I went for a very pleasant couple of pints to the Red Rooster at Brookfoot last night. Despite the fact that it is only a few miles away from where I live and it being a noted Real Ale pub, it was my first visit to what is a rather pleasant and convivial pub. Looking through my collection of old postcards of Brighouse this morning I came across this one of Brookfoot and, unless I am very much mistaken, that is the Red Rooster on the extreme left hand edge of the picture. When the picture was taken it was known as "The Wharf" and it was a popular haunt of workers on the Calder and Hebble Navigation which can be seen at the bottom of the short wooded slope.
As with all postally used cards it is full of unanswered questions. It would appear to have been sent in March 1912 to a Miss Young who was living in Throgmorton Avenue, London, in the very shadow of the old London Wall. The message was as follows: Dear Annie, I shall not be at Fenchurch St today. Annie does not want to miss Church during Lent. She goes every Thursday evening. Shall see you one evening in the week. Love to all.
The name of the writer is either Minnie or perhaps Mimi and it is impossible to make out the place where the card was posted. It is, however, unlikely to have been Brighouse: it seems like a casual arrangement to meet up rather than the prelude to what would have been a lengthy journey indeed. Maybe the sender had bought the card whilst enjoying a couple of pints in the Wharf during a tour of Real Ale pubs in West Yorkshire. But there again, maybe not.
How fun! It's great to catch up with you here!
ReplyDeleteAs a wine and spirits man, I've often wondered whether real ale is actually any better than the mass produced stuff. OK, I know about taste, but that's down to the individual brewery and something the mass brewers could feasibly reproduce if the demand was there. No real ale tastes the same, but that's down to the vast number of micro-breweries, each with it's own signature taste.
ReplyDeleteIn my experience, real means flat.
To continue - I find it all a bit bizarre and akin to the cork or screw-cap debate in the wine world, or northern hemisphere (Yorkshire merlot isn't a patch on Lancashire) vs southern hemisphere.
ReplyDeleteMethinks real ale is becoming a dogma.
Philistine! (That's Hop Head Brewery's Philistine Bitter, a refreshing golden amber ale which has been well-hopped with Chinook and Mount Hood hop varieties)
DeleteBeer snob!
DeleteIf there is such a thing....
ReplyDeleteHee hee Red Rooster in Australia is a cooked chicken chain, no beer there. The postcard does create questions .
ReplyDeleteJust had a good week in Kilburn in Yorkshire.
ReplyDeleteSo will you take a present day photo from that same vantage point? :)
ReplyDelete