The Greyhound, Peckham, SE15

There’s no real ale available here, just keg Courage Best (£1.60 a half), or John Smith’s in the way of bitter. However there was a handpump with a Doom Bar clip reversed, and I was told by a regular thet the pub had had a dalliance with real ale, but apparently there were not enough takers to make its sale viable. There was no sign of food on when I was in on Wedbesday afternoon, although there was some banter at the bar about stew tomorrow. This is a very basic pub inside, although the exterior is still quite impressive. Furnishings comprise a clutch of tall tables/tall stools on the right, with a trio of tables on the left with upholstered benches in booth format. There is one heritage feature in the very nice old bar back including a couple of painted panels, featuring greyhounds of course. There are TVs around the place, and when I was in the room was dominated by a large pull down screen, and all were showing the horse racing with the volume very much enabled. Of course there was St Patrick’s Day stuff all over the place, and one lady even came into the pub to try and flog those daft looking green-rimmed Guinness hats. I didn’t see her sell any. No doubt this is a temporary situation. I saw karaoke (Saturday), and live music (Friday) advertised. This is an ordinary pub, with what seemed to be a reasonable number of locals in there drinking and following the racing. But it would need a decent real ale to tempt me back again.