rhythm and boozePassionate About Proper Pubs - Issue 14 - July/August 2012

Campaigners fighting to save

a Werrington pub from

demolition are breathing a

cautious sigh of relief

following the extension of

its lease.

The Ploughman in

Werrington Centre, which is

earmarked for demolition

under a redevelopment

scheme by the centre’s owner,

Tesco, has had its lease,

which was due to expire in

December, extended by

three years.

Despite suggestions by the

supermarket giant that a

‘family pub and restaurant’

would be built elsewhere at

the centre, there are concerns

that it would be run by a

national chain who would be

unwilling to continue the

good work of Landlords

Stuart and Andy Simmonds.

When the brothers took the

pub over in 2009 it had a poor

reputation but in a short space

of time, they cleaned it up,

began serving real ales and

put it at the heart of the

local community.

The pair were recognised

for their efforts in 2011 when

the Peterborough branch of

CAMRA made The

Ploughman its pub of the year.

Speaking following the

announcement that the lease

would be extended, ward

councillor John Fox said,

“Although this is only a stay

of execution, lets hope the

powers that be come to their

senses and realise this is an

asset that the Werrington

Centre cannot afford to lose.”

To get involved with the

campaign to save the pub

from demolition, visit

www.savetheploughman.com

EVERYLITTLEHELPS

Campaigners score partial victory in bid to save The Ploughman.

Out 23 July 2012

The Astronauts/

The DestructorsOne Wave/Schwerpunkt

Formed in Welwyn GardenCity in 1977, The Astronautscome armed with some ofthe best tunes around.

Joining The Destructors forthis split-album, they provideseven of its 23 tracks.

“The Astronauts are one of those bands for

whom the phrases 'criminally overlooked'

and 'cruelly underrated' were made for.”

- My Little Bubble

“Proper punk for proper punks is the best

way to describe what The Destructors are

all about!”

- Mass Movement Magazine

BUY ONLINE or as a DOWNLOADBY MAIL ORDER FROM METALONROCK.TVOR AS A DOWNLOAD FROM iTUNES/7DIGITAL

Ready for blast off?

England may be out of the

Euros but, writes Jamie

Jones, they aren’t as

important as Posh.

I think even the fans neededsome time away from thehurly burly of the season torecharge the batteries, butsuddenly it feels an awfullylong time until the seasonstarts on 18 August.

This will be another hugeseason for PUFC. Let’s notforget that no Posh side hasever finished outside of therelegation zone in theirsecond season at this level. Ithink that our current side,with the additions that arecurrently being added willhave enough to finish lowermid-table. Now, I have beenaccused by some of lackingambition by stating that sucha league position would be anachievement, but if we do stayup again, for me it will be a

massive relief.

Players come, players gobut the key this season will beFerguson (and Russell), whowill need all their skills andknowledge to plot a path toChampionship safety. Wehave a tough but exciting start by going to the ‘SoldOur Soul’ stadium to faceLeicester City. I for one can’twait to get there, and showthem that we are PeterboroughUnited and I fancy us to get atleast a point.

The sides coming downfrom the Premier League areall strong and won’t be ‘doinga Pompey’ (maybe we can livein hope about Kentucky FriedBlackburn). The sides comingup from League One all lookstrong, but then promotedsides always do. For me, theweakest of the lot are our dearold friends the ‘Believers’of Huddersfield. I will state

here and now that they willfinish in the bottom three,amid much wailing and gnashing of mangy, twistedteeth in Yorkshire.

I will of course be writingthroughout the season, andour Posh fans podcastStanding On The Glebe willreturn from August, so Iwill leave you with mypredictions:

Posh will finish: 17th

Top Scorer: Tyrone Barnett(pictured above)

Relegated: Millwall,Huddersfield, Barnsley

Promoted: Bolton, Wolves,Middlesbrough

The Kindle edition of Jamie’s

book Ebdon To Charlery –London Road Legends is now

available for just £1 from

amazon.co.uk

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The Peterborough Festival

will be hosting Metal and

Verbal Remedies on 6 July at

Café Valise, a ‘pop-up’ café at

the Chauffeur’s Cottage at the

back of the Town Hall.

Featuring poetry and comedy,

the night, which starts at 8pm,

is free but you’ll need to book

your place by visiting

www.eventbrite.com

/event/3483835245

Over at Central Park, a

Literature Tent will feature

Superbard, Salena Godden

and Sanity Valve on 7 July

and Lucy Ayrton, Pete the

Temp, a Poetry Slam

(organised by Hammer &

Tongue) and Mark Niel on

8 July.

This year’s T. S. Eliot

Festival will be held in

Little Gidding on 7 and 8

July. Poets include Paul

Muldoon, Daljit Nagra and

Bernard O’Donoghue. Go to

www.eliotsociety.org.uk for

further information.

The John Clare Festival in

Helpston is to be held over

the weekend of 13–15 July

with the Poetry Smackdown

at Torpel Manor Field on the

Friday night with other events

over the weekend, including a

performance by local folkies

Pennyless and talks by Arthur

Pedlar and Carry Ackroyd.

There’s still time to enter

this year’s John Clare Poetry

Competition, the theme for

which is ‘winning’ and the

deadline is 31 July. I can

vouch that this can be an

excellent opportunity for

any writer. For an entry form,

visit www.clarecottage.org

Pint of Poetry, Dash of

Drama will be performing in

the Literature Tent at Central

Park on 7 and 8 July from

Midday. Then they’ll be

having their regular nights

at Charter’s on 11 July and

8 August (for the sixth

anniversary celebrations, so

expect cake and party hats).

If you want to read, it is best

to get there about 8pm as it

can get quite busy, and the

entertainment starts around

8.30pm. Stamford now has its

own Pint of Poetry night, on

the last Wednesday of the

month (25 July and 29

August) at 8pm in the Cellar

Bar at the Arts Centre on St.

Mary’s Street.

Stuart Orme will be

launching his book Haunted

Peterborough at Waterstones

on Bridge Street on 7 July.

If you know anything of my

seemingly irresolvable dispute

you’ll understand my interest

in this.

As part of the Oundle

International Festival, the

Yarrow Gallery in Glapthorn

Road is hosting a talk on

John Clare’s poetry and music

on 19 July at 2pm. This is

followed by a coach trip to

the John Clare Cottage where

there’ll be tea, cake and a

fiddle player performing some

of the tunes Clare collected.

The coach is due back to

Oundle around 5pm. Tickets

are £12.50 for the whole

event and £3 for just the talk

at the Gallery. To book ring

(01832) 274734 or go to

www.oundlefestival.org.uk

For this issue’s Local Hero

I’m going for someone a little

bit different, but still a skilled

wordsmith; the rapper Maxim

Reality of The Prodigy. Born

Keith Palmer, Maxim went to

Jack Hunt School, learning

his craft alongside his brother,

Hitman. I remember him from

the Public Enemy gig at the

Wirrina and through

performances in the city by

professional acts and the

success of local talent like

Maxim, we have some very

adept folks (Locality Crew,

Launchpad Records, etc) on

the local scene.

Cardinal Cox is an

enthusiastic amateur drinker

and through his role as Poet-

in-Residence of St. John’s

Church, Cathedral Square

recently appeared on BBC

Radio Cambridgeshire.

Pub Scrawlby C

ard

ina

l C

ox

Singer, writer and poet Salena

Godden performs at Central

Park on 7 July.

Running between 21 and 25

August, the Peterborough

Beer Festival is the largest

such event outside of London.

In addition to more than 350

cask ales, not forgetting wine,

cider, perry and bottled beers,

are food stalls, trade stands

and a packed programme of

live entertainment.

Who to watch…

From tribute band The Fab

Beatles to the free jazz and

classical baroque of Kerry

Divine with Kasandra’s Magic

Pylon Band, there really is

something for everyone. For

my money, the band of the

festival has to be The Indigo

Kings (theindigokings.co.uk)

who play at approximately

8pm on Friday evening.

Mixing blues and jazz with

vintage pop, their sound is

reminiscent of a halfway

house between Paloma Faith

and Saint Etienne, and their

album Against a Brick Wall

comes highly recommended.

…what to wet your whistle

with…

One brewery that likes to

make a noise at the Beer

Festival is Oakham Ales. Last

year its staff dressed as

Native Americans to launch

new beer Dreamcatcher, while

2009 saw them in Egyptian

costumes to herald the arrival

of Akhenaten.

But one brewer who prefers

to let his beers do the talking

is Duncan Vessey of Castor

Ales. Over the last few

years, the microbrewery has

produced locally themed ales

including Old Scarlett, Craig

Mack Ale and Edmund Tyrell

Artis, named after the man

who discovered Roman

remains at Castor.

With this year’s Beer

Festival being the 35th and

coral being the respective

anniversary stone, Castor

Ale’s festival special will be

Core Ale, which, at 4%, is

light and hoppy.

To join in with the

festivities, anyone who is

celebrating a 35th wedding

anniversary that week will be

given a free pint if they bump

into Duncan.

A Festive

Dressing up is just as important as the beer for some Festival goers.

Another locally

brewed ale, exclusive to the

Beer Festival, is Colonel

GoJo from Hopshackle

Brewery in Market Deeping.

Using three English hop

varieties, Challenger , Fuggles

and Goldings, the 4.3%

golden ale owes its puntastic

name to Joe, a friend of

brewer Nigel Wright, who is

nicknamed The Colonel and is

soon to retire from the British

Transport Police

…and Where to Wander?

Whether you’re looking for

somewhere to go during the

afternoon breaks on

Wednesday and Thursday, or

fancy a change of scenery

during Friday and Saturday’s

all-day sessions, Peterborough

has plenty of top class pubs

both in and around the

City centre.

To the south of the river, in

Fletton and Woodston, are

Charter’s, The Coalheaver’s

Arms, The Cherry Tree and

The Palmerston Arms, which

all serve a large range of ales,

while the City centre has The

Ostrich Inn, The Draper’s

Arms and The Brewery Tap.

A little further north, on

Highbury Street, just off from

Lincoln Road, is the Hand &

Heart but one place that is

often overlooked, and not far

from the Beer Festival itself,

is The Woolpack on North

Street in Stanground.

To walk or cycle there, take

the footpath to the right of the

Beer Festival, continuing up

the slope onto the flyover.

Turn right and take the path

alongside the Parkway.

Go through the underpass,

continuing past St. John’s

church until you reach a road

in front of you.

Cross over, making your

way towards the thatched

house ahead of you and turn

left at the cycle shop. Walk to

the bottom of the hill, turn

right and walk 100 yards until

you find The Woolpack.

Favourite

The Indigo Kings play on Friday evening. Inset: The Woolpack’s beer

garden is a perfect place to go while the Beer Festival is closed.

The Surrealist Sportsman’s ClubIn this issue, David ‘Dai’Roll turns his attention to Dominoes.

Many of us will have played

dominoes as youngsters,

matching the number of

apples or ducks on the tiles

and so learning to count

through play, but did you

know that dominoes have a

long history? They originated

from various tile games

played in China (such as Mah

Jong) and reached Europe via

Venice around 1600.

Locally, some interesting

sets were made from bone by

the French prisoners-of-war

held at Norman Cross around

1800. One of the most

important games in the history

of dominoes was played in

Florida in 1873 between

Colonel Henry Titus and

Captain Clark Rice for the

honour of the naming of

the town now known as

Titusville, just near to

Cape Canaveral.

Domino sets commonly

have up to six pips per half

(with 28 tiles to the set),

though sets are available

that have up to nine pips

(comprising 55 tiles), 12 pips

(with 91 tiles) or even 18 pips

(with 190 tiles). In most

games (different rules can be

played) a number of tiles are

dealt to each player with the

remainder in a draw pile if at

any time a player cannot lay a

tile. Then the player with the

highest double-tile lays first.

Depending on the variant

being played, sometimes

when a double-tile is laid

these are classed as spinners

and tiles must come off all

four sides before play can

progress. In some versions

players can extend any of the

lines, but in Trains games

they can only extend their

own line of tiles.

Scoring can be counted in

a number of ways. In blocking

games the scoring is based

on the number of pips in the

losing players’ hands. In

scoring games each individual

laying of tiles can add to a

score. The commonest form

of scoring in pub games is

that of ‘fives and threes’

which often uses a cribbage

board to keep count. Here the

object is to be the first to

reach 61 points and points are

scored by making the ends of

lines be multiples of either

five, three or by both.

Apparently there are even

international domino

tournaments where the stakes

are comparable to that of

professional poker. However,

let’s not

forget that

you can also

stand the tiles on

end and knock them over.

Every November

in the Netherlands there is a

Domino Day at which they

attempt to set various records

for the number of dominoes in

a line to be pushed over etc.

We’d like to hear from any

local pubs where you can play

dominoes. Send any details to

simonstabler@aol.com

Welsh-born Dave “Dai” Roll

is a member of the Surrealist

Sportsman’s Club (named

after a disorganisation in a

series of short stories by

Maurice Richardson,

collected as The Exploits of

Englebrecht and most recently

republished as a book by

Savoy in 2010).

R E V I E W SKludo White

Camper Van Radio

www.campervanradio.com

So far it has been a summer memorable for all

the wrong reasons, so we are in need of some

bright and breezy music to cheer us up. So,

what better way than to fix your surf board to

the roof of your iconic VW camper and head

to the coast. Even if you have no camper, are

more used to an ironing board and the tide is

way out at Skeggy, you can still enjoy this

sunshine and fun-filled album.

The whole album is written, performed and

produced by Kludo and is presented as a mock

radio show with jingles between the songs and

even an interlude apparently featuring Sir

Michael Caine. The songs have a nostalgic

twang of the 1960s pop scene you might have

heard on the old pop pirate stations of the day,

with a hint of surf music for good measure.

Kludo does a good line in Beatle-ish pop

and songs such as the title track certainly

sound familiar and there is some good-hearted

humour to be found in Flip Flops, Shorts &

Shades and Isn’t it Nice? (Wedding Song).

It evokes all that’s good about summer tunes

from the likes of the Beach Boys through to

Dodgy and is certainly a fab way of

brightening up a journey, even if your window

wipers are working overtime.David Brown

The Destructors

Sex & Drugs & Rock n Roll

Rowdy Farrago Records

As the title suggests, this album from

Peterborough’s prolific punks looks at the

three main constituents of popular music, or

the downsides of them at least.

Originally planned as three separate EPs,

which would have been a good idea as concept

albums have a tendency to drag, there are still

a few gems to be found across the 12 tracks.

One such highlight is opening track,

Spitroast F.C; featuring a catchy chorus, darkly

humorous yet poignant lyrics on the dangers

of celebrity obsession and great guitar work

which raises it above Street Punk’s normal

three-chord thrash.

Four of the tracks (including all three drug

songs) are covers and while its nice to hear

the band’s version of The Ruts’ H Eyes, the

Ian Dury classic, which named this album, is

conspicuous by its absence.

Order The Destructors on CD from

www.metalonrock.com/thedestructors/merch

or download MP3s from www.7digital.com

/search/query?search-term=destructors

LISTINGSCock Inn

1305 Lincoln Road,

Werrington, Peterborough

PE4 6LW

01733 322006

06 - The Guards

07 - Slide to Open

13 - The Wash

14 - Porky Pig

20 - The Nuggets

21 - AVB

27 - The Rainmen

28 - Micky Flynn

August

03 – Les Woods Band

04 – Karaoke

11 –The Sound Injectors

The Hand & Heart,

12 Highbury Street,

Peterborough

PE1 3BE

01733 564653

July

19 - Captain Backwash

August

11 - General Command &

Raidon

16 - Captain Backwash

26 - Garden Party (bands tbc)

Coming Up: 26-30 September

Hand & Heart Autumn Beer &

Music Festival 2012.

Read all about it in the

September/October issue of

Rhythm & Booze.

The Ostrich Inn

17 North Street, Peterborough

PE1 2RA

01733 746370

July

06 - High Rollers

07 - Porky Pig

13 - The 707 Band

14 - Grumpy Old Men

20 - New Generation Crash and

Burn

27 - Ian Graham and Kat Moore

The Ploughman,

Staniland Way, Werrington,

Peterborough

PE4 6NA

01733 573594

July

05-08 Summer Beer Festival

More than 40 real ales and

ciders, tombola and raffle in aid

of the Rudolf fund. German

Jeff’s Barbecue and live music

from:

06 - Motor City Vipers

07 - Amplified/The Replicas

08 - Easyersaid/The Nuggets

13 - Citizen Smith

14 - The Returns

20 - After Dark

21 - High Rollers

27 - Overdubs

The Prince of Wales Feathers

38 Peterborough Road, Castor,

Peterborough

PE5 7AL

01733 380222

July

07 - Where’s the Dog?

21 - Archdale

August

10 - Children of the Revolution

The Woolpack,

29 North Street, Stanground,

Peterborough PE2 8HR

01733 753544

July

21 - Electric Warriors

August

10 - High Rollers Duo

11 - The Dizzy Miss Lizzys

12 - The Jazz Pidgins (4.30pm)

26 - Steve Bean plays classical

(3pm)

Landlords, it’sup to youDo you promote live music at

your pub or venue? If so, stop

moaning that we’re not

mentioning it in Rhythm &

Booze, we offer a free listings

service so there’s no excuse.

Email your gig dates for

September and October to

simonstabler@aol.com before 6

July 2012.

All listings given in good faith,

Rhythm & Booze cannot be held

responsible for any discrepancy.

Vivat Maximus!

Rhythm & Booze, Issue 14 - July/August 2012. All written material, unless otherwise stated, © Simon Stabler

Hand & Heart12 Highbury Street. Peterborough PE1 3BE

01733 564653

A traditional back-street pub withup to six real ales at any time

nReal open coal fire in the bar

nTraditional pub games

nTraditional cider and perry available

nCAMRA Cambridgeshire Pub of the Year 2010

nCAMRA Gold Award Winner 2010

nLocAle Accredited

nListed in the CAMRA 2012 Good Beer Guide

nCheck our Facebook page for updates on beerfestivals and live music

Alabama Shakes,Arcade Fire, Beirut, Belle & Sebastian, Best

Coast, Billy Bragg, Blondie, Blur, British Sea Power,

Buzzcocks,Charlatans, Camera Obscura, Johnny Cash, Nick

Cave, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, The Clash, David Bowie, The

Decemberists, Dexys Midnight Runners, Dinosaur Jr, Doves, Dry

The River, Bob Dylan, Echo & the Bunnymen, Elastica, Fall, Felt,

Franz Ferdinand, Hefner,PJ Harvey, Horrors, Jam, Jesus and

Mary Chain, Joy Division, LCD Soundsystem, Le Tigre, Love,

MIA, Manic Street Preachers, MGMT, Morrissey, My Bloody

Valentine, The National, Neutral Milk Hotel, New Order, Oasis,

Orange Juice, Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Pavement, Pixies,

Primal Scream, Pulp, REM, Ride, Roxy Music, Shins, Sleater

Kinney, Smiths, Sonic Youth, Stereolab, Stone Roses, Iggy & The

Stooges, Streets, Strokes, Suede, Super Furry Animals, Teenage

Fanclub, Tindersticks, Velvet Underground, The Wedding PresentBedsitter11th August, 8pm-2am, Free Admission

XXI (The City Club), Priestgate, Peterborough

The WoolpackNorth Street, Stanground, Peterborough PE2 8JF

(01733) 753544

Stanground's Best Kept Secret- A 15 minute walk from the centre of town

Beer FestivalFriday 10th - Sunday 12

th

August

Featuring beers from the South Westand live music from:

Friday - High Rollers (9pm)

Saturday - The Dizzy Miss Lizzys (9pm)

Sunday - The Jazz Pidgins (4.30pm)

Annual charity day on 12th August with stalls, games, tombola, raffle and bbq.

Proceeds to Free Kicks and Sailability

n Upto five ales available

n Quiz on Sunday evenings

n Food served Monday to Sunday 12-2pmand Tuesday to Saturday 6pm until 9pm