The Wellington

The new Hereford pubs were coming thick and fast, we moved from the very depressing Grapes to The Wellington a much brighter and vibrant pub situated opposite Hereford's new shopping centre. It has the feel of a place that is popular with the young folk on Saturday nights, thankfully we got there before the arrival of that crowd as, although I'm down wiv da kidz I'm maybe a bit long in the tooth to be mixing in those particular circles knocking back Jaegerbombs rather than pints of the splendid Wye Valley bitter, a steal at £1.99. A pint with a price that begins with a number one !! It was like being back on John Bright Street in the 1980's !! Ac-eed !! Ac-eed !! Actually, come to think of it, was that the 90's?!!

The second half in the England v Slovenia match had just started when we got to The Wellington, I nearly wasted approximately £1.83's worth of beer by almost spilling my pint when Slovenia took a shock lead via an own goal, to make matters worse Scotland were in serious danger of beating the legendary New Zealand All Blacks in an autumn rugby international that was being shown at the same time. I bet Alex Salmond was doing a highland fling !!

Thankfully parity was restored with England emerging as worthy winners and the rebellious Scots were once again crushed. It was time to spend another £1.99 to celebrate.

Getting served was a bit scary, the young lady behind the bar had a very intimidating Mohican haircut, think Robert Di Niro in Taxi Driver. I was half expecting her to say 'You talkin' to me'? when I ordered my pint of Wye Valley bitter !!

There was a classic poster from a bygone Hereford era in the gents loos, it was an advertisement for a Mott the Hoople gig at the Hereford United ground in August 1971. Yoing dudes (or anyone else for that matter) could buy tickets for the pricely sum of sixty pence !! Sixty pence !! Happy days, and the best of it was sixty pence was the final price, no sign of a booking fee, delivery fee, transaction fee, processing fee and my favourite, convenience fee. So let me get this right, I've entered my details, and printed off my ticket using my paper and my ink and I'm charged for the convenience !! Hang on, have I started ranting? Sorry, it must be my age !!

Now where was I? Oh yes, The Wellington. The plan was to do a couple more pubs before the obligatory stop for some Indian cuisine, so we posed for a photo...

....and moved to the next pub.

The Grapes

The first new pub on our November visit to Hereford with Shelley's brother Craig and sister in law Maria was The Grapes..

It's difficult to know how some of these places survive, it was early on Saturday evening in a city centre pub and there were four other people in the pub besides us. What a shame, it was almost enough for me to cry into my beer which for information was a fairly uninspiring pint of Brains IPA. The girls were on Robinson's Flagan cider which given its scarily cloudy appearance looked a lot stronger than its supposed 4.5% ABV.

The pub is desperately in need of a face lift even allowing for its elaborate and quite amusing glass chandeliers...

The carpets were a talking point, we weren't sure whether they were carpets or simply the underlay, the fact of the matter was that they were a bit shabby.

Given the run down feel of the place the bizarre structured pricing strategy of the Christmas fayre was somewhat baffling, coffee and mice pies was £1.50 between 11am and 12pm and £2 from 12pm. I have no idea what happens at midday to justify the price hike !! They'll be lonely this Christmas if that continues !!

Talking of being lonely, as we made our way out of the pub, except for the bar staff there wasn't a soul in the place. I could hardly believe my mince pies !!

The Greyhound

I can remember very little about the previous pub, on our Lichfield pub crawl, the Earl of Lichfield, I can remember even less about the last pub The Greyhound which isn't very good when you are compiling a blog about pubs that you have visited !! Bar intoxication (possibly brought on by lack of food) I'm not even sure what my excuses are !!

These are the facts as I remember them. This wasn't the pub that we were originally heading for, all I remember is that we left the Earl of Lichfield and kept walking, from memory our mate Gray was moaning about the distance but we kept going despite his protests. We ended up at a pub on the main drag that looked okayish, given the fact that it was near to the bus station and it wasn't long before our bus was due, I thought that it seemed like a good choice in an I'm all right Jack stylee !!

The walls of the pub were decorated with record sleeves though I can hardly remember what was featured, Mike Oldfield's Tubular Bells and Bob Marley's Exodus were definitely there as was a 1980's Rob Stewart album but that's about it. I wouldn't mind but that sort of thing is normally pub blog manna from heaven for me. What a woeful performance. Maybe I was ill !!

What is even more shocking is that I can't be absolutely certain as to what I was drinking, I'm pretty sure it was my old favourite Jennings Cumberland ale but you could tell me that I actually had a Cumberland sausage and I'd have to believe you !!

I can't even remember why Shelley was wearing spectacles, whose spectacles they were, what she was looking at, or why on earth I felt it worthy of a photograph?!!..

Mercifully it was only a brief visit to The Greyhound so, as our bus was imminent, we left the pub with the speed of trap two in the 8.17 at Hall Green after saying our goodbyes and stopping for a brief snap outside...

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Earl of Lichfield

Years of experience have taught me that properly lining your stomach before you go on a drinking session is absolutely the right thing to do, so I thought my brunch of omelette and baked beans at eleven o'clock would see me all right in Lichfield....it didn't !!

My memory of the last two pubs of our Lichfield pub crawl, the Earl of Lichfield and The Greyhound, is sketchy to say the least. The fact that I made no notes for my blog in either venue means that the write up for both places maybe as lacking in information as some of my O level examination answers !!

The one thing that I can be certain of is who was in the Earl of Lichfield, myself, Shelley and our mates, Gray, Jule, Val and Paul. The reason I am so confident is that I've got photographic evidence to prove it..  

Okay, the photo is not quite up to the standard of Thomas Patrick John Anson the fifth Earl of Lichfield (Patrick Lichfield to you and I) but I can't imagine that he took too many snaps after consuming a large amount of real ale in the city !!

I've subsequently gone on line to see if there is anything that might jog my memory about my visit however, other than a bloke from Wolverhampton saying that salad that his wife ate in there contained a rather unwelcome addition of a long dark hair (she can thank her lucky stars that it wasn't a shorter one !!), I could find virtually nothing.

Please accept my sincere apologies for the brevity of this post !!

The Crown

It had been a while since we'd had a beer with our friends Jule, Gray, Val and Paul so we arranged a long overdue Saturday afternoon drinking session in Lichfield.

In theory Lichfield is relatively simple for us to get to, the 785 goes straight from Amington to Lichfield city centre, however the ten minute walk to the bus stop literally put a dampener on the whole day. I am not exaggerating when I say that the rain was of biblical proportions, we were absolutely drenched, so much so that we even contemplated turning back and going home. Bravely we soldiered on but the prospect of being sat on a bus in wet clothes for forty five minutes knowing we'd be out drinking in those very same clothes for several hours wasn't a good one.

I have no idea what we must have looked like when we eventually turned up at The Crown and met Jule and Gray, we've certainly had better starts to days out.

We had been to The Crown before and I will admit it was a much better pub than I had remembered it to be. Gray remarked at the time that the choice of beers was very impressive, and this was a very good point. Everyone (including real ale drinkers) is catered for, I had a pint of previously untried Greene King St Edmunds which was very drinkable, El Gray was on Spanish lager San Miguel and the girls were on Stowford Press cider.

Flooding on route meant that, as our bus turned up late in Lichfield, we missed the start of the England v New Zealand autumn rugby international which was a shame as I would undoubtedly held my ground and not have been intimated by the Haka !!The game looked close but the fact that the All Blacks were already winning when we arrived wasn't too much of a surprise.

The decision to come into Lichfield on a day when Blues had got a home fixture had been taken some weeks before however Blues had a new manager so good times were undoubtedly ahead of us (yeah right !!) so we kept an eye on the score once the game got underway with Gray pacing round the pub like an expectant father !!

We didn't get the result we wanted in the rugby and Blues's nil nil felt like a bit of a disappointment which is more than can be said for v*lla's nil nil at West Ham. there was much air punching and celebrating from their fans in the pub, then again they had just lost a record breaking six in a row !!

Full time in the football was the trigger for us to move pubs though not before our time in The Crown was captured with the obligatory photo..

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The Dark Horse

This trip to The Dark Horse was similar to my visit a few weeks before to The Bohemian. I was on my way to Shelley's Mum's in Kings Heath and I am required to change buses in Moseley. The information board in the bus shelter informed me that the bus wasn't due for thirteen minutes and this was my view from the bus stop...

Well, what's a man meant to do?!! I dodged the Moseley traffic and made my way across the road to the pub.

I had been to this pub before in its' previous carnation as The Cross but my first impression was that it had now gone a bit upmarket though maybe this may prove to be a bad move given the fact that, with the exception of two blokes stood at the bar, I was the only patron in there.

The place, disappointingly, concentrates on craft beer rather than real ale but if that's your bag then there is plenty of choice. I settled instead on an unexpectedly nice pint of Purity UBU and sat down noting that I'd got nine minutes and fifteen seconds before my bus was due !!

I'm not too sure what the pub's target market is, I think they are possibly catering for Moseley's yuppies (do yuppies still exist?!!) as the décor is very upmarket though I'm sure Laurence Llewelyn Bowen would probably describe the wallpaper as ghastly dah-ling !!

We had woken that morning to the first frost of the autumn so the choice of footwear of a woman that walked in was wholly inappropriate, opened toe sandals !! What on earth was she thinking?!! Fair play to the cold toed lady though, it was early on a Thursday night and she was tucking into a large glass of full bodied red wine !!

Two things hastened my departure, the impending bus and the fact that they started playing hard core hip hop music. I would imagine a request for a bit of Deep Purple may have fallen on deaf ears. They probably would have thought it was a new cocktail !!

Turtle Bay

I will admit, pre match cocktails aren't something that I normally do but when they are two for one in a relatively new bar that is on route to St Andrews then it is too good an opportunity to miss.

Situated on Birmingham's once thriving John Bright St, Turtle Bay is one of nine similar restaurants in the UK. If you like your chicken jerked or your pork pulled then this is the place for you. The food looked and smelt amazing however that wasn't our raison d'etre that night, we (myself and fellow Blue Noses Matt and Gaz) were at Turtle Bay for cheap drinks !!

The cocktail menu is as exhaustive as the food menu but there's no sign of slippery nipples in this venue, all the cocktails have a Caribbean theme, and almost without exception, they contain rum which is hardly a surprise seeing as Turtle Bay sells forty different types of the favourite spirit of the Caribbean.

You can have a Reggae Rum Punch, a Jamaican Mule, a Tobago Tea but I was torn between two cocktails named after the legendary king of reggae. Did I opt for a Jammin' (unsurprisingly a rum based drink) or a Marley Mojito (another one containing rum)? Marley Mojito won the day which for information was special rum, midori, fresh mint and water melon, and home made ginger beer. It really satisfied my soul !!

Matt went down the Island Ice Tea route whilst Gaz showed great taste in choosing a Marley Mojito..

The place itself is really lively, the food is really popular and the two for one cocktails are an absolute winner. It is decked out in what you would expect of a Caribbean establishment albeit a manufactured one...

 

 

It may be a bit obvious but it works.

The soundtrack to the place is naturally reggae, both old school and more up to date though I'm quite glad that there speakers we were sat by were there just for show..

The sound system would not have looked out of place at the Notting Hill carnival !!

Such was the laid back Caribbean vibe of the place that we almost forgot that we'd got a match to go to, the first with a new manager. Marley's words have never been so apt, 'Don't worry about a thing, 'cos every little thing's gonna be all right'. Well, that's what we hoped anyway !!

EDIT Every little thing was all right, we won 2-1 !!

UPDATE 11th November

Once again I was at a work rabble rousing event this time at the National Motorcycle Museum near the NEC. I had managed to bag myself a lift back to Five Ways afterwards so I was able to meet my mate Gray on time at our arranged meeting point of Turtle Bay.

The roadshow (do you remember when that word conjured up visions of summer events held at the seaside hosted by family friendly names like Jimmy Savile and Dave Lee Travis?!!) was a big budget production and, given the fact that folk had travelled from far and wide to attend, we were all provided with a picnic tea to take with us on departure. This was very handy for me as I was able to tuck into my cheese and pickle sandwiches and crisps as I was on route to the pub. I gave my apple and chocolate muffin a miss and did the same to my bottle of still water preferring instead to go down the Red Stripe route when I arrived at the bar...

Gray was already there and we spent the first few minutes reliving the events of a few days earlier when we met up (with our respective other halves) for an all dayer in Lichfield. It seems like I wasn't the only one feeling the pace by the end of proceedings !!

I had drunk cocktails on my previous visit to this fine venue but I can heartily recommend pints of Caribbean beer Red Stripe even if getting served can be a bit of a problem, it appears the lure of two for one cocktails is too good to miss for thirsty Brummies !!

The reason for our Tuesday night meet up was that we were going to see Glenn Tilbrook and Chris Difford (from Squeeze) perform at the Birmingham Town Hall so what could have been more appropriate that a few pre show drinks in a Caribbean themed bar?!!

The place has got a great vibe about it, helped by the sound of some fine mainstream and some lessor known reggae tunes. I love Jimmy Cliff's The Harder They Come but will admit to never previously hearing Praise Ye Jah by Sizzla !! I thought sizzla may be a way of serving up jerk chicken !!

We only stopped briefly (okay that's a bit of a lie, it was more three little pints than three little birds) but we wanted to ensure that we didn't miss the start.

I pooped to the loo before we left and witnessed a man having one of the most thorough hand washes that I have ever seen. He scrubbed up all the way to his elbows, it reminded me of the preparations tv vet James Herriot used to go through before he shoved his hand up a cow's backside !! Maybe it was the chef and he was preparing to internally apply curry sauce to the goat !!

Mooch Bar

This was my first visit to this pub under its' relatively new re-naming to Mooch. I used to be a bit of a regular early on a Friday night under its' previous name of Rococo. Myself and mates Matt and Kap used to congregate there for 6pm when every table would be given a free bowl of a dozen spicy chicken wings. It got to the stage when we started applying tactics, i.e. we'd all split up at 5.55pm and sit on separate tables maximising the free chicken potential. The thing was we'd leave at finger licking five past and go somewhere better !!

Matt had noticed that Czech beer Staropramen was on offer at a bargain £2.50 a pint, making Mooch an excellent venue for a pre match pint. Yes, it was my first trip back to St Andrews since the infamous 0-8 drubbing by the mighty AFC Bournemouth but we'd got ex player Gary Rowett at the helm now so with a new manager comes renewed belief so I was naively optimistic that happier times were on the way, though to be fair things can only improve after an 8-0 home reversal !!

Matt's research indeed proved to be correct, Staropramen was indeed on offer at £2.50 a pint. I settled down with my beer to watch ZEN v LEV on the pub's huge TV's...

I will admit that it took me a while to work out who on earth the two teams were (Zenit St Petersburg and Bayer Leverkusen) maybe I need to start playing FIFA 2015 !!

Our mate Gaz arrived to join us and he was equally impressed with the price and the quality of the beer, commenting, in his usual under stated way as he enjoyed his first pint, 'This ain't panda p*ss is it'?!!

As we were all dedicated in our roles of being Blues's 12th man that night we made a move after a couple of pints, not to the match but instead for cocktails at Caribbean bar Turtle Bay....

Slug and Lettuce

The final pub of our long weekend in Liverpool was chain pub the Slug and Lettuce, my second visit to a pub of this name this year. Unlike the other establishment disappointingly this Slug and Lettuce did not sell real ale so I had to settle for a rather expensive pint of Amstel lager with my significant other moving from cider onto rose wine.

Sunday night is seemingly a big night out for the ladies in Liverpool, and there were plenty of them decked out in their finery in the Slug and Lettuce, many of them in figure hugging short skirts. The fact that our seats were at the bottom of a set of stairs meant that I didn't know where to look..

Well, that's strictly true, my Basic Instincts meant that I actually did know, I just didn't want to get caught !! Mind you it wasn't long before, true to form, I began giving it the call me gesture when half a dozen girls left and got into a cab outside, ensuring naturally that none of them were actually
looking when I did it !! Shelley just looked to the skies in despair !!

A couple of ladies with broad Scouse accents were sat on the table next to us. It was like listening to the female equivalents of Jamie Carragher. It sounded like they were bringing up phlegm every time they spoke !!

A couple of big nights started to catch up with me by this stage as this snap shows..

Silly grim, head tilted to the side, this young man was certainly feeling the effects of my birthday weekend. It was time for food so, rather than suggest the standard curry or trip to the chippie, I demonstrated how being a year older had changed me, we went for an Italian meal !!

Large bottle of Peroni please waiter !!

The William Gladstone

We were still reeling from our visit to previous pub The Glass Onion where we bumped into story telling Dave so we had a good look round before we went into our next pub The William Gladstone just in case he was following us !!

The pub (named after the Liverpool born former PM) was a fairly non descript place, it seemed like it was usually populated by youngsters and students a fact confirmed by the graffiti on the toilet wall, I love (expressed as a heart) Rihanna, I Love Rita Ora. I'm sure if I'd have drunk in the place at that age I'd have scrawled I heart Debbie Harry !!

The one thing that this place has got going for it is that it is really cheap, my pint of Charles Wells Bombardier was just over two quid and there were a whole host of offers on the food mind you, be warned if you are dining in this venue, I have subsequently read reviews of the food in this place and the line 'I would not have fed this food to a dog as it would actually pose a health risk' means that the venue probably isn't up for any Michelin star recommendations !!

For those of you who are in to such things the popularity of the place can be measured by the fact that its' Facebook page contains 641 Likes though I'm sure the former Prime Minister would turn in his grave to learn that he is now referred to as Willy G !!

All in all not a bad venue, especially for the frugal. Cheers Willy G !!

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The Glass Onion

A woman we got talking to earlier that day in The Grapes told us that Liverpool city centre pub The Glass Onion was a good pub to go to. She told us that generally people would get talking to you. How right she was !!

I went up the bar while Shelley popped to the loo, I was just ordering my Guinness (the real ale choice was non existent) when a bloke started talking to me, he wanted to know whether I thought if a pint of beer should include a head. All very inoffensive. He then proceeded to tell tall tale after tall tale for the duration of our stay.

In no particular order Dave (I'm not even sure whether that was really his name !!) informed us that, he was an ex footballer that had played at the highest level all over Europe, he had just left Santander after a long and highly successful career, he owned two luxury apartments in Albert Docks, his mates owned The Cavern, he had been to a strip joint with his mates the previous night (Saturday), he pulled a woman in a bar on Friday night who had just left his flat (Sunday afternoon), he had been with that many different women over the years that his flat should have a turnstile installed.....I could go on...he did !!

His stories were that far fetched and full of inconsistencies that had he been in a witness stand not even OJ Simpon's lawyer could have saved him !! He was unbelievable !! Shelley showed the dexterity of a ventriloquist when she uttered drink up to me without moving her lips !!

The one problem was that he was virtually matching my drinking pace sip for sip so there was nothing else for it I glugged the remainder of my pint and we made a dash for the door. I didn't even stop for the obligatory snap outside the venue, I was scared that he might be following us, so this is a photograph I've unashamedly stolen from the world wide web...

Don't talk to strangers in this pub !!

Flanagan's Apple

We walked the short distance along Liverpool's famous Mathew Street from The Grapes to Flanagan's Apple..

The pub was a recommendation from a woman we'd been talking to in The Grapes, she said that the pub is normally pretty lively on a Sunday....she was wrong, there were about ten people in what was a huge pub.

I'm not sure whether it is named after chirpy Cockney comedian Micky or busty ex Coronation St airhead Helen but Flanagan's Apple is a self proclaimed 'world famous' pub. Really?!! Given the city's historic links with Ireland it is hardly a surprise to find such a large Irish bar in the city centre. There was even an Anfield style 'Welcome to Liverpool' sign as you walked in which I felt uncompelled to touch. Memories of the 2001 Carling Cup final are still painful !!

Given the fact that the pub was so big it was somewhat disappointing to find that only one ale, Greene King IPA was available. What was also disappointing was the fact that v*lla v Spurs was on the telly and v*lla were one nil up. Surely it wouldn't last?!!

Being an Irish bar there was the mandatory dust encrusted tat hanging from the rafters, bicycles, tin hats, lamps, trolleys, suitcases etc. It looked more like Steptoe's yard than a world famous pub.

The pub was a two storey venue, a large upstairs bar and a smaller cellar bar where bands play singing undoubtedly about Dirty Old Towns and Wild Rovers etc.

The least said about the ladies loos the better, Shelley encountered a Trainspotting style ladies convenience !! So much for the welcome to Liverpool greeting !!

I deliberately sat so that I wasn't facing the football however I could just make out a small tv on the far wall of the pub. Shelley was in full conversational flow when Spurs equalised so I hardly reacted however I was up out of my seat when they scored a late winner. Sorry Shelley, honestly I was paying attention !!

We saw off our drinks and made our way to pub recommendation number two, The Glass Onion.

The Grapes

It was day two of our Liverpool weekend, the birthday crowd from the previous day left at breakfast leaving Shelley and myself to explore the city on our own. After doing the mandatory touristy tasks, take a ferry across the Mersey, wander round the Albert Docks and visit The Beatles museum (all of which were great) it was time for a drink. We had thoroughly enjoyed ourselves on Mathew Street the previous day so made our way there.

The fact that we had a lorra lorra beer at Cilla's old stomping ground The Cavern (amongst others) the day before meant that even though it was mid Sunday afternoon I was still feeling a bit delicate so a beer in a nice quiet pub was what I fancied, what actually happened was quite the opposite, we stopped for a drink at The Grapes...

The joint was jumping, not only was it full, there was a bloke belting out 1960's classics. Help !! That was my cry of anguish rather than a number from his repertoire !! The Grapes is certainly the place to go on Sunday afternoons in Liverpool.

There was an impressive selection of beers served by a friendly barmaid, I opted for a pint of rarely seen Caledonian Flying Scotsman with Shelley on the more traditional Strongbow, for a bustling city centre pub the £5 round seemed like a veritable bargain.

It wouldn't be unfair of me to suggest that the stereotypical impression that some folk have of Scousers is that they can be a bit light fingered but the evidence would suggest otherwise, a bloke in The Grapes went out of his way to let me know that I'd got something sticking out of my back pocket, admittedly it was my Liverpool map, but he didn't know that. What a decent chap.

Once again this was another pub with Beatles connections, The Cavern didn't sell alcohol so the Fab Four used to pop into The Grapes for a pint, there is a photo showing them in there and the seats that they used to sit in still remain..

The singer was still going through his set and brought things a bit up to date with a few more recent numbers, Neil Diamond's Sweet Caroline saw a sing a long a Shelley moment complete with jazz (singer) hands, well hand actually..

The Liverpublian wit is legendary and it was certainly evident when we were in The Grapes. We were sat by a window/hatch and we had no end of people poking their heads through and cracking a joke. One inebriated old fella was particularly amusing, he asked for fish, chips and mushy peas every time he passed..

We were getting well looked after in The Grapes, we were offered free sandwiches (or butties to use the local terminology) by the barmaid and we were given a few pub recommendations by a very friendly girl from Widnes who we got talking to, with Flanagan's Apple and The Glass Onion being a couple that she said were pretty decent on a Sunday afternoon/evening.

It was that good in The Gapes that we stayed longer than anticipated and my hangover eventually disappeared due to some nice beer and plenty of Liverpublian hospitality.

We left and headed for Flanagan's Apple...

The Cross Keys

As pub choices go this was a strange one. the crowd of us, who were up in Liverpool celebrating Shelley's friend Lou's 50th birthday, got cabs from previous pub The Pump House to The Cross Keys, a back street pub in Liverpool's financial district. It wasn't that it was a bad pub, on the contrary, it was quite a decent venue, however the fact that it was situated in an area that is deserted at weekends meant that the pub was empty, and when I say empty I mean empty, it was ten o'clock on a Saturday night and the only people in the place were us and a barman who wanted to close up so he could go clubbing.

From a personal point of view I was delighted with the beer selection, Robinsons Trooper bitter, the beer launched and promoted by rock legends Iron Maiden, was available, it was only the second time this year that I had seen it in a pub. What a lovely birthday surprise. I got Shelley to capture the moment, unfortunately she displayed the technique of a nervy slip fielder as she nearly dropped the camera taking a snap as she fumbled with the device..

Before eventually regaining her composure. HOWZAT?!!

Our friend Sharon is a lively character and she managed to coerce us all into having a game of cards. My inability to grasp the rules of even the most basic of card games is legendary and the fact that we had been drinking for a good part of the afternoon compounded the problem so I had a bit of difficulty learning the rules of Chase the Ace. I'm still not sure whether I understood them but from memory you soon discover who your friends are and the fact that Sharon is a v*lla fan meant that birthday boy was never going to win !! To be fair it wasn't how I expected the night to pan out but I will admit the card game was quite good fun...

Although we were the only people in the place we certainly made plenty of noise. I'm not sure if Sharon would make a good poker player mind you as she serenaded the pub with the chorus of Pharell's hit Happy every time she got a good hand !!

We were conscious of the fact that the barman was only keeping the place open for us so even though we tipped him during our frequent bar visits we were in danger of outstaying our welcome so we thanked him and said our goodbyes wishing him well in his pursuit of female accompaniment later.

All in all the day was a great double birthday celebration for Lou and myself.

The Pump House

When I first started this blog I hadn't realised that there'd be so many grey areas about whether or not places should be included in accordance to the guidelines I set out in my prologue, The Pump House is one such instance. My original plan was that I wouldn't include it, Shelley's mate Lou had booked a meal to celebrate her 50th birthday so I naturally assumed that the place would be a restaurant, however this was more a pub that did food so I'm claiming it.

The Pump House was built in the 1870's and, surprisingly enough, was the former pump house of Albert Docks. It is a Grade II listed building that has been restored and turned into a large pub however its' soaring tower has become its' main feature and it is a distinctive landmark of the whole area..

The plan was that we'd meet between 7.30pm and 8pm however since Shelley and I had spent the afternoon sampling a few Liverpool city centre pubs we were running slightly late so we were a bit surprised to find ourselves the first to arrive.

Eventually they all filed in and surprised me by handing me birthday cards. With the four that I received in The Pump House added to the eight that I had opened at home that morning it meant that I had received an impressive and fairly unprecedented twelve in total !!

According to their website the pub 'specialises in real ale' however there was little evidence to support this claim though I did manage to have a fairly decent pint (or two) or Morland Old Speckled Hen.

Afternoon drinking that day meant that my bladder capacity was now well and truly reached, however the loo was that far away that I think the pub should have laid on shuttle buses. I needed to go again by the time I got back !!

Some years ago Levis advertised their 501 jean range by showing a handsome male model slipping out of his jeans in a launderette to the sounds of Marvin Gaye. The sight of a discarded pair of denim jeans on the floor of the loos at The Pump House is as far removed from that vision as is possible !!

I am conscious of the fact that there aren't many photos of Shelley and myself in this blog, not helped by the fact that there are way too many far from flattering selfies of me, so it was nice that we got a photo together in The Pump House just before we tucked into our fish 'n' chips..

Well, we were in the docks, it seemed the right thing to do !!

We were told that it was time to move on, a decision I didn't disagree with, I needed the loo again and wasn't wearing my hiking boots !!

The Welkin

This was a flying visit, we were on our way back to the hotel to get changed before the meal to celebrate Shelley's mate Lou's 50th birthday when we passed a modern looking Wetherspoons. I looked pleadingly at Shelley, and she agreed that we could stop off for a very quick pint..

In all honesty the inside of the pub was fairly uninspiring, I have been in fewer pubs that contained so many tables and chairs in relation to the pub's size, partly due to the fact, I reckon, that pleasingly it was populated by quite an old crowd. I'm not sure if this would still have been the case later but this wasn't the usual young pre-loading clientele that town centre Wetherspoon's pub usually attract.

The beer selection as usual in Wetherspoons was excellent with me going for a Morland Old Hoppy Hen, a beer from the Old Speckled Hen family which unsurprisingly was more hoppy in taste !!

There were a few post match football fans in the pub, Everton had just drawn 2-2 at home however the fans seemed in good spirits, at least I think they were, I had real difficulty understanding their accents !! Now I know the Brummie accent is universally loathed but is it really worse than the Scouse accent?!! Really?!!

I made the point to Shelley that as most of the clothes that I was wearing were brand new there was no need for me to go back to get changed. This logic was surprisingly challenged and over ruled so we drank up and headed back.

I must admit that I was very impressed with all of the five venues that we had visited that afternoon/early evening.

White Star

Named after the shipping company that built the ill fated Titanic the White Star is a fabulous traditional Victorian pub which unsurprisingly is a former winner of Liverpool pub of the year..

It is largely unchanged since the 1880's however one recent significant addition is the installation of ladies toilets in 1987, up until that time the pub used to discourage females due to the large number of women of dubious virtue that used to ply their trade in the city centre following the second world war. Whoever said this blog is all about beer and football?!! It's full of historical facts !!

I did my bit for Queen and country by ordering a pint of Poppy Otter, a beer which donates money to the poppy appeal for every pint sold.

Once again this was another great bar, The Beatles used to come into the White Star to get paid in the pub's back room after they had performed at The Cavern. It seems as though every pub in Liverpool has got some sort of link to the Fab Four, some more tenuous than others.

The pub contained a large selection of photographs and sporting memorabilia. How we laughed at a photo of pub regulars from the early 1980's, it must have been the inspiration for Harry Enfield's Scousers. There were curly perms and moustaches galore !! The owner of the pub is presumably an autograph collector though I was more impressed with his signed photo of former Birmingham City striker Bob Latchford than I was of his photo of Hollywood legend Jane Russell.

The owner was presumably also a big boxing fan, there were photos on the wall of all the greats, Ali, Frazier, Hagler and, erm, Conteh !! Yes John Conteh found his way to a place amongst the boxing legends, I'm not sure whether this was due to his Scouse roots or his appearance in an advert for Brut 33 in the 1970's !!

Again this was another Liverpool pub that I could have spent all night in, well I say that but a double selection of Coldplay by someone on the pub's jukebox meant that I couldn't drink up fast enough !!

Lennon's Bar

We moved the short distance from The Cavern at 10, Mathew Street to 23, Mathew Street and continued our Beatles theme..

I don't know if there is a genuine link with the Liverpool legend but it's still a great place to have a drink and salute (literally) the man..

I will admit though to thinking oh no (or should that be Ono?!!) when I saw the drink selection, nothing decent on draught or in bottles so I played it relatively safe with a pint of Guinness and a pint of Somersby for My Michelle (oops, I think that's more McCartney than Lennon !!).

This was another place with live music, it seems like the city centre pubs (particularly those on Mathew St) specialise in staging live entertainment and as soon as one band finishes another starts setting up. I'd only been in Liverpool a couple of hours and already liked the place.

We hadn't had much interaction with Scousers by that stage however we witnessed something that would have had Jamie Oliver ranting in his mockney accent. Mum, Dad and young lad were sat by us and no sooner had the lad finished off his fizzy pop and Scampi Fries then the lad disappeared, returning with a KFC which he quickly saw off. Not a vegetable or piece of fruit in sight, I'm not even sure whether or not the Scampi Fries were dolphin friendly !!

As is the case with most of the pubs in Liverpool city centre the walls pay tribute to the most famous export from the city. Now I'm a big rock fan but I can't ever remember Manowar having this particular line up..

This was only a quick visit so we literally said Hello Goodbye to Lennon's Bar !!

The Cavern

When it comes to venues on this blog this is surely the most easily recognisable one, the iconic Cavern, birthplace to Liverpublian mop tops The Beatles.

When we arrived, mid Saturday afternoon, the whole area, on Liverpool's Mathew Street, was absolutely buzzing, it made me wonder what on earth it must be like late on a Saturday night.

One thing we weren't expecting was (as they say in America) a cover charge, we had to pay two quid to get into the place on a Saturday afternoon !! It seems that while it can't buy me love money can get me into The Cavern !!

Given the fact that it is not the original Cavern (which closed in 1973) but a copy built on pretty much the same site the cynic in me was expecting to be disappointed however nothing could be further from the truth, the place is fantastic !!

Right, where do I start? The beer. The usual fizzy tasteless stuff is available but I was delighted to see an ale, Black Sheep best bitter which was excellent, even out of a plastic glass. Already I felt that the new Cavern was better than the old one especially as the original Cavern didn't serve alcohol !!

The recreation is brilliant, many of the bricks from the original venue have been used making it as accurate as possible. I felt like a modern day Marty McFly with me being transported back to 1962 Liverpool..

The walls are decorated with photos of some of the famous acts that have visited this iconic venue, Liam Gallagher, Adele and, erm, Ray Quinn to name a few. I was that delighted to see The Jam's Bruce Foxton had performed at the venue that I captured the moment for posterity next to a display cabinet commemorating the event which included a signed bass guitar..

We met up with our chums but remarkably they were just about to leave (maybe it was my after shave !!) to freshen up ahead of the meal that was booked for Lou's birthday later that night. Unsurprisingly, since we'd only just arrived, we decided to stay and enjoy the live music that was entertaining the Saturday afternoon crowd..

Whilst songs by the Fab Four were heavily featured the acts were keen to have plenty of crowd participation so the likes of Delilah and Maggie May found The Cavern audience in fine voice.

We could easily have stayed in there for hours but were keen to explore some more Liverpool pubs so we headed off though not before capturing a couple more photos..

 

 

A truly brilliant place, you'd be a Fool on the Hill not to think so !!

Planet Liverpool

Happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me !! Yes, it was that time of the year once again when I clocked up another year on this planet and I was sharing my celebration with Shelley's mate Lou who was holding her 50th birthday bash that weekend in Liverpool.

My £21.95 budget room two days previously seemed like a distant memory as we checked into the upmarket Radisson Blu on the outskirts of the city centre. the birthday crowd had all come up the previous night so we decided to go for a walk to get our bearings before meeting up with them. Not far from the Albert Docks something caught our eye..

We had enjoyed our visit to a boat that had been converted into a bar during our time in Bristol so it was all aboard for the two of us at the start of our Liverpool adventure..

Unfortunately the quality of the Liverpool bar boat didn't match its Bristolian equivalent. There was no draught beer so I had to settle for a can of John Smith's smooth out of a plastic pint glass and Shelley faired even worse, her choice was either a can of Magner's pear cider (which she isn't keen on) or a can of Kopperberg berry cider (which she is even less keen on). Is apple cider a rarity these days?!! To be honest though it didn't matter, this able seaman was happy to be taking the weight off his sea legs enjoying a birthday beer whilst on his hols, okay it was a long weekend but you get my point !!

Don't I look the part decked out in my birthday suit of a new coat, tee shirt, trousers and boots?!! Thanks Shelley !!

Blues, on the back of an eight nil defeat, were away at Wolves and news came through that we'd kept a clean sheet !! The nil nil result felt like a win. It was like all my birthdays had come at once !!

We received the call that we were waiting for, we were meeting the gang in legendary (I'd even go as far as to say 'world famous') venue The Cavern. We didn't know the way and hadn't got a map. It called for a song...

Roll up, roll up for the mystery tour....

Snobs

This was a very unexpected pub visit, I was on my way from The Old Fox to The Shakespeare to meet my mate Bill before going to see Airbourne and Black Stone Cherry at the NEC when I noticed that the new home to Snobs was open. It was too good an opportunity to miss, Snobs is/was a Birmingham institution. In an age when pubs/clubs come and go Snobs stayed virtually unchanged in its Paradise Circus venue for an incredible forty years, it is estimated that some two and a half million people passed through its doors in this time.

The new Snobs has been built in Smallbrook Queensway at a cost of £2m and I was initially quite impressed by the fact that the faces that used to greet clubbers as they entered the original venue have been retained..

Unfortunately this was as good as it got. The place is a shadow of its former self, modern, bordering on upmarket, the Snobs legacy has been ruined. For those who remember Snobs as it was check out the new look...

Okay the bar in the centre of the venue (based loosely around the tardis in Doctor Who) is true to the original but that's where the similarity ends. If I was to tell you that there were menus on the tables offering up such delicacies as Chicken Caesar Salad that's probably as much as you need to know !!

I wasn't expecting much from the drink selection so played it safe with a bottle of Newcastle Brown Ale, and sat down in one of the plush new seats..

Sky News was being shown, without volume, on several screens throughout the venue. In many ways I wished the volume had been turned up it may have drowned out 'Irreplacable' by Beyoncé. Yes Birmingham's premier alternative music venue was playing a tune by Mrs Z !! Outrageous !!

I will admit that Snobs the nightclub is probably a better prospect than Snobs the pub (the venue can be split so I was only able to sit in the front bar) but I was very unimpressed.

One word.....avoid !!

The Old Fox

My attendance at concerts these days is getting more and more infrequent due in no small part to the fact that the artists in the bands that I like are getting older and older, Ozzy Osbourne for example has officially been an old aged pensioner for almost a year !! This means occasionally I have little alternative, if I want to see live music, than to listen to newer bands. A line up of Australian AC/DC wanabees Airbourne supporting American rockers Black Stone Cherry was too good an opportunity to miss.

I had arranged to go with my mate from work Bill to the gig that was being staged at the LG Arena (that's the NEC in old money). Getting back home from the NEC after a concert is a logistical nightmare for me so I had booked myself into a hotel in Birmingham city centre for the night, £21.95 got me a penthouse suite (erm, okay so I'm exaggerating a bit) at the Ibis Budget hotel on Bristol St. It maybe isn't the ideal destination for a romantic night with a loved one but it did the job for me.

After quickly getting changed back at the hotel the plan was to meet Bill in The Shakespeare in town before catching the train but Bill's poor timekeeping is legendary so it was no surprise when I received the call to say he was running late. I decided therefore to call in to a pub featured in the latest edition of the Good Beer Guide that was on route and which I hadn't visited in a while namely The Old Fox.

The route to the pub required me to pass through Birmingham's gay district so I tried to be as hetrosexual as possible as I made my way to the pub by looking mean and moody. I think I may have overdone it slightly as a very camp gentleman passed me and said 'Cheer up young man, it might never happen' !!

Situated opposite Birmingham's Hippodrome theatre The Old Fox is a traditional pub which is steeped in history. It is claimed that Laurel and Hardy and Charlie Chaplin are amongst those that have drunk in the venue. A fact celebrated in the sign to the loos..

As you would expect there is a great selection of real ales with me choosing a very acceptable pint of Slaters bitter, I took a seat and waited for Bill to call with an arrival time...

The walls of the pub are adorned with pictures of acts that have performed at The Hippodrome, many big stars have appeared at the theatre over the years as have some lesser known individuals. Did you know for example that Kriss Akabusi starred in panto there a few years ago?! Oh yes he did !!

Thankfully Bill called to say that he was on his way to The Shakespeare so I finished off my pint and went to meet him. It was a good job in all honesty, the song that was playing on the pub's jukebox as I was leaving was Chesney Hawkes's woeful One and Only, hardly ideal preparation for a rock concert !!

Bainsy's Bar

As pub welcome signs go this one does exactly what it says on the tin, states the name and gives a warm welcome to all. Well, when it says all I would necessarily recommend a visit if you are decked in claret and blue, this is bandit country !!

The pub (formerly known as the Hen and Chickens) is now named after owner Steve Bains and is a couple of blocks (as they say in America) from St Andrews, it is situated on the corner of Garrison Lane home to infamous Birmingham gang the Peaky Blinders.

Despite it's proximity to the Blues ground I can't honesty remember going into this pub under either name but I now feel like I've missed out, it is a decent pub, and a good choice by my drinking buddies Deb, Andy and Al.

We were in Bainsy's Bar trying to come to terms with witnessing the worst home defeat in Birmingham City's 140 year history. 0-8 to Bournemouth !!! AFC Bournemouth !! No disrespect but it wasn't like we were playing Real Madrid !! Unsurprisingly the mood in the bar resembled that of a wake, there wasn't even a hint of the usual gallows humour that follows these type of events. We were blue in more ways than one.

Lack of real ale in Bainsy's was compensated by the fact that Indian beer Cobra was available on draught, and I must admit it was a very nice pint. I can only assume it was to complement the curries that were being served up which looked very appetising. I daren't ask what was number eight on the menu !!

El Classico was being shown on the pub's tv's but in all honesty more football was the last thing I wanted even if Real Madrid were playing like AFC Bournemouth !! Instead I headed for some more Indian lager and a rather unflattering selfie. Well, what do you expect?!! I was traumatised !!

0-8 ?!! 0-8?!! I just couldn't get my head round the afternoon's shambles. Unsurprisingly this is only a brief pub write up. It was time to head home......okay maybe after one in The Crown !!