The Hotspur — Restaurant in Newcastle upon Tyne

During the heady summer of 1989 a spent a pleasant afternoon in the Hotspur with a Hungarian gentleman, (Lazio), and his Spanish paramour (who surprisingly rejoiced in the name of Doris Salamanca). It was a wonderful hostelry, and we whiled away the hours drinking Margarita’s and a local beverage known as the The Newcastle Old Brown. I inadvertently left my coat there.

A corollary to this story is that three decades later I revisited the Hotspur during in a period of deep self-reflection in which I was, uncharacteristically, filled with doubt as to the goodness of the human spirit. Although the passage of the years has not been kind to me it seemed to me that landlord of the hostelry’s face lit up with a spark of recognition the moment I passed the threshold. His welcome was exuberant, as he expressed his delight to see me again. He had aged barely a day.

To my immense surprise he quickly produced my long lost coat, a Burberry of no little renown amongst my peers of the day. He also informed me that, in order to preserve the value of the small amount of cash in the inner pocket of the coat (the princely sum of two pounds and 36 pence), he had invested the money in the hope of being able to provide suitable recompense in the event of my return. Initially he dealt timidly in “penny stocks”, but as his confidence and experience grew he became bolder - never taking undue risks of course - but building upon his growing understanding of the ebb and flow of international finance. Most recently the money that he had held for me had been invested in an electric automotive company named Tesla, and upon dissolving these assets I was left with a sum of something slightly in the excess of £17,000. Astonishing.

The bar area seemed little changed, although the prices (although still very competitive) had risen slightly since 1989. Nevertheless, a...

Paulicarus tells me that 20 years ago my wife n brother-in-law came in here before a Newcastle v Sunderland game. They were outnumbered 100 - 1. A bit quieter today and nobody wearing red and white stripes to cause trouble. A choice of 5 real ales. I took a Cullercoats 3.8% Shuggy Boat Blond. Very good. Wife now on wine with Paulicarus. Lovely pub interior. Henry Hotspur ( A Percy family son ) was a famous knight who died at the battle of Shrewsbury in 1403 after Henry IV usurped Richard II in 1399. ( see Shakespear.) Henry V survived an arrow in the face and went on to win at Agincourt. ( again see Shakespear!) A Cask Marque pub that does toasted Stottie Cakes. ( giant north east bread buns...made Greggs of Gosforth the giant they are today.) Ladies...

Always perfect. Home from home.

Ps Legal requirement:

In the UK, bars must use government-stamped thimble measures when serving single spirits like gin, rum, vodka, and whisky to ensure accurate portion sizes.

Fill to the brim:

Always fill the thimble completely to the top to dispense the correct amount of spirit.

No free pouring:

Do not free pour spirits unless making a cocktail with multiple spirits where a jigger might be used.

Check for stamp:

Verify that the thimble has a government stamp to ensure it is a...