The Angel, Thames Ditton

As the owner of the "hostile and aggressive" dog referred to in a recent article, I thought that I should reply. The article makes the pub seem like something out of a Clint Eastwood spaghetti western. The fact is that in forty five years of using the place I have never seen a violent incident - the closest was probably half a century ago when my mother burst in and apparently slammed my fathers stone cold dinner down on the bar in front of him, much to the amusement of his fellow drinkers.

The Angel has a magnificent setting facing the cricket green, log fires in the winter and a stable door and cool breezes in the summer. After a stream of completely incompetent managers over the last twenty years, each seemingly worse than the last, the pub has seen a dramatic improvement in the last few years. The place is clean, the food excellent, and the beer well kept, although the Youngs still causes problems from time to time.

However, the most important thing about a pub is the clientele. Most are locals, some rich, some poor, some grumpy some extrovert, with a broad spectrum of religious views, political leanings, and even sexual orientation. What glues it all together is tolerance. Readers may also be intrigued to know that Thames Ditton apparently has a reputation for being a community of "swingers. I confess to being slightly put out at never being head-hunted for this activity, if you'll pardon the expression, but if you like people-watching Friday nights in the Angel are great for a little harmless speculation as to who might be what with whom. I have to say that some of the suggested couplings are bizarre to say the least, but then some people just have warped minds.......

Back to the dog. He is a Boxer puppy, just five months old, full of mischief and his stump never stops wagging. In his short life he seems to have endeared himself to everybody in the pub, and he is kept on the lead at all times. On Saturday a group of four of us were indeed talking to the bar-maid, who is Polish and lovely with it. She gets married in a few weeks, and we were giving her a few helpful tips about her wedding night, as you do. This guy walked in, didn't acknowledge any of us by so much as a nod, sat on a stool right on top of us although the pub was empty, and didn't so much as smile the whole time he sat there. He then stomped off a little way, and I spoke to him because it was becoming a bit embarrassing with him so out of it. He then went off into one about the dog, and one thing lead to another.

I have no respect for people that write anonymous letters. He need not "fear for his life". I doubt that any of us would even recognise him if he came back, far less care. Life is too short. There are a number of good pubs in Thames Ditton, and I hope he has found one that he likes upon which to inflict himself. Their loss is our gain.

So what is the pub like? Is it like a sparsely populated episode from Last of the Summer Wine. Is it full of sexual tension and inuendo. Or is it just locals relaxing and exchanging banter and insults. The truth is that its probably a bit of all three at different times. Why not drop in and find out ??

24 Jun 2005 10:26