Parse Dover.

If I had to choose a favourite beer festival, I think, perhaps, that The Whitecliff Festival Of Winter Ales would have to be it!
Held in Dover Town Hall, Maison Dieu, a beautiful building that's absolutely steeped in history, they offer some wonderfully crafted ales, all at £2-00 a pint and nothing under 5%. If, like so many people, you have the desire to annihilate as many brain cells as possible while savouring your tipple, then this is the festival to attend, albeit only in a physical sense towards the end of it!
In addition, it also offers the opportunity to meet some of the most boring, unimaginative and bizzare people that CAMRA has to offer. As an example, one rather portly and ruddy jowled gentleman that I met, suddenly launched into a story, with great vehemence, about the time that the police came to his house and he declared to them, for some inexplicable reason, that if anyone were ever to hurt either of his nieces, they'd better get to the person responsible before he did! I can imagine that the poor officers concerned were just as surprised with that outburst as I was.
But hey, apart from the beer, there was also a full moon to compliment the proceedings!
And, of course, there were also all the usual shenanigans that accompany the arse-end of the session, namely the odd, prone carcass to impede your journey to the loo and bar staff that were so pissed, they were having trouble adding up the single token that you'd just given them for your beer.
In a break with tradition, though, the usual Battle of Britain re-enactment with paper planes was replaced with something more akin to War of the Worlds, this year, with flying saucers in the shape of beer mats, taking to the skies. Nice to see the proceedings being brought up to date without negating the possibility of losing an eye and also refreshing to note that it was, indeed, possible to make use of at least one of the naff tombola prizes!

Huzzah!

I think I may pop along there again, today!