool, Luanda and Wigan. The last week has been very sociable and I have been out every evening since returning from Brazil last Thursday! I have been seeing different friends for different reasons which has meant going to different pubs and drinking different beers. This is what I can remember of the last week.

• Last Friday (1st Feb) I went to The Cardinal (pictured) for lunch and was back there in the evening with Peter just for a few pints of Hobgoblin.
• Saturday I went down the Willoughby with John and had a few pints of Scrum Down.
• Sunday was The Bear in Twickenham for a couple of pints of Deuchars (pronounced dewk-ers) before going for a curry with Colin.
• Monday was a minor pub crawl with Colin in Richmond that included the Victoria (Youngs Ordinary), Revolution Bar (Staropramen) and the White Cross (Winter Warmer).
• Tuesday was Irish music night at the Canbury Arms with pints of Landlord, Sussex Ale and Doombar, and John and Pete (another one) for company.
• Wednesday was the England v Switzerland game so it was back to the Willoughby with Pete for a couple of pints of Sweet Chariot before heading to the Cardinal for a night-cap of Hobgoblin and London Pride.
• Thursday was another minor crawl in Richmond with Colin and John (a different one) that took in Molly Malones (Guiness), Triple Crown (St Davids) and the Sun (Swing Low).
• Friday lunchtime was a pint at the Dysart Arms (Broadside) and then on to The Cardinal for lunch and a pint of Youngs Ordinary, which is where this story started a week ago.

It strikes me that that is a wide range of beers for pubs in the same area which shows just how well guest beers are doing these days. Several of the beers have a rugby theme so I guess that they are timed for the Six Nations championship and will not be around that long.

This evening I'm off to The Albert ...

The Naked Ladies of Twickenham

Putting the words "Naked Ladies" in the title will probably up the hit rate but that's not my fault, it really is the name of the beer that I was drinking last night.

I was in the Canbury Arms for the Irish music (first Tuesday of the month) and, as usual, went for a beer that I had not had before. The aforementioned Naked Ladies comes from the local Twickenham Fine Ales, which was another reason for trying it.

The brewery says this of the beer, "Outstanding hoppy beer using First Gold and Styrian Goldings for full-flavoured satisfaction. Good body and luscious aroma. Inspired by the statues of water nymphs in York House gardens in Twickenham, known locally as the Naked Ladies."

Or you could just say that it's rather like Fuller's Discovery, which is no bad thing.

Canbury Arms

Obviously I cannot mention all the pubs that I go to, otherwise I'll be writing non-stop, but there are a few that are worth a mention, and the Canbury Arms in Kingston upon Thames is one of them.

There are several things that I like about the pub; it's bright and clean (e.g. no smoking indoors and no piped music), it has a great range of beers (Old Hookey, Sussex, Landlord, Doomsomethingorother, etc.) and a mixed clientelle (e.g. women!). It also does pretty good food though, as a vegetarian, the choice is somewhat limited.

The main groups that go there are couples having a special meal, middle-aged women having a girls night out and students beging students outside where smoking is allowed. If this sounds like you then you should give it a try.

See beer in the evening for more info.