{"id":7057955,"date":"2026-09-05T23:36:58","date_gmt":"2026-09-05T23:36:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/uncategorized\/a-few-bits-and-pieces-followed-by-a-pint-in-the-star\/"},"modified":"2026-09-05T23:36:58","modified_gmt":"2026-09-05T23:36:58","slug":"a-few-bits-and-pieces-followed-by-a-pint-in-the-star","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7057955","title":{"rendered":"A few bits and pieces, followed by a pint in the Star"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n<\/p>\n

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

It’s been quite a hectic week at least by my standards,
\nwhatever they’re measured against these days, where I accomplished quite a lot
\nboth on the home front, and the work front. It seems that the never-ending heat
\nwave<\/b> is exactly what it says, \u201cNever ending,\u201d<\/i><\/b> and last Sunday<\/b> weather wise was
\npretty much the same as it is today another, Sunday<\/b>, and one where the sun is beating down making the heat it’s just too intense to do much in the way of outdoor
\nactivities. Furthermore, with a lawn that consists of nothing but scorched
\ngrass, there is precious little to do on that score, anyway.<\/p>\n

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

The previous Sunday,<\/b> I had to drive over to Tunbridge Wells’s North Farm<\/b>
\nestate, which although originally an industrial area, is now much more of a
\ntrading estate. I picked up a pair of new shorts from George<\/b> at Asda<\/b>, before
\ndriving along to Screwfix,<\/b> a store Where I am spending more time that I would
\nwish. I purchased the drill bit I needed for the fencing repairs I\u2019ve been
\nworking on, but after finishing my shopping, I decided that a pint was in order
\n\u2013 it was a sweltering day, after all!<\/p>\n

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

I took the long way home and made a detour out into the parched looking,\u00a0Kent<\/b>
\ncountryside, heading out along the invariably busy A21<\/b>, before turning off
\ntowards Matfield.<\/b> This attractive village has one of the largest village greens
\nI know of in Kent,<\/b> as well as being one of the most attractive as well.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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

I was
\naiming for the Star,<\/a><\/u><\/b> at the far end of the green, but on the way, I passed the
\nsadly closed Wheelwrights Arms,<\/b> an establishment that hasn\u2019t traded for many a
\nlong year. Once a particularly good free house, the Wheelwrights<\/b> seemed
\nto go downhill once Shepherd Neame <\/b>took control of the place. I\u2019d have to look
\nback to check when exactly it closed, but this former excellent free house is
\nsadly no more, and even the exterior has been altered out of all recognition.
\nThe Wheelwrights<\/b> is now a private residence, having pulled its last pints, a
\ndecade or more ago.<\/p>\n

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

Fortunately, the same fate hasn\u2019t befallen the Star<\/b>, a
\nlarge, and attractive red-brick property at the other end of the green. I made
\nan abortive visit earlier in the year, when I was unable to find space in the
\ncar park, but there were no such problems this time around. With several empty
\nspaces, I was beginning to wonder whether the heat had kept people indoors. If
\nit had their loss was my gain, and after strolling into the pub I was greeted
\nby a handful of people occupying sections of all three rooms, including the
\ndesignated dining area.\u00a0I ordered myself a pint of Harvey\u2019s Best<\/b>, (Tonbridge<\/b> plus an
\noffering from Gun Brewery<\/b>, were the other beers available), before making my way
\noutside, to the small and secluded courtyard garden, at the side of the pub.
\nDespite its proximity to the main road, this was a quiet and peaceful area,
\nwith sunshine and shade available in equal quantities. In other words, it was
\nthe perfect space to sit in and enjoy a pint. <\/p>\n

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

In spite of the high temperatures, the Sussex Best<\/b> was in
\ngood form, and the packet of Piper\u2019s <\/b>crisps, the perfect accompaniment.\u00a0 <\/span>I sat there for around 20 minutes<\/b>, enjoying
\nmy pint, whilst indulging in a spot of people watching, before picking up my
\nempty glass and returning it, like a good boy, to the girl behind the bar. I returned
\nto the car, and drove back to sunny Tunny <\/b>(Tonbridge), after turning off the B2160<\/b> at
\nthe bottom of Gedges\u2019 Hill<\/b>, opposite Mascall\u2019s <\/b>school.\u00a0<\/p>\n

<\/a>I almost forgot to mention that on my way out of Matfield,<\/b> I
\ndrove past the Poet<\/b>, which is the village\u2019s other pub. Older readers will
\nprobably remember the pub by its original name of Standings Cross<\/b>. I didn’t go
\nin this time, although I’ve visited the pub on a number of previous occasions. It\u2019s
\npleasant enough, despite bordering on being more of a gastro establishment,
\nthan an actual pub. At least it remains open, and probably doing OK, judging by
\nthe number of cars parked outside, as I drove by. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

There were more adventures to come over the following weekend,
\nwhen I took the train down to the West Country,<\/b> in order to visit the town of
\nFrome<\/b>. You can read all about that trip, next time, along with details of the \u201cinteresting\u201d
\n<\/i><\/b>journey I had, in order to get there. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It’s been quite a hectic week at least by my standards, whatever they’re measured against these days, where I accomplished quite a lot both on the home front, and the work front. It seems that the never-ending heat wave is exactly what it says, \u201cNever ending,\u201d and last Sunday weather wise was pretty much the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7057956,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[8721,705,8640,817],"dealstore":[],"offerexpiration":[],"class_list":["post-7057955","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-bits","tag-pieces","tag-pint","tag-star"],"yoast_head":"\nA few bits and pieces, followed by a pint in the Star - 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=7057955\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A few bits and pieces, followed by a pint in the Star - Som2ny Network\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"It’s been quite a hectic week at least by my standards, whatever they’re measured against these days, where I accomplished quite a lot both on the home front, and the work front. It seems that the never-ending heat wave is exactly what it says, \u201cNever ending,\u201d and last Sunday weather wise was pretty much the […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7057955\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Som2ny Network\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-09-05T23:36:58+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/20190717_101914.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"630\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7057955#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7057955\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b85e3c3dc0e1daea076524dc8810c371\"},\"headline\":\"A few bits and pieces, followed by a pint in the Star\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-09-05T23:36:58+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7057955\"},\"wordCount\":786,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7057955#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/20190717_101914.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Bits\",\"Pieces\",\"Pint\",\"Star\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7057955#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7057955\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7057955\",\"name\":\"A few bits and pieces, followed by a pint in the Star - Som2ny Network\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7057955#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7057955#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/20190717_101914.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-09-05T23:36:58+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7057955#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7057955\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7057955#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/20190717_101914.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/20190717_101914.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":630},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7057955#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?bp_activities=1\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"A few bits and pieces, followed by a pint in the Star\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/\",\"name\":\"Som2ny Network\",\"description\":\"Daily Deals\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Som2ny Network\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/4a0953c4-logo-300x86-1.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/4a0953c4-logo-300x86-1.png\",\"width\":300,\"height\":86,\"caption\":\"Som2ny Network\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b85e3c3dc0e1daea076524dc8810c371\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/729ae85bf62b9917e93538db2f2688ca?s=96&r=g&default=https%3A%2F%2Ffivemor.com%2Fwp-content%2Fplugins%2Fbuddypress-first-letter-avatar%2Fimages%2Fdefault%2F96%2Flatin_a.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/729ae85bf62b9917e93538db2f2688ca?s=96&r=g&default=https%3A%2F%2Ffivemor.com%2Fwp-content%2Fplugins%2Fbuddypress-first-letter-avatar%2Fimages%2Fdefault%2F96%2Flatin_a.png\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"A few bits and pieces, followed by a pint in the Star - Som2ny Network","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7057955","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"A few bits and pieces, followed by a pint in the Star - Som2ny Network","og_description":"It’s been quite a hectic week at least by my standards, whatever they’re measured against these days, where I accomplished quite a lot both on the home front, and the work front. It seems that the never-ending heat wave is exactly what it says, \u201cNever ending,\u201d and last Sunday weather wise was pretty much the […]","og_url":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7057955","og_site_name":"Som2ny Network","article_published_time":"2026-09-05T23:36:58+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":630,"url":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/20190717_101914.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7057955#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7057955"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b85e3c3dc0e1daea076524dc8810c371"},"headline":"A few bits and pieces, followed by a pint in the Star","datePublished":"2026-09-05T23:36:58+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7057955"},"wordCount":786,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7057955#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/20190717_101914.jpg","keywords":["Bits","Pieces","Pint","Star"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7057955#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7057955","url":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7057955","name":"A few bits and pieces, followed by a pint in the Star - Som2ny Network","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7057955#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7057955#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/20190717_101914.jpg","datePublished":"2026-09-05T23:36:58+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7057955#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7057955"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7057955#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/20190717_101914.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/20190717_101914.jpg","width":1200,"height":630},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7057955#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?bp_activities=1"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"A few bits and pieces, followed by a pint in the Star"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/","name":"Som2ny Network","description":"Daily Deals","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#organization","name":"Som2ny Network","url":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/4a0953c4-logo-300x86-1.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/4a0953c4-logo-300x86-1.png","width":300,"height":86,"caption":"Som2ny Network"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b85e3c3dc0e1daea076524dc8810c371","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/729ae85bf62b9917e93538db2f2688ca?s=96&r=g&default=https%3A%2F%2Ffivemor.com%2Fwp-content%2Fplugins%2Fbuddypress-first-letter-avatar%2Fimages%2Fdefault%2F96%2Flatin_a.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/729ae85bf62b9917e93538db2f2688ca?s=96&r=g&default=https%3A%2F%2Ffivemor.com%2Fwp-content%2Fplugins%2Fbuddypress-first-letter-avatar%2Fimages%2Fdefault%2F96%2Flatin_a.png","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/fivemor.com"],"url":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7057955","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7057955"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7057955\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/7057956"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7057955"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7057955"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7057955"},{"taxonomy":"dealstore","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fdealstore&post=7057955"},{"taxonomy":"offerexpiration","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fofferexpiration&post=7057955"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}