I know that we Marigolds spend about 55% of this newsletter in praise of the pub but allow me to eulogise once more, for tomorrow marks the return of a draught pint across the land, albeit outside for now. Last night over dinner my boyfriend and I discussed how we felt about being back in’t pub. Both of us are very fond of an off-peak pint, that 6pm Sunday pint or the 3pm midweek beer midst a treat day carved out for yourself either from shift work or holidays. Basically we both agree that a pint is best enjoyed in contemplative calm. If I’m ‘out out’, make mine something spirit based please – I want that slight melting vein feeling that comes from minimum 42% abv before a dancefloor.
Having spent years working in restaurants where a Friday and Saturday night off were both rare and usually for a pre-arranged occasion, I have spent surprisingly little time in pubs during peak drinking hours. In fact, my first Monday-Friday job came last year – just before global shutdown and so I’ve still not experienced the post work Friday pub madness. My favourite times in pubs have all been at times when the room is scattered with a couple of regulars, the best seats are available and the pub cat/dog has room to roam about (shout out to Pickles at The Railway Tavern).
However at this point I will not take any drink poured for me by someone else for granted and give me a draught Guinness in any circumstance, Friday madness or not.
Matt Parker, guest star of this week’s Marigold edition, spent his childhood growing up in pubs and as such I’m sure has seen plenty of both the weekend chaos and the calm bookmarking it. Few people, on the sliding scale of pub frequenters, have insider knowledge on the reality of 24 hour occupation and we hope you enjoy this peak into behind the bar scenes.
Emily has talked in our Pub Rolodex issue about pubs being vital community and cultural spaces as well as watering holes. I include it as a guide to our favourite pint places too - in case you are in need of inspiration of where to go. Wherever you choose and whichever way you’re going to drink your first pint of the year, we hope you enjoy it.
Love,
Josie + The Marigolds.
Recommended Pairing
by Matt Parker
HAM, EGG & CHIPS (Serves 1)
Sunday. Hangover, not essential but highly encouraged. This is probably my Step-mum’s favourite meal, we would regularly have this on a Sunday in the morning before my parents would open the pub. My Dad, most likely hungover, would shuffle around the kitchen in his blue and white striped robe preparing this breakfast for all the family. We didn’t have a dining room; so we would sometimes sit in the pub at the bar to eat, when the cleaner would come in to get the place sorted for midday, hoovering around us whilst we ate our Ham, Egg & Chips. This meal was also something that would easily double-up as a lazy, early dinner after The Red House shut early on a Sunday after a quiet day of business with a smattering of regulars throughout the afternoon. It’s the perfect Sunday meal in my opinion; it comforts me to know that something that requires such little effort can bring my family and I such a huge amount of joy.
2 or 3 Thick slices of Boiled Ham from White’s family butchers, I prefer smoked but unsmoked also works just as well.
1 small portion of chips from Diamond Fish bar - extra salt, extra vinegar.
2 eggs - fried to your liking, in an animal fat of your choosing, lard is preferable.
Lots of condiments - Brown Sauce & English Mustard are essential, but feel free to experiment, homemade piccalilli would also work really well with this, only if I have some lying around.
Turn the oven on 200°, and heat up a large plate.
Take the ham out the fridge, add the slices to a saucepan and add a centimeter of water, put a lid on and stick on a low heat to warm up.
Unwrap the chips from the paper as soon as you get back home so they don’t get too soggy, try and live around 3 or 4 doors away from a fish and chip shop, this usually helps a lot.
Fry 2 eggs. Sunny side up and in a hot pan to get crispy edges, season well with salt and pepper.
Take the ham out the pan and drain the water off on some kitchen paper, take the warm plate out the oven add ham slices, the fried eggs on top and then the hot chips to the side. Bring salt, malt vinegar and condiments to the table with a spoon, you will definitely need more mustard.
Serve with a tall glass of fountain cola with lots of ice.
An Interview with Matt Parker
Words and voices: E. Boyfield and Matt Parker (with a brief hello from housemate Louis)
Images: courtesy of Matt Parker
Biltong, pork scratchings, panda pops, coated nuts, hidden snooker balls. As a slight change of pace this week I spoke with a friend of Marigold, Matt Parker. I have paired my chat with a Jonathan Meades BBC documentary, Where The Other Half Lives from 1994. His mention of the unused old hop kilns in Kent was what got me thinking about Matt, and his childhood growing up in pubs - and it subsequently influenced me to conduct this slightly anarchic ‘interview’. Meades describes the architecture, culture and history of brewing towns and public houses in a brilliant way,
“we ascribe wisdom to the old boys in the corner… we subscribe to that topsy turvy snobbery that celebrates flat caps and dominoes”
I think is a perfect summary of the nostalgia I feel is wrapped up in a lot of British people’s relationships with the pub.
I always wondered what it was like to live in a pub, and of course a huge part of me still wants to create our pub commune. It’s good to hear about the joys and possible difficulties of pub living that Matt, a man who’s origin story is the pub, goes into in our chat. Frankly though, it only made me more willing to sign up to the lifestyle.
Matt and his good friend Marcus run Kiosken på Odden just outside Copenhagen. He is a chef, and has a huge interest in brewing. Last time he returned to the UK to visit he brought some of his ingeniously named ‘Borter’ (a saison made with wheat and herb honey), which sadly was completely rinsed by our other friends before I even got to try any of it. Hopefully he will do some more brewing in the future that everyone can partake in - as I often like to remind him, it’s in his blood. He NEEDS to be a landlord, and serve his own brews.
Listen to the full (ish) conversation below to hear me and Matt riffing and jiffing, I feel like it’s quite a nice conversation to listen to on a Sunday. It potters and meanders, I hoped to mirror the lilting, disjointed nature of drunken pub conversations, and perhaps have succeeded? Excuse the foul language (NSFW), general rambling, audio quality, editing, and us forgetting the names of many, many snack brands.
* Please note that Seabrooks are not discontinued, I mistook them for Brannigans (which I’m still in mourning the loss of).
** Please also excuse me for forgetting what Mini Cheddars are called, vehemently claiming that the Sahara is not in Egypt (I said that with my whole chest as well…), and calling bolo ties ‘bolero ties’. I blame this on the death of my brain cells, likely caused by drinking.
Thanks for reading as always send us some pub recommendations to our Instagram. Here’s some links to round things off, Cheers!
Seaspiricy - much has been made of this Netflix backed documentary and it is definitely worth a watch. However I would say that, horrifying as it is I think it’s only right to point out that it is only one side of the story and has some serious shock value built in for maximum impact - Josie
Nigella Lawson - Life in 5 Dishes - Nigella Lawson is fascinating to me - I can’t quite bring myself to fully love her like I love Samin (who also has a great episode in this series) but I still feel immense indignation about how pilloried by certain parts of the press she has been. I did however thoroughly enjoy this, it’s a very uncomplicated Sunday evening listen, particular pleasure gained from the fact that all music was also picked by Nigella - Josie
The Secret History of Weeds - I’ve just finished the excellent Shuggie Bain told in lively Scottish vernacular, my favourite new phrase was shouted at a child every time they grew out of their school uniform ‘he’s growing like a weed’. This is a slightly tenuous link to this fascinating article about weeds and their magic properties but hey this recommendation is two for the price of one - Rebecca
Wildflower, Wildflower 2 - This album is perfect for all manner of Sunday pottering, rearranging seedlings on window sills, meditative walks in the park, kitchen music whilst you roast, bake or peel. A honey toned treat - Rebecca