Exeter Pub Guide, No. 1, The Mill on the Exe

Where is this pub?
Bonhay Road, just opposite the turning for Exe Street, perfectly situated on the banks of the Exe.



What would draw you to this pub?
Location, location, location. The main time people come here is when the sun comes out and you can sit by the river with a drink. If it were not by the river it would not be half as popular.

What sort of person would you find in this pub?
Typically couples, or groups of middle aged people having a meal, very occasionally students (posh ones) and groups of lads from the nearby Fitness First.

What can you consume in this pub?
A great variety of meals, from ribs to salads, ranging from £9 - £15. The food has improved greatly recently and we eat there quite often. As for Nibbles Burts crisps are available, and some varieties of nuts. I recommend the Parsnip Burts.



What is quirky about this pub?
Nothing greatly quirky, it has largely been cleaned up and modernised, but look out for the picture of the large pig, the spiral staircase (below), and in the bushes outside there is an interesting piece of ironwork. (see above)



What is specifically “Exeter” about the pub?
Views of the Exe and of St Michaels Church, Geese, ducks and swans, posh exeter students turning up in their new Minis and Beetles. It is also a building steeped with history as it used to actually be a mill.

What is there to do in this pub?
I think there are a few games behind the bar, and at least one machine flashing its lights confusingly. Otherwise conversation is key, the music is down very low and is very mellow and won't get in the way.

What are the worst things about the pub?
At £2.80-£3.20 a pint this is not a cheap place to drink, soft drinks are not cheap either. Also the place lacks a certain atmosphere, it is a middle class inoffensive pub, and something exciting or interesting is unlikely to spontaneously happen.

Is there an old man sat at the bar?
No, this pub is strangely lacking in regulars, in fact I would suggest that our friends and us are the only regulars!

In a word, should I bother coming here?
Yes. But try and pick a sunny day and make sure you have a wallet full! This is by far the pub I go to the most often, mostly as it is less than 2 minutes walk away!

Things that are free

Even though I am a Guardian reading borderline lefty (you can't be a centrey really, can you?) my heart is always warmed buy things that are free at the point of use in our society. It should not come as a shock, that is what socialism is about, but it still does.

This week I had cause to revisit the library, long forgotten since the weather turned semi reliable a few months ago and I started reading less (in fact the pile of books is accumulating, just as I thought I was going to be at a “point zero” in unread books). The reason was a trip to Rome booked for September, and the need to get some guide books, but not being able to buy them as all my money will be used paying to go to Rome. A catch 22 that the library provides a route out of.

Anyway, the point is that it feels odd to walk in somewhere, pick up books and walk out with no money changing hands. It was a bit like the time that Britannia Breakdown rescued my poor old Panda car from a busy road and got it going, I felt the need to give the repair man something (I didn't, as essentially I am tight).

I now feel a bit guilty that in my job I help people pay less tax on their savings, in fact I should be trying to encourage them to pay more, so I can read more books for free and and I remain the correct side of centre.

Week round up

An unremarkable week in Exeter so far, some fire engines opposite where I work in the High Street yesterday for most of the day, but I never found out why, Monday night I was second place in the City Gate poker tournament, which is a tenner in my pocket, and a bit of time spent at the Mill on the Exe enjoying the sun this afternoon – apparently the downstairs is going to be open again in July, I remember when there were pool tables and druggies down there, ah, the good old days.



After my half day at work today I fully intended on going to HMV and getting the new Coldplay album, but somehow left with the Sarah Bareilles album instead. Somehow on a sunny afternoon it did not seen right to bring myself down with Coldplays misery, but I will get it at some point.

Tonight is a rarity for me, I will be watching a whole football match on the TV. Much as the sport leaves me uninterested I will be cheering on Germany for the sake of the two Germans present. Yay Germany for the World Cup, or whatever it is.

Gone Ape

I survived the “Go Ape” experience, and although I am glad I have done the course I really hope never to do it again. At some points I was so scared I would have come down and stopped if I had had the choice... but you don't have the choice, the only way through is to do each challenge between the trees before a zip wire rewards you with the promise of solid ground.

On the way home, just opposite the Riverside Christian Centre, I saw a man try and kick a car. He was dawdling across the crossing and the lights turned green, the car in front of me started move towards him, he moved out the way but then tried to kick the tyre as it passed. Very amusing.

Going Ape

The plan today is to "Go Ape" (http://www.goape.co.uk/) out in Haldon with some friends. I understand this involves swinging from tree to tree and whizzing down zip wires. In my mind this was a fun thing to do on a rare Saturday off, but this morning I was imagining being up high in the trees looking down at the floor and I felt a sudden moment of panic, and remembered that I am quite scared of heights. If just thinking about heights has that effect then what will the actually experience do? In just a few hours I will find out.

ExeShed

Well poker did not go so well, 4th out of 8 players, but look, at the half way point I was doing OK!

Last night was a trip out with work to spend some money we had “won” from the bank (credit crunch... what credit crunch?) so decided to go to ExeShed for a meal.

We are no strangers to “the shed” but had never eaten there before. Sadly we were not impressed, although the food was lovely (Duck breast on a bed of mash and beetroot), the service was atrocious, pretty much the worse I have had since the infamous Tiger Bills evening. The pretty blonde waitress, when she eventually took our drink order had no idea what we were saying to her, and we must have been sat drinkless for over half an hour after arriving. She then spectacularly failed to open a bottle of wine and broke her little credit card machine by dropping it on the floor. Then after the meal (which I must admit was excellent) the tables were not cleared, then half cleared, then only finally cleared when we ordered dessert (we had to ask the manager for the dessert menu, no one was in a hurry to bring it, even after catching several of the staffs attention). There were 6 staff serving 5 tables, yet half the staff were huddled around together, not actually waiting on tables. Such a shame that a restaurant with such great potential does not quite come up to standards. I am sticking with Strada in the future.

On the way home I was disgusted by the disregard people treat their living environment, first was a girl on the Iron Bridge who just put her empty drinks carton on the window sill of the hairdressers, despite there being a rubbish bin just a little further on, and secondly this bunch of “chavs” who let their dog (not pictured) do a massive poop on the pavement in Exe Street and just walked off. Perhaps I am just becoming Angry of Exeter...

Pubs, in all their glory

Pubs, we've all seen them. But what is so great about them? Is it simply the alcohol that flows so freely (well, not freely, more like £2.80 a pint), is it the gardens, the food, the conversation, the big screens, the lack of big screens, the friendly staff... the list goes on.

On this blog I will endeavour to try and encapsulate what I like so much about a handful of Exeter pubs. Using a “find 50” (see here) style booklet I will be the judge and jury of my local drinking holes. All in the name of research.

On that topic I must get to the City Gate now in time for poker, this week is my week, I can feel it.

Welcome to exeblog

Welcome to my new blog, exeblog. The lack of capital letter on the exe bothers me slightly, but that's how it is, and I will just have to live with that, or change it – that would be an option too, and it is always good to keep your options open.

Anyway, quibbling over a capital letter that may or may not be there is not why this blog has been set up (although there are whole blogs on the subject, see http://spandg.blogspot.com/ or http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/) No this blog has been set up by me to document the things I see and do around my home town of Exeter. Exciting huh?

In a blog elsewhere I tend to ramble on about random things, and indeed this is reflected in the name of that blog (see http://www.wibsite.com/wiblog/neil/), but I felt the need for somewhere more focused to put my experiences and musings of Exeter. So if I see a badger crossing Cowley Bridge Road, or a man naked in ASK, or hear about a disgraced teacher in Pinhoe, or a bomb in town then this is the place I will ramble about it. How focused is that?

I am hoping that comments from people with connections with Exeter will liven things up too, and if it all ends up being really dull and pretentious then I see Blogger includes a hand “Delete Blog” button, and I won't be shy to use it.

So let the blog begin... (probably tomorrow though, as I have a nice bottle of Rosé open, and it is begging to be consumed).