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This Could Be The Last Time...
This March sees the 25th anniversary of North London
CAMRA's London Drinker Beer & Cider Festival. It
promises to be one of the best – but, regretfully, it might
also be the last.
The festival has been at the Camden Centre in
Bidborough Street, London WC1, since 1985. In that time,
the festival has had more than 110,000 visitors from
London, Britain and overseas, and they have drunk getting
on for half a million pints of good beer and cider!
Now this fine hall, the last Civic Hall in Camden, is
under threat. The recent Camden Journal article suggesting
that the Centre might get a reprieve was incorrect and
Camden Council is still thinking of selling off its Town
Hall. This is to take advantage of the high property prices
resulting from the recent redevelopment due to the presence
of the Eurostar terminal. If they do sell, they intend to close
the Camden Centre and turn it into offices. If agreed, the
proposals are likely to go ahead in the autumn, which
means this year's festival could be the last one after 25
glorious events.
So if you haven't been before, this might be your last
chance. It's one of the easiest of all the London Festivals to
get to; the Camden Centre is just five minutes walk from
Kings Cross and St Pancras stations. It is also wheelchair
accessible. We would recommend Wednesday or Thursday
lunchtime or Friday evening for the best experience.
The festival will have nearly 100 different types of British
beer, cider and imported beers. Whatever your palate is
like, you'll find something to your taste. In the side hall,
fruit beers and sour beers sit alongside smoked and wheat
beers, and you may even find a black lager.
You will also find great food, every session. Our food is
home cooked by CAMRA volunteers. This includes two
dishes of the day (one vegetarian), traditional Cornish pasties
and British sausages – made with ale of course – and
salt beef rolls, onion bhajis and samosas.
The main hall boasts British real ales from all over the
country and of all sorts of styles, including milds, golden
ales, traditional bitters and strong ales. Cider drinkers are in
for a treat too. Due to the increasing popularity, the cider
order is being increased yet again. Visit the website for
more details:
www.camranorthlondon.org.uk.
The festival is conversation friendly, having no music at
any time in either hall but there is a Tombola, where every
'1' is a winner and tabletop pub games. Come and try your
skill and win a tee shirt!
And don't forget to visit the Products Stand, where you
can purchase a festival tee shirt commemorating the local
canals. We will be supporting a local charity that works on
the waterways providing outings for children with disabilities.
The festival is also a great place to sign up as a
CAMRA member. New members will get a free pint and a
£1 off any entrance fee.
Like all CAMRA festivals, the London Drinker Beer &
Cider Festival is run entirely by volunteers. If you fancy
giving it a go, why not volunteer? Simply contact Ian
McLaren at ian.mclaren@blueyonder.co.uk, or visit our
website for further details. The Festival is open from
Wednesday 18 to Friday 20 March.
Christine Cryne
Reproduced from the Full Pint, Issue 49.
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