I hadn't seen Maria since England's six nations victory against the Welsh but, as it was her birthday celebration, I told myself that it would be inappropriate to give her too much stick, however I was fairly confident that my resolve would soon go after a few drinks.
Craig sent us a text informing us that The Nags Head, opposite Covent Garden tube station, was to be our starting point. What could be more appropriate for a trip to London than a visit to a pub that shares its name with the boozer in Only Fools and Horses? I made a mental note to be on the look out for falling chandeliers as we walked in !!
Maria was delighted to see us when we arrived, and, unless she had demonstrated the best acting from somebody from Wales since Anthony Hopkins in Silence of the Lambs, our appearance was a genuine surprise so the weekend had got off to the best possible start.
The pub itself was a traditional Victorian building and, given the fact that it a Saturday afternoon, was bustling with a mixture of locals and tourists.
Historically pubs in London were always renowned for the poor selection and quality of their beers, particularly their ales. Thankfully a vast improvement in recent years has meant that this is no longer the case. I opted for a pint of McMullen Country Bitter from the fine selection of ales on offer.
As well as Maria and Craig we were also joined by their friends Harry and Denise who had travelled in that day from Horley in Surrey. It was obviously a popular time of the year for birthdays as it was Denise's that day. We hadn't seen Harry and Denise for some time so it was great to catch up with them. Infact Shelley had to reluctantly hand over conch holding duty for a while as they recounted tales from their trip to Australia at the tail end of last year. Tail end being the appropriate expression seeing as they took in a few days of Ashes cricket. The least said about that the better !!
We stopped for just the one pint as we decided it was time for a pub crawl...
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