Aug 17, 2022
New Review - The Piccadilly 🍺🍺🍺
A pleasant little café bar that despite a fairly standard range of keg only beer is an oasis of calm away from the busy high street.
Read the full review here.
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New Review - The Piccadilly 🍺🍺🍺
A pleasant little café bar that despite a fairly standard range of keg only beer is an oasis of calm away from the busy high street.
Read the full review here.
Review - The Market Cat *****
New review now online, here’s the summary:
The latest new pub to open in York in the winter of 2018/2019 was The Market Cat; a joint venture by the ever so successful Pivovar Group and one of the original craft beer scene pioneers Thornbridge Brewery. They took a nasty old 1970s building on the edge of the Shambles Market and miraculously turned it into three floors of deliciously traditional pub. The exterior is relatively unchanged but it’s the amazing transformation within that teases you with glimpses through the large windows on each level. The ground floor screams of tradition with wood panelling, comfy seating and private booths surrounding a large central bar that is just jam-packed with pumps and fonts, 8 cask and 12 keg when we visited. They’re mostly beers from Thornbridge but still a superb range of styles, although the prices were a little above average. The real focal point is to the far side of the bar though, a wonderful arched font adorned with brass cats. You’d be hard placed to not think that the Market Cat has been in York for years thanks to the beautiful attention to detail with the décor, but The Cat has much more to divulge, two more floors in fact.
Following the central staircase, which is a little bit narrow but features a stunning back wall created from slices of old casks and a gleaming brass Thornbridge logo, we reach the first floor which has a more contemporary look. With hop garlands hanging from the ceiling it has the feel of a slightly vintage garden room or an indoor beer garden. It’s a long open space making the most of the light from the huge windows and the seating is all chunky wooden garden benches. Down one side is the Pizza Kitchen, fully glazed with views of the cooks making the food. The second floor is home to the cellar which like the Kitchen below is open to viewing, an interesting concept and great to see the inner working of the pub. Up here also retains that light and airy garden room vibe but within a smaller space, there are individual booths with chandeliers and soft leather seats making for a more private experience. This is also the location for the shared toilets, fully cladded with rich dark blue panelling and vintage tiles they open out into a hallway with access to individual toilets. They are a little cosy with the sinks in each but my only real bugbear was there was far too large a mirror in the cubicle, too much of me reflected there, lol, other than that they were top notch.
To summarise, The Market Cat is another stunning addition to the York Beer scene settling into its place on Jubbergate like it’s always been there. With some stunning views across York and the Market it’s really easy to sit and settle down in one of the many cosy spots and just watch the world go by. Quality beer and a relaxed ambience certainly help and we’ll definitely be back soon, how could we not as The Market Cat joins the select few as one of our best 5/5 Pubs in York!
For further details and full scores see the main page:
https://withinthewalls.tumblr.com/marketcat
Pub Review: The Belmont Arms or The Balmoral Arms
This is a charming pub, nestled between The Pentagon and The Paragon, just off Hopechapel Hill. It is also accessible directly from Hotwells Road, via an occasional staircase between buildings and through the living rooms of the first terrace. It always comes strongly to mind at the end of the night. ‘Maybe we could have one more drink here?’ you often ask the stars. Or, ‘If only I could get there in time,’ or, ‘This is somehow the salve,’ or, ‘This pub could be the answer to the questions other pubs are asking!’
You can never remember its name.
The pub is best glimpsed from a distance, or through the mist, or viewed suddenly, hoving into view as you round a corner. Warm light, flower baskets, faint noises of music and conversation.
Inside, it is done out like an old-fashioned working men’s club with circular wooden tables and stools. The public bar calls to mind a steam-filled canteen of an industrious institution.
The atmosphere is very much ‘2010’ in that the past selves you glimpse in the mirror (which has the word ‘Sorrow’ written across it in light blue gothic lettering) most resemble your own selves from that mythic year.
Outside, of course, the autumn leaves are being blown about in the late afternoon sunshine, as you sit at a table worrying about money. In the morning, the sky is such a bright white that it hurts your teeth, and you can sit and read the newspapers (curious wooden batons in their spines) as waistcoated staff bring you coffee and beer.
Very quiet stag parties visit The Belmont Arms or The Balmoral Arms; you can normally find them in the reading room, in a fug of pipe smoke. The parties begin when the pub(s) open at 9am and morning pints are delivered. The whole business of drinking is taken seriously, as if it were the furthering of some academic enquiry – interrupted though the day is by jigs and reels. Each drink is carefully recorded (who drank what and why) and is covered by the media afterwards in forensic detail. Songs will be written and poems solemnly spoken in the months following a stag party. Gradually those immaculate pints will fade into myth.
Beneath the pub takes you beyond to the other pub, interlinked like cells – the only way to get there is by going round in circles. In the mirror pub, or other pub (Belmont becoming Balmoral becoming Belmont), very few people have heard of the other, ‘other’ pub. When you ask how to get to the Balmoral from the Belmont (or vice versa), you’re greeted with confused glances and long pauses into which you repeat your question, thinking incorrectly that no one has heard you (you do tend to mumble).
The subterranean bar, with candles in wine bottles and an overpowering smell of garlic frying in butter, is peopled by transparent figures, best glimpsed from the corner(s) of your eye(s). When we, or I, visited the underground bar a leaving party for the beloved landlady Danielle (Margaret?) was in full swing, with bunting hanging from the ceiling and a banner reading, ‘The prick of the spindle gives you the keys to dreamland,’ floating beneath a vague clock.
The constant roar of the tide tends to drown out all other noises.
As you sip Guinness and whisky in a pub that all of a sudden resembles The Inn on the Green in Horfield or The Alma Tavern in Clifton – although the crack in the ceiling is the same as the one above your bed at home – you become the thrush that crossed the threshold, you are the girl who twisted her ankle on the leaf-strewn football field, you are the house breathing, the face of the ocean, you are the black wind, you are the poacher in the October wood. Dusk!
Probably one of the more nebulous real ale pubs out there, but definitely worth a visit. The opening hours are between 2004-2011.
Monday night is burger night.
Hocus Pocus 1993 film
Here we are back in the Totally Gnarly 90's! when I was just a wee lad.
Presenting that cliché of the 90's moving to a new town usually either the south, mid-west or New England, in this case New England.
(btw what's Bette Midler doing on the poster, turning Luke Skywalker to the darkside?)
My Observations
1. The townsfolk here really believe in witches, I mean, really truly believe. Is this some kind of creationist school but instead of not teaching evolution they won't teach the truth about the Salem witch trials! The teacher even berates our hero Max calling him a hippy essentially for being from somewhere different. Later on they'll burn him in a giant wicker man no doubt. Later on we find out that the young sister learned about witches at her school (elementary school by the way), then that the love interest knows in-depth about these witches, and so did her mother. Do they learn, you know maths, English or science here, or is every day an introduction to witches.
2. Why do people move from vibrant economic cities to these dead-end out of state, hick towns in the middle of nowhere that seem to have no economy at all.
Southern California
Hocus Pocus town (It's called Marblehead in real life, also many interiors in Hollywood, so Max's parents didn't really move far)
3. Max is a weirdo, he gives his number to 'love interest' Alison in class, in front of all his class mates! Later he's humping his pillow in a really creepy manner, his sister later explains to Alison that Max has been talking about her Yabbos (breasts I hope), In front of his little sister, whoa disgusting!. And don't worry Thora Birch your um -yabbos- will come in, in a big way.
4. The witches, I think Bette Midler and Kathy Najimy aren't too scary but that blonde one was a bit too much for young kids, I don't know if the actress did much after this film, I read online that she moved to the city to join a more evil coven.
The blinis of Satan ladies?
5. A talking cat!? 3 years before Melissa Joan Heart was treating us to some of her own hocus pocus, we have a talking black cat here too in Salem. Thackery Binx
Shortly before being crushed, and re-inflating euuughhh. Thackery is thankfully replaced with a model made of paper meow-che!
6. Mistaking some asshole for Satan, how gullible are these witches! Everyone goes crazy for Halloween in this place, and I mean crazy. Everyone's in costume and in character as that costume.
Send this town some of these.
7. They make a big deal out of Max being a virgin for some kind of weird fundamentalist town that believes witches should be hanged and also virgins are what's needed to let the witches return, I would of thought make-out point would be a mandatory lesson. Also I never got why the devil wants virgins, I would of thought he would want biker sluts or something, maybe he doesn't have the cred yet to join a gang.
8. The bullies. Max is confronted by these two bullies who look both kinda simple and not at all menacing and somehow they steal his trainers, how much of a pussy is this kid, and he was on bike! Just pedal away Christ!
What's to like?
A lot actually, the witches interacting with some of our modern (in the 90's) technology. All the witches are actually good actors, the sets whilst a bit wobbly convey a decent look, and it really looks like autumn and that lovely time of year when it starts being bonfire weather. It has some good moments, and I imagine kids would enjoy it, even though I'm of the generation to have seen it as a kid I didn't manage it. It is a little lengthy and needs more of a coherent plot. I'd also like to point out that during the colonial period, witches were killed, often in unfair trials, using cruel methods of execution. There's got to be a better way of making this kind of movie without making things sound that those people died with any kind of justification for their execution.
Ramona and Beezus 2010
Watching This on Film 4, let me tell you afternoons on here are a goldmine.
1. We're introduced to Ramona early on and a glimpse of her 'imagination' which is some kind of phony animation, I'm really hoping this isn't regular thing in this movie because it's really obnoxious. And this kid needs some ritalin or gin. Actually everyone seems down on Ramona when she's not that bad, she seems pretty normal really, you know she's not on drugs, part of a gang or packin' so whats the problem here. Joey King has stated she's part Jewish and part christian by the way, whatever that means. I myself and part Swahili and part polyester wash in warm water. I must admit her acting isn't bad, I've seen worse readings from a kid in movies, and actually I buy that she's real person and not a child actor barely making it ('are you an angel?' comes to mind here).
2. Beezus, come on your nearly a grown woman give Ramona a break and go out or something. Why does Beezus try and frighten Ramona when she gets her own room? I think she should definitely encourage the removal of Ramona from her room at this age. Beezus also complains that she is too popular at school, and how 'no one' knows the real her, really? boo-hoo! it's a hard life.
'no one know's the real me at school' er Beezus if you turn the mirror round you can see the real you
3. Why do the girls share a room, that house looks huge? I mean even before the renovation big enough to have 4 rooms for parents and 3 girls to have their own space, It might be warping Ramona.
4. Dad's Job: One evening dad comes home and has a job the next day he comes home and has no job, as of that night. No notice period, no warning, he just comes in with some story about layoffs and buy-outs, yeah whatever!? I think he was harassing the female staff or peeing in the coffee pot. We also learn that before he made the mistake of breeding, he was a vice-president (not of the USA we assume). Somehow considering this is seen as a good job, and one where you might actually have the time and finances to start a family he is now unemployed, unemployable and is reduced to looking for jobs like carpenter and x-ray technician. How shady is this guy?
Lets look at the evidence, he's technical, possibly in medical instruments, artistic and now unemployed after a very short notice period, he's also kinda unhinged and has a fair few suits and a lives in a retirement town. Conclusion: He was vice president of funeral home, which he trained at and was dismissed in some odd circumstances. I imagine Ramona and Beezus mother has to take some ice baths.
As Vice-President of allied funeral homes
5. Beezus 'Who could ever love a girl called Beezus?'
Ramona 'Jesus' .
In all honesty, not a joke here, first time I heard this I laughed out loud, It really is funny, and Joey King delivers it really well.
6. Aunt B, you selfish bitch. Ramona's worried about having to move and being homeless and all you can think about is your ex-boyfriend from years ago. There can't be a bigger stress than this to a young child, apart from losing a parent and all Aunt B can yap on about is not talking to someone, who gives a crap.
7. Hobart, get a Job you bum: The son of the neighbor and the guy Aunt B is soo eager to avoid that it's all she thinks of. Obviously Hobart's spent many years since school between jobs (namely between paper boy and retirement). He pays Ramona a hundred dollars (of what I imagine is his mothers bingo money) to wash his car, we see Ramona doing this in a rain mac, considering Hobart paid a hundred dollars for this and Aunt B's company we can assume this was not the outfit he had in mind.
Later we find out that Hobart has a job offer in Alaska (I'm not sure as what, so I'm gonna go with seal-clubber) and and want's Aunt B to go with him. Alaska is, miles away from anywhere, huge, and not Hawaii and with risk of Chinese invasions.
Here we see Hobart some time later in Alaska.
8. Mrs Sandra Oh. It could be that she's just seen as a bad teacher by Ramona at the beginning, but we then see an example of her teaching later on at a sort of 'show and tell'. One child is telling a story about her tiara and being a princess in a peanut butter advertisement, completely believable, yeah. Ramona's story is that workmen in safety helmets are digging in their yard, and Mrs Oh's response is to tell her that it was unbelievable and it is not the time to entertain the class. Then why have the class be subjected to this at all, why not just have them talk to you alone or, as this is a spelling exercise, just spell the damn word. We later see another fine example of education with the music teacher ignoring the fact that Ramona is looking like she's coming down with the rage virus from 28 days later and throws up and the hippy-ass music stereotype looks away in disgust as if she just spewed up ectoplasm, god kids are sick all the time, it's not that bad fella, grow some balls pal.
9. Icky-picky dies. Whoa harsh! It is just after a fire so it probably was due to smoke inhalation. The girls worry that this will stress their mother out, but hey money's tight and Hobart's good at digging holes, (and definitely) has the time so it's one less mouth to feed, and another way for Hobart to earn his crystal meth money so I would think Mum would be fine with icky-picky's passing away. Instead Ramona and Beezus bury him god knows where alone, and then tell the parents anyway.
Icky Picky your with the angels now.
What's to like?
Again, a lot to be fair, to make a film that takes a slice of a few months in a families life and concentrate on that is interesting, its certainly not a bad film, it keeps you interested without being 'EPIC' or having fantasy elements. It's not pushing anything down our throats, neither is it hocking an ideal. It's not Mrs Doubtfire and its not It's a Wonderful Life either. It could be more some ways, it could stick with a child or teens worries about what the families going through and their own interpretation of family events. Or the family reacting to what the children do. But not every film has to be like a massive conclusion, just a slice of family life and what happens in a few months. And it is fairly endearing in it's way.
I do believe the family did have conclusions though.
Hobart is eventually killed by polar bears. Aunt B Joins the League of Extraordinary hockey moms and stands for governor of Alaska.
Dad is forced to leave his teaching job when his history comes to light and is forced to flee into the sewers where he starts his own culture of chuds. Mom eventually discovers her role was so small that she's fading away but realizes that she shouldn't of kissed Marty Mcfly at the prom, and married Biff.
Beezus actually does marry Jesus by joining the Big Sisters Of The Poor, the bigger sisters to the Little Sisters of the Poor.
Ramona now all alone eventually befriends a french assassin and trains to become a killer for hire, but her career is cut short after being hired by Fat Tony to kill Queen Amidala.
Mrs Sandra Oh eventually becomes frozen solid and all that look upon her are turned to stone.
The Swan with Two Nicks
Sort of accidentally, I went to the Swan with Two Nicks in Little Bollington the other day. Despite it being ridiculously close to where I've lived the overwhelming majority of my life, I can't remember going before (I'm assured by my mother I went over a decade ago, so I guess I have, but that's neither here nor there in terms of my opinion). The reason for that is simple. It's across the river. It's rural. For most of my existence I lived on one side of the River Bollin, the Greater Manchester side. And as far as deciding where to go out, it might as well be an electric fence. The countryside is emphatically far away, in spite of all physical evidence to the contrary. But I went, so here's a review.
Far From The Madding Crowd
When you're about to enter, Far from the Madding Crowd really makes you question your decision to choose it. It's a tad unfair as it's not the pub's fault, but as it is, there's very little way to pretend you're not sandwiched between the back of Tesco and the entrance to Debenhams no one ever uses.
Inside's not too much better. Don't get me wrong, it's a perfectly acceptable interior, but it's just one large room with nothing to break up the tables. There's also two raised sections, one with long bench seating and one with sofas. Sofas in a pub annoy me, as do large areas with nothing to break up the tables, both for the same reason. When I go to a pub i generally expect to feel, if I choose to sit at a table vs sitting at the bar or standing, that I'm getting some reasonable minimum level of privacy. It would annoy me if I felt at a pub anything I said would be audible to anyone else except the people I'm with. Sofas destroy this as they intrinsically invite you to sit back, pulling you away from the person you're talking to. Tables surrounded by other tables as opposed to against a wall or just generally something to break them all up, make me feel less like the table is a private space, though I'm willing to accept this as entirely irrational.
All that said, the Madding (as I'm led to believe it's cool to call it), has things going for it in practically every other area. Starting where it's important, the beer. The website is down right now so I can't check, but the Madding has won been voted CAMRA's Oxford City pub of the year three times (it was ineligible this year due to a change of manager); and it really, really deserves it. They've got the usual Oxford standbys on tap, but more importantly, also a wide selection of guest ales. Regrettably I only had time for one, which was a Black IPA (something I can't remember coming across before, which shows their commitment to offering different styles), but it was both different and excellent. If you've got an afternoon and a mood for several different beers, off the top of my head only the Turf can match the Madding for selection. They're reasonably priced, not ridiculously cheap (though I've since learnt that they apparently have a house special at £2.90 a pint), but nothing unreasonable.
So, atmosphere, it's a tricky one. First of all, let me put out there, if there is any fault of the atmosphere, it's not down to the staff. The reason I discovered pub in the first place was that I needed a pub I could take a dog to (oh god just writing that made me feel like I should just put my flat cap on, get a job at the docks and be done with it). Not only did they advertise you can take a dog there, they even filled up the water bowl I brought (with water I might add). Admittedly, not doing the latter after doing the former would be a very odd move, but still, it's nice.
The Madding has got a tendency to be an order of magnitude quieter than every other pub in the city centre. This can work against it, go in the middle of a weekday and you'll no doubt feel a little self conscious, more so as there aren't side rooms to hide from the bar staff in. But this was a busy Saturday afternoon and the spaciousness was what had sent us there in the first place. When every other pub in the city centre is bursting at the seams the Madding is at its best, busy but not crowded (it did get crowded at one point, but this seemed to be just one group, so I'm prepared to write this off). That said I haven't tried it at 9 on a Saturday, so it may not quite be "go whenever you want". I've been told their weekly Sunday quiz often fills the pub and people have to be turned away.
The place has no tourist vibe (unsurprising, as the road it's down has absolutely nothing to make you feel inclined to explore it). In fact, other than the fact I'm reasonably sure none of them are tourists, the clientèle exhibit no vibe at all. It's a pub for all types. There's free WiFi so it attracts some who are doing work alone, but there was also what I'm reasonably sure was a stag do there.
The food, okay, this is where it falls down. There were two orders of food at our table, garlic bread and chips (the menu was long and probably there exist far better options, but I can only give my opinion on what happened). The chips were standard, of a perfectly nice quality (then again, if you're failing with chips you really shouldn't be serving food at your pub), but the garlic bread seemed to be just garlic on flat bread. As in literally, there was just garlic on the bread, as opposed to any attempt to make the garlic part of the bread. I think of food at Wetherspoons as a sophisticated meal, but even I know that this just isn't how pub food should work. The food used to be of a questionable quality, but they've just appointed a new chef according to their website, so I'm going to say the jury's out for now. It's not food to be avoided if you're there anyway, but nor have they given me particular reason to go out of my way to go there for a meal.
Overall you get the impression (food aside), that the managers of the Madding really know how a pub should work. I can't disagree with much they've done (free WiFi, dogs and varied beer are essentially a holy trinity), but the premises really do work against it. It ends up being a place without character. It's a very nice establishment at which to purchase and drink beer, but just doesn't feel like a proper pub. I'll almost certainly end up going again, either just to sample the great selection, or because when everywhere else in the city centre is packed you can get a seat. But with the number of pubs in Oxford that are just better at being pubs, it's rarely going to be first choice.
Keeping Up to Date
As you all may be aware we like to keep things nice and fresh at Within the Walls, revisiting pubs after refurbishments or management changes and generally working our way round the centre of York in an attempt to keep all our reviews updated. In this vein we've now added a review date to all reviews so if we haven't yet managed to revisit or you think our review is a bit out of touch then we shall endeavour to revisit the venue when we get a chance.
Some people ask what we will do once all the pubs are reviewed, and of course the simple answer is, they never will... there'll always be revisits due in the time it takes us to cover all the 80+ pubs and bars. I can think of worse ways to spend our free time, haha.