An expedition to the Pig & Whistle, out in the Essex countryside. I know there's a lot of Pig 'n Whistle bars in America, but the pictures of pigs with whistles is a somewhat more literal translation than what I think of as Pig and Whistle, which is more or less a piggen wassail. That's a bowl or jug of beer which gets dunked/poured with individual beer mugs.
It used to be a thing in London, around some part of the City. Draft bitter sometimes gravity-fed from the barrel into a jug/pitcher and then distributed around the table.
Mainly just 4 and 8 pints, but nowadays it has almost completely disappeared except for the buckets of beer, which is simply iced (usually foreign lager) bottled beers bought in units of around 5. Those sawdust floored real ale pubs, underneath railway arches and lit by candles have been progressively replaced with Weatherspoons or expensive cocktail bars.
But back to the country pub in Essex. It serves a lovely Sunday carvery. Oh yes.
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