Geoff Luke RIP

Football lost another of the good guys when our Plymouth Argyle-supporting chum, Geoff Luke, died recently.

He was a true man of Cornwall, working as secretary at Truro City in addition to supporting the Argyle. Like many young men, he came to London in the 1970s to seek his fame and fortune and one of his first jobs there was that of assistant secretary at West Ham United.

It was in London that he helped create the Plymouth Argyle Supporters London Branch in 1976 which boasts a membership in the high hundreds and in ethos is not so different from our very own DAFTS.

In those dark pre-internet days, communications were all done by mail and Geoff housed the branch photocopier in the living room of his flat. Ever the trusting man, several committee members helds keys to the flat so they could pop in and copy a few pages for the newsletter whenever they had some spare time.

Martin and Geoff before the FA
Trophy final at Wembley

Another hobby that Geoff was heavily involved in was table football and in his prime he was an England international. For the last twenty years or more he has organised an annual tournament in St Agnes that was highly regarded amongst the finger flicking fraternity.

Geoff made his first visit to Feethams with Colin Fletcher, his table soccer buddy, and was always happy to come and sample the DAFTS pre-match atmosphere at various Darlo games in the south of England (including the FA Trophy final win at Wembley).

Over recent years I got to know Geoff very well - like me he was always ready and willing to go to beer festivals or try out new pubs in the burgeoning beer scene in London - he was great company and we got on famously.

Geoff would disappear for weeks on end though as he visited the farthest corners of Europe attending football matches at all levels of the game.

It was typical of his cheeky nature that he managed to get press accreditation for two Russian World Cup qualifiers by saying he was editor of the Pasty Times (the PASLB magazine).  It impressed the Russian FA and he made it to the press box!

If you asked how he could afford all these trips as a pensioner, he'd tell you he'd budgeted for such a life-style until he was 80.  What happens after that, I'd always ask jokingly? Will you turn up on our doorsteps all bereft?  Sadly we'll never know. 

I'm very grateful that I was able to share his last day with us.  Argyle's match at Southend was called off so after a flurry of texts, he joined myself and fellow drinker Chris Turner (Rotherham's game also called off) in the Euston Tap at noon.

Howard was also in town so he popped along for an hour before he left we three to start a bit of a pub crawl - first to the recently opened Hops & Glory on Essex Road before heading off to Dukes Brew & Que where they brew their own beer. Good stuff it is too


Geoff won the 50-50 draw at our game at Hayes &
Yeading back in 2011.  Ever the gentleman, he spent
most of it on beers
for all his friends.

Our final destination was the Fox on Kingsland Road - an area of London's east end that was once a beer desert but which is now an up and coming district.  It was a pub we'd been to several months ago on one of our crawls of discovery.  We quite liked it - a decent beer choice even if the clientele consisted of loud-talking, trendy types about half our age.

After a few beers, we called it a day at 7pm - fairly compos mentis as we'd been taking it relatively easy throughout the day - Geoff headed off north to catch a bus and then pick up his train whilst Chris and I went south - he home to south London whilst I, having got a second wind, wandered back to the Euston Tap for a few more beers.

What I didn't know until the following Tuesday that whilst on the train home, Geoff suffered a massive heart attack and died.

It is a oft-given cliche but nonetheless true to say that he was taken before his time. At his funeral this week, it was clear from all the tributes made to him that he played a significant part in many people's lives and would leave a huge gap behind.



 RIP Geoff Luke, b. 19 September 1947, d. 19 January 2013.

It's Not Woking For Us

Four our evening game against Hayes and Yeading, I decided to take the afternoon off and have a few relaxing beers before kick-off.

Normally this wouldn't be possible as Hayes has a distinct lack of decent pubs - as we found out last season - but since Hayes and Yeading sold their ground and their new one isn't ready, we're making the trip to their temporary groundshare home, the Kingfield Stadium, home of Woking FC.

I'd invited Geoff Luke to join Liz and I and we all met on the concourse at Waterloo.  Just behind was Old Hairy Hands himself, Richard Keys, presumably toddling off home after doing his radio slot in the nearby Talkshite studios.

Geoff and Liz with the LM flag

It is only a 25 minute journey to Woking - real suburbia but a pleasant run when you avoid the rush hour - and on arrival we headed off to the Railway Athletic club.  We're not members of course but since it's in the Good Beer Guide, all CAMRA members are allowed in.

Not surprisingly it was not very busy - they had a couple of cask beers on, local beers but I forgot to make a note of what they were.

Both beers were fine but not worth hanging around for so we made the short walk to the designated DAFTS pub, the Sovereigns.

There was a much more expansive range of beers here - Elgoods Black Dog, Wooden Hand Pirate's Gold, Brentwood Blond, Itchen Valley Treacle Stout and Adnam's Gunhill.

We bumped into our new chum from Braintree, Michael, who'd met up with another exiled Darlo fan ne found on his travels.  Martin called me - he wanted directions to the pub so I passed him onto the barmaid.  Within minutes he was with us.

Of the beers the Pirate's Gold and Blond were good easy drinkers but the Treacle Stout was surprisingly good - quite dry and not at all sweet as you'd expect from the name.

Other DAFTS turned up - Neil, Paul and Iain - and finally John W just as we'd decided to walk down to the ground - only about fifteen minutes away (less if you find the proper entrance!).

Martin and Stocky

A strange stadium - very non-league on three sides but behind one goal there is a huge stand - closed tonight of course - which completely dominated.

The squad was warming up as I got pitchside - I noticed David Stockdale had arrived and was busy catching up with Thommo.  Liz and Geoff had put the London Millers flag - a bit of lower league solidarity - before joining us so she too could have a chat with Stockers (who'd spent time at Rotherham on-loan).

Doug Embleton and wife Ange were down - as was Shawn Campbell with former Chelsea player Paul Canonville - so I had a quick chat to see how they were coping with all the media attention.

There was a healthy contingent of Darlo fans in evidence tonight - plus quite a few from other clubs who had seen the drama earlier in the week and wanted to come along and give their support.  The crowd of 550 was significantly above the home average for the season as a result.

Unfortunately any thoughts amongst the travelling fans about us pulling off a positive result were dealt a mighty blow after we ended up two-nil down after just ten minutes.

The Quakers didn't look very confident right from kick-off - later I learn that Graeme Lee was injured in the warm-up and I suspect that didn't help as Scott Harrison had to then play in central defence.

The first goal came from a penalty when Jordan Pickford clattered into one of the Hayes' forward and was adjudged to have fouled him.  Pickford was given no chance from the spot.

Pickford was again heavily involved with the second goal - his throw out was not the best and went to the opposition.  The Quakers defence then let Wishart run through the defence more or less unhindered and he shot home from close range.

A disastrous start and the last thing that any of us had expected.  We may not be in the best of form but after a solid, albeit fruitless, performance against Fleetwood, we had expected a close contest tonight.

Earlier in the season, the Darlo fans would have turned on the players but they continued to get behind the team and encourage them.  And the players did finally make some headway as they put their stamp on the game and put pressure on the home side but without really troubling their keeper.

And despite that very shaky start, Pickford recovered and managed to make a couple of very decent saves.

Ange, Doug and Neil

In the second half Darlo came out looking very strong and almost pulled a goal back after Kris Taylor was denied by a clearance on the goal line.

But it wasn't long before the home side extended their lead as Collins scored a solo effort from his own half to seemingly put the game beyond Darlo's reach. And the lead could have been a lot worse but for some woeful finishing.

As the game started to run down for the last quarter I was hailed by Spencer Austin, better known as the Gloryhunter, who'd spent a couple of months following Darlo a couple of seasons ago. It was nice to see him again - he told me he'd been spending time on safari in Africa and had also taken up birdwatching. There's hope for the cockney boy yet!

As time started to run out Darlo pulled a goal back when one of the youth team, Jamie Barton, shot (or crossed) from out wide on the wing and the ball looped over the keeper.  Did he mean it? 

The celebrations were muted on the pitch as the Quakers no doubt thought it was a case of too little, too late.

However another of the youth team, Danny Lambert, was having a very busy debut and he crossed to Ryan Bowman.  He shot but the keeper saved it only to see the ball hit defender Pele and trickle over the goal-line in slow motion.

Ultimately it was too little, too late but as the players got a tremendous ovation from the away fans, we did leave feeling that if only we'd not been so careless in the opening quarter of the game, we could have got something out of this game.

All Points East

Once again we have a cup game at home, in this case the FA Trophy game against Bath City, which meant there was not a lot of time to get reasonably-priced train tickets up to Darlo and so I decided to get my kicks drinking beer instead.

And not for the first time (nor the last I suspect), London Miller Chris Turner was more than happy to come out and play - but where to go?

We decided to make it a mixture of old and new and started out along the Central Line at Wanstead. As Chris and I arrived we passed one of the pubs on our list, the Cuckfield, but the beer choice looked unexciting and so we cut it out of our plans.

(left) Robin's Pie and Mash

Just a few yards further on was our first stop, Robin's Pie and Mash shop, a recent addition to the Robin's pie empire.

The pies were quite thin with soft pastry but a very tasty filling. They provide the corporate pie and mash at West Ham United so certainly the real deal - no prawns here (though they will do you poached salmon and mash at this branch).

From here it was a short walk to the Nightingale - a lovely pub tucked away from the bustle of the High Street, sat next to a small green which gives it a bit of a Essex village vibe. Great to see the pub opening before noon as well - very civilised.
A decent collection of beers on offer: Fullers ESB, Morland's Old Speckled Hen, Courage Best, Ringwood Boondoggle and Rudgate Ruby Mild. We looked to be the first drinkers in today and the beers we had - the Boondoggle and the mild - were both in excellent condition - too often you get a lukewarm "first of the day" pint. Pricey though at £3.45 a pint!

The pub has several rooms, all with a busy clutter of pictures and memorabilia, giving a real homely feel. There were boards everywhere advertising the food on offer which was very varied but which had an emphasis on fish dishes.
The Essex feel to the place was completed by a set of stereotypical Essex types, including one guy who resembled Smithy (from Gavin and Stacy) in both mannerisms and dress, completed when he orderd rogan josh and chips for a belated breakfast. Classy, Gavlar!
(right) The Nightingale, Wanstead
After a couple of pints we caught the W12 minibus - one of these buses that you can hail as it goes along it's route - and which took us along the edge of Epping Forest, past the towering frontage of Snaresbrook Crown Court, through Whipps Cross hospital to Walthamstow.

Here we popped into the Nags Head in the village part of Walthamstow which is markedly different from the surrounding areas of north-east London. Our Green Army chum, Geoff, was patiently waiting for us.

Chris and I had been here once before - it's a community pub with comfy chairs, books, magazine and various special-interest groups - it could be a bit precious but isn't, helped by a good selection of beers including Nethergate Best Bitter, Crouch Vale Brewers Gold, Mighty Oak Oscar Wilde Mild, Tim Taylor's Landlord and Fullers Pride.

Apart from the pubs, another reason we choose to come to this neck of the woods was to visit the East London Sausage Shop. The sausages are truly excellent and despite good intentions it has taken us over a year to come back and get some more.

From here we walk past the Village - we popped in here on our last visit and the the beer here was terrible so instead we head for the Castle which has had recent good reports and is another new pub for us.

(left) Geoff and Chris leave the East London Sausage Company

What was once an old east-end boozer had really had a major makeover and was now one of the (far too?) many pub eateries full of young couples who all seem to be glued to their netbooks and iPhones rather than actually talking to each other.

Nevertheless they had three handpumps with Black Sheep Ale, Youngs London Gold plus one other. The London Gold is what was Kew Gold which I used to like in bottles but this was fairly bland although in good condition.

The final stop of the day was the King William IV - otherwise known as the tap for Brodie's Beers who are probably the most prodigious brewers in London with a seemingly endless array of beers produced by siblings James and Lizzie, the White Stripes of brewing.

Not surprisingly there was a huge range of beers from the brewery - which sits behind the pub - on offer at the bar including Green Bullet, Brewer's Gold, El Dorado, Polska, Olde Ardour, Romanov Empress Stout (12.1%!), IPA, Kiwi, Citra, Amarilla, Californian and Seven Hop IPA (7.7%) plus a guest from North London, Camden Brewery's Pale Ale.

Some of the beers are excellent and the majority of the others are good to very good - you rarely get a duff beer from them. And all at the excellent price of £1.99, regardless of strength.

The big screen was tuned to Sky Sports so we were able to follow the fortunes of our respective teams - good news for me as Darlo beat Bath City 4-1 but not so great for Chris and Geoff as their teams lost.

The pub started to fill up once the final results came in - the match between West Ham and Arsenal was live on TV and this neck of the woods could be said to straddle both sets of supporters.

Not surprisingly it was the Arsenal fans who had most to cheer whilst the Hammers fans in the pub started up chants against the board - they want Grant out but at least they know he was probably a poor appointment in the first place.

But quite frankly I didn't care as our Wembley dream is still alive...

London Millers Treasure Hunt 2010

It's the middle of July and absolutely roasting hot so it must be about time for the London Millers Treasure Hunt.

Liz and I worked on this last year and this time around we enlisted the help of one of the other LMs, Chris, as he has an abundance of pub knowledge.

The task mainly involved wandering round north-east London to find pubs which had good beer but which also had items of interest that we could turn into questions.

Pickings were quite surprisingly slim - quite a few pubs with decent beer but too few had much of interest on the walls.

And some that did were just a bit too up their own arse - The Scolt Head in De Beauvior town being one example. They were not keen to let us sit drinking in their dining area - "it's for diners only" - but apparently it was OK for diners to sit and eat their food at the bar - wankers.

The Treasure Hunt started at the Wenlock Arms once the LM AGM in the upstairs function room has finished. Teams of two set out with maps, questions, a list of bus routes and a spring in their step.

Liz was happy to stay behind with the entry money and go get some prizes from the Pound shop in nearby Hoxton and then just sit in the pub reading her book. So easily pleased...

The first pub was in Hackney - the Globe in Morning Lane - which had Youngs beers. The landlord of the pub has a connection to Rotherham comedian, Sandy "Can You Hear Me Mother?" Powell, which is very appropriate.

(left) The Pembury Tavern

I never actually made it there as Argyle chum, Geoff, and I headed straight for the second pub, the Pembury Tavern.

We know this place very well and it always has an excellent range, especially from Milton Brewery.

It was here that the front runners caught up with us, found the answers to the clues and then wandered onto pub number 3. Very professional.

Meanwhile we just had another beer and waited for the stragglers to arrive and do their bit before we all followed Jenny & co. to the wilds of Stoke Newington via the 276 bus.

The pub here is the Daniel Defoe - quite a nice pub but with an average choice of beers, St Austell Tribute being the pick of the bunch.
(right) The Uncivil Civil Servant in the Jolly Butchers
Whilst the front-runners did their stuff and then headed off to the Angel for the remaining pubs, a number of us took a detour to the Jolly Butchers on the High Street.
This has recently been done up and whilst it has a good range of beers and ciders - Dark Star American IPA and Thornbridge Hopton the pick of the beers - it was bereft of clues which is why we couldn't include it in the treasure hunt.
The pub itself has a decidedly yummy mummy feel to it, quite reminiscent of the Greenwich Union which often resembled a creche.
It also serves pints in those heavy old dimple glasses which I regard as affectation (much like the Southampton Arms and we wonder if they are indeed connected).
It is at this point that some of those teams that are lagging behind - the usual suspects from south of the river - realise that they don't stand a hope of winning.
Wisely they decide to call it a day and simply enjoy the booze. So we savour a few more beers and then we take the 73 back to the Wenlock.
Those teams that nobly carried on with the quiz had the luxury of three pubs in a short stretch just south of the Angel.
Two of these pubs were on Arlington Street - the Shakespeare's Head and the Harlequin.
The Shakespeare's Head is a modern estate-style pub just a few yards from Sadlers Well theatre - in fact it is close to the stage door and s a result the walls are covered in posters and autographed photos. The beer is Courage Best and Directors which is no more than OK.
There are two Darlington connections as part of the questions - an autographed picture of Wendy Craig on the wall plus a newspaper mock-up to celebrate one of the regulars being a great grandad. His name? George Reynolds...
(left) The Harlequin

The Harlequin is just a short walk away - a small pretty pub which is also full of acting memorabilia but this is all much older, much of it concerned with Joseph Grimaldi who trod the boards in the 19th century.
The beer is again OK but nothing fantastic - Landlord and Black Sheep.
The Old Red Lion is the last port of call on the treasure hunt -a pub has been on this site for 595 years and the current incarnation incorporates a small theatre upstairs. Photos of many of the up-and-coming stars who started out here - such as local actress Kathy Burke - festoon the walls and made perfect clues.
It's quite a nice pub - five beers on offer usually with regulars including Harvey's Best, Landlord and London Pride and the odd guest. Chris Turner and I were here a year ago on one of our close-season rambles and the Landlord was about the best we'd had in London but in more recent visits though the beer hasn't been brilliant.
As well as answering questions, there were initiative and bonus rounds to sort out the winners from the losers.
These included finding the best mis-shapen vegetable or fruit during the crawl (a huge misshapen cassava) and coming up with the best celebrity story (which involved John Inman on the Edgware Road - you don't need to know anymore).
By 7:30pm or so, everyone was back at the Wenlock Arms - Liz totted up the scores and declared the winners to be Alice and Tess - champagne for them - with Jenny and Jim close behind in second place.

Katie and Robert, Liz's niece and brother respectively, were unable to take part fully as Rob took Katie off for a ride on the tube. They still got a classy prize though...

(right) Liz presents a prize to Robert and Katie

There were cheap runner-up prizes for all the other teams - piggy banks, gardening gloves and scented candles - so everyone was a winner on the day!

It goes without saying that the Wenlock Arms provided the best beer choice of the day so it is slightly worrying that the place is up for sale and there is talk of redeveloping this area.
Some beer folk regard the place as dirty and run-down and to a degree they're right but it is a pub where everyone is welcome and left alone to enjoy their beer or have a chat. Long may it continue to be so...

(above) Alice and Tess - winners of the 2010 London Millers Treasure Hunt thingy

Cup Dreams Go South...

And so we come to the first round of the FA Cup and all the excitement that this traditionally brings. Well, perhaps not this season as we face our second trip to Underhill in a fortnight.

(right) Deja Underhill

Since Rotherham's game against Wealdstone had been put back to the Sunday - apparently there was a function in the club bar on the Saturday that took precedence over the football - Liz joined me for the day.

We took breakfast at People's Choice near Barbican tube - this used to be very good but recently they've started to use frite-style chips which don't really stand up alongside the other ingredients of the Traditional English. 6 out of 10 - must try harder.

I suppose that as first round draws go, this was not the absolute worst we could have had - easy to get too for we in the south - but following our 3-0 defeat a fortnight ago, it was highly likely to be a case of deja defeat and as such it was only really a sense of duty that saw us attend.

That and another chance to wander along to the Lord Nelson. This time around there were just four of us - John Wilson and Geoff the only others who came along - but we had some fun playing with Bonnie the pub dog.

(left) Bonnie - throw the damn thing, will you?

Bonnie is a bit of an elderly dog but she loves playing with the regulars.

Perhaps we're now included in that group as she brought her squeaky toy for us to throw. Occasionally she'd even deign to actual go fetch it back...

The guest beer on this visit was St Austell Tribute - I've never been a huge fan of this beer but it was in superb condition on this occasion.

And not quite as many fans in the away end today - not surprising as Sunderland and Boro are both playing in the capital which will have meant that there'll have been no cheap rail tickets for those in the north.

Any hopes that the team had learnt from their last visit were snuffed out after just 20 mins when some shoddy defending saw veteran Paul Furlong slot the ball past Liversedge.

Following that there was some improvement for the remainder of the half as we pressed forward but there were quite a few poor individual displays - Davis was probably the worst and was to blame for most of the lost possession.

Despite being told that Moses Barnett had a great game in our sole win this season, I've yet to be convinced after he had another poor game at Underhill. It was his last game on loan and I'd be surprised if we see him again.

One-nil going into the break wasn't too bad but that soon changed as a simple tap in for Micah Hyde minutes after the restart more or less sealed it for the home team.

(right) Geoff walking backwards to Underhill (for Christmas?)

A third goal hammered the nail into the coffin but unlike our last visit, we didn't leave. We were rewarded four our loyalty as Staunton made a double subtitution - Josh Gray and Mor Diop coming on - and we started to show some concerted efforts up front.

Our finishing on the whole was wayward - Thomas and Collins especially - but Diop showed how it should be done with a close range effort which he slid past the Barnet keeper.

Unfortunately Diop then faded badly - presumably he's not yet match fit - and so did any lingering hopes of getting another goal back, especially after a couple of good saves from the home keeper.

So we're back to concentrating on the league - not a total surprise to any of us but it has the one advantage that we now have a free weekend at the end of the month.

We headed back into town after the game and passed through a manic Kings Cross to the Betjeman Arms at St Pancras.

Apparently Union, the new premium beer from Sambrooks, was supposed to be available but it wasn't. Instead I stuck to the Betjeman Ale whilst John has his first ever taste of Wandle Ale, Sambrooks' current and only offering - still a bit nondescript in our opinion and not dissimilar to Youngs Ordinary. We look forward to tasting the Union.

The Betjeman Arms was starting to get busy with England rugby fans and Sunderland fans all getting a few beers before catching trains home. Once we'd caught up with the football scores we headed for the calm and tranquility of the King Charles I.

Unfortunately we'd narrowly missed out on the Brodies Special which was being served direct from the barrel but their IPA is on tap and for a 4.0% beer it's a very nice drop - well hoppy and a decent body.

We try to get something to eat but the scotch eggs are all gone - there are mussels and pickled eggs but these don't tempt Liz at all. Instead the kindly barman shares some home-made pork scratchings that a customer has made. Crackling stuff.

We have a few more IPAs before ordering a takeaway from a nearby curry house and then we head on home. It's an early night for Liz as she's got her own game tomorrow - for her the dream lives on whilst we remain firmly mired in our league nightmare.