The George Inn

A friendly pub in the heart of Kent. Mostly ITM. all the usual instruments and sometimes lots of them. There is a great atmosphere, the tunes fly around thick and fast.
Quite often there is a story teller (Adrian) who spins some great Irish yarns…mostly about Uncle Paddy from Bally-de-Hob.
And there are….CHIPS!!!

Can often be quite crowded - arrival between 8.15 and 8.30 is a good idea if you’re fussy about where (or if) you sit. There are no “session leaders” as such so it can sometimes get a bit anarchic.

the pub has changed hands and was closed last night (11th september). local information suggest this may be for a month or so. the session seems to be temporarily homeless although there is a good prospect of a new venue nearby. meantime, e-mail info.

as the george appears to unavailable for the foreseeable future, the session has become itinerant - four different pubs on a rota basis:-
the hop pocket, bossingham, nr canterbury
the black robin, kingston nr canterbury
the compasses, sole street nr canterbury
the anchor, wingham nr canterbury
what do we do in a month when there are 5 wednesdays? i don’t know yet………………….
please e-mail andybanjo@aol.com for up to date info or phone my shop (01795 590374) where there is a list pinned on the wall.

the regular wednesday session continues to roam about - the “hop pocket” has proved less welcoming than might have been hoped so an alternate is being sought. this makes it difficult to predict where we are going to be - so please phone or e-mail me if you;d like to join us - 01795 590374, andybanjo@aol.com
andybanjo

now happens at the “anchor”, wingham every wednesday. please see the listing under that name.

Oct 2003. Sessions have started again in The George, the pub is under new management. There is now more room and the acoustics are imo better than before. Only one drawback…we don’t get chips anymore!!

Dec 2003
This session is finished, again!! The Landlord doesn’t have a clue on how to treat people so it’s back to “The Anchor” for the time being.

none of the local musicians are prepared to go back to this pub whilst it is under the present management - so the session has moved to:-
Ye Olde Beverlie, St.Stephen’s Green, Canterbury
Wednesdays at 8.00pm
directions from andybanjo@aol.com if required

The Old Beverlie was a great pub, but is apparently subject to some ancient covenants linked to the alms houses next door, so groups of musicians are not allowed. What is the matter with this country?! We’re back at the Anchor, Wingham, and for the time being happily settled.

someone e-mailed me recently about this session - the “George” on Stone Street near Petham ceased to be a pub some while ago and the “Anchor” at Wingham closed down earlier this year. country pubs aren’t faring wonderfully well in this neck of the woods ……..

there is a temporary home for the moment at the “George” at Molash but it’s not the most convenient of venues for many players ………….. please e-mail andybanjo@aol.com if you need details/directions

this session meets on Wednesdays around 8pm at
The George, Molash, near Canterbury, Kent
please see the new session listing for details

sadly, the old “George” is no longer a public house at all …

as of 17th March 2010, this session ceased to play at the “George” @ Molash - though the pub itself continues to thrive and (unusually) hasn’t closed down!

hopefully there will be a new listing at some stage for the revived session at the “Anchor” @ Wingham

Session started again. First Sunday of the month. 8 till 10 ish. Not the same as before but still good for a few tunes!

This session starts at 8pm and usually ends not long after 10pm. It’s a lovely country pub and has gone back to being much the same as it was when the regular Wednesday night session was here a few years ago. The map at the top of this listing is less than helpful as it seems to direct you to a village on the other side of Canterbury, some 10 miles away! The pub’s postcode is Ct4 6DF - your sat nav will bring you to the correct road (the B2068 from Canterbury to Hythe). If you are travelling from Canterbury towards Hythe, the pub is on the right-hand side about 5 miles out of Canterbury - not long after the signposted left turn for Stelling Minnis. If you’re coming from the Hythe/M20 junction, the pub is on the left, not long after you pass the petrol station on the right. There’s little or no habitation around the pub (just a large building on its own) and opinion is divided as to how comes to be there at all………
A welcome return of a nice, welcoming country pub with good acoustics.

Just to let you know that this session is still going - the map at the top is more helpful than it used to be (the marker is at least on the correct road) but it shows the pub as being some miles further north than it actually is. The session starts at 8 and rarely goes on beyond 10.30. It’s a nice friendly pub but not over-endowed with regular drinkers - at least on Sunday nights. Often just a gathering of musicians to play and swap tunes.

In common with the session at the George, Molash, this session is suspended until further notice. Whether or not this pub (like so many of the country pubs hereabouts) will survive this lockdown is questionable. We can only hope that some will re-open as pubs and be willing to host music sessions. I’ll post again with further news as & when available.

Just wondered if this session has reconvened since Covid?

This session has now reconvened. First and Third Sundays, 8pm sharp until 10-ish. At the moment, we ask all participants to do a Covid test before coming. If you’re not happy with that, please hold off coming for the time being.

Session dates for April/May
No session 17th April - Easter Sunday
Sessions on 24th April, 8th May, 22nd May - then back to First and Third Sundays from June. Message me for further info - we’re all still testing before attending at the moment.

This session is on tonight (Sun 24/4) at 8.00pm till 10pm. At the moment, the protocol remains that everyone who is attending does a Covid-test beforehand. We’re still quite wary about mixing with other people as some of our regular members have health/age issues.

It has been really good to get back to playing with live musicians again - Zoom sessions have kept us going but they’re somehow not the same ………..

Just a reminder that there is no session at the George tonight (Sunday 15th May).
The next session will be on Sunday 22nd May at the usual starting time of 8pm.
Next sessions after that will be Sunday 5th June & Sunday 19th June.

Sessions on as usual for June - Sunday 5th (tomorrow) & Sunday 19th.
The Session due on Sunday 3rd July will be at The Mermaid’s Locker in Sandwich to coincide with the town festival. For that one night only, the session will meet in Sandwich - after that Sunday 17th July will be back at The George.

Session on as usual this Sunday 2nd Oct. 8pm to about 10pm.

No sessions on Sunday 18th or Sunday 1st Jan. back as usual from 15th jan

Sorry, no session tomorrow 15th January. Hopefully back on 5th February.

Contrary to last notice, there will be a session at The George tomorrow- Sunday 20th Jan After that, should be back to 1st and 3rd Sundays.

Session this Sunday 5th February starts at 8pm until about 10pm.

Session this Sunday 19th February 8pm - 10pm approx

Session this Sunday 19th March 8-10pm as usual