Islington Tribune - News: Drinker aims to sip his way into record books

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Islington Tribune - by SIMON WROE
Published: 9 November 2007

Stephen Merrett at The Melton Mowbray pub in High Holborn

Drinker aims to sip his way into record books

IT began as a visit to a City church – and turned into a pub crawl of epic proportions.
When retired economics researcher Stephen Merrett, from Anson Road in Tufnell Park, tried to visit a church in the Square Mile and found the door locked, he turned his attentions to the area’s pubs instead.
Now, 168 watering holes later, the 68-year-old says he is the first person to have drunk a pint of beer in every pub in the City of London, a claim being checked by the Museum of London.
Mr Merrett said: “I went into the pub pissed off with churches, but by the time I left I was only thinking ‘pubs are fantastic’ and had decided to cover every one in the City. The pub is the most wonderful of all British institutions.”
He added: “Since I was a little boy I’ve always been quite obsessive, but this was much more ambitious than anything I’d done before.”
First, Mr Merrett had to define exactly what constituted a pub out of the 584 licensed premises in the City, and then he had to cover the area’s 914 streets to establish each pub’s location. Finally, he had to have a pint in each, noting its ambience and features. The documentation of his quest is now lodged at the Museum of London.
Although the thirsty work was washed down with more than 200 pints, Mr Merrett was fastidious in his approach. Every afternoon he would traverse the streets armed with a compass (which he describes as “absolutely necessary after a couple of pints”), a map and a special shirt with hidden pockets, in case muggers struck.
Occasionally, he would take his wife or a friend, but most of the time he went alone.
And his favourites? Mr Merrett has created a simple sentence to help him remember his top seven: “By the Ship’s Bell in Melton Mowbray, the Black Friar cooks Lamb and Swan for the Viaduct’s builders.”

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