DAFTS tour de York

For all that I'd got back into the the football groove a couple of weeks ago, this was to be another football-free Saturday.

I woke up later than planned leading to a frenzied dash using taxi, DLR and tube to get me to Kings Cross in time for mandatory breakfast.

I left Kings Cross at 7:30am, arriving in York two hours later. Tony joined me minutes later and we sat waiting for the York Tap to open at their advertised time of 10am.  Finally at 10:15am, the doors opened.

York Tap (platform entrance)

The York Tap is the younger sibling of the Euston Tap and was recently awarded Best Cask Beer pub in the 2012 Great British Pub awards.

I've been in twice before and whilst they always have a wide choice, the condition of the beers has never impressed, certainly not to the extent that they are deserving of an award.  Today was no different - the Tempest beer I had was good but most of others - including the Katzenhammer from Northallerton's Walls brewery - were poor.

We were joined in the Tap by Brian and then Steve - Martin also popped in for half an hour whilst he waited for his connection to Billingham although tweets about a broken rail at Thornaby weren't encouraging for that leg of the journey.

Rotherham United were in town to play York City today and a slow trickle of Millers started coming into the pub, including some London Millers.

We thought it a good time to move onto the next pub on our list, Brigantes, which is quite reminiscent of Number Twenty-2 and is a sister pub to the Tithe Bar in Northalleton. It was just opening as we arrived - slightly better timing for pub #2!

We met a couple more of the London Millers (Derby branch) before the main set of London Millers, including Liz, arrived.  They were in search of food as well as drink - Brian thought likewise and ordered what looked to be a very meaty Barnsley chop (though he didn't seem so impressed with his veggies).

By now we were having deep conversations about the current state of Darlington and everything going on at the club.  It is good to see that Tony is back on the board where he'll do a great job.

The Millers wander off to Bootham Crescent as kick-off approached and shortly after we follow in the same direction.  We skip the chance of dropping into the Ackhorne - an old favourite but not too good on my most recent visits - and drop into the small but perfectly formed Blue Bell.  Good beers and excellent pork pies for those that are still hungry.

Next up is the Pivni bar - first pub in the Tap chain - and as I get the beers in, Steve wanders off to buy a selection of cheeses from the shop next door.  I don't really like cheese but he found a lovely Wensleydale with lemon and it was not too bad at all.

As on the last DAFTS visit here in the summer, we closely monitor the comings and going at the Ernest Roy electrical shop opposite where a wide range of unusual electronic tat is on sale. It does seem an odd little place.

As we do so, news from game at Billingham comes filtering through. First came tweets about the fighting as the game started and then we hear that we've taken the lead.

A merriment of DAFTS in the Blue Bell

Our final point of call is the Maltings.  Normally this pub can be a bit of a crush but since our last visit, the pub has been extended and there is plenty of sitting room. 

Scores continue to be monitored and it seems there is a second-half goal deluge at Billingham that sees us win 7-1. We rack our brains trying to remember when we last scored six goals in the second half.

And then on the train back to Kings Cross - joined by loads of Rotherham fans thankfully only going as far as Donny. Not the most intelligent bunch with some having the cheek to criticise small-but-cosy Bootham Crescent. Such short memories.

A good snooze and then I'm back in the Euston Tap before 8pm - some nice beers on keg tonight and I end up having rounds of Saison du Pont and Magic Rock Highwire. 

I get talking to a few folk in there including a couple of QPR fans who were drowning their sorrows after yet another defeat, this time at West Brom. I confess I used to like them but can't now that they have Mark Hughes as manager.  They admit they don't like him either.

Also in attendance was John Whinnerah, brewer at Art Brew - a big chap in an Art Brew t-shirt, it was hard to miss him.  I know his beers quite well -  his Single Hop Motueka is on tap tonight - and they're all pretty good. 

John used to run the award-winning Royal Oak in Bath.  This one was of the best pubs in Bath and very handy for Darlo's first ever game at Twerton Park. Sadly since he left, the place went downhill and on DAFTS last visit to the city, the manager there wouldn't let us in due to a shortage of staff.  However there is good news as recent comments suggest it is improving.

As the night progresses, the staff experiment with a mixture of Thornbridge Halycon and gin. Surprisingly it tastes quite good but I've had enough for today and head off to Stratford to get a taxi home (my tube lines are out of action).

As I head to the taxi ramp, I bump into Mark - fellow drinker last week at Borefts - who looks like he has had a few beers too.  We share a taxi to our respective gaffs.

And Now Over To The Arena

A 7am start at King's Cross for this game - there's engineering between York and Doncaster so trains are going via Leeds - at York we detrain to another train for the final leg to Darlo. A bit of a pain but there is an upside - we arrive early so pies are bought in good time for me to be in the Quaker for opening.

As ever there's a great choice of beers with plenty of new faces including Newcastle Pioneer, Ouseburn Porter and Tyneside Blond from Hadrian & Border; Brentwood Brewery's Roy Rogers; Caulker and Farne Island from Jarrow Brewery; Captain Cook's Sunshine and Derventio's Et Tu Brutus.

I didn't try them all but the two I did - the Newcastle Pioneer and Roy Rogers - were very good indeed and in tip-top condition, especially the Pioneer.

It would seem that this may be the last time I see Steve and Linda working the lunchtime session - Steve is in the process of setting up a line cleaning business - given the quality of beer in the Quaker during his time there there's no doubt he knows how to keep lines in tip-top condition so hopefully his reputation, and his awards, will stand him in good stead. Good Luck, Steve.

Number Twenty-2 also had it's fair share of new and interesting beers but as usual I forget to make a note and all I can remember is the Paddy's Porter from Wychwood (which I didn't try). The pub was very busy today but not sure why - we certainly weren't being overrun with Morecambe fans.

We decided that today would be the day to divvy up the DAFTS Beer Tax - by the time we'd made our contributions for the day we had about £147 - Tony kindly swapped a lot of the shrapnel for notes and pushed the total to £150. This includes some contributions from Rotherham and Chelsea fans plus the odd regular in the Quaker. Thanks to all who contributed.

It was a relatively early trip to the ground for me at 2pm - joined in the taxi by old chum Doug Embleton who was taking one of his old workmates for his first view of the Arena - lucky chap.

(left) Ray Simpon looks worried

The club shop had a sale so I got myself some training bottoms - you never know how desperate we'll be next season.

In reception I handed over the DAFTS Beer Tax to Karen Glencross who was manning reception and then signed in at the press desk - the first time for quite a while - as today would see me being co-commentator with Ray Simpson on BBC Radio Tees.

The chance for this opportunity had been put to auction and I won - cheaper than I expected - and I caught up with Ray in the commentary area. I've been up there quite a few times in previous seasons when I used to sign in as a photographer. To my right were some other acquaintances, Andy Wilkinson (of the Evening Gazette) and Frank Tweddle who has been Darlo's historian since.....well, since records began.

(right) Frank Tweddle and Andrew Wilkinson on duty

Ray went over a few of the basics - nothing really to worry about, just have fun and a chat - we would be going over to Radio Tees for the odd snippet and the rest of the time we'd be speaking to the good folk subscribing to Quakers World.

The game itself was one of a few chances at either end - they hit the woodwork whilst we missed a couple of very good chances at each end. Purdie and Kennedy both had good games - Hatch looked a little off the pace and things didn't quite click for us in the final third.

Young keeper Kazimierczak didn't have an awful lot to do but was comfortable with what he faced - again, his kicking looked to be a bit wayward but hopefully Andy Collett will help him with this.

It was good to see Neil Wainwright back at the Arena - played a full match and he got in one very good cross that went begging in our box - a shame we didn't keep him for one last season as I think he still has something to offer as a second half sub.

So it wasn't a total surprise that the game finished goalless - in fact it was a bit of a relief. I think that if we'd got a goal we'd have gone on to improve but in the end we just got frustrated.

(above) View from the commentary box

What was a total surprise - to me and certainly to my neighbours in block 11 - was that I managed to watch a whole game and not swear or even be vaguely abusive towards the opposition or the officials. Whilst I could get used to being in the co-commentators chair, I'd miss the cathartic affect of shouting at players. Unless the BBC does a Sweary Channel of course.

We had to change trains at York on the way home - we had about 45 mins to spare so more than enough time for us to drop into the Maltings by Lendal Bridge - one of the city's best pubs and ever so handy for the station. To Martin's delight, they had his favourite real ale tipple, York Brewery's Guzzler, whilst I had a pint of something by the Outlaw Brewery.

The remainder of the journey was spoilt a bit by the number of braying Premiership fans, mainly Chelsea and Portsmouth, on the train who thought we were interested in their banter and their ever-so-funny songs about German bombers. Just fuck off you wanky twats!!

The BBC don't know what they're missing...