From Covent Garden to All Points East

Last week saw me heading to the capital for the All Points East music festival to watch some shouty, noisy blokes with guitars.

No, not Mumford and Sons.

Making an early start I'd hatched a plan to get around a few pubs in Covent Garden.
I'd arrived too early for the midday opening of the Salisbury, so headed instead to the nearby Good Beer Guide listed Nicholson's pub The White Swan.

The White Swan (14 New Row, WC2N 4LF - web)
It was incredibly dark and gloomy inside the White Swan, flatly in denial that it was a bright, summery day in the rest of London.
Being 11:45 on a Friday morning I was customer number 4, hence not much going on here.
I picked the beer I'd never heard of: Hadley Brewing Company's 'Moonstone IPA'.  Which was potentially a lovely beer, had it not been served quite a few degrees above an acceptable temperature.  
I guess in a location like this you've gotta please all those tourists who've been promised our famous warm beer.

Once the clock ticked past twelve I sauntered back down the road to the Salisbury.
Yeah, attractive pub, on the Heritage list...I'll get there and take a really pretty picture of the frontage, I thought...

...bugger.

The Salisbury (91-93 St Martins Lane, WC2N 4AP - web)
They were playing the Village People when I arrived.  At five-past-twelve on a Friday lunchtime the handful of punters who were settling down to order traditional English fish'n'chips sure weren't about to jump out their seats and throw their arms up in the air spelling out 'YMCA'.

Spectacular Victorian interior at the Salisbury

Not to be detracted by the music (Hot Chocolate next, followed by a bit of Beatles) I settled down to enjoy my Wimbledon Brewery 'Common', a pale ale which was okay without being over-exciting.  But the real reason to visit the Salisbury is the fantastic interior with etched mirrors and elaborate statuesque light holders.  Described as a 'turn of the century palace pub' on the heritage pub site, this is somewhere that is well worth a visit.

From the Salisbury I walked through Covent Garden, past the entertainers and the displays of greenery.

Tenuous Game of Thrones link.

The Cross Keys (31 Endell Street, WC2H 9BA - web)
From the floral displays around Covent Garden Market, to another spectacular bit of greenery outside the Cross Keys.

Looking good.

The pub had a striking colourful frontage and a dark interior.  Copper pots 'n' pans, coal scuttles, kettles and a divers helmet hung from the ceiling beams or sat on high shelving all around the single room. 

Bench seating around the walls; laminated menu's with felt-tip pen price changes; an old chap an the end of the pub who looked like he'd sat in the same place for the past 25 years; and precarious stairs down to the loo.
And to cap it all, above the bar amongst a gallery of music memorabilia, in pride of place is a napkin signed by Elvis!

Elvis signed my napkin!  Allegedly.

There were four hand pumps along the bar, two serving Brodie's ales.  I went for the 'Old Street Pale'.
It's been a fair few years since I've had Brodie's - I have fond memories of their Easter bunny bashes at the King William IV.

Emerging back into the light of day, I walked straight up to the top of Endell Street where a Craft Beer Co branch sat on the corner.

Craft Beer Co Covent Garden (168 Holborn High Street, WC1V 7AA - web)

Craft Beer Co shun beer blackboards or big displays and today there didn't appear to be any menu's anywhere.  Which meant going in blind on the price-front.  Dangerous.
My first choice was a collab between Hackney and Pressure Drop breweries, a 7% 'Guava IPA'.  Feeling I still had a bit of time to spare, I returned to the bar for an Evil Twin 'Art Is Anything You Can Get Away With'.  
£8.15 a half!!!
Cripes!  Getting caught supping this - on my salary - I was in danger of being the subject of an Unexplained Wealth Order!

So that was that for the lunchtime pubs of central London, as I had a festival to get to.
I made my way to Victoria Park for All Points East, which gives me the chance to stick a few pictures in my blog which aren't of pubs.  
Yep, instead of pubs I've gone for a picture of a man in underpants...

IDLES - brief(s) set

IDLES were great, the only disappointment being that they were given a slot of barely more than 30 minutes on the main stage.
Other than that, the most enjoyable bands of the day, for me, were on the two smaller stages: Talk Show, Crows and Black Futures all thoroughly entertained.

Black Futures rock the Firestone Stage

Since 'Craft Beer' was invented, we also no longer have to endure suffering crap over-priced lager at music festivals.  You could part with £6.50 of your hard-earned cash in Victoria Park for a Five Points 'Pale Ale' or Truman's 'Bow Bells'.  Both absolutely fine to sup in the sunshine whilst watching the bands, so why oh why I ended up with some Jagermeister Mohito nonsense at the end of the day, I've no idea.
Interesting pubs, rock'n'roll, signed Elvis napkins - a winner of a day out in London.

Architects on the North Stage, All Points East