Three Festivals and a Wedding

The last weekend of April looks set to be a Right Bloomin' Royal Wedding Bank Holiday Jamboree Knees-up, Cor-Blimey Guv! Needless to say, this calls for a drink!

It's now accepted tradition in Olde England that we celebrate absolutely everything and anything with a pub festival, so it's no surprise that those pubs still loyal to the crown are going quite literally 'Beer & Cider Festival Crazy' in honour of the royal nuptials. In our own local trading area there appears to be much more festival action than we can possibly digest in a single weekend sitting, but three in particular have caught our somewhat bibulous eye. For want of a better idea, I've arranged them as a three course Royal Cider & Perry Banquet... in French... naturally!

Entree

The weekend kicks off in very local style at the Red Lion Mini-Beer, Cider & Perry Festival, in our own bijou villag-ette of Middleton. Monsieur et Madame Barby will be our Gourmands for the weekend, and we recommend an Amuse Bouche from the Rockingham Forest Cider drinks trolley, washed down with... oh, I don't know... perhaps an Entrée or two of Rockingham Forest Perry. Fine local music and all-round Bonhomie will also be on tap during the Friday evening sitting. Bon Appétit. (Incidentally, we're now le cidre du patron, de la maison at the Red Lion... Voilà!).

Le Plat Principal

The Swan & Rushes in Leicester is renowned for delivering generous portions and the very topper-most quality during its annual Cider & Cheese Festival. A whopping 30-40 Ciders and Perries have been promised for the weekend's Plat Principal, accompanied by a similar selection of quality Fromage to aid digestion. In fact so much cider is being imported from the West Country for this popular event, we're seriously worried that the delicate tectonic balance of the British Isles could be upset, plunging most of Anglia and the Fens below the icy waters of the North Sea. Sacré flippin' bleu! We know a few people in the Anglian region. They're not great swimmers to be honest! In view of this we're aiming to help restore the balance by bringing some of our own cider and perry to the festival. I just hope Grant won't be charging corkage...

Le Dessert

Will we have room for Le Pudding I hear you ask? Never fear, there's always room for one last Cidre or Poire, particularly when we can combine it with a small Digestif of genuine Cambridgeshire Bric-a-Brac and Jumble at the Elton Village Fete. The cider and perry selection at the Crown Inn Beer Festival in Elton is modest, but usually includes a few local specialities, including a barrel of our own cider or perry, both local and special... Bien Sur!