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Happy Hours – A Great British Pub Diary

by Mike Critchley
FOR more than 40 years Mike Critchley has been on a journey through the character-packed pubs of the British Isles. From spit-and-sawdust backstreet boozers through to majestic Victorian drinking palaces, he has chronicled every new visit in a little blue notebook kept since he turned 18.
In Happy Hours, Mike recalls many of the highlights – and a few low points – of that ‘never-ending pub crawl’ in a book that charts significant changes to the way we drink and world about us.
There is a pub for all seasons, with potted histories of Britain’s finest pub buildings, observations of legendary landlords and landladies, recollections of colourful elbow-bending customers and an appreciation of good beer.
Happy Hours weaves in many personal anecdotes and aspects of social history and is delivered with a large dollop of northern humour. It is laced with the wit and wisdom of many of the folk Mike has had the crack with in bar rooms over the past five decades.
At a time when we are losing pubs hand over fist due to a multitude of reasons, this book is a timely reminder of the importance of these wonderful institutions and community hubs, and the role they play in society.
* Mike Critchley has been a journalist on the St Helens Star for the past 25 years, having previously worked for Birmingham MetroNews and the Birmingham Mail. Happy Hours is Mike’s fifth book, the four prior ones about his beloved rugby league.

Price: £14.99

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P*** Up In A Brewery

Adventures on the Ale – by Tony Thomson

When Tony Thomson decided it was time for York to have its own beer again, he had more than a brewery in mind…

As well as creating a superior beer, the pioneering independent brewer wanted to offer the Minster city’s visitors an alternative attraction – a showpiece brewery with a visitor centre, bar and club.

P**s Up in a Brewery records every step along the way to building a successful business – from the birth of an idea to the search for funding; from hauling a second-hand kit across the Pennines to the improbable task of finding premises within the city walls; from tackling the stern resistance of York landlords to the moment when the new kid on the block captures the industry’s most coveted awards.

Alongside the drama is the humour associated with building a business on the simple premise that you like its product. The book’s cast of colourful characters include Tony’s partner in crime, one-time burger-flipper Smithy, and the softly-spoken barman who lets his wooden club do the talking for him. With secretive brewers, a couple of ghosts and a lass on a hen party determined to down a yard of ale also in the mix, you have something between a soap opera, a business plan and a sitcom.

Price: £13.99

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The Great Leeds Pub Crawl

By Simon Jenkins

Join the Yorkshire Evening Post’s award-winning beer writer Simon Jenkins on a criss-cross pub crawl through Leeds, calling in at dozens of popular watering holes.

Along with descriptions of the beers, pubs and adventures the author encounters along the way, The Great Leeds Pub Crawl also contains fascinating asides about local history, the story of brewing in the city, and it suggests plenty of alternative routes to keep even the thirstiest pub-crawler satisfied.

Comprehensively revised and updated, with even more magnificent colour photos, this is a book that no visitor to – or resident of – Yorkshire’s biggest city can afford to be without. An ale trail with a difference, it looks at no less than 63 pubs in detail and many more in passing.

This is an entertaining, informative and at times surprising tour of one of Britain’s most vibrant metropolises. Whether you are after a quiet pint, a lively night out, a chat with friendly locals, the odd cocktail or a quality bite to eat, The Great Leeds Pub Crawl is the guide for you.

 

Price: £13.99

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