Warning!

Don't ever think about getting a train with Craig!

The plan was simple - Dr Stan, Craig and I would take the short train journey to Peterborough, leaving Bernard in Cambridge to recover from his jet lag. What could possibly go wrong?

I can reveal that March station is not the place you want to spend three hours in - although we were better off than the train that spent 3 hours 200 yards from the station... It turned out that there was a signal failure. This seems to be a regular occurrence for Craig, who recently spent 5 hours on a train just outside York.

Eventually arriving in Peterborugh, our first stop was Oakham's Brewery Tap - highly recommended both for the beer and the Thai food available. Dragging Craig away (I think it's because the Tap is situated in an old Job Centre), we paid a quick visit to the Wortley Almshouses (apparently the model for the workhouse in Oliver Twist - now a Samuel Smith's pub) en route to the Ostrich - where, unlike in Cambridge, the locals talk to strangers!

Dr Stan wanted to visit Charters (a river barge serving Oakham beers), and took Craig with him. I went back to the Brewery Tap to try the Helter Skelter - recommended by those who had sampled it in the Live and Let Live the night before. Another success for Oakham!

Fortunately, the train back was uneventful, and so we were able to return to the Devonshire Arms to meet Peter, brother Gerry, Hector and Marg, who had all arrived in time to visit Norwich tomorrow.

Dazed, Confused and barely coherent

Day 2 in Cambridge eventually dawned. Craig was assured that he had paid his share of the taxi home, and that he was allowed to visit Cambridge again...

After Bernard arrived, dazed and confused from his 6 weeks in South America, we made our way to the beer festival. Regulars will remember that the festival is held in tents on Jesus Green. This is great when the weather is good, but has certain drawbacks when there are heavy rain showers...

Unfortunately, the beers were slightly disappointing - unlike previous years, there were a few that seemed slightly out of condition. Some of the stronger beers were nowhere to be seen either. You can tell when things are not going to plan - Bernard was even disappointed by the range of cheese on offer! Fortunately, however, the foreign bier bar was as good as ever, with the Schlenkerla Eiche Doppelbock making a welcome return. It was good to see Olaf back, recovering from his recent heart problems.

I am told that Craig, Bernard and Dr Stan visited some Cambridge pubs - I thought better...

What's that coming...

Or Craig visits the Cambridge Beer Festival...

After the "short" drive from Glasgow, and having checked in to our digs - the ultra-compact Cityroomz - Craig and I set off to meet Dr Stan. The intention was to visit a few pubs then head to the Beer Festival at Jesus Green.

First stop was the Devonshire Arms - rapidly becoming one of my favourite pubs in Cambridge - where the Milton beers were as good as ever. A pleasant place to wait for Dr Stan, who had (for reasons best known to himself...) travelled over from Wales. Sadly, there was only time for one pint before heading off.

The next stop on the tour was the Kingston Arms - sadly, what came out of the tap with the Jaipur clip did not taste overly familiar (an experience repeated at the Beer Festival the next day!) Moving on quickly, we then made our way to the Cambridge Blue - another great pub, let down, on this occasion, by the rather limited range of biers available.

Regular readers will know that Craig is rather selective when it comes to bier - nothing heknows to be under 5% will pass his lips. As a result, he was forced on to bottled Belgian bier at the Elm Tree - perhaps the first sign that plans to visit the festival might fall through.

The next sign came on arrival at St Radegund - a small pub serving Milton beers. Not only did Craig persuade Laura the barmaid to play Joy Division, but he managed to get a local (albeit a student from Sheffield) to talk to us. All was going well - what could possibly go wrong?

All I will say is that our taxi arrived quickly enough and Craig was not barred...