The Club continued its London-centric anniversary season in mid-November with a trip to Castle's in the backstreets of Camden. It's the last surviving example of a traditional Pie and Mash shop in North London, and we were glad to find it open on this occasion – you may recall our 'shut shop scenario' at the start of the year.

At 13.11 on 15/11 my companions and I found ourselves at the back of a slow-moving dinner-line stretching out of the shop and onto the paving stones. It allowed plenty of time for exterior shots of this unique grub house which has been a part of Royal College Street since the 1930's.

While we braced ourselves against the first chill wind of winter, early arrivals Terry, Doug and Ray had already inserted themselves into the forward eating pod.

Neither green nor yellow, the chromatically impossible hue of Doug Benford's kagoule ensured that he remained highly visible under somewhat patchy lighting conditions.

The cosy table à 4 was completed by Denise Rouse, who has made a strong start to the season.

Under somewhat patchy lighting conditions, the ambience is 'brown'.

Here is Castle's stalwart pie man Fred performing a pastry progress check. As far as I know, it's the only place where the oven is centre-stage on the shop floor, but on a day like this the additional heat was most welcome.

Artist and literacy and numeracy tutor Ruth Batham joined our table. Despite there being no culinary equivalent in the West Midlands, I think Ruth rather warmed to our simple London fare – her Black Countray accent thickened up with evray yummay mowful.

Tweedled-M and Tweedled-E.

It's worth the price of a cup of tea just to sit in such a perfectly preserved interior.

But man cannot survive on tea and formica alone – this is what we came for. The Castle's vehicle is a modestly proportioned racing pie, well suited to competition eating. I thought I detected a hint of Marmite; there's certainly a savoury tang to its economic yet tasty filling.

Castle's brown light played havoc with my photo-apparatus but I did manage to catch the dinner ladies, Tracy and Anne, in motion.

[Above centre] Fans of the shop.

[Right] It's always a pleasure to stop for a chat with some normal people. James and Valerie sportingly had their picture taken. They have been coming here for nearly 40 years.

Time is money – sterling and noble. How much is your time worth?

Empty tables, patient diners. Castle's offers a winning selection of traditional puds: Treacle, Bread and Butter, Spotted Dick and Jam Roly-Poly were all ordered by the Club.

Steam is an essential part of your Castle's dessert experience.

A JRP specimen from the excavations. Also known as 'Shirt Sleeve Pudding' or 'Dead Man's Arm'.

As I scribbled down the scores for the day, the hard working heart of the shop continued to pulse in its engine room. Some years ago Fred and his partner Grant thought it was a good idea to leave London for Basingstoke. That's a heck of a commute to keep Castle's 'in the air'.

A tasty typographic treat in yellow and brown.

The look and feel of this place, its food and its people, makes Castle's a unique dinner destination. It's a must-do – not only for us pie and mashers, but for tourists of all stripes.

As the mid-afternoon gloom came on, the remaining company sought further cheer in Camden's hinterland – Tapping the Admiral at Castle Road.
To England's Glory,
St@