English Heritage’s blue plaques are a familiar sight around London, flagging up the former residences and haunts of the great and the good of the City. The usual candidates are the likes of ex-Prime Ministers, architects, scientists, composers, surgeons, clergymen and other similarly supposed worthy types.

But strolling through Central London you will now be able to see a former landlord taking his place among such company. However it’s a bit unusual this one as Joe Jenkins is not the sort of chap for whom English Heritage would issue an official Blue Plaque. But for me its presence will brighten up the predictable plaque scene of London and bring a smile to many.

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Regular readers of my blog will know that I am a big fan of George Orwell.  He shared many of my ideas about the world in general and I think said everything worth saying about the ‘pub’ in his essay, The Moon under Water first published in the Evening Standard, in 1946.

Orwell wrote.

“Many as are the virtues of the Moon under Water, I think that the garden is its best feature, because it allows whole families to go there instead of Mum having to stay at home and mind the baby while Dad goes out alone.

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What qualities combine to make the perfect British pub?

I described the qualities I look for in a post dated  2^nd October 2010; A Good Pub Guide for Staffordshire. I like a good old-fashioned, traditional welcoming pub which simply has that feel-good factor that makes you want to spend a whole Sunday afternoon just lazing in it, warming a pint.  

And I think George Orwell said everything worth saying about the ‘perfect pub’ in his short essay, The Moon under Water published in the Evening Standard, in February 1946.

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Earlier this year here on this blog, I started writing about my favourite pubs in both the UK and Ireland. This got me thinking about local pub guides because to me there just don’t seem to be any county guides that list pubs simply for been good pubs.

For me, as I guess for anyone, there has to be a number of things really special about a pub that makes me want to go there and keep returning; these include and in no particular order; the beer offering, the food, atmosphere, or “craic” in Ireland and the location etc. But a good pub means different things to different people; so why restrict a guide to one or two elements.    

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David Mayhall – About Me

Gender: Male

Industry: Property and Brewing

Occupation: Company Director

Location: Lytham St Anne’s, Lancashire

Twitter Name: Lytham_Fuggled

I’m a businessman who happens to part own a brewery and several pubs as well as having other business interests. Having come late to blogging, I find myself a frustrated writer.

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