BV London Pub of the Year 2023-24 - part one

Unbelievable though it seems, the BV London Pub of the Year award has now been going for 12 years!

It seems to come around quicker every time, with the sort of overfamiliarity that can only breed the deepest of contempt, but I keep at it, and it's now time for the latest installment.

You probably know the drill: This time we revisit the Top Five from last year's competition, and next time there will be five 'new' contenders, then finally an overall winner will be announced.

Check out some previous years contests if you need to get a handle on the scoring system. Otherwise, let's crack the fuck on...

My final post under a Tory government

With just a few hours to go until polls close in today's General Election, we are on the verge of a change of government.

And this means that, unless every single opinion poll of the campaign is spectacularly wrong, my next blogpost will be the first under a Labour Prime Minister. Which is quite something when you think about it.

Ah, sweet, delicious freedom...

This blog began back in October 2010, which means that it has existed entirely under a Tory-led administration. Government has taken various forms - Majority, Minority and Coalition - but the five Prime Ministers we've had 'running the country' over these 14 years have all been Tories. 

As many readers will know, I used to be very active in party politics, but have become increasingly disillusioned with it in recent years, given the lack of any movement that really represents my Right-Libertarian views. Indeed, ahead of the last election, I suggested going for a pint instead of voting. 

Things have arguably got worse since then, and - from my perspective at least - will likely get slightly worse. However disappointed I am with the so-called 'Conservatives', my deep personal hatred for Labour runs even deeper, and this time there is a very real risk of an outcome where the makeup of government is even less reflective of the way people voted than usual, which means even more Authoritarianism running roughshod over our lives, preferences and appetites.

(Yes, I'm in favour of a more proportional electoral system and have been for literally my entire adult life, so don't give me any shit about FPTP biting me on my fat arse...)

What I will say is this: If you have a local MP that is one of the 'good ones' - and, believe it or not, you do get them, in pretty much all parties - you can vote for them to keep their seat, secure in the knowledge that it will have fuck-all impact on the result nationally, which will be a Labour landslide.

And then go and have your last pint and meal under a Tory government. It might be a while until the next one.

Indeed, it might well be never.

Pho what it's worth

I’m sure I’ve mentioned this before, but when I was growing up in South London, Streatham was the place everyone went to eat. It just was. (Well, I suppose it wasn't if you lived in Tottenham, or Edinburgh, or Madrid, or Peking, or Alpha Centuri, but for us in South London it most definitely was!)

Even in the 1980s the High Street had more restaurants than you could ever want. There was the Italian Il Carretto, the American Charcoal Pit that gave me my first taste of ‘proper’ burgers, situated strategically across the road from McDonalds. The Acropolis Taverna served up stuff dolmades and stifado that you'd only normally know if you'd been on a holiday to Greece.

In an age when people still made do with Berni Inn, Happy Eater and the occasional over-Anglicised Tandoori or Chinese, Streatham had a lot of very good restaurants offering genuine International cuisine. (It also boasted, and indeed still boasts, a Wimpy where one could order an 'International Grill' but if anything that undermines the point to which I'm meandering!)