Twenty members of the Society for the Preservation of Beer from the Wood (SPBW) and friends from all over the country gathered in Alton, Hampshire, for the first Bill English ‘DFE’ (Double Full English) Breakfast Memorial crawl. This was combined with the 10th Alton Classic Bus & Country Pub Running Day on Saturday 20 July.
Over ten people, including Bill’s family (Janet and Chris) started the day at 8am at Piggies Café at Clapham Junction for the first of the double breakfasts before continuing by train to Alton. There, at either the Plus Café or Stones, some people had their first or second breakfast, as had been occasioned by Bill himself (three people managed a ‘double breakfast’).
Early afternoon we gathered at the Flowerpots Brewery and pub (one of Bill’s favourites) where the SPBW National Executive vice chair, Aidan Kerrigan, gave a fulsome tribute oration in the sunlit garden. People then dispersed for the rest of the day to various pubs, most of which had been visited by Bill over the years, travelling by bus supplied free by the Hants & Surrey Bristol RE Group.
The event commemorated not only Bill himself but also a legend about him. A group of Camden Hill SPBW branch members, including Bill, occasionally met at Marie’s Café in Waterloo for breakfast before catching trains to events outside London. On one occasion, Bill had a ‘Full English’ there before we travelled to Alton for that year’s RE Bus event which he had always enjoyed. After arriving in the town, Bill joined some members of the Kingston branch at Poppin’s Café in the High Street. He was witnessed ordering another one and demolished it! One wag gave him a new nickname: Bill ‘Double Full’ English!
From the SPBW magazine, courtesy of Aidan Kerrigan ���U��#