In early August I received these two items on the same day which, in their different ways, were both good news so I thought that I would put them together.
THE WELLINGTON, FULHAM
Some good news at long last on the pub front in Fulham. After many years of closure (some time before the pandemic) and having been under threat of demolition or redevelopment, the Wellington in Haldane Road (SW6 7EU; just off North End Road) has ‘risen from the ashes’. The three joint tenants have taken on a new, independent lease and have tastefully refurbished the pub. There are three hand-pumps, one of which serves Chiltern Beechwood Best Bitter, plus fifteen keg lines including Kernel, Beavertown, BBNo, Wild Beer, Tiny Rebel, Verdant and Cloudwater. A discount of 20% is on offer to CAMRA members on cask ales up until 5pm and 10% discount thereafter. The pub opens at 4pm on Mondays and Tuesdays, 11am Saturdays and midday on other days. Unusually (for Fulham!) the pub has Sky Sports showing on three screens in the back bar and a drop-down screen in the front bar. This is a welcome return to the Fulham pub scene which has sadly lost so many pubs in past decades.
Tony Bell
MONKS BUTTERY
On Wednesday 28 July, I and a couple of fellow CAMRA North London Branch members (our chairman, Colin Coyne and our cider officer (and my mother!) Jess Marsh, were invited to the trade session of a beer festival being held at the Monks Buttery, near Kings Langley. Housed in a converted warehouse, the Monks Buttery is owned by a good friend of mine, Clint Whitaker. Clint also owns the Monks Inn, a micropub in Hemel Hempstead, which is a welcome outlet for cask beer in the area.
Clint was particularly helpful to us during the last lockdown. Where I live in central London was almost a desert for real ale, with few pubs selling cask beer for takeout. We would most likely have gone without, until Clint and I came up with a delivery scheme. Clint holds an off sales licence and was already delivering real ale in his locality. Appreciating our situation, he offered to deliver to us every Saturday during Lockdown. I set up a messenger group and every Tuesday Clint would put up a selection of real ale we could choose from and he, or one of his team,would deliver it to us.
I can’t thank Clint enough for what he did for us in helping us to enjoy real ale during lockdown. Likewise, he also serves the community in which he lives very well. We were also very grateful for the invitation to the beer festival. Although Hemel Hempstead is outside Greater London, I feel that Clint and his team deserve to be honorary members of our branch for services rendered.
David Marsh