BRAPA in .... EAST-BOURNE UNDER A PUB SIGN (Part 2/2)

Greetings! And if you read my previous blog, you'll know that I'm down in Eastbourne, or Ocklynge to be precise, where I'd just enjoyed the Hurst Arms with Daddy BRAPA and Colin the Cauliflower.

A short trek takes us to the area known as Eastbourne Old Town, and by gum, that sun was getting flippin' excruciating.

Little did we know at the time, but the pub day had already peaked as we stepped up to #2, declaring that it looks like EXACTLY the type of pub you want to see .....

So what a crashing disappointment to find the Crown, Eastbourne (2519 / 4413) the polar opposite indoors (although I wish the temperatures were a bit more polar, who leaves the windows open on a day like today?) Whoever gutted the original interior of this probably one time classic and replaced it with a cheap and nasty grey chrome soulless divey / bland dining hybrid obviously knows sweet Fanny Adams about what people want from pubs. No wonder it is the emptiest of the day. The barmaid is useless too, grunting as Dad tries an enthusiastic Billy Joel comment, but to be fair, she's probably far too young. 'Only the good die young' apparently, I'm not so sure. Making eye contact with the people you are serving rather than being ignorant and talking to your three scroaty barfly mates around the corner surely isn't too much to expect customer service wise is it? It is rudeness I can't stand. Our saviour is Burning Sky Plateau, the perfect ale on a day where Harvey's always seemed too stodgy. 3.5%, cool and highly drinkable. So the 'pub' DOES deserve to be in the GBG, gah! And Daddy B's genius crisp round further raises my spirits. As Whitney warbles "didn't we almost have it all?" I wondered if she too had found decent ale and top crisps here on her world tour of Eastbourne back in '89?

Brave face please Colin

But luckily, a return to form was just around the corner, quite literally, in the shape of today's third pub, also in Eastbourne's Old Town.

A return to Harvey's too, dating from AD 1180 and if there'd been a GBG back in those days, you can bet that the Lamb Inn, Eastbourne (2520 / 4414) would've been in it, and that Henry II supped a flaggon of Ye Olde Sussex Best whilst writing the foreword. The pub has bags of atmosphere, full of creaking ancient warped beams, and the barmaid was almost as perky as our Hurst Arms heroine. She even made the exact same joke about Harvey's Beer of the Month 'Lewes Castle Brown Ale' confusing everyone by sounding like Newcastle Brown Ale. Well, this time I had to have to, a bit of a heavy beast at 4.8% but well kept. Daddy B, one of the more cerebral pub observers out there, returns from a trip to the loo where he's spied an indoor well. And he's noticed someone has rubbed out a '1' off the blackboard because 18 metres equates to 59 feet 21/32 inches, NOT 8 metres. Top detective work Daddy BRAPA. We tell the guv'nor on the way out, because he's a chirpy chap with an open face, and he's both bewildered and grateful in equal measures.

We manage to pick up a bus to take us station-wards because 'extreme heat n all that' where we find today's 4th pub, and last in Eastbourne (I'll leave the Ship Inn down in Meads for another trip) handily situated across the road .......

Gotta love a long-standing GBG 'Spoons which is proud about the fact, so hats off (literally, sorry I've used that joke already this week) as we enter the London & County, Eastbourne (2521 / 4416). The barman must be new because he's utterly hopeless, but he means well so we just smile and try and be patient. Asking him to apply a Mudgie voucher to my pint obviously throws him into even more of a spin, but saving 50p is worth a bit more agony. The air conditioning is most welcome after a few overly warm pubs. A 5.2% Paleface is an unwise but appetising choice at this stage, Dad hits the Blue Moon, wot a lad! We take our drinks upstairs, thus confirming this 'Spoons status as a Lloyds No.1 bar, dress code, poppers and DJ's in the evening, whoop whoop poop. Incredibly, there is not one seat available at first so we perch by the lager fonts and try and look lovely, unlike the carpet which is a drab 6.5/10. I was flagging already, NOT good news with two more ticks required ....

And I'll tell you about those other two ticks, and something woeful even by Lincs standards next time out, that'll either be tomorrow if I have the energy or more likely Sunday.

The toe I don't like to talk about is making good progress and although I cancelled my York night out to be on the safe side, I think I'll be fit for Saturday. The bruising has spread, only my walking boots fit, but I took my rubbish down earlier and my limp was only minor.

Oh yeah, so Eastbourne. A pub town to rival Hastings? Not even close, despite a couple of decent efforts.

Thanks for listening, thanks for understanding, Si