Club Meeting Reports |
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NOON FOUND me waiting with Nigel and his family and Beard Club newcomer Sandy for a prompt opening and friendly greeting by Jo, the landlady of the newly re-opened Devonshire Arms. True to the form that members of TBBC are used to, the Devonshire Arms sells an excellent range of beers which were all avidly sampled, however, the dark traditional scrumpy understandably proved a little too much for those used to more filtered ciders. Recently bought by Milton Brewery, the Devonshire has recently undergone resurgence, but sadly brewer Richard was not able to grace us with the presence of his outstanding large red beard, as he was away playing cricket. We were quickly joined by a beaming John, having slogged his way through London from Slough, and local soon-to-become-member Niraj, whilst Nigel’s family headed off for the attractions of the city centre shops. David and John arrived not long after and the members soon filled up the front bar of the pub while Peter noted down on his electronic organiser which beers he was drinking, something he has done for the last eight years! It was good to see two of our ‘brothers’ from the Handlebar Club; Lewis and Jock, and we all tucked-in to our various lunches of fish and chips or, in one case, liver and bacon (in place of the regrettably unavailable faggots). A few more beers and arrivals later we had our busy photo-shoot with some good chin stroking and frequent pauses to allow traffic to pass by bewildered. This was followed by a mini photo-shoot for the three Essex Beardsmen present (including me as an honorary Beardsman) so we could show off our new embroidered badges. Beards are popular at the Devonshire, and at Cambridge in general, and we saw several locals sign up to join, welcomed two new lady members, Rend and Pippa, as well as a couple of guys arriving long after the photo shoot. This local support gave rise to serious talk of a Cambridge regional group and the likelihood of a first meeting in September or October when the students return. The day ended with a general dispersal and slight side jaunt to the Cambridge Blue for supper where a couple of bearded stragglers were met and, hopefully, converted. For those going to the Cambridge Folk Festival the wait for the next meeting will pass swiftly, the rest will just have to wait another week more. See you at Earls Court! Best Bearded Regards Guy Photos on this page are Copyright © 2010 Guy Dinwiddy and The British Beard Club |