ED Forum Drinks

[bob]

On 01/05/2025 at 22:11, Sue said:

They all were, the Firkin pubs.

What happened to them all? I vaguely remember the very first one they brewed the beer on the premises and you could watch.

When was that? Early eighties?

Or did I dream it?!

Uplands

Plough 

Bishop

Bob S

[Sue]

17 hours ago, bob said:

Uplands

Plough 

Bishop

Bob S

What Firkins were they?

The only localish ones I remember were the Phoenix and Firkin and the Fox and Firkin.

The Plough has changed its name several times, and then back to the Plough, but to the best of my recollection the Uplands Tavern was named that until it became The Actress, and The Bishop was called something else whose name escapes me (though the smell from the gents lingers in my memory) but I'm pretty sure it wasn't a Firkin?

[Sephiroth]

Bishop was the Forester's Arms

[Spartacus]

@Sue questions now are out there why you were in the gents at the Bishop? 

I remember, slightly hazily , the goose and firkin at London Bridge / elephant borders 

[Sue]

2 hours ago, Spartacus said:

@Sue questions now are out there why you were in the gents at the Bishop? 

I remember, slightly hazily , the goose and firkin at London Bridge / elephant borders 

You didn't need to be in the gents to smell it. 

You could smell it as soon as you went into the pub 😵‍💫

Anyway, to return to Wednesday's Forum Drinks in The Palmerston - just two days to go!

 

Edited June 9 by Sue

[Sephiroth]

what time are people meeting?

 

[Sue]

1 hour ago, Sephiroth said:

what time are people meeting?

 

The tables are booked from 7pm.

We will be there from 7pm, so come any time after that!

There's info on the forum Events page.

[malumbu]

At it's peak I recall 16 Furkin pubs, all brewing their own.    The first pub was the Goose, followed by the Ferret, the wonderful Pheonix, Fox and one other, not necessarily in that order, when I discovered them.

I did all 16 on public transport in one day with a group many years ago, if Guinness had a record this would be one, as everyone else would hire a minibus.

Reverting to Wiki, it maxed out with 19 home brew pubs, and many more not brewing before the end:

chain was established in 1979 by David Bruce as Bruce's Brewery, the Firkin Brewery grew as a chain of mostly brewpubs offering cask ale. It was acquired by Midsummer Leisure in 1988, Stakis Leisure in 1990 and then by Allied Domecq in 1991; by 1995 the chain had 44 pubs, 19 of which brewed beer on site.^[1] In 1999, Punch Taverns bought the entire chain and the rights to the Firkin brand,^[2] and then sold 110 of the pubs to Bass, leaving 60 Firkin pubs under Punch ownership.^[3] The brewery side of the chain was wound up, and in March 2001 Punch announced that the Firkin brand was to be discontinued.^[4] 

[Sue]

Back on topic (!),  just a reminder that the new incarnation of the ED Forum drinks will be in The Palmerston TOMORROW Wednesday 11 June from 7pm.

Turn immediately left as you come in by the main  Lordship Lane entrance, and we will be in the area there.

Hope that at least a few of you will be up for getting to know some of your fellow forum members in real life!

Edited June 10 by Sue

[Sue]

TODAY! 

[KalamityKel]

🥳🥳🥳

[Jasonlondon]

On 05/05/2025 at 12:53, Sue said:

We have a place and a date for the first (and hopefully not the last) reborn ED Forum drinks!

We have booked tables at The Palmerston on Wednesday 11 June at 7pm, in the area by the window on the left as you come in.

It would be very helpful to us (and particularly the pub) if you could PM us in good time if you intend to come, so that we are not reserving tables which won't be used.

We will provide labels and pens  for those who would like to use them - definitely not compulsory!

Any comments or queries, please post them here or PM me!

Glad this is back on, looking forward to seeing you all tonight

[Sephiroth]

I came soooo close to being able to make it up to London this evening - but alas no. Hope everyone has a good time and the start of regular meet-ups again

[Katherty]

Sorry to miss this - I wanted to come but couldn't make it this time! 

[Jasonlondon]

On 22/04/2025 at 15:24, Sue said:

Many moons ago, ED  forum members used to meet up on a regular basis (I think monthly) in a different local.pub each time to get to know each other and to have a chat over a drink.

To help people like me who are rubbish at remembering names and faces, labels were provided!

A space was reserved in the pub each time.

If anyone would be interested in this (or else thinks it's a very bad idea!) , please either post on here or PM me.

The ED demographic has greatly changed, and many of those original forum members have moved out of the area, so possibly this may no longer work for various reasons.

My partner Nygel and I are happy to arrange the first one, but hopefully other people might step up to help after that, as we couldn't undertake to arrange them all on a regular basis, though we are  happy to take turns.

Thanks for last night, Sue, it was so lovely to catch up again

[BrandNewGuy]

A fun evening! Many thanks, Sue!

[Sue]

Thanks to all who came! It was so nice to meet people!

We will do it again!

If anyone has suggestions for a pub in East Dulwich with a suitable space (not a private room, unless it's free to hire)  please let me know.

I think it might be preferable and easier to mingle if we could stand up, rather than being trapped on  several tables, even though we rearranged them and people did move around them.

Also a pub which doesn't have both its ales off at the same time, which was unfortunate 🙄

[Earl Aelfheah]

Glad everyone had fun; Sorry to have missed it. If I can, I'll try to make the next one. Well done for organising Sue. 

[Lamusica]

Sorry to have missed this one but hope to make the next.  Re suggestions, is the Angel Oak too far?  Or the Cherry tree

Edited June 12 by Lamusica

[Sue]

2 hours ago, Lamusica said:

Sorry to have missed this one but hope to make the next.  Re suggestions, is the Angel Oak too far?  Or the Cherry tree

Thanks for the suggestions!

If the Angel Oak is the pub on the edge of the Rye, it's probably not too far, but there might be more central (to East Dulwich) pubs to try first.

No way will Nyge and I  ever  go to the Cherry Tree again, sorry.

Edited to remove a long rant, because our reasons for not wishing to give The Cherry Tree our custom are not relevant to this thread.

Edited June 12 by Sue

[intexasatthe moment]

Oh go on Sue, I'm quite interested in hearing why The Cherry Tree gained your disapproval.

How about The Plough near junction of Lordship lane and Barry Road ?

[Sue]

40 minutes ago, intexasatthe moment said:

Oh go on Sue, I'm quite interested in hearing why The Cherry Tree gained your disapproval.

How about The Plough near junction of Lordship lane and Barry Road ?

The (very) short version is that we had an absolutely appalling meal there on Christmas Day which cost us nearly £200 without drinks (for two people) - which we had to pay in advance.

The Plough might be a possibility,  but we were in there for a Wake yesterday afternoon,  and the (non) service at the bar was terrible.

[Earl Aelfheah]

What about the upstairs of the EDT? Is it possible to reserve an area?

[Sue]

1 hour ago, Earl Aelfheah said:

What about the upstairs of the EDT? Is it possible to reserve an area?

I will find out. Haven't been up there yet!

[Sue]

We have booked the lighter area (by the windows) Upstairs at the EDT (East Dulwich Tavern) on Wednesday 16 July from 7pm.

Thank you to several people who suggested this space.

The upstairs bar won't be open, so please buy a drink downstairs before you come up.

If you have mobility issues, or otherwise need help getting up and down stairs, please message me on here BEFORE the night.

One of us will arrange to meet you on the ground floor and help you negotiate the stairs.

Looking forward to meeting more forum members!