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.. in Newton Abbot is up for sale after three generations in the same family..!!

In recent years I've had mixed feelings about the Cider Bar.

On the one hand it is still much like it has always been and it's great to have a quiet (except on certain evenings) place specialising in cider (and country wines) to relax in a peaceful timeless atmosphere. And the huge basic lunchtime slices of ham or cheese and onion beats anything Subway has to offer.

On the other hand, in recent years to my mind the quality and range of the ciders on offer are not what they used to be. I may be getting old, but it seems to me that the ciders these days tend to be more the results of factory production, with the pale appearance of a watered-down added-sugar product rather than the natural full-bodied fruity whole-juice drink of the small-scale producer, made with the craftsmanship of the skilful artisan.

Whoever takes over the Cider Bar, I pray they will maintain it in the old traditional way, with the same bargain prices. At least two old-fashioned country pubs I used to frequent in South Devon (as I remember, The Rising Sun and Bickley Mill) serving excellent traditional food and drink were ruined when they changed hands and the new owners modernised them with fancy continental menus and much higher prices, even to the extent of replacing the old dark oak colours with modern-style white wood..!!

Sad signs of the times...

I suppose it's cider related so here goes. My tipple is apple cider VINEGAR which I get from a farm in Devon online and it is brilliant for health, digestive disorders, sore throats and the like and it also makes food taste great. I drink mine 3 times a day with water but like Gullscorer eludes to regarding factory processed cider, this vinegar has to be raw, unpasteurised and have the 'mother' present. The 'mother' is basically the live organism which grows inside the bottle and if the cider vinegar doesn't have this then it won't work or help. Pasteurisation destroys the 'mother' and therefore most shop bought stuff is ok for taste but has negligible health benefits.

I recommend it though.

It's interesting that there is also a 'pub' specifically dedicated to cider. I'm not a big cider drinker and can't say I've had a brand that blows me away either but you can't beat an ice cold one to kick off a summers evening boozing! I know the west country is the place for it but I have no idea which county is more renowned for cider production. Apparently it is quite common in Norfolk too.

Newton Abbot is worse even than Paignton. I send my man out shopping there occasionally (between Ocado deliveries) and he returns with some appalling stories.

Matt.

ferrarilover wrote:Newton Abbot is worse even than Paignton. I send my man out shopping there occasionally (between Ocado deliveries) and he returns with some appalling stories.
Matt.

Do tell us more...

People wearing training shoes who clearly do absolutely no physical exercise whatsoever. Others wearing baseball caps while very obviously not playing baseball.
Some, and I'm sure you won't believe this, even spoke with regional accents. When I heard, I almost fired him there and then for such scurrilous falsehood, but it was confirmed to me by the chambermaid that this sort of thing actually goes on outside the walls of Ferrari Towers.

As you can imagine, I had both car and driver thoroughly disinfected.

Matt.

Matt, I can assure you that a few extended visits to Ye Olde Cider Bar will render you thoroughly immune to such horrors. You must of course take care not to overdo your imbibitions, lest your domestic staff see any outward manifestations of the same as clear encouragement to continue the enjoyment of their own uncouth proclivities.

Nevertheless I feel that after experiencing a few of the aforementioned sessions you may find the regional accents to be worthy of further investigation, in particular those emanating from the local wenches, in whose company you may find the pursuit of such study a most pleasurable and rewarding experience.

That said, I find the wenches from the region of Gloucestershire, Avon and Wiltshire, with their soft and alluring speech, actually more suited for this purpose than the Devonian girls who, like their male counterparts, not only have a tendency in their articulation to be as harsh as the scrumpy they consume, but also in their demeanour to become somewhat surly, over-assertive, even aggressive, at least until the moments when the tipple finally engenders a most soporific stupor (in yourself if not in the general company), though the fisticuffs which often ensue during these occasions can be most amusing to observe from a prudent and judiciously discreet distance.

Naturally it goes without saying that during such participations you should maintain a close and tight grip on your wallet at all times.

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