A Blue Post
After a that fraught gingerbread man making on Tuesday night, last night I found myself sipping a convivial pint in the pub with a mate. The only thing that could make a pint in the pub more pleasant would be if one’s drink followed a fine repast, of perhaps, a large bowl of Ramen.
The pub was The Blue Posts, on Kingley Street in Soho while the Japanese noodle soup were enjoyed in Ramen Seto, the simple but good Japanese restaurant next door. I always enjoy drinking in the Blue Posts, or rather a Blue Posts, and it’s the indefinite article that lies at the root of it. There are five Blue Posts pubs in central London, roughly arranged around Soho.
I’ve always liked the feeling of being privy to a small secret in noticing these identically named pubs that meander through the middle of town. Why the pubs are called ‘The Blue Posts’ has also intrigued me too. So, I had to ask the barstaff. This is what I was told:
In days of yore, Soho was a hunting ground, and the gentlemen that came to hunt there would congregate after their hunting trips and wait for a sedan chair to take them home. These sedan chair ranks were marked with a blue post, in time inns sprang up to cater for the hungry hunters. Perfect!
All these Blue Post pubs so close together make for a fab pub crawl. Me and some mates did it a few years ago, the pubs are just about the perfect distance from each other, and there aren’t so many that you’ll end up lying in the ditch unable to see the stars from sheer weight of alcohol.
The Blue Posts pub crawl
Start in the Fitzrovia Blue Posts at 81 Newman Street, W1T 3EU, this is about five minutes north of the Tottenham Court Road end of Oxford Street. Then cross Oxford Street and walk down to the Berwick Street Blue Posts, at 22 Berwick Street, W1F 0QA. This is at the cross roads between Berwick Street, of record shop fame, and Broadwick Street, where William Blake was born.
Then it’s a hop, skip and a swerve to the Kingley Street Blue Posts, at 18 Kingly Street, W1B 5PX. If you’re hungry by this stage you could stop for a bite of Japanese food in Ramen Seto next door. If not, you’re off to Chinatown next…
It’s one fourth of a merry mile to the Rupert Street Blue Posts, at 28 Rupert Street, W1D 6DJ. Pretty much the smallest and gayest of the Blue Posts.
From Chinatown it’s time to get out your top hat, tie up your white tie, brush off your tails and head into Mayfair. The final sozzled stumble is to the St James’ Blue Posts, 6 Bennet Street, SW1A 1RP. Here you can mingle with the toffs and gawping tourists as you make battle with that difficult last drink.
Tags: Blue Posts, Blue Posts Pub Crawl, Soho