rhythm and boozeFood, Booze, Bands & News - Issue 4 - November/December 2010

Despite last issue’s proclamation

that The Crown, Lincoln Road

would re-open at the start of Sep-

tember – a series of delays put it

back to 19 October.

Speaking prior to the official open-

ing by Mayor of Peterborough Keith

Sharp, landlord Brian Gascoyne ex-

plained, “There were a few last

minute glitches, but looking at the

work that has been achieved I’m

glad there was been a delay.

“The way the builders have gone

about the refurbishment is impres-

sive and our customers will know

that it’s been worth waiting for.”

The sympathetic refurbishment car-

ried out by Baxter & King, the build-

ing firm behind The Ostrich Inn, has

seen the main entrance returned to

the front of the building - which fea-

tures wheelchair access and a

smoking garden.

Inside, both serving areas have

been slightly reduced in size and

new ladies’ toilets have been in-

stalled in the public bar, while the

right hand bar will be used for func-

tions.

At the opening event, three real

ales – JHB, Inferno and Spitfire –

were available, with the Mayor

pulling the first pint and raising a

toast to the pub’s future and the

forthcoming regeneration of the

New England area.

Turn to the centre pages to read

about the opening event, history

and refurbishment of The Crown.

Some ThingsAre WorthThe Wait!

Early Doors: The Crown, shortly before it re-opened.

Over a month past its proposed opening date, The Crown is finally back in business!

IN-STORE, ONLINE, DOWNLOADON SALE IN HMV, CATHEDRAL SQUAREBY MAIL ORDER FROM METALONROCK.TVOR AS A DOWNLOAD FROM iTUNES / 7DIGITAL

“They might not have all the answers,but the music is in your face withenough energy to power a small townand enough edge that punks will lovethis.”

- The Trouble With Normal

“Good solid punk rock.”- Mass Movement Magazine

Helloween

The Destructors

Hot on the heels of Dead Beat

to White Heat and 101010,

comes Helloween - a 13-track

album containing the best in

Horror Punk, from the most

productive band Peterborough

has ever seen.

Out 31 October 2010

It’s a scream!

Pub ScrawlThe annual Poet Laureate of Pe-

terborough competition is under-

way and this year’s subject is

Chemistry. The competition has

proved to be a great opportunity for

local poets, but you do need to

have some gumption about what

you want to do.

Toby Wood - the first laureate - got

a column in the ET out of it, I read

at a poetry festival in Oxford, Mark

Grist – co-founder of Pint of Poetry

- performed at the Leicester Sum-

mer Sundae, while MC Mixy – the

current laureate - went to the Edin-

burgh Festival for August.

Some winners did so after years of

trying, others on their first attempt,

but no one won who didn’t enter.

So go into a library and pick up an

entry form to find out more. This

year’s final is Monday, 6 December

and if you enter, remember to

check your emails as someone I

know hadn’t bothered last year and

didn’t know that they’d got through.

The Stamford Arts Centre has a

great bar downstairs, hosts a Fes-

tival of Ghosts over Halloween.

This includes films on Saturday, 30

October, Hannah Gordon reading

extracts from famous ghost stories

on Sunday, 31, while Sarah Waters

(Tipping the Velvet, Fingersmith

etc) talks about her latest novel

The Little Stranger on Friday, 5 No-

vember. The following evening the

Nunkie Theatre Company presents

its adaptation of two classic MR

James ghost stories in A Warning

to the Curious. I’ve seen the play’s

actor RM Lloyd Parry twice before

and can vouch for how good he is,

so book early and get a seat near

the front if you dare! For full details

of times, prices and information on

workshops and talks held during

the festival, ring 01780 763203 or

go to www.stamfordartscentre.com

Two crime writers will be talking

about their latest novels on Tues-

day, 2 November at Peterborough

Central Library. Jill Paton-Walsh

has penned a new Lord Peter

Wimsey book (based on the works

of Dorothy L Sayers) called The At-

tenbury Emeralds, while Sophie

Hannah (who is also an excellent

poet) will be promoting A Room

Swept White. These evenings are

very popular, starting at 7:30pm, I

advise you to pre-book your tickets

(costing £3 or £2 concessions) in

advance.

Writers in Peterborough are a

group of volunteers who have been

bringing a wide range of authors to

the city since the early-80s. Their

autumn/winter season continues

on Wednesday, 3 November at

The Great Northern Hotel (who’s

bar has improved since being

taken over), Judith Allnatt talks

about her novel The Poet’s Wife -

about Patty Turner, the long-suffer-

ing spouse of John Clare. On

Wednesday, 1 December there will

be two local writers talking about

their work. One is Lotte Kramer

who is a true star of the poetry

scene as she has been having col-

lections of her verse published

since 1980. All local poets should

own one or two of her books at

least. The other is thriller writer

Thomas McCarthy, whose latest

novel The Coast of Death draws on

his own Irish background to tell a

tale set between the Good Friday

Agreement and the formation of

the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Both evenings start at 7.30pm and

admission is £7 (£5 concessions).

For full details about the season go

to www.wip.btik.com

The Poetry Factory is a new initia-

tive designed to offer constructive

criticism to local poets. They meet

on the third Tuesday of the month

and participants should bring two

performance poems, a one-page

poem, paper, pen and an open

mind. On 16 November they have

special guest tutor John Lyons, the

Trinidad born poet who studied art

at Goldsmiths College, London and

the University of Newcastle-upon-

Tyne. Since winning the Peterloo

Poetry Prize he has contributed to

such anthologies as the Oxford

Book of Caribbean Verse (2005)

and had his own collections pub-

lished, most recently No Apples in

Eden (2009). He has also been a

tutor on Arvon Courses, so knows

his stuff. Admission is £5 each and

to book a place, ring Pete on

01733 890537 or Keely on 07790

275382.

The next Speakeasy is on

Wednesday, 24 November at The

Brewery Tap. It starts at 8.oopm,

costs £4 an features an all-female

line-up. Headlining the night is

Jude Simpson who falls some-

where between Victoria Wood and

Goldie Looking Chain - check out

her track Let’s Make a Baby at http-

www.myspace.com/judesimpson

If you’re part of a book or reading

groups that meets in a pub, let me

me know when you meet and what

you’re reading by emailing

cardinalcox1@yahoo.co.uk

Cardinal Cox is an enthusiastic

amateur drinker. He wishes all

readers a merry and safe Christ-

mas and looks forward to seeing

you at Straw Bear in January.

John Lyon, appearing at The

Poetry Factory in November.

by Cardinal Cox

THE

CELLAR BARw w w. t h e c e l l a r b a r p e t e r b o r o u g h . c o . u k

The Thorpe Lodge Hotel, Thorpe Road, Peterborough, 0777541239

Re

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atu

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7 N

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NOVEMBER04 - Pete & Josh (acoustic duo)

05 - Lateshow

06 - Siren

07 - Gig available (ring to book)

11 - Murray Hockridge (solo)

12 - Lloyd Watson Band

13 - Isiah (Richard Hall)

14 - Gig available (ring to book)

18 - James Edmonds (acoustic)

19 - Open mic

20 - Disco night

21 - Lloyd, Rex & Muzz (7pm)

25 - The Blues Agents

26 - Taking Care of Business

27 - Retrolux

28 - Gig available (ring to book)

Open Every Day from 2pmBands 8.30pm unless otherwise stated

Bottled Ales & Freshly Served FoodLive Sport in HD

A new dawn fades…...into a PCC mess!

As Posh thrive on the pitch -

while off it continue to be

propped up by the deep pockets

of Darragh McAnthony - all

should be sweetness and light at

London Road, writes Jamie

Jones.

But wait, the shadowy figure of Pe-

terborough City Council (PCC)

lurches into view, like a rabid dog

holding a wrecking ball. Since PCC

purchased London Road from

Colin Hill, we had heard little from

them other than vague rumours

about what their plans were for the

‘new’ ground. Then in September

details slowly but surely emerged

of a half-baked plan that involves

rebuilding a ground with only some

of the funding in place, a tiny new

stand at the Moyes End, and a lot

of hopes and dreams about reach-

ing a 19,000 capacity.

Even the most optimistic estimates

are that the re-built ground will be

ready in 2017, leaving us with a

three-sided shell to sit in for a good

few years yet. PCC are currently

taking a stance that they won’t

even release the detailed archi-

tects drawings to council tax pay-

ers/Posh fans, so everything feels

a little hazy in terms of details. The

club, the fans and indeed the good

people of Peterborough have little

choice but to trust PCC to do a

good job – not something they

have been great at in the past.

We are watching you PCC…..

You can follow the ongoing ground

redevelopment saga, as well as all

other things Posh related on our

un-official Posh podcast – Standing

On The Glebe.

Download it from:-

www.standingontheglebe.co.uk

Expect the new Posh ground sometime in the next 10 years...at least!

This Is PeterboroughFollowing the success of his 2010 calendar, Chris Porsz

‘The Paramedic Paparazzo’ returns with a

collection of Peterborough’s characters and scenes

from three decades ago.

2011’s Peterborough through a lens also includes the

three ‘reunion’ photos that hit the nationals earlier this

year.

Available for £7 from the following stockists:-

The Barn Garden Centre - Paston Parkway, Reba -

Cathedral Square, Silver Fox - The Old Arcade,

Colemans - Cowgate, Cancer Research - Westgate,

Shrives - Westgate, Save the Children - Midgate,

Salvation Army - Broadway, Destination Centre -

Bridge Street, Twiggs and Bows - Serpentine Green,

Waterstones - Bridge Street, Museum - Priestgate

and Peterborough Central Library - Broadway

The last 10 years have been unkind to

the pubs of Lincoln Road. The Norfolk

- one of Peterborough’s premier music

pubs - was converted into an estate

agent, while The Eight Bells suffered a

similar fate by becoming an account-

ancy firm. The Triangle had the dubi-

ous honour of not only being the first

pub in Peterborough to be closed down

under the Licensing Act 2003, but of

being the first one to be closed twice.

The Greyhound had its heart ripped out

when the interior was made into a café

and supermarket, a fate that awaits

The Triangle, while The Windmill was

converted into flats – before suffering

an arson attack.

When the police closed The Crown at

the start of the year - due to licensing

irregularities - it looked as if it was

game over for the starting point for the

rapidly diminishing Crown to Town pub-

crawl.

In March it was announced that Brian

Gascoyne, a landlord known for turning

round failing pubs, would be taking

over.

Initially there were plans to turn the

venue into a private member’s club,

however a visit by Graham Finding - a

Director of Baxter & King Construction-

led to plans that would ensure The

Crown remained a public house.

Like The Ostrich - the building firm’s

other pub - The Crown is free of tie,

serving a range of competitively priced

real ales and has benefited from an ex-

tensive – yet sympathetic - makeover.

As chairman of the Millfield and New

England Regeneration Partnership

(MANERP), Brian intends to create a

grown-up and secure environment -

placing the pub at the heart of the com-

munity.

Speaking in the last issue of Rhythm &

Booze, Brian explained how he is offer-

ing use of the function room - free of

charge - for bona fide community

events and has no time for trouble

makers, going on record to say “I have

a zero tolerance attitude on drugs, ex-

cessive drinking and bad behaviour. I

won’t let people ruin it for others, no

matter how much money they put

across the bar.”

The official opening took place on 19

October with Keith Sharp, ward coun-

cillor and Mayor of Peterborough, pre-

siding over the celebrations.

Wishing Brian every success, the

Mayor gave a run through of the history

of the pub, which was built in 1867 to

serve the community of New England

– an area built by the Great Northern

Railway in order to house its employ-

ees.

The Mayor’s wishes were echoed by

his colleague Charles Swift, who has

represented the ward for 56 years and

has been past the pub an average of

two or three times every day of his life.

Following a quick speech from Graham

Finding to thank those who had helped

prepare the pub, the Mayor stepped

behind the bar to pull the first pint.

CROWNIN

CHEERS: Keith Sharp, Mayor of Peter

“I have a zero toleranceattitude on drugs, excessive drinking and badbehaviour. I won’t let peo-ple ruin it for others, nomatter how much moneythey put across the bar.”- Brian Gascoyne

As a reward for the support that

Rhythm & Booze has given to Brian

and The Crown, I had the honour of to

receive it – deciding on a pint of Spit-

fire, from a choice that included

Oakham Ales’ Inferno and JHB.

I’m pleased to say that Brian has been

true to his word, keeping his cellar in

good order and ensuring that his ales

are delivered at their best.

After the formalities were over I had

chance to congratulate Brian on such

a great turnout on a wet and windy

Tuesday evening.

From the end of October The Crown

will be offering three course Sunday

dinners for under a tenner, with a

weekday menu available shortly.

There are plans to reintroduce live

music to the pub, with Sunday Jazz

sessions in the pipeline and Brian

hopes that those behind neighbouring

pubs will up their game to match his

and Baxter & King’s aspirations.

I look forward to visiting The Crown as

often as I can and with the new part-

nership every success.

NG GLORY

borough, serves me a pint of Spitfire. Landlord Brian Gascoyne looks on. Photograph © David Brown

The Defence of The RealmChristopher Andrew

*****

Penguin Books, £14.99

ISBN 978-0-141-02330-4

To celebrate its centenary, while

spotting a perfect PR opportunity,

MI5 tasked Christopher Andrew to

write a definitive history of Britain’s

security service. Certain details of

recent operations have had to be

curtailed to protect informers and

surveillance - and not, as the con-

spiracy theorists would have it, as

some kind of cover up - however

Andrew has been given free reign

to write about the Service. This re-

vised and expanded version covers

how Anthony Blunt gradually came

to realise the extent of his betrayal.

Although it is in an early chapter

when Blunt, refusing to be exfil-

trated to Moscow for his own safety,

told his Soviet controller “I know

perfectly well how your people live

and I can assure you it would be

very hard, almost unbearable, for

me to do likewise.” It’s statements

like this where you hope that the

plum voiced hypocrite felt a heavy

sense of guilt until the day he died.

Dad’s Army@ Tolethorpe Hall, 28/07/10*****

Playing on the open stage of To-

lethorpe Hall, The Stamford Shake-

speare Company diverted from

their usual fare to present an adap-

tation of TV classic Dad’s Army.

Opening with The Deadly Attach-

ment, the cast took to the stage and

while all the better-known charac-

ters were there, some were more

convincing than others. The actors

playing Pike and Walker gave cred-

ible versions of the originals, while

Wilson - a little too short to play the

original - managed to pull off a con-

vincing John Le Mesurier impres-

sion. The downsides were Fraser,

Jones and Mainwaring, who while

looking like Arthur Lowe sounded

like Vic Reeves doing his ‘club-

style’ voice. While some parts were

good, the show did tend to waffle

on, and rehearsing The Floral

Dance is no ending at all. The fact

they had to bring Private Cheese-

man in, who joined the TV series

after James Beck’s untimely death,

to perform a single speaking part -

goes to show how little adapting for

the stage was actually carried out.

Monica and the Explosion@ The Cellar Bar, Thorpe Road,01/08/10*****

The thought of a female singer

songwriter usually fills me with

dread, mainly because they lack

balls and have a fondness for

acoustic guitars. While Monica falls

into the second category, she’s still

got a pair bigger than Coldplay,

Keane and U2 put together. If you

mix fast strummed guitars with

Nouvelle Vague and Lou Read you

start to get an idea of Monica’s

sound. Tonight her backing band

was one short, with drummer Rob

Baylis unable to attend, leaving

bassist Paul Slack doing an admiral

job of keeping things together.

While their performance was sec-

ond to none, it seems that Baylis

wasn’t the only Peterborian who

had something else on. It says

something about a city, when a

band who play to hundreds people

elsewhere can’t even command a

double figure audience just be-

cause “it’s Sunday night, I’ve got

work tomorrow!”

East @ ChartersLunchtime, 31/07/10*****

Not fancying anything off the bar

menu or wanting to move seats, we

were pleased to hear that the

restaurant’s lunchtime menu could

be brought down to us. At a cost of

£6.95 for a main course, plus £2 for

a starter, we chose Duck Spring

Rolls and Mixed Tempura – the

chef’s recommendation, comprising

prawns, squid, sweet potato, carrot

and broccoli – for our starters. For

the main course we had Massaman

Beef Curry – large pieces of beef

and potato cooked in a rich coconut

milk curry – and Spicy King

Prawns. Both dishes came with

steamed jasmine fragrant rice,

which was responsible for the slight

R E V I E W S

downside to our meal. The mains

were brought over at the same time

as our starters and we assumed

that the rice would follow shortly. By

the time we were ready to eat the

main courses the rice still hadn’t ar-

rived. I explained the situation to

the staff who were apologetic,

swiftly resolving the matter, and

within minutes we were enjoying a

top-class meal. One further criti-

cism, if the king prawns which were

marked on the menu as being mild

had such a kick, then how hot

would something stronger have

been?

Rockers and RollersBrian Johnson

*****

Penguin Books, £9.99

ISBN 978-0-141-04351-7

Taking the phrase autobiography a

little too literally, Brian Johnson

‘AC/DC’s legendary front man’ (a

title I’m sure Bon Scott fans would

dispute) tells his life story by writing

about the cars that he’s driven,

raced and coveted.

In the right hands this could have

been a very interesting book. Unfor-

tunately it zips around with little re-

gard for chronology and the

humour leaves a lot to be desired.

With too few references to his

music and why he was chosen as

Scott’s replacement, Johnson has

missed a trick by making this a

book for rollers not rockers.

The Rose, Burghley RoadRestaurant Opening 04/09/10(zero stars!)

With the exception of releases from

Penguin and Rowdy Farrago,

everything on these pages are paid

for from my own pocket. Therefore

I jumped at the chance of an invite

to celebrate the opening of The

Rose’s restaurant. The email told

me that things would kick off at 5pm

and there would be a buffet at

6.30pm, so imagine my dismay

when I got there at 5.10pm and the

place was still closed. The group of

us congregating outside were even-

tually let in and I noticed the signs

advertising the buffet for £6 or £5,

depending on which wall you

looked at. By 7.15 my stomach was

rumbling and I decided it was time

to leave. Still the chippy on

Dogsthorpe Road does a mean

battered sausage and chips!

The DestructorsDead Beat to White Heat

*****

(RFA03) Rowdy Farrago Records

(Reviewed by Cardinal Cox)

After a shoebox full of split-singles

and EPs as Destructors 666 and re-

verting to their original name The

Destructirs, Peterborough Punk’s

naughty older brothers (will but you

a drink but nick your lunch money)

release an eighteen track album.

Some of those tracks, Blood, Ultra-

violence and Demolition Derby

Crash maintain the hard-driving re-

portage of mindless violence that

harks back to the releases of their

1980s line-up.

Others, like Free Speech, PC Gone

Mad and Like Watching a Carcrash,

strike a libertarian stance of

personal freedom.

Then there are 255 and Born to Kill

that condemn the current cycle of

war, though the second has lyrics

reminiscent of The Fugs Kill for

Peace.

This brings me to the theory that

true art contains its’ own origins

within it – thus preliminary sketches

are hidden beneath the paint of

masterpieces. The roots of this

album are explored through the

cover versions TV Eye and Get Me

to the World on Time, late-’sixties

garage rock. Then the bands own

numbers; Kent State Reprobate

and Headshot Deadshot 1963 also

look back to that decade’s Anti-Viet-

nam demonstrations and the as-

sassination of JFK. With Ghost of

’76 the band tackles the irony that

when Punk came along they

sneered at Teddy Boys as being

twenty years behind the times. Now

it is thirty-five years since Punks’

difficult breach birth and they’d be

as anachronistic if it wasn’t for the

fact that society deserves the

righteous anger bands like this

aim at their targets.

Armed with their single-minded bile

The Destructors release what is

probably their best work to date

complemented by sharp artwork

throughout the accompanying

booklet.

Dalek I Loved YouNick Griffiths

Orion Books, £7.99

ISBN 978-0-575-0-8219

*****

Every so often a book comes along

that seems so familiar. Most of the

time it’s down to plagiarism, or

homage as we writers like to call it.

However in the case of Dalek I

Loved You – the autobiography of a

Doctor Who fan turned journalist,

via a spell in electronic engineering

– a couple of changes to dates and

names and it could easily be my

own autobiography.

While I’m not an avid collector of

memorabilia as Griffiths, I too have

experienced ridicule while attempt-

ing to show a classic episode to

loved ones.

Not only does the author share my

hatred of Adric, the bowl headed

know-it-all of the early 80s, several

of my favourite episodes appear in

his top ten. Considering there are

12 or so years between us, goes to

show how dire the programme got

during the 80s.

November

4th

Open Mic (H&H)

5th

Children of The Revolution (TOI)

Kickback (TCT)

6th

Porky Pig (PWF)

The Influence (TOI)

The Returns (TCT)

7th

Feet to the Fire (TOI) – 7pm

Rex, Lloyd & Murray (TCT)

12th

Daffy & The Alien (TPM)

Retrolux (TOI)

Tunnel (TCT)

13th

Cold Sweat (TCT)

Daffy & The Alien (PWF)

Doug McLeod (SDB)

Electric Warriors (TOI)

The Returns (3HS)

14th

Open Mic (TCT)

19th

Porky Pig (TOI)

The R’n’B Band (TCT)

20th

101 Proof (TOI)

Black Rose (TCT)

Les Woods Band (TPM)

Paul Hebden (TNI)

The Malingerers (PWF)

21st

Bride of the Atom (TCT)

25th

Open Mic (TCT)

26th

101 Proof (TCT)

Electric Warriors (TPM)

The Les Woods Band (TOI)

27th

Burlesque (TCT)

Storm (TOI)

28th

Ian & Kat (TCT)

December

2nd

Open Mic (H&H)

3rd

Citizen Smith (TCT)

Glass Heart (BBI)

One Eyed Cats (TPM)

4th

Porky Pig (TCT)

5th

Rex, Lloyd & Murray (TCT)

10th

Hooker (TCT)

11th

Cheryl Renee Christmas Party

(SDB)

Retrolux (3HS)

Riff Raff (TCT)

16th

Open Mic (TCT)

17th

Children of the Revolution (PWF)

Pandora’s Box (TCT)

18th

Undercover (TPM)

24th

Electric Warriors (TPM)

27th

The Nuggets (TPM)

31st

Retrolux (TCT)

Key/Contacts

(3HS) - The Three Horseshoes,

Church St, Werrington, Peterbor-

ough, Cambridgeshire PE4 6QE

01733 571768

(BBI) Blue Bell Inn, Welland Road,

Peterborough PE1 3SA

01733 554890

(H&H) Hand & Heart, Highbury

Street, Peterborough PE1 3BE

01733 564653

(PWF) Prince of Wales Feathers,

38, Peterborough Rd, Castor, Pe-

terborough, Cambridgeshire PE5

7AL

01733 380222

(SDB) ShakeDown Blues @ Cas-

tor Village Hall. Peterborough

Road Castor Peterborough PE5

7AX.

01733 380 249

* Advance tickets available from

www.shakedownblues.co.uk

(TCB) The Cellar Bar, Thorpe

Road, Peterborough PE3 6JQ

07775 841239

(TCT) The Cherry Tree

Oundle Road

Peterborough PE2 9PB

01733 703495

(TOI) The Ostrich Inn, 17 North

Street, Peterborough PE1 2RA

01733 752255

(TPM) The Ploughman, Staniland

Way, Werrington, Peterborough

PE4 6NA

01733 573594

(TNI) Northfields Inn, 199 St.

Paul’s Road, Peterborough PE1

3ED

01733 565464

* All gigs start between 8.30pm-

9.30pm unless otherwise stated.

All listings given in good faith,

Rhythm & Booze can not be held

responsible for any discrepancy.

LIST INGS

Rhythm & Booze, Issue 4 – Nov/Dec 2010. All written material, unless otherwise stated, © Simon Stabler.

Send letters, submissions, material for review or gig listings to simonstabler@aol.com by 15 December.

The Crown Inn749 Lincoln Road

Peterborough

PE1 3HD

07516395905

Open: 10:00 - 00:00 Sunday - Wednesday

Open: 10:00 - 01:00 Thursday - Saturday

Back In Business - A Pub At The Heart Of Its Community!

nServing quality real ales

nDedicated Smoking Patio

nWheelchair access at the front

nKaraoke (Friday)

nDisco (Saturday)

nSunday Roast (served 12:00-16:00)£9.90 for three courses

nFunction room available for hire