Meet the man who said it wasn't worth coming back to Newbury, Ref today's story Options

[Chris Pascoe]

Hi, I'm the 'beer swilling' author who apparently hates Newbury! Can I firstly say that the Pub signing has had to be cancelled due to a bereavement. The main reason I'm posting though, is just to answer Liam's comments. Every possible negative has been taken from the book's chapters on Newbury, and every positive ignored. For example - The Old Bell. Liam forgets to mention that, whilst it wasn't my cup of tea and I said so; in the book my companion says he really likes it and stays for three pints. Neither did I say there was anything permanently wrong with the toilets - just that they'd had a bad day, which was probably more to do with somebody's bowels than any fault of the pub.

And the Hare & Hounds got a very complimentary write-up, but Liam missed that too, dwelling on a true comment the barmaid made, in order to give the impression I'm slating everybody and everything. In fact, every pub that got a good review (which was most) is ignored, and every pleasant remark I made about the area is omitted. Also, if the chapter is read properly - much more fun is poked at me than at anybody else.

I made ONE jokey aside about Newbury in a book that's very tongue-in-cheek and not meant to be taken in the way Liam's taken it...and it's used to create a 'news' story. Even the 'beer swilling' title is a little misleading , considering I'm drinking diet coke and coffee through most of the chapters. This is the sort of unbalanced, tabloid-style reporting that belongs in the gutter-press, not a respected local newspaper. Got ambitions in that direction Liam?