Pubs visted in 2014: Hot Rocks

Pubs of 2014

Right, here we go...... The purpose of this blog is to log all the pubs that I have visited and consumed an alcoholic beverage in during 2014. The rules are quite simple, the establishment needs to be a public house, it sounds straightforward but it may get complicated for example things that wouldn't count are a visit to the bar at the cricket, a pre gig drink in a concert venue, a drink at the Birmingham German market etc. As judge and jury my decision is final, and if I'm in any doubt I won't count it.

My prediction as at the start of the year is that the final number will be somewhere around the 200 mark though I won't go to pubs just to get the numbers up, it will be a true reflection of my pub visting year.

My posts will include information about the pub, the ambience of the surroundings, the choice and quality of the beer, any interesting or amusing anecdotes about my visit and, where possible, photographic evidence.

I will try and keep the information as accurate as possible noting that alcohol consumption means that at times this may prove difficult !!

The format of the posts is simple, the first visit to the pub will be the blog entry and that post will be updated for any subsequent visit.

Hope you enjoy it...

Cheers

UPDATE January 2015

Right, that's it, it's finally finished, some 259 pubs later !! It's been hard work but it's nice being able to look back and relive the drinking experiences of 2014.

I am pleased with the final result and whilst I've been reviewing it, I have actually laughed a few times at my own jokes !!

A word of warning, it does start off a bit slow (some of my posts from Bath are a bit dull) but stick with it. In hindsight the format of posting repeat visits to a pub on the original post at times doesn't work very well when reading the blog in its' entirety but on the whole I'm pleased with it and I hope that you enjoy it.

I have stated this in the blog but I will say it again, thanks to anyone that I have had a beer with in 2014 and special thanks to Shelley for her patience !!

Monday, 4 August 2014

Hot Rocks

Seeing as we were at the seaside a drink in a pub overlooking the sea was a must. Hot Rocks gave us a view not only of the sea but also of Bournemouth's historic pier...

I am conscious of the fact that occasionally I have a bit of a rant on this blog about various pub related irritations so why break the habit of a lifetime with my Hot Rocks posting?!!

After patiently queuing to get served Craig and I were told that we couldn't have our pints of Amstel in glass glasses, however if we were to order two halves rather a pint we could have glass rather than plastic glasses. Similarly, using the same warped logic, only plastic glasses could be given with the glass pint bottles of Bulmer's cider. Try and work that out, we couldn't !!

The sun was starting to set but it was still lovely and warm as we enjoyed our drinks sat on the pub's decking..

One of the features in Bournemouth is the large hot air balloon situated in the park near the sea front that goes up periodically. We had a good view of the attraction from Hot Rocks so I asked Shelley to take a photo of me with the balloon in the background. It wasn't until I checked the photos later that I noticed one missing factor..