Posts Tagged “crown and goose”

Mainly local issues today.
Thanks to the wonders of Virgin Media Broadband, blogging will be even lighter than usual.

To make matter’s worse, I decided to drown my sorrows at my regular (but not most local) pub, The Crown and Goose in Camden Town.
A fine pub and very handy for those who work unusual hours (I’ll sometimes finish at ten or eleven, sometimes much later) due to its late licence.
The Goose still has a while (maybe a year or so) before it is demolished.
However, under new ownership, it now seems to be implementing a policy which means, if it’s quiet, we’ll call last orders and shut for the night.
I’m told that on Monday and Tuesday The Crown and Goose called time at 11pm and Wednesday’s last orders were at 11.45pm.
I’ll have to see what happens on the other days which means a little ‘research’ will be necessary.
But whatever happens on the other days, it seems that The Crown and Goose is on its way to becoming one of the earliest closing (decent) pubs in Camden Town.
Update I’ve been told that since 4th August, The Crown and Goose has reverted to midnight closing at the start of the week, which is good.
Due to the uncertainty of its closing times it’s not worth the trip across town, passing several still-serving establishments, to discover the famous green doors of The Goose firmly closed.
(btw - my Virgin broadband is so slow that I’m having trouble publishing this text-only post)

My recent bout of imbibing-itis took me to the under-threat-again Crown and Goose last week.
I was reminded of a story I’d taken to be a bit of a myth about one of the UK’s big TV comedy series being partly written in the pub.
I’ve since been assured the story is true but I’d like to get a bit more information before posting the story.

While having a few hairs of the dog on the second day of my ‘vacation’, I bumped into a gent, Louis Vause who I’d talked with briefly before.
Louis and collaborator Seamus Beaghen have just released a DVD, Boogie and Blues Piano - The All New Beginners Guide and parts of it were recorded in the Crown and Goose.
A couple of plugs below:

“Vause and Beaghen make engaging guides - quirky, oddball and opinionated. They know all about the boogie-woogie greats, and even add a nod in the direction of Albert Einstein” Clive Davis, The Times
“From boogie-woogie bafflement to enlightenment in the company of two affable weirdo’s” Paul Whitehouse, Comic writer.

Louis has since mentioned that links to all the ‘lessons’ were filmed in Camden places that they thought should be captured on film before the ‘bloody council got rid of them’.

Here’s a clip from the DVD :

You can buy it here
and you can buy his albums here

A little on Louis below but spend some time exploring his site for much more. It makes for interesting reading - very candid and humorous.
You can also visit his myspace site here
Look in his biography for the story of his visit to Cuba and another when he visited another well-known Camden pub and made a public request for someone who needed a tax loss. Great stuff.
Louis has instructed and worked with a host of people - George Harrison!, Graham Coxon, Beth Orton and seemingly with all the members of Madness but not all at the same time.
He has acted in movies/TV and also performed in a different capacity on the Radio Four’s award winning ‘Down the Line’ with former Norwich punks-in-law Paul Whitehouse and Charlie Higson.

If you play piano or know someone who does, the DVD may well be of interest. If not, if anyone’s in need of a tax loss…

Further Update - If you’re heading to The Goose, specifically at the start of the week, check the new earlier closing times before travelling.
Update - Just to say that, as far as I know, it will be some months, maybe a year or two before the Crown and Goose closes.
Excuse the local and personal nature of this post.
A real shame - it seems it’s the end for The Crown and Goose.
A Ten minutes walk to this pub normally results in a thirty minute return journey for me along the same route (after a few pints of Guinness).
The pub has been fighting to stay open for years but it looks like it has finally lost its battle with developers whose representatives seem to be making something of the badly needed accommodation the site will provide :
“If you look at the sites in central London where there is a need for more housing, this is one that I think is ripe for development.
“Ten new flats will come from this. The buildings that are there do not have much architectural merit – they are not listed.”
Source Camden New Journal

Hmmm - Ten flats in a rather well-to-do area of Camden. This will surely help vital inner city workers in their quest to find accommodation close to the services which Camden residents so desperately need.
Celebrity-ville, despite the reputation, the Crown and Goose was not. Although there may have been frequent visits by certain members of music’s finest, the Goose is a place that the odd celeb managed a relatively normal drink with his or her mates, without being disturbed.