Our month off the drink meant we hadn't been to The Gate for over five weeks a situation that is practically unheard of so we were chomping at the bit to make our first visit of 2014 on a wet February Friday night. Shelley was on the wine and my eyes lit up when I saw that Jennings Cumberland ale was one of the ales available.
It was great to be back 'home' and to celebrate, following another pint of Cumberland ale, it was time to up the ante and move onto the Cumberland Old Empire IPA weighing in at impressive 5.7% abv this probably wasn't my cleverest move so I went down a few notches and ended the night with a much more sensible 4% Ringwood Young Scrumper.
All in all a great night and one thing's certain we won't leave it so long before our next visit !!
UPDATE 9th February
Sunday night drinking is always great fun as there is something a little bit rebellious about it, and our spontaneous trip to The Gate was one such occasion.
We found a table next to the bar and put the world to rights. I discovered to my delight that Marston's Sweet Chariot was on draught in commemoration of England's six nations campaign.
Shelley very nearly needed to 'carry me home' when we left as I ended up necking six pints of the stuff....not to be recommended on a school night kids !!
UPDATE 20th February
Thursday night drinking has always been an acceptable pastime in my view as technically it is a weekend eve. Thursday night drinking when you've got the Friday off is a whole different ball game and when it is also payday things are taken to a whole new level !!
So it was with this in mind that we made our way to The Gate on the Thursday before we travelled to Hereford the next day for a long weekend.
My first pint of Marston's Pedigree barely touched the sides !!
We spotted The Voice reject and local 'celebrity' Sam Buttery having a drink with the rest of the Buttery clan. Well to be honest it would have been hard to miss him given the pair of bright silver trainers that he was wearing !!
We sampled the pubs 'revamped menu' and weren't overly impressed with it, as it seemed the inevitable increase in price had coincided with a dip in the quality of our food. Mind you, not to worry, the Marston's Pedigree (a £2.69 bargain) was certainly up to scratch so it wasn't long before I'd seen off pints two, three, four and five.
Well, it was the weekend...sort of !!
UPDATE 1st March
Having tried (and once again failed) to get into The Bolehall Manor Club for a drink (what kind of place is shut on a Saturday night?!) we ended our mini Tamworth pub crawl with a visit to our local the fabulous Gate Inn.
I was disappointed that my usual tipple Jennings Cumberland ale wasn't available so chose a pint of Ringwood Forty Niner and what a decision it was, a lovely drop of ale and it may have elevated itself to my drink of choice in The Gate. Take note Carling drinkers, you miss out on all this fun !!
We managed to secure our favourite two seats at the small bar, and stored our shopping out of harms way. Yes, I know, some folks go out with a Prada handbag, we call in to our local with a Co-op carrier bag !!
Given the quality of the company (what a smoothie I am !!) and the beer (have I spoilt it now?!) we stayed for another couple before heading home for a home made chilli & MOTD.
UPDATE 9th March
There are few things in life better than drinking outdoors so, on our way back home from The Globe following England's 29 18 against the Welsh, we took full advantage of the sunshine and had our first outdoor drink of the year outside The Gate.
The outdoor setting at The Gate is definitely the jewel in its crown as the beer garden is a sun trap at the side of the Coventry canal, an ideal place to spend a few hours topping up a tan and sinking a few pints of their splendid real ale.
There was only one thing I could drink that day, Marston's Sweet Chariot. Cheers England..
UPDATE 21st March
I love it when me and Shelley go to The Gate straight from work on a Friday. As I've previously stated the pub is a brilliant local with a great selection of regularly changing ales, the pick of the bunch that particular night being Banks's Sunbeam which is the most popular ale sold in the pub. A barrel rarely lasts more than a couple of nights. I decided to drink it quickly fearing that it might run out !!
One unfortunate consequence of pubs changing their image in recent years is the fact that many are now family friendly which means that children can sometimes be found in what is strictly speaking an adults playground, although if they are well behaved then fair enough. Unfortunately on the night we were in The Gate this wasn't the case as one particular little boy ran round the pub jumping off steps, making a noise and generally being a nuisance. He was a living example of why contraception is a great invention.
We had intended to have an early night due to the fact that that we were travelling up to Hull the next day but just as we were finishing off what was supposed to be our last drink we bumped into Keith and Tracy, a couple we met in The Gate on New Year's Eve and it would have been rude to leave, so we stopped for a bonus extra couple of pints and reminisced with them about pubs and clubs in Birmingham in the 1980's, a specialist subject of ours !!
UPDATE 28th March
Another Friday and another trip to The Gate. We were originally on our way for a few in Tamworth town centre but an early April shower meant that we had a change of plan and I was Rocking All Over the World when I saw that Wychwood Piledriver, the beer launched by Status Quo, was available. I couldn't wait to get a few Down Down !!
We were once again lucky enough to get our favourite two seats in the pub, perched at the end of the bar. It reminded me of the time a couple of Christmas's ago when we popped in for a pint and, apart from the occasional trip to the loo, we did not move from these two seats for over six hours !!
The fact that it was payday for many meant that the pub was really busy though thankfully the misbehaving child that blighted our last visit was elsewhere presumably irritating someone else.
We had a feeling of deja vu as, just like the previous week, we were being disciplined due to us being off on our travels the next day, though the 11.20 to London Euston was the last thing on my mind as the Piledriver was slipping down a treat. The deja vu feeling was compounded when, just before we were about to leave, Keith and Tracy joined us though this time we resisted the temptation of one (or two) for the road and headed home to ensure that we were both match fit for our trip to the capital.
UPDATE 5th April
After a night out in Tamworth the night before our original plan for the following day was a rare Saturday night in. Shelley had offered to cook a Mexican meal so I'd put a few bottles of Sol in the fridge in readiness.
Unfortunately the sporting events that afternoon changed things. Firstly I got a second place in the Grand National in my sweepstake at work, secondly Blues won 3 1 away from home, and thirdly v*lla conceded late to lose at home to bottom club Fulham. It was time to celebrate.
Our revised plan was to have a couple of pints at The Gate then go home for a Mexican. The weather seemed warm enough to drink outside so we started off in the pub's beer garden. Shelley was on the Strongbow and I was on the previously untried Jennings Lakeland Stunner which was nice but nowhere near as good as my favourite from that brewery Cumberland Ale.
It soon became apparent that our decision to drink outside was a bit ambitious so we decided to move indoors where it was a bit warmer. I've mentioned before that The Gate has got a bar and a lounge, we generally favour the lounge but being as we weren't exactly dressed to impress I suggest that we paid a rare visit to the bar. What an inspired decision it was, we had a right old night. Impromptu sessions are definitely the best.
We got talking to a couple of local characters Barry and Margaret. Chatterbox Barry is a retired detective from the Birmingham police force and was honestly like a Brummie version of Jack Regan from The Sweeney. His tales of 1970's policing weren't necessarily for the political correctness brigade but we couldn't help but be captivated as he held court with one story after another.
My beer was slipping down a treat, so much so that I had to sneak in an inbetweenie as I'd lapped Shelley who is certainly no slouch. Unfortunately I saw off the Lakeland Stunner so switched to Marston's Smash, another fine drop.
Barry's stories moved on from stories about the police to tales from Spain as we learned that they spend half their time living in Benidorm with one of their mates being Spain's number one Elvis tribute act. I was all shook up.
The night ended all too soon and we said our goodbyes vowing that we would definitely make more of an effort to spend more time in The Gate's fabulous bar.
Whilst I was fit for nothing when I got home Shelley was still functioning well enough to move the menu from South America to Europe and cook a Spaghetti Bolognese.
I wouldn't be surprised if Barry isn't still talking !!
UPDATE 13th April
The beautiful spring weather meant that a visit to The Gate's beer garden was called for on our way back from the Tamworth Sports & Rock Bar.
The beer garden at The Gate is fabulous, it is a sun trap situated alongside the canal so you get barges passing by at regular intervals, it really is an idyllic setting. However there was one problem that day, it was the start of the school holidays which meant there was one major annoyance, the beer garden was full of kids. Now as much as I love beer gardens they are ruined by two major pests, wasps being one of them but they are all right one swipe of your hand normally deters them, the other major pest is children, they run around make noise and are just a general nuisance. Banning them may be a harsh but fair solution.
UPDATE 18th April
We were always likely to call into The Gate a couple of times over the course of the Easter Bank Holiday weekend and made our first appearance on Good Friday afternoon following an impromptu earlier visit to The Queslett.
Given the warm Bank Holiday weather it seemed appropriate that I selected golden ale Banks's Sunbeam as my drink of choice (with Shelley on a chilled bottle of rose wine) and we found the last seat in the pub's beer garden that was packed with punters, some of whom cheered when I moved a chair and ended up smashing a bottle.
I've said before how good the beer garden is at The Gate (noting that we'd just come from sitting in the pub car park at The Queslett) and we both enjoyed a 'this is the life' type moment as we sat back and enjoyed the ambience and our drinks. It's what Bank Holidays are all about..
The kitchen was temporarily closed until 6 o'clock for stock to be replenished after an earlier rush on food so we moved inside to eat at 6.01pm as we were both starving with my three visits to the buffet breakfast at the Hampton by Hilton hotel earlier now seeming like a very distant memory.
The food at The Gate, whilst significantly better than it used to be, is still your fairly standard pub grub but I must admit the steak burgers that day were to die for and, somewhat predictably, there was no waste on either plate.
We were joined on our large table by a couple of old regulars who we see in The Gate from time to time, they were full of praise for the pub stating that the current landlady is the best the pub has had for many a year. Mind you, I think the one told a few tall stories, he claimed to have drunk in The Gate for fifty one years and in a later sentence told us that he'd had his sixtieth birthday bash the previous weekend. He either must have looked old as a child or maybe the pub used to sell Fruit Shoot on draught !!
The pub got fuller and fuller and we found out subsequently that it was financially the pub's best ever day. I almost felt a sense of pride seeing as we'd contributed !!
I sacrificed another couple of pints in favour of an early night, I didn't want alcohol to adversely affect my performance for the Tamworth cricket club 4th XI the next day.
UPDATE 20th April
Our trip to The Gate on Good Friday was always unlikely to be the last of the Easter break and that proved to be the case when we made a return visit on Easter Sunday. On top of my exertions playing cricket the previous day we had both worked up a thirst earlier that day walking to Polesworth and back so we were ready for a beer.
The good news was that they'd got Wychwood Piledriver on, this is the beer launched and promoted by Status Quo and that day it was going Down Down a treat.
We managed to secure our favourite seats at the pub's smallest bar so we were as happy as a pig in the proverbial.
There were a lot less people in The Gate than during our Good Friday visit possibly due to the fact that the weather wasn't quite so good but we didn't mind as camp barman Stewart kept us entertained with some interesting and amusing tales of life behind the pub's bar.
Now I'm normally fairly lucky in raffles but even I could not be bothered to buy a ticket for the one prized raffle at The Gate having no desire to win a cheap Easter egg and cuddly toy presented in what can only be described as a mini laundry basket...
The Piledriver was slipping down and our earlier intention of going into town for a curry was looking increasingly unlikely as the night went on however Shelley called last orders for me after a rapid five pints (Shelley claimed it was six !!) and we took a stroll into Tamworth town centre for a pre curry pint at The Sir Robert Peel.
UPDATE 21st April
Does a hat trick of appearances for us in The Gate over the Easter weekend constitute the need for the presentation of a match ball?!! Yes, it was Easter weekend visit number three to our local though this time I was being hostess to the mostess as Shelley's ma and pa, Jan and Mick, were staying, so while Shelley and Jan went to the garden centre I managed to twist Mick's arm (admittedly it didn't take a lot of twisting) to join me for a couple in The Gate.
Mick is very much a bar man so we headed to the bar at The Gate and grabbed ourselves a couple of seats. Being as he is a lager drinker these days it was a pint of Fosters for Mick and a pint of Wychwood Piledriver for me. I will admit I was quite surprised to see that it was still on given the quantity of the stuff that I'd knocked back on the previous evening !!
There were quite a few regulars in the bar and it wasn't long before Mick got talking to them and had a bit of banter with the locals.
There were two significant choking moments that afternoon. Choking moment number one was when I went up the bar and came back with a packet of salted peanuts, when I've been out with Mick before and got peanuts it has lead to him having a coughing fit so I told him he couldn't have any, naturally he ignored my instructions and grabbed a handful, sure enough a couple of minutes later he was coughing and spluttering like a good 'un vowing never to touch peanuts again !!
Choking moment number two was my reaction when I checked my phone to find out the Blues score, 4 0 down at half time !! I nearly threw myself in the adjacent Coventry canal !!
It was no surprise when the Piledriver ran out though this wasn't necessarily bad news as it was replaced with my favourite beer in The Gate, Jennings Cumberland ale.
Shelley and Jan joined us fresh from their trip to the garden centre and we stopped for a few more drinks although I was aware that I'd got a fictional angel on one shoulder and a devil on the other giving me advice. The angel was telling me that I'd got work in the morning, whilst the devil was telling me how nice the Cumberland ale was tasting and that I should stay out longer........the devil won !!
UPDATE 27th April
We couldn't possibly have walked back home from the Tamworth Sports and Bock Bar without calling in at The Gate for a swift one, after all we hadn't been there for ages, well six days to be precise !!
After a couple of successful recent visits to the bar we continued with that wining formula and found ourselves a seat literally underneath the dart board, don't worry there wasn't a game on !!
The decision to call in at The Gate was totally vindicated when I noticed that Jennings Cumberland Ale was available, with Shelley on the Strongbow.
We had only planned to stop for one but the beer was so nice (and we'd stopped in on both Friday and Saturday night) that it was no surprise when pints two and three were ordered and quickly despatched.
It was a fairly uneventful visit, the bar was occupied by regulars one of whom was telling me of his weekly Saturday six pub, pub crawl of Tamworth town centre. I made a mental note of this splendid idea.
I noticed on the way out that the pub's fabulous beer garden was totally deserted due to the poor weather..
Roll on the summer !!
UPDATE 8th May
This Thursday night trip to The Gate was a spontaneous one brought on by lack of inspiration in the meal selection department, so Shelley's suggestion of a pint and a steak burger at our local was a good one.
The pub was uncharacteristically quiet though more of a surprise was the fact that there were only four ales on offer. That would be a lot for most pubs but I'm used to at least six being available such is the standard set by the pub for real ale drinkers.
I went for a pint of ever present Marston's Pedigree with Shelley going down the Strongbow route. Camp bar man Stewart was in the pub on a rare night off having a glass of wine with local 'celebrity' Sam Buttery, maybe there is romance in the air !!
Once again we bumped into Gate regulars Keith and Tracy and we joined them for a pint. Keith is a long distance lorry driver, and was that proud of his new vehicle that he proceeded to show non driving me photographs his new 60 foot beast. Given the fact that I couldn't cope with five gears when I was having driving lessons news that his vehicle had got twenty one brought me out in a cold sweat !!
We excused ourselves and sat down in readiness for our meals, there was one snag, I'd forgotten my wallet (yes that old chestnut) so Thursday night's meal out was Shelley's treat. I may try that one again !!
We made our way back along the tow path of the Coventry canal stopping for a quick snap of the pub in which the pub looks a lot better than I do !!
UPDATE 10th May
It was like a scene from the movie Groundhog Day when we walked into The Gate midway through an unsettled Saturday afternoon. There were two blokes sat in exactly the same seats by the bar seemingly unmoved since our last visit two days earlier, and regulars Keith and Tracy were also in there sat in the identical seats that they occupied on the Thursday night.
Thankfully the beer supply issue had been rectified and my favourite Jenning's Cumberland ale was up for grabs. We stood by Keith and Tracy where once again photographs of vehicles were on display, this time he was showing me snaps of his collection of motorbikes.
We were on route to Tamworth town centre and called into The Gate for a quick pint to escape a squally shower, however we got talking to Keith and Tracy and one pint soon became two followed by a third but before we got to the stage where we'd passed the point of no return we said our goodbyes and made our way into town. Little did we know that they'd soon be joining us...
UPDATE 16th May
After work drinking on a Friday is great but when you've broken up for a week and a half it takes it to a whole new level so I could hardly wait to get to The Gate at the start of my holidays. It was a warm night and the pub's beer garden was full of people catching the last of the sun including our friends Gill and Alan. We hadn't seen them for a while so I went and got Alan a pint of Fosters (he calls ale an 'old man's drink, then again what would he know, he's a v*lla fan) Shelley a pint of Strongbow and myself a pint of Marston's Pedigree and we joined them in the beer garden.
Naturally talk between Alan and myself quickly got onto football with him calling Blues's fabulous last day escape from relegation 'lucky' !!
The pints were going down well and this continued to be the case when we moved inside, with me transferring to Brakspear Oxford Gold served by a barmaid with a tattoo stating that 'dance is a universal language' !! She's obviously never seen me throwing a few shapes at a wedding disco !!
The night flew by, as is always the case when we are out with Gill and Alan, and we were still in there when the rarely heard last order bell was rung.
All in all a great start to the holiday.
UPDATE 28th May
It had been my original intention to go back to work on the Thursday but a last minute change of plan meant that I'd got the whole week off so we took advantage of the fact with a midweek trip to The Gate.
Hook Norton Lion was my drink of choice and pretty nice it was too though getting it was a problem. Overworked barman Bob was on his own and running round like the proverbial insect with a blue bottom as he was effectively manning three bars.
The poor fella's situation was compounded when firstly the Hook Norton Lion ran out and, more seriously, so did the Stella. You don't want to upset the people that drink that loopy juice !!
Unfortunately we missed out on our favourite pitch so we sat by the bar and recounted tales from our trip to Benalmadena though, as brilliant as the holiday was, it was great to be drinking proper beer again..
UPDATE 29th May
Two consecutive nights in The Gate is rare but certainly not unprecedented. We were entertaining Shelley's brother Craig and sister in law Maria for a few days so after a catch up over a couple of beers at home what could be more civilised than a trip to the local?
Craig is partial to real ale so I recommended the Jenning's Cumberland Ale while the girls stuck to Strongbow, admittedly not their favourite choice, but somewhat disappointingly it is the only draught cider available in The Gate.
Once again poor barman Bob was rushing round due to the lack of staff, made worse because it was Steak Night and, judging by the number of people in the pub eating, Tamworth must possess a lot of hungry carnivores.
A pub crawl in Lichfield was planned for the following day but that didn't seem to hold us back, with drinks being quaffed at a Usain Bolt like speed.
During such gatherings we are all on tenterhooks as there is always the chance that one of us will either say or do something stupid and then get reminded of it for the following days/weeks. Amazingly the night passed off incident free.
There was just time for one for the road and a quick snap..
UPDATE 7th June
It's not just the players that need to go into a World Cup tournament fully prepared, it also applies to those watching the matches back at home on tv. Conscious of advice given by nutritionists that it is important to be fully hydrated ahead of a match we decided to take on board plenty of fluids at The Gate ahead of England's final friendly (against Honduras) before the World Cup finals.
The game didn't kick off until 9.45pm but we needed to ensure that our body clocks were also prepared noting that England's first game against Italy doesn't start until 11pm.
We were lucky enough to be able to spend the whole of the evening sat outside The Gate with prime seats to see people walking and cycling along the canal towpath and numerous barges making their way up and down the Coventry canal. What a pleasant way to spend a summer evening with me on the Jenning's Cumberland ale and Shelley on Strongbow cider.
The pub was pretty busy but mercifully there weren't many children in the beer garden which is always a most welcome blessing.
There was a table of 'ladies that lunch' by us, and they were knocking back wine, that was being chilled in a wine bucket, like there was no tomorrow, and, unsurprisingly, the volume from the table got louder, the raucous laughter increased and the topics of conversation got more risqué. Us blokes are so much more civilised when we partake in a social libation !!
We left the pub around nine so we were nicely in time for the national anthem.
Eng-er-land, Eng-er-land, Eng-er-land...
UPDATE 13th June
It was originally our intention to stay in and watch the Spain v Holland game however I noticed the following sign outside The Gate on my way to work that morning...
Stay at home when there's a beer festival on at the local? Why would I?
There was a great selection of ales on, fourteen to be precise. I was like the proverbial kid in a sweet shop and didn't know where to start but eventually I opted for a delightful pint of Purity Pure Gold with Lady Lonz on the Strongbow. We made our way outdoors for some alfresco drinking.
A formal queue (or line as they say in America) had formed at the bar when I went in for my next pint. You don't get any kind of that behaviour at Krackers Bar in Brean let me tell you !! I patiently waited my turn in true British tradition and it was well worth it as pint number two, Ringwood Filly Drift, was equally as good as my first pint.
Shelley got me pint number three which was a pint of Thwaites Magic sponge. How could I not try a pint of beer that literally had a sponge on its pump?....
It was at this stage that we bumped into our drinking buddies Keith and Tracy who we hadn't seen since a memorable (well I can remember most of it) Saturday afternoon/evening session in Tamworth town centre.
A sharp shower meant that we reluctantly moved indoors and I moved onto an Okells pale beer, an ale all the way from the Isle of Man.
As I was recording the match I was conscious of avoiding any sort of eye contact with the tv in the other bar however modern communications were more difficult to avoid as two texts came through at the same time with an identical message 'What a goal' !! I found out subsequently that it referred to Robin Van Persie's incredible header.
I was rapidly working my way down the choice of ales at the festival as choices of York Brewery Guzzler and my old favourite Jenning's Cumberland were polished off.
All in all a great night, so much better than staying in to watch the match....I hope I didn't miss too many goals.
EDIT. I did, Holland won 5-1 !!
UPDATE 21st June
It wasn't a difficult decision deciding to go out on this warm Saturday night, the fact that it was the longest day meant only one thing....more drinking time !!
We decided on a trip into Tamworth town centre with a refuelling stop at our local The Gate. It was great to see the appearance of Banks's Sunbeam for the first time in a few weeks as, being a blonde ale, it is ideal for supping in the warm weather.
We bagged a good seat in the sunshine though typically the sun went behind a huge cloud almost as soon as we sat down.
Our friends Gill and Alan saw us from the canal towpath as they walked their dog Stanley and needed no persuasion joining us for a pit stop. Alan and I realised that sometimes the best way to get over grief is to share it, so we spent the first few minutes discussing England's early exit from the World Cup. 'We're simply not good enough' was the joint conclusion.
Alan had just retuned from his eldest son's stag do in Berlin and we were keen to find out what he thought of the city, a city that me and Shelley visited and loved during our world trip. He shamefully admitted that he saw virtually nothing of the place during a trip that concentrated on pubs and night clubs rather than sight seeing though he vowed to return a later date to see it with wife Gill.
They made tracks after a quick pint and we were joined by drinking buddies Keith and Tracy who sat with us until we left. The fact that they had been out for most of the day was beginning to show especially when we left and Keith asked me for a kiss as we were saying our goodbyes. I'm not that kind of guy Keith !!
UPDATE 11th July
A rare night off from the World Cup meant that a trip to The Gate was in order, after all we hadn't been in there in ages, well twenty days to be precise but it's all relative !!
Shelley, with some justification, is often disappointed by the fact that, although there is a wealth of choice for ale and lager lovers at The Gate, cider drinkers are hard done by with only Strongbow on offer, so the appearance of 'real' cider Addlestone's was a nice surprise for my good lady. I too was very well accommodated with a splendid drop of Ringwood Fortyniner.
It was a nice night so we sat outdoors...
The welcome bonus was the fact that there were no kids on the slide in 'play' area of the pub. I was half hoping that The Child Catcher from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang had paid the pub a visit !!
Camp singer and local 'celebrity' Sam Buttery (the first contestant to be voted off on the original series of The Voice) was having a drink in the beer garden, unsurprisingly he was on a table of women. Unfortunately as the night wore on Mr Buttery drank more and more wine and, as a result of this, the empty slide became too much of a temptation so he literally skipped his way over and he squeezed his rather large frame onto it. It was long before his female friends joined him and they literally squealed with delight as they frolicked in the Friday sunshine.
I was half hoping the sun would melt the Buttery !!
UPDATE 13th July
We rounded off a great weekend in Bristol with a trip to The Gate when we got back home. It started off promisingly, I was on the Jennings Cumberland Ale, whilst it was a bottle of vino collapso for my lady friend Shelley.
We sat outside and enjoyed the peace and quiet until a table of chavs turned up, two 'lady' chavs, some chavy kids and a couple of chavy dogs. Unsurprisingly the women, kids and dogs were loud and badly behaved with one of the women shouting 'Jacob (pronounced Jacub) do you want the toilet'? three times across the beer garden. If that wasn't bad enough one of the dogs started to bark incessantly so it was only a question of time (around ten minutes) before my patience finally snapped and I suggested that we moved indoors.
It was a strange night, the World Cup final between Germany and Argentina clashed with karaoke night. We had intended to go home to watch the match but we ended up staying for the fairly forgettable first half.
The weekend was a diverse one, camp local singer Sam Buttery was in The Gate when we visited on the Friday night, it was Gay Pride during our time in Bristol, and on the Sunday Buttery was back in The Gate, and camp barman Stewart was pulling the pints. So it was hardly a surprise when we were treated to a disco mix of Whitney Houston's hits that would not have been out of place (allegedly) in The Pink Flamingo.
We grabbed our handbags and left....
UPDATE 27th July
I did think my 'one for the road' after our brilliant weekend in London with my brother Dave and sister in law Julie was at The Royal George by Euston station, however cold cans from the train's buffet car proved to be too much of a temptation as did stopping off for a pint at our local The Gate on the way home.
Well, it was a choice, get a cab from Tamworth station to home at a cost of circa £7, or invest the funds more wisely in a couple of pints at The Gate. The decision wasn't even a close one....
My one pint of Banks's Sunbeam soon became two but I managed to show hitherto unseen restraint by calling it a day after just the two. It was a school night after all !!
UPDATE 15th August
I made this journey to The Gate after having already consumed five pints. I'd been to the service and subsequent gathering to celebrate the life of my mate Neil's sister Liz and had enjoyed a few pints of Marston's Pedigree.
I was joined by Shelley, her Mum Jan, brother Craig and sister in law Maria, and, as is always the way when we get together it wasn't long before the conversation (and drink) was in full flow..
It's always good arriving at The Gate knowing that there is sure to be a full compliment of different real ales to choose from, Ringwood Fortyniner was what I opted for but, as always, I was spoilt for choice. I love The Gate as a local.
If we've ever had a criticism of the pub it is that the toilets are dreadful so we were delighted to discover that they were partway through a refurb which explained why there were temporary loos which were an upmarket version of those that you'd find at a music festival..
They were situated outside and I'd happily see them instated as a permanent feature if they kept the kids away from the beer garden !!
UPDATE 24th August
Drinking on the Sunday before a Bank Holiday Monday is almost compulsory, it is a fine British tradition. I had no problem going large on my ABV number with my beer selection at The Gate, at 5.1% Ringwood Old Thumper was more than I'd normally go for on a Sunday night but I was safe in the knowledge that I could sleep off any old thumping headache the next day !!
We surveyed the pub looking for any major alterations noting that it was part way through its refurbishment, apart from some new signage and some brighter lighting behind the bar it was pretty much unchanged which was quite a relief as we like it as it is currently.
We noticed the major changes when we went outside, the beer garden had been extended by the addition of some astroturf (hopefully not as bouncy as QPR's in the 1980's) and the new area contained some bench type seating. There was also a large wooden barge shaped construction with seats inside, seemingly the pub is keen to maximise its earning potential with its links to the canal.
One surprising addition was a wooden bar that is to be used as a bottle bar during the warmer weather, a great addition if you ask me just so long as it doesn't stock Fruit Shoots, we don't want to encourage kids do we?!!
We moved inside after our first drink and headed for the bar, keen to see if that had been subjected to an extreme make over. Thankfully it hadn't, infact I don't think it had been altered in the slightest. Good !!
I stuck to Old Thumper for my next pint and then noticed a brand new ale which appeared to have been brewed especially for the pub..
Marston's Bridge 69 commemorates the fact that The Gate is situated next to bridge number 69 of the Coventry canal. Although the beer was okay, it was at the blonde end of the real ale scale whereas I prefer ales that are golden. I will be surprised if I have another.
As is the norm there was a dog in the bar, a young Jack Russell pup of twelve weeks, I knew Jack Russell lover Shelley wouldn't be able to resist and sure enough it wasn't long before she was holding it. We got talking about dogs to another local called Steve who sadly has recently lost his much loved German Shepherd. It wasn't long before we were proudly showing him snaps of Shelley's brothers dog Bailey who we look after periodically. I must love him, I'm the one that has to clear up after him when we take him walking, mind you I don't know what Craig feeds him, he needs dustbin liners not pooh bags !!
We drank up and went for walkies to get some food.
UPDATE 6th September
We were dog sitting for our neighbours Gill and Alan's pet labrador Stanley, so, after tiring him out by taking him for a two and half hour walk, we had a limited window of opportunity for a visit to The Gate.
It was a warmish early Saturday evening so our first pint (Ringwood Fortyniner for me and Strongbow for my good lady) were drunk in the pub's beer garden...
Unfortunately our spell outdoors was blighted by children. I'm not proud of the fact that I was hoping that the branch would snap when I saw the worst behaving of them climb the tree in the beer garden. Does this make me a bad person?!!
Rather than be had up by the NSPCC I decided that we'd best move indoors for our next drink so we retired to the pub's lounge.
As we hadn't got long my drinking pace was somewhat brisk which probably wasn't the most sensible of policies given the fact that Ringwood Fortyniner gets it's name from its' ABV of a pokey 4.9%. I made a mental note to myself to not even think about going back outside to shake a few branches !!
One of the few negative features historically about our fabulous local was the state of the toilets. It's hard to describe just how bad they were but if I was to tell you that I'd experienced better gents loos watching Birmingham City in away games in the third division in the 1980's I think you get the picture. The great news is that they've been refurbished !! I can only assume that this extreme make over is to feature in a forthcoming episode of DIY SOS !!
Check out these bad boys...
As well as the pub and the loos having a major overhaul, the menu has been relaunched, Shelley and I were like Gregg Wallace and John Torode from Masterchef as we critically reviewed it. It seemed to be hugely overpriced, maybe it was paying for the toilet refit !! Hawaiian Chicken was a featured dish which basically is a chicken breast topped with a tinned pineapple ring accompanied by chips (frozen) and salad (packet) so how the pub can justify the asking price of £10.50 is beyond me !!
£9.35 for a Sunday lunch also seemed a bit steep, the menu claimed that the Yorkshire puddings are 'home made' though it didn't state in whose home they were made, I'll wager they were made in Chez Bessie !!
My heart sunk when I saw that the menu featured, in its drink selection, a whole section dedicated to kiddie's favourite Fruit Shoot. Surely in pubs infants should be discouraged not encouraged !!
We'd got dog duties to perform (how I hoped that I wouldn't be needing pooh bags to clean up our freshly mown lawn) so we drank up and made our way back home.
UPDATE 7th September
With dog sitting duties completed (we despatched Stanley back to neighbours Gill and Alan with a cheery smile though I can't remember whether I informed them that he'd rolled in a cow pat !!) it was time for a drink and the weather was perfect for an afternoon session at The Gate.
Given the fact that it was September 7th I thought I'd put away my summer wardrobe of tee-shirt, shorts and sandals for another year but seemingly summer was still with us. My beer choice when we got to The Gate was an appropriate one Everards Sunchaser though we didn't have to chase the sun too hard, the beer garden was bathed in it..
Granted there were a few pesky blighters in the beer garden but the weather was so lovely they surprisingly bothered me much less than usual. Maybe I'm mellowing and getting paternal?! Yeah, right !!
The warm weather brings out all sorts of shapes and sizes and believe me this was most definitely the case outside The Gate. Although there aren't too many sweet dishes on the pub's new menu there were plenty of muffin tops on display that afternoon !!
I got chatting to Gate regular Jim whilst I was up the bar and either he's a hapless romantic or runs a wedding planning business as every time he sees us he asks the same questions, 'Have you named the day'? he asked me, whilst he shouted across the beer garden to Shelley to enquire 'Where's my invitation'?! As a rule I generally give my customary response 'You'll be the first to know' !!
I noticed a poster in the bar for a psychic night with local medium Lisa on September 21st. Well, I never saw that coming !!
We called it a day once the sun eventually disappeared behind the pub's roof wishing that it was a Saturday rather than a Sunday. Why don't my weeks go as fast as my weekends?!!
UPDATE 21st September
The fact that I even contemplated alcohol after spending a very long day the previous day at Lords watching Warwickshire lose to Durham in the Royal London one day cup final showed previously unknown powers of recovery, but another bright September afternoon meant that a pint or two at The Gate was the order of the day.
I went fairly traditional with my drink choice, the Old Thumper at 5.1% would have been foolhardy on a school night so I went down an ABV notch or two with a 4.5% Marstons Pedigree, and we found a seat outside to catch the last of the sun..
There were a few bar regulars in the beer garden which was fairly unprecedented, it soon became apparent why, they had been kicked out of their usual residence for this ...
It seems that for one night only the spirits in the bar weren't limited to those in optics !!
We moved indoors to the lounge for the next drink and had an enjoyable time spotting people attending the event, almost without exception they were forty something women hoping Lisa would have a vision for them. How I laughed though when two such women enquired to Bob the barman about tickets and hilariously stated, with tongues firmly in cheeks, that 'she's more than likely expecting us' !!
A new series of Downton Abbey was starting so we didn't stay long, maybe we should have stopped longer and asked Lisa what was going to happen in the first episode !!
UPDATE 26th September
It was the age old faux pas, I got to the door of The Gate when I realised that I had come out without my wallet !! I can almost hear you all saying yeah right, pull the other one !! Okay, it did mean a gratis evening for yours truly due to Shelley's generosity but it was a genuine mistake, well that's my story and I'm sticking to it !!
I proposed that we sat outside, however almost the instant that we plonked ourselves in the pub's beer garden I soon realised that I was being over optimistic, so we made our way to the bar due to the fact that the lounge was full of diners and, somewhat regrettably, children.
The fact that Jennings Cocker Hoop was on offer left me feeling erm, cocker hoop I guess, as it is a lovely golden ale. Shelley meanwhile stuck to Strongbow as alternative ciders Addlestones and Cheddar Valley aren't necessarily a wise move on a school night !!
It was a fairly low key evening as in all honesty it was only a brief stop off on route to get some food. We did chuckle though as we said hello to a couple that we'd spoken to in The Gate a few months earlier only for them to be hauled outside by barman Bob for a private dressing down over a recent misdemeanour.
Our stay was a short one, well I could hardly complain given my state of financial embarrassment, but there was just enough time for a quick photo of the pub's newly constructed outdoor bottle bar which is to be used during warm weather, a dark September night presumably wasn't such an occasion....
UPDATE 29th September
We were on our way back from our Sunday afternoon stroll to The Market Vaults in Tamworth town centre and back when we called in firstly to the Co-op to get some bits and pieces for our Sunday meal, and secondly to The Gate, with shopping bags in hand !!
The unseasonably warm weather meant the pub was doing a great Sunday afternoon trade so we got our drinks, Ringwood Fortyniner in my case and Strongbow for Shelley and tried to find a seat in the pub's busy beer garden.
We had spent the previous day on a pub crawl in Stratford Upon Avon which featured the visits to eight different pubs, the evidence of all our visits had been captured for posterity by photographs taken by my good lady. My request for a photograph at The Gate was understandably one photo too many so I resorted to a good old fashioned selfie..
We heard a fairly drunken rendition of That's Entertainment by The Jam coming from the area at the back of the bar which appeared to include a female vocalist. How we laughed therefore when we noticed that it was Julie who sells tickets at Tamworth train station, who we have originally christened as Julie Ticket !! Let's just hope she was at her post early the next day so she could sell second class returns to Dottingham to blokes with colds !!
It was only a brief visit due to it being both a school night and a Downtown Abbey night so we grabbed our shopping and made our way homewards.
UPDATE 11th October
I'd been furniture shopping with Shelley and her Mum Jan so was in desperate need for a beer when we got back so we headed round to The Gate for an early evening pint. Almost immediately we bumped into our drinking buddies Keith and Tracy who we hadn't seen for a while so a proper catch up was long overdue..
They were looking bronzed and relaxed after just getting back from a break in Kos and were full of holiday tales. Keith was also hyper after just purchasing a new motorbike. He showed us a photo of his mean machine, I pretended to know what I was talking about when I passed comment on it though I will confess to being more Francis Rossi than Valentino Rossi !!
Talking of the Status Quo front man, Piledriver (the beer launched and promoted by The Quo) was available so I piled in. To be honest the beer selection of Robinson's Piledriver, Timothy Taylor Landlord, Ringwood Fortyniner, Marston's Pedigree and some Halloween beer I can't remember was a line up most locals would be proud of. Keith was on the Stella but being a macho trucker he refuses to drink it out of a girlie looking goblet choosing instead to use a standard Carlsberg glass. Who am I to argue?!
A sign behind the bar informed patrons that Christmas was only seventy four days away and a poster gave details of the pub's new years eve party arrangements, a fiver for a fancy dress event with a Hollywood theme. I'm assuming that this refers to stars of the big screen rather than the judge from The Great British Bake Off !!
The furniture shopping had given me a bit of a thirst so I was drinking at Oliver Reed pace for some reason and the banter was flying. The final straw came though when Keith said, 'You know who you remind me of Mark'?...I was expecting Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise or some other heart throb so imagine my disappointment when he said Mr Bean !! Mr bloody Bean !! I wasn't taking that so I whipped out my phone and showed him my photo with Cain Dingle..
Okay, it was a few years ago and he's hardly an A lister but it's better than Bean !! Keith and Tracy were suitably impressed so hopefully that's put an end to that one !! We drank up and left with me still chompsing about my comparison to Mr Bean for most of the walk home.
UPDATE 19th October
It was the day after our six year anniversary and, as we'd stopped in the night before for a romantic evening, I was spitting feathers, so I managed to convince Shelley that an anniversary plus one day pint was a good idea !!
Rather than sip bubbly as I had done the previous evening I reverted to type and decided to guzzle pints of Jennings Cumberland Ale. Well, when I say guzzle it's all relative, we said hello to a couple of old boys who are regulars in The Gate one of whom puts pints of Marstons Pedigree away at an alarming rate, I am not exaggerating when I say that he was ordering his third pint before I'd finished my first !!
The countdown to Christmas sign behind the bar was showing sixty six days but more interesting was the notice outlining the catering arrangements for the pub's new years eve party. 'If we don't sell it, and we don't reheat it, then you can bring your own food' - home made cold turkey curry it is then !!
DJ Pete will be on the decks for the end of year bash, I've never heard of him either however the DJ pool is diminishing rapidly these days, the only records that half of the former Radio 1 DJ's are noted for nowadays are their criminal ones !!
I can barely believe the number of times I've been to The Gate this year, thirty two and counting so far, so there are only so many different photos I can take of the place, I've done inside the lounge, inside the bar, the beer garden, outside the front, the view from the canalside, I've even done one inside the loo, but this one is a first, in the corridor between the bar, lounge and toilet..
I may do an aerial shot next time !!
UPDATE 7th November
There's nothing better after a working week than meeting Shelley for a well deserved few pints at our fabulous local The Gate. The night got off to a fairly inauspicious start, firstly I got caught in a bit of a downpour on my way to the pub from work, and secondly the bloke that was supposed to turn up to fix the dish washer was a no show for Shelley who was at home waiting for him....we both needed a drink !!
All thoughts of poor weather disappeared when I saw Jennings Cumberland Ale was available, so it was a pint of that for me and the usual pint of Strongbow for my good lady.
We immediately spotted our drinking buddies Keith and Tracy and stood with them for a while. Tracy was sporting a diamond ring on her wedding finger and immediately I thought I needed to send my suit to the dry cleaners in readiness however it was merely a present from Keith. Aaaaah.
We sat down and unwound over a few drinks.. (NB What a fashion faux pas, I'm wearing the same clothes as last time !!)....
...However our peace was soon shattered !! Now, I'm not sure if I've ever mentioned this before (!!) but I'm not really much of a fan of children in pubs and our experience in The Gate that night demonstrated why. Two couples came in with their children (two girls and a boy) who proceeded to run amok throughout the pub with the parents not even batting an eyelid. Apparently the little boy was hyper because he had come straight from karate !! Words fail me !!
We heard the bitter sweet news that Bob, our favourite member of staff at The Gate, was leaving. We were sad but on the other hand pleased as he is taking over at one of our most frequently used local venues The Globe in Tamworth town centre so we will undoubtedly continue to see him.
Shelley had made a curry earlier so we drank up, stepped over karate kid who was lying prostrate on the floor by the bar, and made our way home.
UPDATE 19th December
Whilst the day was nicknamed Black Eye Friday a more appropriate moniker would have been Black Out Friday as I have very little recollection of this particular visit to The Gate.
Granted four pints in The Dolphin and another couple in The Winning Post may have possibly been a contributory factor in my temporary amnesia but I wasn't that bad honest !!
The Gate was the final venue of the Christmas do for myself and neighbour Alan, and we were supposedly being disciplined as I had a further Christmas do the next day with me and Shelley whereas Alan was going to watch v*lla v Man Utd and had got an early start, to be fair I'd sooner have gone Christmas shopping than have Alan's day....and I hate shopping !!
My notes about our visit to The Gate read as follows, The Gate Landlord. Yes, they really are that brief so effectively all I can establish is the fact that The Gate was our last pub and I drunk that fine brew Timothy Taylor Landlord. I can also vaguely remember that the pub was really busy, I had a bit of a job getting served and we stopped for two pints the last being on the stroke of last orders. That is literally it, then again a pre Christmas gallon is still a pretty good effort if you ask me and we managed to get home without any black eyes !!
UPDATE 20th December
There is very little doubt that writing my travel blog was considerably easier than writing this pub blog. When travelling I regularly used to post after spending several days in a country whereas when doing a pub blog I am required to write an update of a pub visit when conceivably very little happened, our visit to The Gate on the Saturday before Christmas was one such instance.
Shelley and I were out on our annual Christmas do however that it seemed that the rest of Tamworth had either spent too much on presents, were doing a last bit of shopping or were saving themselves for the big day as the pub was virtually deserted when we arrived and didn't get much busier throughout the course of our stay which I can't put an actual time on but we consumed five pints so it was a few hours. The pub was dead and a bit lifeless which is unusual for The Gate, there was about as much Christmas cheer as there was in Laurence Llewelyn Bowen's Magical Journey !!
Shelley had been out on her work's Christmas party the previous evening which had turned into a fairly sober event, whereas I'd had a few in Tamworth with neighbour Alan, an event which had seen us guzzle a gallon, so it was Shelley that set the early pace with me uttering the mandatory 'it's a marathon not a sprint' cliché as I nursed my first couple of pints !!
I had been for a £12 haircut the day before and Shelley had put a bit of product in for me so check out the trendy Christmas crimping in this snap..
News came through of an early Christmas present, Blues had won one nil at Huddersfield. Whoever said there's no such thing as Father Christmas?!!
We called an end to proceedings quite early, Shelley had prepared a curry so we headed home though I was fairly confident that we hadn't consumed our last beverage.
EDIT. I was right, we polished off a bottle of Prosecco and finished off with a large Baileys. Merry Christmas !!
UPDATE 31st December
Well, this is a bittersweet moment, my final pub visit (and therefore the last blog update) of 2014 and what could be more appropriate than a visit to a pub that I've been to an impressive thirty seven times throughout the course of the year our local The Gate.
New Years Eve's are ticket only events at The Gate these days and I purchased ours (mine, Shelley, Craig and Maria's) some time ago. The £5 admission charge entitled us to a free drink and entry to a night with a Hollywood theme.
Years ago we dressed up as morris dancers for New Years Eve but we didn't really have any opportunity to sort out costumes this year which was just as well as very few had made the effort, there were a couple of Charlie Chaplins, four or five Audrey Hepburns (though some were more breakfast at Wetherspoons than Breakfast at Tiffanys) and the most unimpressive Spiderman that you'll ever see in the form of Grant behind the bar. He needed to call on all of his spider powers (strength, speed, grip and sense) to serve us to our drinks, me and Craig were on Jenning's Cumberland ale and the girls were on Strongbow cider.
We managed to bag a great position stood up at the end of the small bar so we were settled for the night...
Customers were encouraged to bring their own food which seeing as it is traditionally the day before everyone starts being good probably consisted of half eaten tins of Celebrations and unwanted boxes of Twiglets !!
Bar the prevalence of Hollywood characters and the fact that it was busier than usual there was little to suggest that it was anything other than a normal night except for the presence of a DJ spinning a few discs though I will confess I remember very few of them which probably explains why Gold by Spandau Ballet was one of the songs of the night !!
One of the great things about New Years Eve at The Gate was the two words on the poster advertising the event NO CHILDREN. How I wish it was an all year round policy !!
The pints of Cumberland were going down okay but a Christmas cold meant that I still didn't feel 100% so it was definitely more of an effort than it should have been, nevertheless the time raced by and the countdown to midnight came round far too soon.
I demonstrated my undoubted sophistication by choosing a gin and tonic to see in the new year and did what I usually do in such occasions, mumbled my way through the words of Auld Lang Syne pretending that I know them, then again what exactly does 'We twa hae run the braes and pou'd the gowans fine' mean exactly?!! I was more interested in a glass of G & T than a cup o' kindness !!
So there we have it, goodbye to 2014 and hello to 2015. In many ways I'll be glad to see the back of what has been a difficult year and hope for better times in 2015.
This is also the last post in my pub blog, maybe I should have arranged for a trumpeter to pay tribute by playing the famous military salute !! I've had a real hoot compiling it though, as I have said before, maintaining it was much more time consuming than I'd ever imagined it would be. It'll be odd now to go into a pub without a camera whilst at the same searching (sometimes desperately) for an amusing or interesting anecdote. I hope you have enjoyed reading it.
Thanks to all that have assisted me by sharing a pint with me over the course of the year and very special thanks to Shelley for showing extreme patience particularly during my numerous photo requests !!
Cheers All !!
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