Herefordshire landlord to hold own cider elections

As previously mentioned on the blog, one of the key issues for the people of Herefordshire at the forthcoming general election is what each of the parties plan to do about the proposed tax increase on cider.

Matt Slocombe of the Crown Inn at Woolhope has made it his mission to find out once and for all by holding a National Cider election over the bank holiday weekend.

Matt also appeared on The Politics Show on Sunday to question local candidates about their plans for cider duty (The Hereford segment of the programme starts at around 42:12 and Matt's question is at about 45:50).

Site Maintenance - Complete!

Thanks for bearing with us while we completed our site maintenance. For those technically minded people we've now migrated the blog part of the site so that it is hosted by Blogger rather than ftp-ed to our own domain!

The site should be as fully functional as ever but if you happen to find anything that's not working as it should please drop us a line at the usual address - email@hmpubguide.com

Pub football in 3D

As has been much publicised selected Premier League matches are now available to watch in 3D at pubs across the country.

In Hereford, The Monument has been kitted out with all the gear needed to view the games in 3D. Punter's opinions on the experiment seem to be mixed. Many point out that stadium shots and on-screen graphics look great but the 3D doesn't add much to the actual football shots.
Have any of our readers checked out a 3D match yet? If so let us know your thoughts.

My own personal opinion is that the whole 3D phase we are going through at the moment will be something of a passing fad. I may be proved wrong as the technology improves but until they find a reliable way to pull off the 3D effect to a mass audience without the dodgy glasses I can't see it taking off in the long run.

Anyway, if punters want to take their football experience to the next level surely a trip to their local football stadium is the best way - and of course you can always nip to the pub or adjoining bar (hint: Radfords!) after the match for some post match analysis over a couple of pints.

Amazing House of Beer Mats

Once upon a time the HM Pub Guide asked that most important of questions: Where have all the beer mats gone?

This story over featured on the BBC website explains where 300,000 of them went. The video shows a Guinness World Record beating 'House of Beer Mats'. And what's more, record breaker Sven Goebel had to knock it all down afterwards to prove he hadn't used any glue!

The Wurzels- I am a Cider Drinker

Who'd have thought that a 10% tax on cider could cause such an uproar! Due to popular demand I've scoured youtube and found the 1976 classic (I use the word classic in it's broadest sense here) "I am a Cider Drinker" by The Wurzels, enjoy.

10% Tax on Cider Scrapped

CIDER drinkers were celebrating last night after humiliated ministers had to dump a tax grab on the drink.

The start of the election campaign has badly affected the government's remaining legislative programme. The Tories forced them to back down on plans to ramp up duty by ten percent. The opposition warned they would only pass the Budget in the Commons today if the move was ditched.

Alistair Darling's tax-grab in last month's Budget sparked a web and Twitter campaign to save the British tipple from being priced beyond drinkers' pockets. The Wurzels- who sang "I Am A Cider Drinker"- joined the backlash. But a deal was thrashed out yesterday in talks between the Treasury and shadow chief secretary Philip Hammond.

Tory leader David Cameron said: "The attack on cider drinking was misinformed and wrong. They should have copied our policy properly, which is only targeting the high-strength drinks."

He added: "This is victory for the Conservatives on day one of the election campaign. More importantly, it's a victory for cider lovers and the producers facing disaster. But the threat remains. Gordon Brown had made clear the tax will go up if he wins."

Last night Wurzels star Tommy Banner said: "It's brilliant news. Me and the band will definitely be celebrating with a few pints of cider."

To read more on this story, and other election news, click here.

The happiest job in the world? Probably!

Workers at Danish brewer Carlsberg have gone on strike for a second day prompting fears of a World Cup lager shortage. UK supplies should be OK as most of our Carlsburg is brewed in Northampton and Leeds but what is really interesting is the reason for the strike...

Warehouse workers and drivers are striking as the company are now limiting the drinking of alcohol to worker's lunch breaks. Previously free beer was available to all on the factory floor and even drivers were encouraged to get beered up during working hours. Alcohol locks were in place on vans though to ensure no drivers were over the legal limit.

It seems that health and safety laws have finally caught up with the Danish firm. Maybe it could be argued that their policy of free beer for all was the ultimate in quality control though. What better way to ensure an excellent product than to allow the workers to help themselves to the finished article as they worked!

Link-up with Hereford United forum site

Beer and football go together too well; therefore we are pleased to announce that we are in the final negotiation to link up with an unofficial Hereford United fans forum and chat website. Shortly we will have a link box on the left of this screen (next to the facebook one). Until this link is finalised, click here to go to the HUFC forum website.
This cross-pollination between the two sites will give more exposure and easy access to more data, enabling both websites to increase their readership thereby increasing the 'reader experience' for everyone.

The North/South divide in Hereford

The south of Hereford is lacking in amenities compared to the north bank of the Wye, this includes the number of pubs. Although several have closed (e.g. The Ship), some (like The Treacle Mine) have re-opened, but what we don't know is which is the best. Just click on your favourite below, and feel free to leave any comments; and if I've left off your favourite pub then vote for "other" but write the pub name in the comments section below the poll.

What's the best pub south of the river?
	The Broadleys
	The Game Cock
	The Grafton Inn
	The Saracens Head
	The Three Counties
	The Treacle Mine
	The Vaga Tavern
	The Wye Inn
	Other (please specify below)
pollcode.com free polls

Pub Review from Latvia!

A big thanks to Erik Hoff who has sent us a review of the Victory Pub in Riga, Latvia. Erik was very impressed with the 20 varieties of beer on offer, the good quality food and the wide range of activities. Check out his full review here.

A quick web search reveals The Victorys own website which features some impressive karaoke exploits!