As we walked down Broad Street in search of a venue I was half hoping that they'd choose The Figure of Eight (a decent pub and surprisingly one that is yet to feature in this blog) but instead we Irish jigged our way to O'Neills.
I was pleasantly surprised to see a couple of real ales on offer so I went for a pint of Sharps Doombar which I like despite the fact that the beer doesn't keep its head and resembles cold tea after a few minutes. Rose went continental and had a pint of Peroni and Jeanette changed her mind between Heineken and diet Coke that many times that I can't actually remember what her final choice was !!
O'Neills gives you all that you would expect from an Irish theme pub, the place is adorned with bric a brac so it looks like Steptoe's junk yard, there are the mandatory photographs of Irish luminaries like James Joyce and music is alternated between modern contemporary and diddly dee stuff.
We only stopped for a quick pint as a last minute change of plan meant that my colleagues were meeting for a pre meal drink so I said my farewells, burnt my bra and ended my brief spell as a laydee.
Unfortunately as I left in a hurry I had to resort to a selfie to capture my visit however I went back the next day to attempt to get a better photo as the original was quite frankly scary, though in the name of entertainment I have enclosed both...
UPDATE 26th September
After work drinks on a Friday with colleagues used to be almost mandatory back in the day but staff departures, pub closures and general apathy have meant that such events are a rarity these days, probably no more than two or three times a year at best so how could I turn down an invitation from long serving colleague Graham to attend his 'leaving' do?!
I have put the word leaving in speech marks for a reason, he is doing what I did i.e. taking a twelve month sabbatical from work to do some travelling. I was in the (Levis) 5.01 club at the end of my working week, actually it probably wasn't 5.01, in reality I was probably in the 5.00 and 1 second club such was my eagerness for a pint.
Given that I didn't really know who was likely to be in attendance I took a precautionary selfie to avoid the need to explain to someone who I didn't know why I needed them to take my photo..
That reminds me, I must give my nasal hairs a quick trim !!
My timing was impeccable, Graham was at the bar getting them in (I couldn't see the beer pumps properly so played it safe and ordered a pint of Guinness) and realised my selfie decision was a good one, I barely recognised a soul !!
I was able to quiz Graham on his itinerary, and couldn't help feeling a pang of envy as he went over his plans, I can remember how we both felt in the run up to our trip, they are exciting times.
Thankfully a few people I recognised arrived so I was able to leave Graham to work the room.
The pub was nicely full of a mixture of after work drinkers and early Friday night revellers and the pub had laid on some live entertainment in the form of a bloke playing guitar. Thankfully his repertoire stretched further than the Field of Athenry, Dirty Old Town standards that you tend to get at these sort of venues, we were even treated to Squeeze's Labelled With Love, however given the reason for our celebration the singer's choice of Wild Rover was an appropriate one.
I stopped for a second pint but I knew it was time to go when I heard one of the group ask Graham, at just after six o'clock, 'What are we doing about food'?!! We'd only just arrived !! I felt like saying, look mate, go and get yourself a packet of peanuts from the bar and do what sensible people do, get a few beers down your neck and end your night with a kebab or curry. It's not hard is it?!!
UPDATE 24th November
When I wrote my blog during our travels in 2011 my American mate Jeff made two appearances, one in Philadelphia and one in Madrid, so it's no surprise that he's also made it into this blog. Jeff and girlfriend Lauren were doing a whistle stop European visit during their Thanksgiving break and Birmingham was the stop off point between London and Budapest.
When I met them in O'Neills after I'd finished work Jeff and Lauren were full of horror stories of their time in London, as much as they enjoyed it (it was Lauren's first time in the UK) they had been drinking in pubs in the capital city where a £7 pint was the norm !! Look out publicans, people have been sent to the Tower for lesser offences !!
The round of a pint of Carling (for Lauren) and two pints of Purity UBU for Jeff and myself was just under a tenner, even that was a bit on the pricey side I felt but it at least demonstrated to the tourists that their decision to venture north of Watford was a good one.
So here you go Jeff, you've made it onto both blogs buddy !!....
Okay you've not done it until November 24th but historically the Americans have always turned up late !!
Jeff and Lauren had enjoyed a couple of drinks in Birmingham's Frankfurt Christmas market before meeting me which was fair enough but I was less impressed with their plans for later that night, they were off to see v*lla v Southampton. Okay, I know that they are both 'soccer' fans and their choice was limited but v*lla v Southampton?!! Why would ya?!! Mind you I think I am partly to blame, I took Jeff to a dreadful nil nil draw between Blues and QPR a few years ago at St Andrews. It's not always that bad Jeff honestly !!
Joking aside it was great to catch up with them. Work colleague Shital also popped in to join us and we recalled a few stories of when we all worked together around five years ago.
Our time together ended far too quickly but at least it ensured that Jeff made his mandatory appearance on a blog !!
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