{"id":182555,"date":"2025-04-13T08:06:01","date_gmt":"2025-04-13T08:06:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/recipes\/category-a-b\/beer\/still-firmly-anchored-in-sevenoaks\/"},"modified":"2025-04-13T08:06:01","modified_gmt":"2025-04-13T08:06:01","slug":"still-firmly-anchored-in-sevenoaks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=182555","title":{"rendered":"Still firmly Anchored in Sevenoaks"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n<\/p>\n

\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/div>\n

On Thursday<\/b> evening, for the first time in a long while. I
\nparticipated in a meeting of my local CAMRA <\/b>branch. Despite no longer being a
\nmember, I still keep in touch with events at a local level, so It wasn\u2019t as if I
\nhad been actively avoiding the branch. Instead, finding an evening where I did
\nnot have work the following morning, and where son Matthew<\/b> would be home
\nsufficiently early from his job, to enable us to have dinner at a reasonable
\nhour, often proves a challenge, especially prior to heading out to an evening meeting
\nvenue. In short, I don\u2019t like rushing!<\/p>\n

The meeting took place at the Anchor<\/b> in Sevenoaks, <\/b>located a
\nshort distance from the town\u2019s marketplace, and was an opportunity for West
\nKent CAMRA<\/b> to present legendary Sevenoaks<\/b> licensee, Barry Dennis<\/b> with a well-deserved award
\nfor best pub in Sevenoaks. Barry<\/b>, and his business partner Phil Wheeler, <\/b>have
\nmanaged this traditional town local, for the past 46 years <\/b>and during that time
\nthe Anchor<\/b> has become something of institution within Sevenoaks. The pub has
\nachieved numerous awards, and the latest falls under one of the categories
\ndetermined by the local CAMRA<\/b> branch. <\/p>\n

<\/a><\/div>\n

The awards appear to be part of a growing trend, within
\nCAMRA<\/b>
which, if it continues, could perhaps see presentations or awards for
\nvarious niche categories – pub with the most attractive wallpaper, anyone? None of this though,
\ndiminishes Barry’s <\/b>achievements at the Anchor,<\/b> such as his longevity as
\nlicensees, and his exemplary skills and performance as host behind the bar. He
\nis certainly a larger-than-life character and a real showman as well,
\nconducting himself more like a \u201cMaster of Ceremonies\u201d. <\/i><\/b>He never
\nseems to stand still, and there is always something \u201cgoing on\u201d <\/i><\/b>at the Anchor.<\/b><\/p>\n

A text reminder was sent out to CAMRA <\/b>members, and
\nsupporters, a few days in advance of the presentation, suggesting that
\nindividuals traveling from Tonbridge <\/b>or Tunbridge Wells<\/b> might prefer taking the
\nbus rather than the train. This recommendation was made due to the substantial
\nuphill walk to the Anchor,<\/b> from Sevenoaks<\/b> station, meaning those who opted for
\nthe bus could conveniently disembark at the bus station, which is just a short
\ndistance from the Anchor. <\/b>\u00a0<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/div>\n

This was fine, so long as the buses ran to time, but
\nfollowing a 15-minute<\/b> wait for the last 402 <\/b>service of the evening, I was on
\nthe verge of swapping on to the rails, when the bus finally turned up. I climbed
\nto the top deck and enjoyed the view, as the journey took us north through
\nHildenborough<\/b> and then up the steep incline of River Hill <\/b>into Sevenoaks <\/b>itself. <\/b>One
\nfriend, who had opted for an earlier bus, gave up after 40 minutes<\/b>, and took
\nthe train instead, whilst his travelling companion returned home. None of this is good publicity for Arriva, <\/b>the bus company
\nconcerned.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/div>\n

Despite a relatively low turnout, which might in part have
\nbeen due to factors, such as buses not playing ball and other delays caused by
\nthe inimitable roadworks – scheduling the work for school holiday periods, almost
\ncertainly played a part here, it was a good evening. My appearance surprised a
\nfew familiar faces, but not to the extent of “you’re still alive, then?”
\n<\/i><\/b>As previously mentioned, circumstances such as conflicting dates or
\ninconvenient timings have prevented me from attending in the past. Despite this
\nit was quite gratifying reconnecting with friend and acquaintances who I hadn\u2019t
\nseen for a considerable period, probably since before Christmas!<\/b><\/p>\n

<\/a><\/div>\n

When I arrived at the Anchor<\/b>, there was a quite diverse
\ncrowd present, and this was aside from the CAMRA<\/b> contingent. Barry<\/b> has a knack
\nfor attracting people from various walks of life and making them feel welcome,
\nfor instance, he manages to attract custom from the traveling players,
\nperforming at the nearby Stag Theatre.<\/b> Additionally, he organizes various
\nactivities, including a meat raffle, poker evenings (with no money changing
\nhands), open mic nights, quizzes, and much more, to his unashamedly
\nold-fashioned, but very welcoming local.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/div>\n

Last Thursday,<\/b> the CAMRA<\/b> crowd was able to choose from three different
\ncask ales, including the \u201cmust stock\u201d<\/i> Harvey\u2019s Best,<\/b> alongside two offerings from Thanet
\n<\/b>breweries, in the form of Seasider <\/b>from the long-established Gadd\u2019s,<\/b> plus a
\nbeer from nearby Wantsum, <\/b>whose Anchor Imperial Ale<\/b> is brewed specially for Barry\u2019s
\npub<\/b>, as implied by the pump clip. If I\u2019m honest, I\u2019ve never really taken to Wantsum
\nAles, <\/b>despite the obvious, strapline appeal of the brewery\u2019s name, but this
\ndarkish bitter was eminently drinkable, as was the Gadd\u2019s<\/b> offering. Again, there
\nare other beers I prefer from this Ramsgate Brewery \u2013 No. 3<\/b> plus No.5<\/b>, but this
\n4.3% amber ale<\/b> was still very pleasant.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/div>\n

Before the presentation of the certificate, plus the obvious photo
\nopportunity, made by Tony<\/b>, the West Kent<\/b> chairman, Barry<\/b> brought out some plates of
\nsandwiches, although having not long had a substantial dinner, I managed to resist
\ntemptation. I spent the rest of the evening catching up on what had been occurring
\nrecently, both within CAMRA<\/b> \u2013 quite a lot of dissent over reorganisation plans
\nfor both branches and regions, plus what various friends and acquaintances had
\nbeen up to \u2013 far more interesting! <\/p>\n

<\/a><\/div>\n

The three of us travelling back towards Tonbridge<\/b> and
\nTunbridge Wells<\/b>, left the Anchor <\/b>just after 11pm<\/b>, glad that the walk back to
\nthe station was all downhill. Unlike my two companions, I needed to buy a ticket,
\nand whilst there was still time (just), I almost missed the train due to the tidal
\nwave of commuters, streaming their way up both the up and the down staircases
\nfrom the platform. The herd instinct is obviously still alive and kicking! It
\nis an uphill walk to Bailey Towers<\/b>, back from the station, but it\u2019s something I\u2019m
\nused to after 40 years<\/b> or so of living in Tonbridge. <\/b>I was still glad of my bed
\nthough, when I finally reached home. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 On Thursday evening, for the first time in a long while. I participated in a meeting of my local CAMRA branch. Despite no longer being a member, I still keep in touch with events at a local level, so It wasn\u2019t as if I had been actively avoiding the branch. Instead, finding an evening […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":182556,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[137],"tags":[72141,72140,72142],"dealstore":[],"offerexpiration":[],"class_list":["post-182555","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-beer","tag-anchored","tag-firmly","tag-sevenoaks"],"yoast_head":"\nStill firmly Anchored in Sevenoaks - Som2ny Network<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=182555\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Still firmly Anchored in Sevenoaks - Som2ny Network\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\u00a0 On Thursday evening, for the first time in a long while. 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