West London Branch

Welcome

Welcome to the website for West London CAMRA!  This site is dedicated to West London Branch interests which right now include counting the votes for our Branch Pub of the Year, putting the finishing touches on our entries for the 2009 Good Beer Guide and surveying pubs in Belgravia, Pimlico, St James’s/Westminster and Victoria for ‘Round the Houses’, a guide to pubs in the SW1 postal district.

‘Vote early, vote often’!  This year seven pubs have been chosen from a ‘shortlist’ of 50 to put forward to Branch members to select a Pub of the Year.  All of them are winners but, sadly, only one can go forward to be judged for Regional Pub of the Year.  Send your first, second and third choices to the West London Branch Contact by email, telephone or snail mail.  You may even present them in person at one of our branch events!  Hurry, though, voting closes on Monday, 25 March 2008.  All votes must be accompanied by your CAMRA membership number. 

This year’s nominees are:

• The Antelope, Eaton Terrace, SW1
• The Coach & Horses, Bruton Street, W1
• The Harp, Chandos Place, WC2
• The Seven Stars, Carey Street, WC2
• The Star Tavern, Belgravia Mews South, SW1
• The Uxbridge Arms, Notting Hill, W8
• The Victoria, Strathearn Place, W2

Beware of Pirates!

Wise words of warning from The Hope on Tottenham Street, W1, as it opened under new ownership.  With its nautical motif, this much-loved former GBG pub provided the perfect setting to launch ‘Pirate Pubs’, a recently-formed pub group under the auspices of Enterprise Inns. 

Landlord, Phil James, who hails from Wales, is thoroughly committed to proper Real Ale, insisting upon the removal of a certain electric dispensing system.  Ales on offer at the moment consist of London Pride, Adnams Bitter and Timothy Taylor Landlord.  Watch out for beers such as Brains and Red Dragon in the coming months, with the prospect of real cider in the summertime.

Tuesday is Comedy Night.  The pub is a short walk from Goodge Street Underground Station.

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***West London CAMRA Pubs of the Year- It's a Tie!***

The Crown & Sceptre, Holland Road, W14 and the Radnor Arms, Warwick Avenue, were chosen joint Pubs of the Year by the members of West London CAMRA . For the first time ever, the vote was decided by the general branch membership rather than by committee. Votes were accepted by email, text and telephone. Both Pete Lambert (former licensee of the now closed Radnor Arms) and Dominic Walker (guv'nor at the Crown & Sceptre) are delighted with the result and so are we. Not only do we have an opportunity to thank Peter and Trudi Lambert for years of great beer, but also to put forward one of our favorite watering holes for judging in the Regional Pub of the Year Contest. Both certificates will be awarded early this summer at the Crown & Sceptre.

Thank you to all who participated.

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The BBBC

Not a new digital TV channel, but the ‘Bearded Buckingham Boozers Club’, a group of dedicated regulars at the Buckingham Arms in Westminster who have met there once every week for the last 28 years! Located in Petty France, SW1, the Buckingham Arms has never seen an edition of the Good Beer Guide where it was not listed. With passionate followers such as these, it’s easy to see why.

Kneeling down at the front – Irvin Morgan.

Centre Row: The non-bearded jug drinker (centre) – Associate Member Stephen Eglesfield, Clean-shaven landlord, Eugene McCoy (right)

Back Row: Founder Member Allan Marshall (a regular since 1969) (left), Holding pint on Irvin’s head – Simon Howlett (centre), Standing to Eugene’s right – Hugh Smith.

Eugene McCoy, landlord at this ‘no nonsense, beer-drinkers pub’ shifts no less than eight 36-gallon barrels of Young’s ‘Ordinary’ Bitter every week. That’s Five thousand pints! Any conversation about beers formerly brewed in Wandsworth naturally turns to how they measure up now they are made in Bedford by the newly-formed Wells and Youngs Brewery. When asked his opinion, Eugene said the beers are more consistent than before, in terms of both taste and dropping time. The equipment in Wandsworth was old, the beer was good but varied. Brews coming out of Bedford are ‘spot on’ every time. Eugene attributes this to the use of nearby spring water instead of Thames water.

Don’t miss St George’s Day at the Buckingham Arms on Monday, 23 April 2007. Both Bombardier and Young’s Ordinary Bitter will be on sale at the special price of £1.50 per pint. In keeping with their annual tradition, Eugene and his wife, Jan, will be selling fresh roses, with proceeds going to the MacMillan Nurses. Wear your Rose with pride on St George’s Day, and support an excellent cause!

Founder Members of the BBBC:

• Nigel Pollard – Moved to Bath
• Martyn Bramble – Moved to Reading
• Peter Roberts – deceased
• Allan Marshall - photograph

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Beer, Matt?

Throughout the year many CAMRA members inform us of pubs in their area that are crying out for more beer mats. Here are three ways we can help:

Beers with Personality’ beer mats can be ordered from gillian.dale@camra.org.uk and are perfect to support our Mild in May campaign that is coming up.

Lee Woodger (NFU Senior Campaigns Officer) says the National Farmers Union are running a campaign called Why Farming Matters and have some free beer mats to give away to pubs (see attached for design). Pubs can contact Lee direct: Lee Woodger (NFU Senior Campaigns Officer) contact details: Lee.Woodger@nfu.org.uk and tel 0247685866

Finally, pubs can request some Cyclops POS, which could include beer mats, by completing a form in the Cyclops licensee area by clicking on www.camra.org.uk/cyclops or direct link to the form - http://www.camra.org.uk/

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Online beer scoring

Having your say about which pubs are listed in the Good Beer Guide, and which ones are not, has never been easier. By now, you will have read in the current 'What's Brewing' about CAMRA's recently introduced online National Beer Scoring System (NBSS). I've tried it, it works, and I LOVE it! A hearty 'thank you' to those members who have already responded to my email plea and submitted scores already. This is very valuable information.

With over 800 real ale pubs 'on our manor' and 500 West London branch members, we never have what we consider to be enough information. Year after year, a handful of dedicated enthusiasts sacrifice their time and money sampling pint after pint under the challenging conditions of cold weather and flu season to make sure that the pubs listed in the Guide are truly worthy. The NBSS card system has made this labour of love a lot easier, but the new online system for telling us what you think of the beer you drink has the potential to make this year's decisions more democratic than ever.

Participation is easy:

1. Go to www.beerscoring.org.uk
2. Register online using your CAMRA membership number.
3. A password will be sent to you immediately

Scoring can be done instantly using the simple online form. You will be able to edit and view all of your scores. If you have a WAP enabled mobile phone or a PDA, you can even enter your scores while you are still in the pub!

Get drinking and get clicking!