Britain once had more pubs than anywhere else in the world. Today, thousands have vanished — closed, converted into flats, or replaced by chain bars selling cocktails in jam jars.

Yet in a quiet residential corner of Norwich, one pub has stubbornly refused to change. Many beer lovers believe it may be the best pub in England.

Hand pumps line the wooden bar, serving real ale directly from the cask — traditional British beer poured without modern carbonation.

Drinking has long been woven into the fabric of British culture. Whether bonding with strangers or catching up with old friends, few leisure pursuits rival the pleasure of enjoying an ice-cold pint by the river on a summer evening. Alcohol is deeply ingrained in our traditions — an essential pastime as iconic as queuing, complaining, or swapping increasingly outrageous stories with friends. It has long served as the social lubricant for first dates and awkward encounters alike.

A pub for every day

Nowhere is this drinking tradition more evident than in a city with a well-known — if possibly apocryphal — saying that it once had a pub for every day of the year and a church for every week. Despite the steady pressures that have forced thousands of British pubs to close in recent years, Norwich still offers plenty of choice.

Yet the modern pub landscape is increasingly dominated by chains and themed bars backed by large capital. They offer cheap drinks but little else — you couldn’t buy a conversation for all the bottomless shots served by young, telegenic, and relentlessly enthusiastic bar staff.

For tourists — or anyone over 25 — finding a proper pint can sometimes feel daunting. But fear not: Nil desperandum. Beyond the blinding neon signs, loud music, and rowdy hen parties, traditional pubs still exist.

In the world of British pubs, “legendary” is a term thrown around with reckless abandon. Yet in a quiet residential corner of Norwich, there is a backstreet boozer that has truly earned the title.

RELATED: God save the English pub

Joseph McKeown/Getty Images

Holy grail of beer

The Fat Cat on West End Street is more than just a great pub. Many real ale enthusiasts consider it the holy grail of beer in England.

In 1991, Colin and Marjie Keatley took charge of a dilapidated, bomb-damaged Victorian pub called the New Inn, marking the beginning of the Fat Cat legend. Deceptively spacious, this pub sits just a mile from the city center in a quiet Norwich neighborhood. With its traditional street-corner exterior, this little slice of British pub life has lasted more than 30 years. In an age of enthusiastic “heritage inflation,” one could easily imagine it claiming three centuries.

With its traditional decor, the Fat Cat feels more like a 19th-century ale house than a modern business. There are no fruit machines, jukeboxes, or pool tables in any of its series of small, winding rooms, each offering a quiet, intimate seating area.

Stained-glass windows celebrating local brewing history add to its Victorian charm. At the heart of the pub, a real fireplace is flanked by church pews, creating a space that feels almost sacred — a warm communal refuge where simple wooden tables and benches invite conversation rather than distraction. The only soundtrack is the low hum of voices and the clinking of glasses.

A simpler tradition

Don’t expect to find a menu on your table. The Fat Cat proudly rejects the modern gastropub craze. There are no elaborate tasting menus or trendy dishes served in theatrical ways. In fact, the pub barely has a kitchen.

Instead, they champion a simpler tradition: Enjoy one of their excellent pork pies or bring your own takeaway — provided you buy a drink.

Alongside antique beer signs, the walls are covered with awards. The Fat Cat is one of the most decorated pubs in Britain, having won National Pub of the Year twice and the “Good Pub Guide” Beer Pub of the Year a record 11 times. In 2025, Lonely Planet even named it the best pub in England.

Stepping inside can feel like entering a miniature beer festival. A long chalkboard lists an impressive rotating selection of British ales, inviting visitors to try something new. Hand pumps line the wooden bar, serving real ale directly from the cask — traditional British beer poured without modern carbonation.

Whether it’s one of the pub’s award-winning house favourites — such as Tom Cat or Marmalade Cat — or a rare Belgian import, the knowledgeable staff treat every pint with care. Here, beer is valued not as a commodity but as an old friend.

Ask for a lager and lime, however, and the barman is likely to tell you that they don’t do cocktails.

Rule, Britannia!

In an era when thousands of pubs are closing or being converted into generic chains, the Fat Cat stands as a reminder of what makes the British pub special. Serve excellent beer in a beautiful, no-nonsense setting, and people will travel from across the country to experience it.

Indeed, the Fat Cat has become something of a pilgrimage site for beer lovers.

Yet despite its international reputation, the pub remains quintessentially local. Its relaxed atmosphere draws people from every walk of life. Truck drivers and retired professors sit side by side. Strangers strike up conversations with ease.

It’s usually best to avoid politics — Norwich, after all, leans rather left-wing — but that hardly matters once the conversation turns to beer, football, or the weather.

Whether you are a dedicated ale enthusiast or simply someone looking for a warm fireplace and a friendly face, the Fat Cat represents the gold standard.

It is not merely one of the best pubs in Norwich.

It may well be the best pub in England.

​Lifestyle, Drinking, Culture, England, The fat cat, Pubs, Beer, Letter from the uk 

A 55-year-old woman who pleaded guilty to a charge related to her slapping the mask off a federal officer during a protest in San Diego, California, has been sentenced.

Jeane “Bleu” Wong was facing a year in prison for the misdemeanor charge of assault on a federal officer over an incident that unfolded on July 2, 2025, in Linda Vista.

‘Today, not only did I get justice, but all the puppies of the world also got justice.’

Wong was among the protesters who showed up to oppose a targeted enforcement operation by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents at the Mesa Vista Apartments.

The woman was grabbed by the forearms by an agent after she refused to step out of a police perimeter, and she responded by slapping the agent on the left side of his face. The officer’s mask slipped down his face as a result.

Wong pleaded guilty to the charge in February.

“I chose to plead guilty because I did unmask an agent, no matter what the circumstances before that,” she admitted. “But I will never normalize giving unchecked power over myself, over my family, over you, my neighbors, my kids, to any agency that does not follow basic standards.”

On Thursday, U.S. District Judge Allison H. Goddard sentenced Wong to 45 days of house arrest, allowing her to avoid any time in prison.

The preschool owner said she would continue her advocacy and even fired off a jab at Kristi Noem after she was removed as secretary of the Department of Homeland Security.

“Today, not only did I get justice, but all the puppies of the world also got justice,” she said, referencing Noem’s puppy-killing controversy.

However, Wong faces another charge from Jan. 2026 related to her allegedly joining an anti-ICE protest to barricade the San Diego mayor’s office. That charge violated her bail conditions, which led to her being ordered to wear an ankle monitor.

RELATED: Video shows brawl after high school walkout protester allegedly hit pro-ICE man — and the man is charged with child abuse

Wong was held for 31 hours after her assault arrest, and she claims that her detention conditions were inhumane because they included solitary confinement and lack of bathroom access. Those allegations have not been confirmed.

Her wife said she was relieved over the relatively lenient sentence.

“I’m always by her side and very proud of her, but it’s always scary to know that you can be criminalized for something that is good,” Tin-Lok Wong said.

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​55-year-old anti-ice protester arrested, Jeane bleu wong sentence, Woman slaps ice officer, Assault on a federal officer, Politics 

Once again, the popular “ding-dong ditch” prank — in which young people bang on front doors of homes, typically late at night, and run away — has ended with a teenager getting shot.

Sheriff Mike McCormick of Garland County, Arkansas, said a 16-year-old male suffered a gunshot wound during a reported “ding-dong ditch” prank in the area of Marion Anderson Road on Feb. 27.

‘Trespassing, terrorizing, and damaging property.’

The sheriff said the 911 Communications Center late in the evening received multiple complaints of vehicles in the area with subjects wearing hoods and masks who were kicking and hitting residential doors.

While patrol deputies were performing an initial investigation, officials said they received another report about a subject who suffered a gunshot wound and was at a local hospital.

Sheriff’s office investigators responded in order to collect surveillance, witness statements, and related evidence, officials said, and they determined that reports of subjects kicking and hitting residential doors and the shooting were related incidents.

Officials indeed said the subjects were engaging in the “ding-dong ditch” prank.

RELATED: ‘Ding-dong ditch’ prank ends with homeowner firing multiple rounds at car — and juvenile passenger getting shot, cops say

The sheriff’s office said the identities of those involved “will not be released at this time. This is an active investigation.”

A KATV-TV video report shared security camera clips from several homes in the neighborhood stemming from the incident; the station said the prank was under way around 11 p.m.

The station said “in camera footage from one residence in that area, you can see a hooded and masked individual getting out of a black pickup truck, running through the front yard of the residence and up the walkway, slamming his fist on the door, and then running off.”

More from KATV:

The video then shows the individual getting back into the truck and accelerating quickly, with another black truck and a white car following behind him.

Those same vehicles are shown in this camera footage from another residence in the area.

The same masked individual — who is running in flip-flops — launches his body into the home’s garage door, setting off what sounds like an alarm before running back into the truck and speeding off.

The station reported that one of the homeowners said the incident didn’t resemble similar pranks she knew of growing up. In fact, KATV said she characterized the behavior as “trespassing, terrorizing, and damaging property.”

In January, North Carolina officials said a “ding-dong ditch” prank ended with a homeowner firing multiple rounds at a car — and a juvenile passenger was shot.

Blaze News has reported on a number of additional related incidents — and some have been deadly:

In 2025, a Texas homeowner fatally shot an 11-year-old playing “ding-dong ditch.”Earlier in 2025, a Virginia homeowner was charged with murder after a high school senior was fatally shot amid what surviving teens say was a “ding-dong ditch” prank.Also in 2025, four juveniles most definitely choose the wrong house to prank with the “ding-dong ditch” game — given the homeowner reportedly ended up getting charged with six felonies, including first-degree robbery, two counts of armed criminal action, unlawful use of a weapon, and unlawful possession of a firearm.In 2024, a 30-year-old male used a handgun to shoot 14 rounds at teenagers playing a “ding-dong-ditch” prank — and he wounded one of them, police in Maine said.Also in 2024, police said an 85-year-old rammed a car into two teens who played a version of the “ding-dong ditch” prank on him in Canada.In 2023, a teen was hospitalized after a Delaware state trooper allegedly “beat the living hell” out of the boy over a “ding-dong-ditch” prank.Also in 2023, a California man was convicted of murdering three teenagers after a “ding-dong ditch” prank that included “mooning.”And in 2021, a retired cop faced kidnapping charges over what he allegedly did to an 11-year-old who pulled a “ding-dong ditch” prank on him.

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​Arkansas, Ding dong ditch, Prank, Shooting, Garland county sheriff’s office, Investigation, Teenager shot, Crime