December 1999

• (21-Dec) Fortunately it seems Bass have decided to leave The Mitre as-is (at least for now) and instead are planning to convert The Fresher & Firkin to an It's A Scream student theme bar.
• (15-Dec) The Rat & Parrot II opened.
• (14-Dec) The Dog & Partridge (Chesterton) has closed and may become a restaurant.
• (13-Dec) The Cambridge Blue reopened as a Free House under Chris and Debbie Lloyd.
• (10-Dec) We've heard that Lidstone's plans to buy the Kingston Arms (Kingson St.) have fallen through.
• (9-Dec) The print edition of ALE 296 is being distributed to pubs and the tickets for the Cambridge Winter Ale Festival 2000 are also about to be distributed to pubs for sale.
• (9-Dec) Apparently the Regal's liquor licence is a temporary one and their application for a permanent one is being opposed. It's possible the objectors are the neighbours such as Emmanuel College rather than the Police, as the latter tend to like having trouble confined to a known, small area.
• (9-Dec) Small victory against the might of JD Wetherspoon!
  Apparently many local landlords have complained to their Guinness reps. that they couldn't buy Guinness wholesale as cheaply as the JDW retail price of £1.59 and were therefore threatening to change to rivals such as Murphy's. Multiply this up over all the territory covered by JDW and it's no wonder that Guinness have apparently given in and have stopped supplying JDW, at least at the heavily discounted price.
• (8-Dec) The branch members eGroups area now has useful files for downloading, starting with the latest list of pubs, bars and clubs in the branch area.
• (3-Dec) The Rat & Parrot II (Downing Street) plans to open on the 13th.
  GK are applying for planning permission to replace The Yorkshire Grey (closed for about a year) by 16 flats.
• Branch Pub Churn 1998-1999 statistics.

November 1999

• (25-Nov) The new committee.
• (23-Nov) Branch AGM.
• (20-Nov) ALE 296 is out in Web form and will hopefully be out in printed form around the 30th.
• (19-Nov) The Cambridge Evening News had another uncritical piece (like The Regal), this time parroting the marketing twaddle of Scottish & Newcastle over the Rat & Parrot II. Apparently it's costing £2.4M and will create 60 jobs "offering a real future in a growing leisure industry." The manageress Georgina Ryan was also quoted as saying "the pub will be part of the local community". Strange sort of community. The article was pure marketing puff - there was no actual news, such as an announcement of the date of opening.
• (17-Nov) The Alma (Russell Court) reopened as a Ridley's pub.
• Branch Good Beer Guide 2000 Entries

October 1999

• Jon Harling at the Jug & Firkin Off-Licence is selling the business. The forthcoming ALE will have more info (see also What's Brewing Nov. 1999).
• The buildings which will form the Rat & Parrot II have been gutted very quickly, with workmen working well into the evening. S&N seem to be in a hurry now, having dawdled since applying for an alcohol licence in summer 1998.
• The Regal has caused severe public order problems, as expected from drinking circuits elsewhere. It's been forced to close a number of times. Emmanuel College is closing its front gate in the evening as a precautionary measure.
• McMullens Brewery (Herts) are buying the former Arts Cinema site to convert it to a "continental bar".

September 1999

• (15-Sep) The Drinking Circuit is expanding:
  • As predicted here, Bass have bought The Mitre and there's a rumour in the trade that it's to become a Bass "It's A Scream" student theme bar. [Update]
  • Yates Wine Lodges seem to be interested in a site in Regent Street.
  • Mansfield seem to be interested in the former Arts Cinema, as do McMullens.
  • There's a rumour that the Police were happy that the Cow & Calf closed as a pub as that helped shift the main drinking area to around St Andrews Street.
  • The first Rat & Parrot (The George & Dragon/The Spade & Becket) seems likely to be sold (or rebranded) as it's apparently not performing well enough.
• (7-Sep) Review of The Regal.
• (4-Sep) Added Web pages for the Milton Brewery and the Branch mailing list.

August 1999

• On the day The Regal was due to open, Wednesday 25th, notices appeared on the doors saying it's opening on Tuesday 7th September.
• Unfortunately the Cask Breather Trial has had to be put off.
• 6th: Hoardings have at last gone up around the Rat & Parrot II in Downing Street. Scottish & Newcastle have come up with a new bar theme: Bar 38, a "leading edge concept bar", targeted at the high-spending 20s & 30s age group. This could well be used here instead of the tired Rat & Parrot theme.

July 1999

• There's a new brew from the City of Cambridge Brewery: Silly Punt (4.7%)
• The Cambridge Evening News on 13th July had a photo and report about the Picture House and The Regal - yes, as predicted a year ago, that's what the J.D. Wetherspoon is to be called. Mind you, they have many pubs called that as they buy up a lot of old cinemas. As of 30th July, work at The Regal is progressing rapidly (the hoardings have gone at last) and it seems it could be ready as claimed on the Web site: 25th August. Meanwhile the Picture House has a sign up saying it's opening three days late, on Monday 9th August.

June 1999

• As of 26-Jun a 1930s-style cinema "crest" is going up over the entrance to the JD Wetherspoon pub. It seems the 3-screen arts cinema is to be called the Cambridge Arts Picture House.
• Added a footnote about the reopened Melbourn Bros Brewery to ALE 294.
• Mansfield Brewery Co. are looking for one or more properties in the area and are determined to have "a significant presence" in the county within a year. They have up to £30M to spend. Their bar themes are:
  • Trading Post (families)
  • Lloyds No. 1 (city-centre European-style cafe-bar, food all day)
  • TP Woods (town centre, broad appeal)
  • Lock, Stock & Barrel (community, children's play area, mini-cinemas, traditional food)
  
  (Cambridge Evening News 9-Jun)

  They may be interested in the current Arts Cinema site in Market Passage, as it seems it is to be sold off by the Arts Theatre Trust.

May 1999

• Cambridge Drinking Circuit 1998-2001.
• At last firm plans have appeared for the 2nd Rat & Parrot. It's to fill the former Cambridge Building Society Office and the former January's Estate Agents (latterly Black Horse Agencies) offices and will include a roof-top area. It's planned to be 7,050 sq.ft. over 3 floors.
  (Cambridge Evening News 28-May)
• Champion Beers of the 26th Cambridge Beer Festival and Festival Pictures (Festival Programme ALE no. 295).
• ALE May 1999, no. 294 is now out.
• Follow-ups:
  • The Cow & Calf is no more - it's been sold to a property developer.
  • The Racehorse has been boarded up by McDonalds.

April 1999

• Branch Success at the National AGM!
• Branch 1999 Pub of the Year.
• According to the Cambridge Evening News, the J.D. Wetherspoon is now due to open in the former Regal Cinema in July. The plans now include three rather than two cinema screens upstairs.

March 1999

• Sat. 20th: scaffolding went up along the front of The Regal, after so many months of apparent inactivity externally. Interior work was underway in December.

February 1999

• North Herts Branch have planned a "Meet the Brewers" special evening in Royston in April.
• ALE February 1999, no. 293 is now out.
• News follow-ups:
  • Wolverhampton & Dudley have acquired Marston, Thompson & Evershed and have sold 170 pubs to Greene King, reportedly including many of their pubs around here including The Pemberton Arms, Harston.
  • Shepherd Neame lost their Appeal Court case about trying to take the Government to court over the level of duty. They will now try to take the case to the House of Lords.
  • The Cow & Calf was boarded up on 8 Feb., the landlord having finally left the previous day. His son is now managing the Champion of the Thames. There are many potential buyers for it as a pub but there's no sign yet of a purchase.

January 1999

• Winter Ale Festival: Champion Beer