Pubs of 2014

Right, here we go...... The purpose of this blog is to log all the pubs that I have visited and consumed an alcoholic beverage in during 2014. The rules are quite simple, the establishment needs to be a public house, it sounds straightforward but it may get complicated for example things that wouldn't count are a visit to the bar at the cricket, a pre gig drink in a concert venue, a drink at the Birmingham German market etc. As judge and jury my decision is final, and if I'm in any doubt I won't count it.



My prediction as at the start of the year is that the final number will be somewhere around the 200 mark though I won't go to pubs just to get the numbers up, it will be a true reflection of my pub visting year.



My posts will include information about the pub, the ambience of the surroundings, the choice and quality of the beer, any interesting or amusing anecdotes about my visit and, where possible, photographic evidence.



I will try and keep the information as accurate as possible noting that alcohol consumption means that at times this may prove difficult !!



The format of the posts is simple, the first visit to the pub will be the blog entry and that post will be updated for any subsequent visit.



Hope you enjoy it...



Cheers

UPDATE January 2015

Right, that's it, it's finally finished, some 259 pubs later !! It's been hard work but it's nice being able to look back and relive the drinking experiences of 2014.

I am pleased with the final result and whilst I've been reviewing it, I have actually laughed a few times at my own jokes !!

A word of warning, it does start off a bit slow (some of my posts from Bath are a bit dull) but stick with it. In hindsight the format of posting repeat visits to a pub on the original post at times doesn't work very well when reading the blog in its' entirety but on the whole I'm pleased with it and I hope that you enjoy it.

I have stated this in the blog but I will say it again, thanks to anyone that I have had a beer with in 2014 and special thanks to Shelley for her patience !!







Saturday, 19 April 2014

Wherever

Shelley often says, with some justification, that Tamworth doesn't possess any decent upmarket bars, I think Wherever is the only possible exception. Tucked behind the council's uninspiring concrete headquarters Wherever is a bit off the beaten track but worth the effort.



We used to go to the pub when it was SoBar but that didn't really take off, in my view, due to it having a bit of a bar/restaurant identity crisis. Wherever seems to concentrate more on drinking with live entertainment provided once a month in the form of a band.

The pub itself is fairly small and is on two levels with the well stocked bar being on the top level. Unsurprisingly there wasn't a real ale in sight but I was delighted to see the availability of Belgium rocket fuel Leffe on draught. The last time I had a session on Leffe, and Shelley will confirm this story, was on my birthday in Geneva in 2011 during our travels. I did warn Shelley that day that it would undoubtedly end in tears, it did, I fell over a stool on my way out when trying to say my goodbyes in pigeon French to the barmaid !!

I decided my best option in Wherever would be to go for a half of the 6.6% fire liquid knowing that if I struggled then I'd get by with a little help from my friends...



The pub is geared towards a mature sophisticated crowd so Shelley and I felt at home as we made ourselves comfortable in a window seat and watched the world go by. I was consciously sipping rather than gulping my Leffe as I didn't want to run the risk of another man down incident.

Mercifully I survived tumble free and left with the standard 'Ta ra bit' rather than risk another French speaking departure. !!

UPDATE May 31st

'Let's get ready to rumble' was the phrase that we'd come into Tamworth to hear. It wasn't an appearance by Geordie duo PJ and Duncan at the Tamworth Assembly Rooms, it was infact the night of the Carl Froch v George Groves fight and both Shelley and I were keen to watch it as were our drinking buddies neighbours Gill and Alan and Shelley's brother Craig and sister in law Maria.

The intention was to watch the fight in the Tamworth Rock and Sports bar though we decided that we would skip support bouts and have a drink somewhere else first. My suggestion of Wetherspoons was unanimously dismissed so we opted for the more upmarket Wherever bar.

It was the first time that the six of us had got together since new years eve 2012, come to think of it our attire on that occasion was somewhat different, we looked resplendent dressed as a schoolgirl, Oliver Hardy, a gladiator, a pirate and morris dancers !!

I decided that as it was likely to be a long night I'd best steer well clear of Leffee, the beer that makes me fall over, and joined the boys on the Peroni. Although we were out to watch the boxing I didn't want to be the one suffering an early knock out !!

I've stated before that Wherever is probably the most upmarket pub in Tamworth town centre and the pub started to fill up with large numbers of the pub's patrons being young ladies in short, tight dresses. It was awful !!

Unfortunately the night was rudely interrupted by the appearance of a dj. Well, when I say dj it was a bloke with a laptop. I feared the worst and was certain he wouldn't crack his face if I asked him if he'd got anything by Iron Maiden !!

The double whammy of the dj and a £23 round meant that we didn't stop longer than two pints and decided to move to The White Lion.





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