The last post

I spent the New Year in Prague with my beloved. Regular readers will know that I lived and worked there for a while three years before I started this blog. I love the Bohemian capital, and as it happens it's where I first became really interested in beer. After trying all manner of brews from scores of countries, there's still nothing I like more than a mug of pivo, freshly delivered to my table by an unsmiling Czech waiter.

I've written at length about the pubs and breweries I tend to visit when I'm in Prague, so I won't do so again. There isn't time, after all. For one thing, I've got to get to the pub to tap beers for tomorrow, take down those Christmas decorations, and prepare for another year of business. And I can't put off writing this post until tomorrow. You see, this is the blog's third birthday, and I decided a few weeks ago that this would be the day I'd finally put it to sleep.

This website has been an astonishing, unexpected agent of change in my life. If I hadn't have started writing it, I doubt I would have had the confidence to make the really important decisions. I'd always said to people that I wanted to have my own pub one day. I imagined it'd be something I'd do when I finally fell back exhausted from a City career that never really suited me. I'm pleased I didn't wait that long. Things have worked out well for me.

I first visited The Gunmakers as a customer in 2003 (not long before my secondment to Prague, in fact). I was a trainee solicitor at my first law firm, working in the asset finance department. I'd moved to EC1 to share a flat with Tom, a work colleague. He took me for a few beers to introduce me to the 'hood. I remember visiting a somewhat foodie little place with a covered back yard adorned with fairy lights and chalked-up menus. The beer wasn't any great shakes, but the oddly shaped little pub, tucked away even by Clerkenwell standards, had undeniable charm. I didn't know I'd end up being the landlord of The Gunmakers six years later.

There will be some people who read this post who have followed the blog since the beginning. I'd acknowledge that there's been a substantial shift in both style and content over the years. I know that hasn't pleased everyone, but I hope that some of you have enjoyed the story and realised that it wasn't just about beer. I'd like to thank all of you for reading, and for the countless kind comments, emails and gifts you've given to me over the last three years.

The picture of The Gunmakers above was painted by my supremely talented and lovely girlfriend, Charlotte, as a Christmas present.