England fail, Barton by rail

En-ger-land, En-ger-land, En-ger-land,
En-ger-land, En-ger-land, En-ger-laaand,
Ooops. Somebody should have told those dasterdly South Americans about spoiling the party. We did our bit on Thursday, and walked to The Parity to support the traditional English sport (crying into an empying beer glass) I won't bang on about the game, but I will say that one or two nailed on places need attending to. You cannot buy experience but it usually come with aged legs. Anyway, the Beer.

We started on Titanic "English Glory" an OK beer and punching its weight at 4.5% but the taste was somewhat spoiled by it being served to us in plastic "glasses". Typical H & S rules, I bet they don't serve champagne in plastic at the Crime Commissioners shindigs!! 3 pints of this and a noticable lack of clarity and it was time to move on. The match and the hopes of millions of English were over. Next stop was The Yarborough. A bit quiet obviously, but still a few fans in. So crestfallen, sullen but not in total despair (If Italy beat Costa Rica & Uraguay and ............well you do the maths!) What to choose? Well I asked for a Brazilian and, no, my trousers were not removed and a new downstairs hair style administered. I was given a pint of Bodebrown Brazilian Pale Ale, brewed in conjunction with Adnams by two brewers who run a brewery and brewing school in Curitiba near Sao Paulo. An American style Pale Ale & at 5% one to be respected. Lovely pint with a long finish and very moreish. This was followed by

Batemans "England Expects" A bitter typical in quality to many from this Wainfleet Brewer. Night over, tournament hanging by a thread and The Other Half's Birthday the following day. Can a man take any more?

AND SO A NEW DAWN BREAKS. We decided to take the train to Barton Upon Humber, a place we have visited a couple of times already this year. A good selection of real ale pubs in a smallish town makes it a good day out. We started out with a walk to the Humber Bridge viewing area and, sometimes, you don't realise what a fantastic construction this is. Why do we not promote our industrial and constuction successes with any vigour? When abroad, we will flock to all those advertised piles of concrtete and stone and ooh and aah at them, but ignore those on our own doorstep.After our little walk, we stopped off at The Sloop Inn, 5 minutes from the train station. Always a good selection of Tom Woods' beers are available here but I opted for a beer called, I think, "Doctor Quaff", a good beer with a smooth taste and hoppy finish.

We then wandered up to The George Hotel. Here where we had "We've Blown it". A very familiar taste, we thought. Hmmm interesting. After enjoying our drinks in the sunshine, we popped across to the Wheatsheaf. Lo and behold, the same beer was on here! After asking about it, it was revealed that the Brewers, Bateman's, had supplied the beer with two clips. The other was "England Expects" Good marketing. T'other arf opted for Brain's Summers day. Both beers were excellent.After a quick one in The Old Mill, Marston's Bitter, We popped back to The George for another pint, this time Bombardier, and the best Fish and Chips we have had in ages.On the way back to the station we tried a pint in The White Swan. A good pub with several characters and good beer. A visit to the on-site curiosity shop is an experience. Unfortunately I can't remember what I had but it was in good condition, as always, and  worth it.
All in all, Barton has quite a lot to offer.There are also real ales on at "The Volunteers","Queens" "Coach and Horses" and a few more. Well.no more birthdays or World Cup matches to celebrate.Next stop Norfolk in July.I can't wait.
Cheers and keep it real.