The Kings Head

The things you do in your quest to find out the football scores !! I moved from previous pub Lichfield's fabulous George and Dragon to find a pub where I could find out what was going on in the Saturday afternoon matches. I made a huge schoolboy error with my choice of The Kings Head...

I'm convinced selfies add half a stone to a person !!

Not only was there no television in the pub, I could not get a signal on my phone though, to be fair, not knowing how Blues were doing was most likely a blessing !!

The Kings Head is a pub with a lot of history, it's the oldest pub in Lichfield dating back to 1408 and is the pub where the Staffordshire Regiment was formed.

In 1966 the World Cup trophy went missing and was famously found by a dog called Pickles, imagine my surprise therefore when I found the current trophy behind the bar at The Kings Head..

I reckon I'm up for a handsome reward !!

One major disadvantage about going to Lichfield is that it is a real v*lla stronghold, however I was delighted when I saw the following sign on the wall at the pub..

..Unfortunately it probably refers to the live music in the pub but you never know, maybe the tide is turning !!

There was a great choice of beers in The Kings Head with Banks's Sunbeam being my particular poison. I sat in the pub's impressive courtyard, and, as great as the pub and my beer was, I couldn't help wondering what the score was. I was half tempted to race my pint down however I was meeting up with Shelley and her Mum once they'd finished shopping and didn't want to turn up with a silly grin, slurring my words !!

I felt a pang of disappointment at some parents who were sat near to me, their little girl approached their table and said 'Mum, what are pork scratchings'? Surely any parent worth their salt would have introduced this nutritious food into their child's diet at any early age !!

I finally got a single bar of mobile phone signal before I moved and sent a text to my sister Karen asking for a score update, I wished I hadn't bothered, Blues were three nil down to Wigan at half time !!

Time to move to another pub...without a tv !!

George & Dragon

I made the short journey from Tamworth to Lichfield on the bus with Shelley and her Mum Jan. I pride myself on being a modern man however I left the girls to go shopping while I went for a pint !!

The George and Dragon was highly recommended in the Good Beer Guide however, other than the address, I hadn't got a clue where in Lichfield the pub was situated. Not to worry, I thought, I would ask at Lichfield's Tourist Information Centre....you know you're struggling when you can't find the Tourist Information Centre !! Eventually, after much head scratching I found the place with apologies for the selfie. They never look like this when Kim Kardashian takes them...

The pub was well worth me wandering up and down the streets of Lichfield. It is a small place, split into two with a traditional bar and lounge format and there is a veritable feast of real ales. Jennings Sheep Thrills was what I finally chose though I really was spoilt for choice. I shook my head in despair at a group of five thirtysomethings who came in and ordered three cups of tea, a glass of tap water and a bottle of flavoured cider !! What hope has society got?!!

A bored child was playing with the jukebox while his Dad supped real ale and read The Sun sat at the bar, I can only assume that it was his custody weekend !! I'm amazed if the song choices were the boys though, if so, he's got very grown up tastes, Midnight Train to Georgia by Gladys Knight and the Pips and Love and Affection by Joan Armatrading to name but two.

The bus route from Tamworth to Lichfield passes through Whittington a place where Packington pigs roam. I almost felt a pang of guilt when I noticed that Packington Pig Pork Pie was on the pub's menu. It's probably not a place to bring Morrissey to !!

Cobs Bar

Well this was an unexpected visit to a pub I'd never been to before. I've mentioned previously in this blog that getting home from Blues night games are a bit of an effort with me not arriving home until around 11.45pm and that will include a cab/lift from Tamworth train station home, so I was very grateful when Shelley kindly offered to pick me up from Birmingham city centre after Blues's game in the cup against Sunderland.

Shelley had arranged to meet me at the far end of Hurst St at 10.20pm so, as I was there a bit early, I called her to see where she was, she hadn't left her friend Lisa's in Edgbaston so, seeing as that was at least a fifteen minute journey and it had just started raining, there was time for a quick pint.

Anyone that knows Birmingham well will undoubtedly confirm that Hurst St is, how can I put this, a colourful, diverse area, so I had a choice, a drink in a club sporting a rainbow coloured flag called Eden or a beer in Cobs Bar, a function room/club which describes itself as 'Birmingham's prime location for private celebrations'. A 3 0 defeat isn't normally the cause for a private celebration but needs must...

Yes trust me, this is me !!

The club was functional, a large room (which can apparently accommodate up to 200 people) was very sparsely populated by no more than five or six people. I was confident that I'd not be able to have a real ale and my fears were confirmed at the bar so I opted for a bottle of Newcastle Brown Ale for no other reason than the fact that it was a two fingered gesture to Sunderland. Childish?! Who, me?!!

Almost as soon as I sat down I was approached by a bloke who told me in a very matter of fact way 'I can offer you coffee, cheese or ham' I'm not sure whether this was code for something or if he was my personal shopper however I politely declined his kind offer.

The club has several large television screens and I must admit to privately celebrating when I discovered that v*lla had lost one nil at home to the mighty Leyton Orient !! Mind you, my joy was short lived as soon afterwards they showed all of the Sunderland goals that I'd just witnessed.

My visit to Cobs was a short one but I still had time to listen to some of the songs on the pubs sound system and found myself singing along to that legendary number by The Foundations, that must get played time and time at functions at Cobs Bar, Build Me Up Buttercup. The song features the line 'You never call baby when you say you will', however this wasn't true of my baby as she phoned me up to discover where I was seeing as she'd been sat outside for five minutes waiting !!

Okay, okay, don't get a cob on !!

The Fighting Cocks

Me and my mate Kap joined Shelley, her brother Craig and sister in law Maria in pub number two of their Moseley pub crawl The Fighting Cocks, literally across the road from previous pub The Elizabeth of York. We had only got time for a couple before we headed back to T20 Finals Day at Edgbaston as the Birmingham Bears were due to play Lancashire Lightning in the final at 6.45 under floodlights.

The Fighting Cocks is an iconic Birmingham venue. It was upstairs in this pub in 1983 when, backstage at their gig, the lead singer of a recently formed band from Manchester told fellow band members that he no longer wanted to be referred to by his first name Stephen. His surname was Morrissey and the name of the band was The Smiths, one of the most influential bands of the 1980's.

The flowers from Morrissey's back pocket that night have long since died off but much of the pub remains unchanged with many of the features dating back to the 1800's. It is a really good pub and one I'd highly recommend.

Unsurprisingly there is a great selection of ales and beers, Craig inadvisably went straight on Peroni (he had vowed some months before, after a particularly bad reaction to premium strength lager, that he was going to avoid beer of 5% ABV or above, Peroni is 5.1%) the girls went onto to their favourite Aspall cider, and me and Kap were on the excellent Everards Tiger bitter. We got some seats at the bar though me and Kap, conscious of the fact that we'd got a long night ahead of us at the cricket, stayed standing up, we'd still got a job to do for the Birmingham Bears !!

We said our goodbyes and headed back to Edgbaston, before I left I said to Shelley let me know what pub you are in later and I'll come and meet you after the cricket...


UPDATE 23rd August

Championes, Championes, Ole, Ole, Ole !! We went back to Edgbaston to witness the Birmingham Bears' dramatic last ball victory over Lancashire Lightning in the T20 final. I said goodbye to Kap, and, rather than running round the Bull Ring with the cup, made my way back to Moseley to meet back with Shelley, Craig and Maria who I imagined, by this stage, would be well into their Moseley pub crawl.......not only were they in the same pub, they were still sat at the same seats at the bar. They had not moved in the four and a quarter hours since we'd left them !! With Craig on the 5.1% Peroni and both Shelley and Maria on 5.5% Aspall it would not be unfair of me to say that they were all feeling the pace a tad !!

The pub had filled up quite a bit since my earlier visit though getting served wasn't a problem, I'd got three friends who were long term residents at the bar !! Mind you I'd got a couple of friends behind the bar too, I got served by an ample bosomed young lady in a low cut vest top, I nearly asked for an Everards Easy Tiger rather than an Everards Tiger !!

Unsurprisingly we didn't stop too long as a curry at the nearby Kababish was calling...very loudly !! There was just time to capture the moment for posterity...

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Elizabeth of York

It was T20 finals day at Edgbaston and me and my mate Kap had got tickets to see the Birmingham Bears (aka Warwickshire) in action. The format of the day was that there were two semi finals (with the first commencing at 11am) before the final on the evening.

First up was Warwickshire v Surrey. Kap had sorted out the tickets and inexplicably got us seats in the family stand, the one in which alcohol was prohibited, though to be fair, seeing as I was still feeling delicate from giving Shelley's Dad Mick a proper send off the day before, it was actually probably a blessing !!

I hadn't had a beer with Kap for a while though I was half tempted to alert the Operation Yewtree authorities when I discovered that not only were we sat in the family stand, he'd actually turned up with a bag of sweets !!

The Birmingham Bears easily saw off semi final opponents Surrey so, seeing as we were drink free, and the final didn't start until 6.45pm, we decided to give Lancashire v Hampshire a miss and get the bus the short distance to neighbouring Moseley.

Our first destination was Wetherspoons pub the Elizabeth of York. As a pub it is fairly unremarkable but it was convenient and cheap which seeing as it was my round was not a bad thing !! I was feeling a bit more like beer by this stage so it was Ruddles Best Bitter for me....

...and Carling for Kap though this got lost in translation (so I claimed) and he ended up with cheaper lager alternative Carlsberg.

We showed previously undemonstrated sensible thinking by ordering food with our next round. A burger at the cricket was £5.50 but burger, chips and a pint at the Elizabeth of York was £5.99. Howzat for a good deal?!!

Shelley, her brother Craig and sister in law Maria joined us for a few pints. The pub was stop off number one on their planned Moseley pub crawl with the Prince of Wales being one of their proposed venues at the request of Welsh born Maria. The fact that Maria is from Wales was not lost on Kap who proceeded to give her some stick for this fact. I wouldn't mind but it was the first time that he'd met her !!

We saw off our beers and had time for a drink at their next pub (The Fighting Cocks) before heading back to the cricket and hopefully cheering on the Bears to T20 final victory.

The Loyal Caledonian Corks Club

Shelley's Dad Mick always said that he wanted his family and friends to have a hoolie when his days were over, so we needed to make sure that we had the right venue to stage what the dictionary describes as a 'lively party'.

We (Shelley, her Mum Jan, brother Craig and myself) were confident that we'd found the place, The Loyal Caledonian Corks Club on Birmingham's Alcester Road.

The room is large but not too large to feel lost in, it is the right size to create a good atmosphere and give him the send off that he requested and deserved.

Mick's friend Jimmy had sorted out the venue for us and we were told to ask for Alice. Thankfully the bloke at the door had heard of her as I'd got visions of a rendition of the chorus from the famous Smokie song.

Alice does the event catering and knows her onions (which she informed us were of the pickled variety). She must be good, she had originally only intended to do the job for two months but sixteen years later she is still there !!

Once we'd sorted out the room and finalised the arrangements with a man called Dan, there was only one more thing to do...try out the beer !!..

I can only describe it as old school and this is not a criticism, a choice of M & B Mild and Brew XI is like stepping back to a pub in the 1980's. Craig and I both agreed that the pints of Brew were excellent and at less than £3 a pint were at a price Mick would have approved of. Infact we all commented that we could picture him in there yarning and enjoying the 'craic' with a few blokes over a couple of jars !!

All we need to do now is to stage a hoolie to end all hoolies !!

UPDATE 22nd August

Well, we did it, we gave Mick the send off he requested and so richly deserved. The real tragedy is that he wasn't there with us to enjoy it, he loved a good party did Mick.

The actual funeral could not have gone better, the fact that there were so many people there (it was a standing room only event) was a fitting tribute to the popularity of the man. Craig set the tone delivering a tribute to his Dad that summed Mick up perfectly, it had the congregation wiping away tears of both sadness and laughter throughout.

The room at the Caledonian Corks afterwards was packed with well wishers eager to say their goodbyes in a manner that Mick would have approved of. The drinks flowed and flowed over stories and great memories everyone had got of their times with him.

Dan the man had put extra staff on behind the bar to cope with demand and it was a good job he did, we were a thirsty bunch. Alice also had her work cut out at the buffet ensuring that there was enough food for all. Infact I spoke to one of her helpers and asked why there was a set of weighing scales positioned next to the buffet tables...

...She told me that they weighed people when they came up to the buffet and again once they've finished their food to make sure that they've eaten enough !!

I was on the Brew XI, and, although I wasn't counting, the roman numeral number after the word Brew must have been close to my overall pint tally !!

As you would expect, the whole family (plus Jan and Mick's next door neighbours Tina and Carl) were the last to leave over nine hours after we'd arrived !!

Cheers Mick !!!

Toby Carvery Sutton Park

This was one pub visit I hoped I'd never have to make, the Toby Carvery in Sutton Park was the post funeral reception venue for my great mate Neil's sister Liz, who recently lost her life.

The tone of the day was such that it was a celebration of Liz's all too short life and there were many times during the service when we had a smile on our faces particularly when the exit music was Rocking All Over The World, Status Quo fan Liz would definitely have approved.

My journey to the Toby Carvery (a venue situated near Town Gate in Sutton Park) was a memorable one. Although I had sorted out a lift with my mate Ken, my brother Dave, who had attended the service with me, said he'd give me a lift as it was on route to Aldridge where he was due to pick up his dog Archie. To cut a long story short, he went the wrong way, ended up going home to get changed and then returned home after picking up his dog with me in tow throughout. He even had the cheek to blag a lift to the venue from his neighbour Colin !!

I've met Colin a few times before and, despite being a v*lla fan, he's quite a decent bloke. When we got into Sutton Park Dave said 'Come in for a pint if you want Col', 'Don't worry, I am' he said unapologetically. So the three of us joined the post funeral gathering, me still suited and booted, Dave who had changed and Colin who was dressed to clean his car, a task he was performing when we rudely interrupted him.

We bought beers from the front bar (Marston's Pedigree) and made our way round the back to the function room..

All the car washing must have given Colin an appetite as it wasn't long before our chauffeur was helping himself to a couple of beef sandwiches from the buffet. How we laughed !!

I know you aren't necessarily supposed to enjoy such events but we gave Liz the send off that I am sure she would have wanted, and, as these things often are it was a good excuse to have a catch up and share our own individual memories.

Hopwood House

Hopwood House is a large pub situated on the way from Birmingham to Alvechurch, it is just off the main road and alongside the canal so access to the pub is easy whether car or barge is your preferred mode of transport. Entry to the pub is a bit harder up a steep set of steps so I don't know why I am smiling prior to my ascent. Fair play to Shelley's Mum Jan (who is visible in the background) she's almost made it to base camp !!..

We had visited Shelley's Dad Mick at St Mary's Hospice on the morning so we decided to go for a pint and some Sunday lunch before returning to see him later that afternoon.

The drink selection was surprisingly pleasing with a couple of real ales on offer, and, although we were in the midst of the Hurricane Bertha backlash, I still chose the wholly inappropriate Banks's Sunbeam, served in a glass with a quote from Homer Simpson etched into it 'Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy ' !!

The BSE scare of a few years ago seemed like a distant forgotten memory as we all ordered roast beef for our Sunday lunch, however the meals were sent back to the kitchen with short, sharp shrift due to the fact that they were lukewarm. Our general review of the meals, when they returned at a proper temperature, was that there wasn't enough food. Homer Simpson would undoubtedly have agreed !!

Jan loved where we sat as our seats gave us a great view of the comings and goings in the pub and the pub car park. We were able to witness a very badly dressed Christening party. Black shirts and white ties?!! Come on !!

We were also subjected to a badly behaved child called Jackson who we all agreed (apologies to all modern thinkers on infant discipline) needed a slap !!

We bumped into Jan's sister Barb. on our way out of the pub, and gave her a progress report on Mick before making our way back to the hospice.

FOOTNOTE 10th August

This is very, very difficult to write, but the date 10th August is one that will be forever etched in our memories.

We returned to the hospice to find Shelley's Dad Mick in great form, he was shaved and showered, and was sat up in bed watching the cycling and reading the paper. He was full of wise cracks, and we were having great banter, he revelled in telling me how bad Birmingham City are following their defeat the previous day. He was brilliant company.

Unfortunately he had difficulty breathing a couple of hours later and passed away peacefully with his loving family around him later on that night.

Life just won't be the same without him. I contemplated stopping this blog as I'm feeling so sad as a result of his passing. However Mick was a man who loved nothing more than having a pint and the 'craic'. Infact when I told him, when I popped in to see him on the Thursday, that I'd visited 182 different pubs so far this year a huge grin lit up his face. He avidly followed the blog when we travelled so definitely wouldn't have wanted me to stop so I will carry on with the memory of sharing a pint with him always in my mind.

As you would imagine I shared many pints with Mick in the six years I was privileged to know him, infact I remember us sharing a memorable Sunday afternoon session in The Red Lion the first time we formally met. His company on the beer was that good that I booked half a day's annual leave at the end of last year just so the two of us could have a proper drink together and boy did we drink that day !!

Always generous, he would be the first up the bar to get a round in and, even though he needed to use his stick to get to the bar he would stubbornly refuse any help when it was his round.

He was a loving husband of over 50 years to devoted wife Jan and was immensely proud of his family and I know for a fact that they were equally proud to call him Dad.

God bless ya Mick, we are all really going to miss you.

Mick Kearney 31st October 1940 - 10th August 2014

The Country Girl

I'd probably not been in The Country Girl for over twenty five years and had absolutely no recollection of what it was like from my previous visit. We were visiting Shelley's Dad Mick who was in nearby St Mary's Hospice. He was a bit poorly when we called in so, rather than go back to Shelley's Mum and Dad's house before returning to the hospice, we decided to pop in for a pint and some food at The Country Girl.

The weather was mixed to say the least, we were bracing ourselves for the backlash from Hurricane Bertha that was due the next day but it was literally the calm before the storm when we arrived at the pub so much so that it was nice enough for the four of us, me, Shelley, Shelley's Mum Jan and Shelley's Auntie Barb. to find a seat in the pub's beer garden.

Here I am as the thorn between two roses, noting than Jan was sporting her very fetching new shorter hairstyle..

Not only was there a couple of real ales on offer (I chose a pint of Adnam's Broadside) there was a twenty pence off a pint reduction for CAMRA members. Result !!

When it came to our food choice it was like match day at Old Trafford we literally were the prawn sandwich brigade with all four of us going for the same sarnie selection. Unsurprisingly I clumsily spilt thousand island dressing on my jeans that were clean on for less than ninety minutes !!

A couple of women on the table next to us were really getting stuck into a drinking session. They'd already polished off a bottle of Moet and Chandon champagne and had now moved onto pints of Peroni. A bit of a strange mix but, how can I put it nicely, one of the ladies had the constitution to be able to take a large amount of alcohol !!

We saw off our drinks and left to see Mick..

UPDATE 9th August

This is a bit unprecedented, I don't think I've ever done an update on a pub on the same day I've visited it but technically this was a return visit.

We had gone back to St Mary's Hospice to see Shelley's Dad Mick and he was sleeping, so, after waiting for a bit we decided that the best thing to do was to go back to the Country Girl and return later when he was due to have his medication.

The weather was on the turn so we sat indoors on this occasion where I stuck to the winning formula from earlier, a pint of Adnam's Broadside. Unfortunately the winning formula didn't stretch to my football team as the pub's television confirmed that Blues had lost two nil away at Boro. I fear that the expression 'Blues lost' is one that I'll use time and time again over the course of the next few months !!

Unbelievably the champagne quaffing girls from earlier were still going strong during our return visit and were ordering more pints of Italian beer Peroni. Mamma Mia !!!

Earl of Lonsdale

Erm, okay I did say on the prologue to this blog that I wouldn't go 'pub chasing' but I must admit this was a pub I suggested we visit just because of the name..

Admittedly though, this was a lovely pub with wooden partitioned areas and a fabulous long bar. I'm not sure how much of the pub was original but it had the feel of a pub from a bygone era.

Choosing a beer was a bit of an experience, we were disappointed to discover that there were no real ales however the fact that there was the previously untried Samuel Smiths Organic Lager helped to compensate.

We sat in the beer garden round the back of the pub and, although this was a bustling area situated between Notting Hill and Portobello Road, it had a sense of tranquillity to it.

I wandered back into the pub for a comfort break and had a look round hoping that I may feature on a Lonsdale family portrait on the pub's wall. Unfortunately the focus was on Hugh Lowther, the fifth Earl of Lonsdale, but to my surprise my relative (I'm claiming him, particularly if Heir Hunters come knocking at my door !!) was quite an interesting gentleman.

The Earl of Lonsdale inherited enormous wealth from the Cumberland coalmines and owned 75,000 acres up land there, maybe that's why I'm so partial to a pint of Cumberland ale !! It is said that he devoted his wealth to a life of 'ostentatious pleasure', bang goes my inheritance !!

He had a penchant for the colour yellow, I must have known, check out my tee shirt, and was the founder of the Automobile Association who adopted the Earl's favourite colour in their badge. He founded the original Lonsdale boxing belt, the Lonsdale clothing brand (made famous by The Jam and Sports Direct !!) and was also the originator of the Lonsdale cigar size, me neither, I've never heard of it !! He was also chairman of Arsenal football club in the 1930's and founded The Our Dumb Friends (aka v*lla fans) League during the war.

It was a great pleasure to drink in his pub !! Cheers great, great uncle !!

La Plaza Spanish Tapas Bar

We were up early, and after enjoying breakfast in our hotel overlooking Tower Bridge, we went for a Sunday morning stroll. After visiting, and being disappointed by, Carnaby Street, we ended up at Notting Hill which was buzzing with atmosphere.

We soon built up a bit of a thirst and, seeing as it was just after midday, we knew that we could have an alcoholic beverage without contravening our self imposed 12 o'clock rule.

We were treated once again to some lovely London weather so decided to sit outside a Spanish tapas bar..

Naturally beer was of the Spanish variety so my brother Dave and I were on the Estrella. I can only assume that the Brummie accent doesn't translate very well into Spanish as both my sister in law Julie and myself had real difficulty ordering wine, we got there in the end by adopting the standard British approach of speaking loudly and pointing !!

It was a great setting for a Sunday afternoon drink, and displayed all the diverse characteristics of what makes Notting Hill such a great area. We were sat outside with the locals who were reading the paper, eating and generally chilling out. Nearby a couple of winos were knocking back the Frosty Jack cider. The one gentleman was in fine voice as he gave us a rendition of Jesus Love the Little Children, though I must admit it didn't sound like I remembered it from my Sunday School days !!

Further down a Japanese lady began singing operatic numbers wearing a mask. The whole scene was most bizarre but very entertaining, so much so that we stopped for another and got the olives in. Once again it was the sort of place that we could have stayed at all day but the 16.19 back to New St was on our minds so we drank up and said adios.

Slug & Lettuce

After enjoying some alfresco dining at a lovely Italian restaurant in London's St Katherine's Dock, under the shadows of Tower Bridge, myself, Shelley, Dave and Julie ended our day with a night cap at the Slug and Lettuce.

We had intended to drink outside the venue but the barmy and inconsistent rules that pubs in Great Britain operate to when they see fit meant that this wasn't to be so we were ushered indoors.

If ever proof was needed as to why me and Shelley rarely go onto town on a Saturday night then our visit to the Slug and Lettuce was it. We entered to the pumping sound of Usher, to find the pub frequented by the Saturday night crowd. I felt very out of place.

Shelley got the round in and unsurprisingly it wasn't cheap nor did it contain a real ale, lager was the only draught beer on offer with me going for a pint of Dutch beer Amstel..

We were sat by a table of twenty somethings that included a woman with a piercing laugh that went through you. At times I wondered whether it would shatter the glass in The Shard which was just across the Thames from where we were drinking.

A mixture of tiredness and full bellies from our Italian meal meant that we called it a night after a solitary pint, rounding off a great day in the capital city for the four of us.

The Cross Keys

We had a very amusing journey to The Cross Keys. My brother Dave was directing and he wanted to visit a particular pub near the Royal Courts of Justice, he foolishly thought that we needed to get off at Bank underground station meaning that we ended up being in London's financial district early on a Saturday evening, it was deserted and all the pubs were shut as we wandered up and down empty street after empty street.

Amazingly he got out of jail, we literally stumbled upon The Cross Keys, a fabulous, huge pub which was virtually empty and, much to Dave's delight, it was a Wetherspoons establishment meaning that old tight wad could get a cheap round !!

It really was a great pub, lovely and airy and a massive contrast to previous pub The Moon Under Water which was ridiculously busy and noisy. Naturally he was 'givin' it the big 'un' claiming that he had intended to bring us to this pub all along !!

I had a fabulous pint of Adnams Broadside, whilst Shelley relaxed with a glass of vino..

The pub must do a roaring trade in the week evidenced by the fact that the gents was like a tardis with an impressive eleven urinals and five traps !!

As much as I hate to admit it Dave picked the pub of the day.

The Moon Under Water

I have bad memories of The Moon Under Water, the Wetherspoons pub next to the Odeon in Leicester Square..

It was the scene of me suffering a particularly bad hangover back in 2013 when all I could face to drink was water, an I event I regularly get reminded about by my two nephews who were there to witness my sorry state.

Thankfully there was no repeat performance on this occasion so I happily ordered a pint of Jennings Cocky Blonde.

Wetherspoons have a policy of no music in their pubs so that customers can enjoy their drinks in peace. There was no evidence of peace and quiet during our late Saturday afternoon visit to The Moon Under Water, it was absolute mayhem. We managed to grab the last free table and had to shout to one another to get heard, the noise in the pub was almost equivalent of being stood next to a speaker at a Motorhead gig. How on earth Shelley managed to order our snack of buffalo wings and nachos above the din I'll never know.

Thankfully the much needed food was enough to lift us from our late afternoon lethargy however the decibel level meant that it was time for a change of venue.

Pride of Spitalfields

If you are in London and you want a curry at a price that is kind to your wallet then Brick Lane is the place to go. You will literally be dragged kicking and screaming into one of the numerous curry houses with promises of free poppadoms or 20% discounts off your bill.

If you fancy a pre curry pint then I can not recommend Pride of Spitalfields highly enough. The pub is situated down a side street around half way down Brick Lane and opposite the entrance to Spitalfields Market. According to a Time Out review of the pub 'Pride of Spitalfields attracts by its very lack of pretention' this comment is spot on.

The décor is very dated and doesn't really match and the walls are adorned with black and white photographs of the East End of London in bygone days. There is an old Joanna in the corner of the pub primed and ready just in case Chaz n Dave ever drop by for a good old fashioned Cock-er-ney knees up !!

The pub is featured in the Good Beer Guide so as you can imagine real ale drinkers are well looked after. My brother Dave and I went for a pint of Crouch Vale Brewers Gold, Shelley was on the cider and sister in law Julie was on the wine...

A trip to the gents toilet typifies the pub, how many other places could you go to where the loos are part toilets / part tool sheds?...

Our appetites were well and truly awoken so we were off to see if we could negotiate a deal on a naan bread....

The White Hart

The White Hart is a pub that we've been to before and both like, however the issue is that it is not easy to find, if you take the wrong exit out of Aldgate East tube station then you are done for. Mercifully we got it right on this occasion..

The pub is an historic one though don't be put off by one review of the place on Tripadvisor that says it has got a 'Jack the Ripper ambience' !! The infamous East End murderer committed some of his crimes nearby and the pub is keen to cash in on his notoriety with some tours starting from the pub.

The were some Jack the Ripper tour guides in full costume when we visited The White Hart and they were recounting some of the tall tales that they have told to gullible tourists.

Our choice of beer had a nautical theme with Dave and I both opting for pints of Gales Sea Farers Ale.

The main purpose of being in the area was to have a curry in nearby Brick Lane so we drank up and walked the short distance to the legendary curry venue inadvertently taking in some of the Jack the Ripper tour passing the places where firstly Martha Tabram and secondly Emma Elisabeth Smith were murdered. Even though I was dying for a curry it seemed in poor taste if I uttered the expression out loud at this point !!

The Pommelers Rest

We were down in London with my brother Dave and sister in law Julie. We stopped for a swifty near Euston station, checked in to our hotel and went in search of a pub. Now I'm not saying that my brother Dave is careful with his money but his eyes lit up when he spotted a Wetherspoons pub when it was his round !!

The pub in question was The Pommelers Rest which is literally at the end of London's historic Tower Bridge and around a quarter of a mile from our hotel as the raven flies.

The pub itself was your standard Wetherspoons offering, you know what you are getting in these establishments which in Dave's case was a cheap round !!

I know I'm biased cos he's our kid but we always have a good time when we mix socially with Dave and Julie as humour wise they are very much on our wavelength so, true to form, the conversation went lavatorial very early on which was pleasingly predictable.

The heavens well and truly opened so there was no way we could move on so sis in law got 'em in so Dave and I enjoyed our second pint of Ruddles Best Bitter, Shelley knocked back her second cider and Julie moved from wine to coffee, sensibly pacing herself, it was still early after all.

The plan was to have a curry on legendary London 'curry mile' Brick Lane, so we decided to sup up and make our way in that direction for pre curry aperitifs.

The Cow

The Cow, a pub situated virtually on the platform of Parkstone train station, was an okayish venue.

It is situated in a very affluent area and it shows, this is no spit 'n' sawdust bar, it struck me as being a bit pretentious and not really my cup of tea, or should I say glass of the sparkly stuff?!!

I will grant them one thing, there was plenty on offer to satisfy us real ale drinkers with various types of Greene King IPA available, and there was me thinking that there was only one.

Once again we'd gone out drinking on our Bournemouth/Poole weekend without eating and I really started to notice this fact in The Cow. The fact that I put Felt drunk twice in my notes about this pub says it all really.

My light headed feeling did not ease when we went onto the pub's roof terrace and even a change of drinks (Greene King IPA to Amstel) and some food (a bag of crisps) didn't alter things. My need for a curry had now reached crisis point !! The good news was that we were moving on, the bad news was that it was to another pub, The Brit !!

Penn Central

According to their website Penn Central 'offers customers a contemporary style with attentive staff' this was very quickly put to the test when we arrived as the attentive barmaid was forced to change the barrel of Sharps Doombar to satisfy my drinks order.

Penn Central is quite a nice bar, it had a fairly laid back Sunday afternoon feel to the place but there was little doubt that this would be a lively place on a weekend.

We were still recovering from Deb's 50th birthday party the night before and we were joined in the pub by Stewart (a friend of the birthday girl and her husband Bod) who had called into Penn Central for a hair of the dog while he watched the conclusion of the British Open golf tournament on the pub's large screen.
He was looking a bit jaded which was understandable when he informed us that he had stopped drinking at around 5.30am !!

We stood outside on the pub's terrace and it wasn't long before we were joined by our friend Anita, Deb and Bod. We were all of the opinion that the party had been a great success due in no small part to Bod's meticulous planning.

Although they live near Penn Central Bod and Deb mainly drink in nearby Ashley Cross and fancied a change of scenery so we ordered a cab and drank up...

Inn In The Park

Okay, I will admit it, a combination of too much beer and over vigorous tambouring the night before meant that I was feeling a bit delicate when we went for a bracing stroll along the Bournemouth sea front the morning after Deb's party that not even a trip to Greggs could shift. So when we turned up to 'the secret pub' the Inn in the Park a pint was the last thing on my agenda.

Despite the fact that there were three real ales on offer I had to revert to a pint of Stella with a dash of lemonade. The addition of lemonade was to take off the harshness of the taste rather than to counteract the punchiness of the infamous Belgian beer.

The setting was superb..

...and it was a beautiful day, now all I had to do was attempt to drink some alcohol, with Shelley's theory on a hangover going round in my pounding head, it's just mind over matter !!

Miraculously pint one went down okay, admittedly it was more Mo Farah than Usain Bolt as far as the speed went but nevertheless I reached the bottom of the glass without too much trouble though I still couldn't be sure of a full recovery remembering my two pint relapse that occurred in London earlier in the year so I stuck with the lager dash choice.

I was feeling that chipper after pint number two that I sprang up the bar to fetch pint number three, checking with Shelley that the kitty had enough in it to cover the round. Imagine my horror therefore when I discovered that it hadn't !! I dashed embarrassingly outside for a top up though with rounds at a kitty sapping £17 it was little wonder that we were a little bit lacking in the monetary department.

We left the place that describes itself as 'Poole's best kept secret' and headed for the next pub...

Kings Head

We'd still got a bit of time before Deb's 50th birthday party at The Custom House in Poole Harbour so we wandered down one of the side streets and called in at The Kings Head.

It was a fairly quiet traditional pub but the locals were friendly and there was a great selection of beers with me opting, after much deliberation, for a pint of Badger's Tanglefoot with the girls adventurously going for Rosie's Pig cider.

There were many photographs from years ago on the walls of the pub including cricketer/actor Sir Charles Aubrey Smith who is adopting a homoerotic pose in this photo..

We went outside and sat in the pub's beer garden, there was quite a gathering by that stage with me and Shelley joined by Shelley's brother Craig, sister in law Maria and friends Anita, Jill and her hubby Andy (whose left arm is just visible in this photo)..

We noticed that the pub's dog, a husky, was wandering around the beer garden, he obviously couldn't read as he openly defied a sign, which stated 'Do not let your dog foul in the beer garden', by unashamedly curling one out !!

Time to go to the party....

The Custom House

The reason for our long weekend in Bournemouth / Poole was to go to our friend Deb's 50th birthday celebration. Stage one of the big day was a boat trip around Poole harbour. We disembarked and our sea legs took us to the first available pub, The Custom House.

I will confess that my notes regarding our initial visit to The Custom House are limited to say the least. They basically read The Custom House, Palmer's Copper Ale, not much use when you are trying to write a blog !!

I would normally blame these type of circumstances on too much alcohol however this wasn't the case, the owners of the boat obviously didn't know their passengers, the cider, for example, ran out just after we left port !!

The Custom House is steeped in history, it was the scene 250 years ago of a British smuggling incident when a cut throat gang of thirty smugglers smashed their way in and stole two tons of contraband tea. Thankfully these days those who fancy a cuppa can get their PG Tips at the nearby Tesco Express !!

Although the weather was a bit overcast early on that day the sun came out for our boat trip and the weather stayed kind to us as we stood outside the pub...

An original ship anchor was situated at the front of the pub and I heard one of the locals shout 'What an anchor' as I stood outside the pub to have this photo taken. At least that's what I think he said..

A good pub but it was only a quick stop as we were saving ourselves for the main event later.

UPDATE 19th July

We returned to The Custom House for the main event, Deb's 50th birthday party that was being held in the pub's upstairs function room. It was a brilliant venue, just the right size for the number of guests attending.

The night started with Deb's husband Bod doing a This is Your Life presentation for his wife which was both funny and moving. We were then treated to some live music from local singer Danny Mac who entertained us with a selection of cover versions of songs that got us all up singing and dancing, aided by the fact that he'd brought a number of tambourines along which lead to many bruised palms and hips the next day.

 

 

I will admit to the fact that although I was playing the tambourine in the style of Robert Plant from Led Zep, I couldn't help myself and tambourined like George Michael when Danny Mac launched into Wham's I'm Your Man..

He even got the birthday girls and a couple of pals up to join him as backing musicians in a scene reminiscent of Robert Palmer's Addicted to Love Video..

As you know I am a big fan of AC/DC, a band that contains guitaring brothers Malcolm and Angus Young. I don't think they've got anything to fear from this couple of family guitarists...

Danny Mac looks like a bloke that can handle himself ..(check out his Popeye style arms)..

...and according to local folklore, and noting that this is only an allegation if any members of Dorset constabulary are reading, he was recently appearing in a local pub and a rather drunken punter kept knocking into his speaker during his act. He warned the man several times and his girlfriend took offence lunging at the singer with a bottle. Without missing a note he blocked her, knocked her out did the same to her boyfriend then carried on with his act. A consummate professional !!

A brilliant night ended far too quickly and a great time was had by all.

The Bermuda Triangle

We were on our way from The Bricklayers Arms to Mr Kyps to see some live music when we passed The Bermuda Triangle. The main purpose of our long weekend in Bournemouth / Poole was to attend the 50th birthday party of our friend Deb, that was being held the next day, but seeing as the birthday girl, her husband Bod and their friends were stood outside The Bermuda Triangle having a drink it would have been rude not to stop off for a pint, so that's precisely what we did.

I've been to this pub before and loved it so it was great to find that it was still as good as I remembered as we walked in to the strains of ELO's Mr Blue Sky. There is quite a range of continental beers in The Bermuda Triangle and I ordered ein bier bitte when I saw that my favourite German wheat beer Erdinger was available on draught. We stood outside and enjoyed the pleasant late evening Poole weather.

The view wasn't a great one, we were stood staring at the local C*nservative club but seeing as I've recently gone against my principles and set foot in the Northfield branch of said establishment I can't really say much can I?!!

When pint number two was ordered it was blatantly obvious that my inaugural visit to Mr Kyps was going to have to wait for another occasion, we were all having too much of a good time.

The good times continued and, if anything, got better when we moved indoors at around eleven o'clock and an impromptu disco started. The majority of the songs that were played were right up my street as they were of the classic rock variety from the likes of ZZ Top, Thin Lizzy, Rainbow etc. There were some serious shapes being thrown....

 

 

 

 

The night took a bizarre turn when we were treated / subjected (delete as appropriate) to some kissing action at the bar. Now relationships with a large age gap can often work, Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta Jones for example have been together for some time now, however I'd have never put these two together...

The old boy probably had stirrings awoken that had been slumbering for many years !!

I think the below snap gives an indication of what they must have been thinking the next day...

The old fella has got a big grin on his face, and the lady (undoubtedly nursing a hangover) has got her head in her hand thinking what on earth was I doing?!! She is undoubtedly wishing that she'd disappeared in The Bermuda Triangle !!

A fantastic night ended with a spectacular thunderstorm.

The Bricklayers Arms

Having been fed and watered in previous pub The Brit, we made our way into the main drinking square in Ashley Cross and stopped for a pint at The Bricklayers Arms before heading off for our intended final destination Mr Kyps where we were going to see a live band.

The Bricklayers Arms is quite a decent pub, it is very bright due to natural light and it has  lovely patio area out the back where we congregated with me on local tipple Ringwood Fortyniner.

I am told that there used to be a garden at the back of the pub, this has been replaced by some fairly unattractive new houses. Well, when I say unattractive, I am referring to the fact that they are not aesthetically pleasing however one advantage of living in these new properties is that they are unbelievably close to the pub so I see some benefit in having the ability to shout 'A pint of Ringwood Fortyniner please' out of my bedroom window before wandering round for my freshly pulled pint.

Having our friend Anita in our midst meant that the conversation was always lively with topics ranging from politics, the benefit system (always one of Anita's favourites) and the ten stone testicle man !! How diverse !!

The Brit

Formerly known as The Britannia Arms, The Brit has been rebranded and has now got a British theme to it. The main reason we'd called in was based on a recommendation from local Paul that it was a good place to eat, though as British as the pub claimed to be, there was no sign of traditional British dish Chicken Tikka Masala on the pub's extensive menu.

There was some Cockney rhyming slang on a sign behind the bar though it was possibly put there as a distraction from the bar's extortionate beer prices, I got very little change from a Lady Godiva for my pint of Ringwood Best Bitter.

We took up residence on a table by a load of logs. I will avoid any predictable toilet related gags at this point..

How dishy I look in my summery attire of salmon pink tee-shirt and light grey shorts !!

We were joined by our friend Anita who had travelled down from London for the weekend. We decided that food was now long overdue as we didn't want to risk a return visit to Alikebabra where we had dined in some style the previous evening.

We thought Maria was over the worst of her hangover but the snail pace in which she approached eating her burger meant that all was not well and she required some fresh air outside mid meal. I felt her pain, I too suffered a similar relapse when we were out with them in London. Drinking with Shelley and her brother Craig is obviously bad for your health !!

A band was setting up as we were finishing off our final drink, their name Mother UKers was a good one as they were a ukulele ensemble. Seeing as none of us were George Formby fans we made tracks before we were subjected to songs about window cleaning or little sticks of Blackpool rock !!

UPDATE 20th July

This was one pub too many if you ask me, don't get me wrong Shelley will undoubtedly confirm the fact that I am a big fan of one for the road, but a long weekend of drinking had taken its toll during our impromptu Sunday afternoon/early evening session. All this tired little soldier wanted was a curry and bed but we decided to call into The Brit before heading to the curry house.

I had abandoned my real ale principles much earlier in the day so rather than a pint of Ringwood Best Bitter I chose a bottle of Mexican beer Sol as I was struggling for room by this stage, well, that's a bit of an exaggeration, I'd got room but that was reserved for a lamb bhuna with garlic naan.

I was definitely feeling quite drunk and I'm ashamed to say that I decided my needs were special enough to justify the use of the pub's disabled toilet as I could not be bothered to walk through the pub to go to the gents.

The fact that there was a burlesque performance in the pub barely registered with me, I was in curry mode and this shows in the photo I took in the pub for this blog. I knew I had to take a photo so I just picked up the camera and pointed it at our group..

Can we go now?!! Pur -lease?!!..

The Ox

It was day two of our Bournemouth / Poole weekend and we were back on it late afternoon. We caught the bus from our Bournemouth base to nearby Ashley Cross, a well to do area in Poole.

First stop was The Ox an upmarket 'bar and grill' to use their terminology. The kitty took a bit of a hammering when we got the round in though in all fairness my pint of Timothy Taylor Landlord was a great one. It's only money, you can't take it with you when you are gone !!

I managed to bore Shelley's brother Craig and sister in law Maria with my 'Did you know that Timothy Taylor Landlord is Madonna's favourite beer' interesting fact, one that Shelley has undoubtedly heard on numerous occasions !! Boring?!! Who, me?!!

I can't remember what cider the girls were drinking but the look on Maria's face shows that she had recovered from her earlier hangover...

Our mistake the previous day was lack of food so we had intended to get something to eat at The Ox but at £12.45 their fish 'n' chips wasn't as cheap as chips. So much for my it's only money mantra !!

We were joined by our friends Paul and Jane who live near the pub. Paul is a very amusing man and I particularly like the fact that his son was named after former Birmingham City and current Blackburn Rovers midfielder David Dunn, although this is down to Paul's Blackburn allegiance rather than in homage to Mr Dunn's spell at St Andrews.

Jane took her loyalty to the pub's name a bit too far in my opinion, her drink accompaniment was a packet of Ox flavoured crisps !!

Shelley had a bit of a Trigger from Only Fools and Horses moment in The Ox, she hilariously referred to Paul as Dave !! You couldn't make it up !!

Paul (aka Dave) recommended nearby pub The Brit as a good place to eat so we made haste in search of food...

Poole Arms

It was the morning after the night before, the night before in reality was the afternoon and night before that we had spent exploring the Bournemouth pub scene. I will confess to not feeling great when I woke up (admittedly I wasn't the worst of the gang of four, step forward Maria) but a shower, a Wetherspoons breakfast, and a two hour walk along the sea front from Bournemouth to Poole sorted me out, so much so that a pint and some food was the order of the day when we got to Poole.

The Poole Arms was the pub that caught our eye, particularly because of the fabulous original tiling on the outside of the building..

Fabulous original tiling?!! It's finally happened, I've turned into my dad !!

It wasn't just the tiling that caught our eye, the sign stating 'Sorry no children allowed' is always a winner in our eyes, and the fact that there was also a notice outside stating that The Poole Arms is the oldest pub in Poole meant that calling in was a must.

We got a really friendly welcome and I was delighted to see that local beer Ringwood Fortyniner was on offer. That morning's hangover was a distant memory as I blew the froth off the top of my pint outside in the Poole sunshine.

We were sat opposite a couple and I remember thinking at the time, aaah, that's nice a daughter has brought her dad out for a drink, that was until I noticed that they were holding hands !! To quote Joe Jackson, is she really going out with him?!!

A woman was sat with her young baby nearby in one of the shortest pairs of shorts I think I've ever seen, I could almost make out what she'd had for her breakfast !!

We would have stayed longer had we not arranged to go out later as this was a fabulous little pub but we drank up and made our way back to our Bournemouth base.

Daisy O'Briens

I remember little about previous pub the Mary Shelley and I can recall even less about the final pub of the night on our Bournemouth pub crawl, Irish bar Daisy O'Briens. I am grateful for the fact that I jotted down a few notes about my visit at the time otherwise this would be a very short post !!

Local brew Ringwood Best Bitter was my drink of choice, I'd like to be able to describe its' taste but the reality of it is that I haven't got a clue !!

I wrote a note that says 'We went through the .....' and I can't read the next word, bizarrely it looks like otter !!

I do remember that we spent some time admiring the two dogs that were in the pub with a couple of the pub's patrons, one of which was a husky, and one of the dogs expressed a keen interest in Maria's feet for some reason.

I also remember that the drink kitty ran out in the pub which was a bit of a shame though we couldn't really complain as the kitty comprised of left over kittys from previous drinking weekends with Craig and Maria in both Lichfield and Hereford that form the basis of previous posts on this blog.

We hadn't eaten since lunchtime and lack of food was beginning to have a major impact so all that was left for us to do was to drink up and do some fine dining, which in reality was a trip to Alikebaba's fast food take way.