Dolphin Inn

It was the day that had been christened Black Eye Friday by the media as it is traditionally the day when a lot of people break up from work to start their Christmas holidays, and the early finish and the annual appearance of part time drinkers means that the emergency services are kept particularly busy.

As I walked down Broad St after work I noticed that one of the windows in The Figure of Eight had been smashed, the festive tune 'It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas' began going through my head.

Shelley was out on her Christmas do so neighbour Alan and myself had decided to have a Christmas do of our own. We decided to stick to Tamworth and Alan had suggested that we start in The Anchor in Glascote though his review of the place didn't exactly sell his suggestion to me 'It's a bit of a dive but it sells beer' !!

There were two very early major problems about our visit to The Anchor, firstly I had no money, thankfully my mate Coops lent me some 'beer tokens', and secondly there was no pub !! The Anchor tragically has gone the way of so many other British pubs, it has been closed and it is going to be turned into a supermarket. I quickly texted plan B (nearby pub The Dolphin Inn) to Alan who was on route.

The Dolphin is a pub that I'd only been to twice before and both occasions had a fighting theme, the first time was when Alan and I called after watching some very amateur boxing at nearby Glascote Social Club. The second time was when Shelley and I stopped off during a Saturday afternoon session and a couple, who had previously been drinking together quite amicably, decided to have a fight when they left the pub which resulted them both being hauled off in a police car !!

The pub is a bit basic but definitely a proper drinking pub where the only food available is a selection of salty snacks from behind the bar. One disappointment was the selection of beers, there were no real ales, what a great pity particularly as I had to resort to Carling.

Although it was nicely busy there was no indication that it was supposedly the craziest day of the year for drinkers, presumably the predicted mayhem was reserved for the centres of towns and cities.

This was never meant to be a place where we stayed much longer than a couple of drinks but we got settled and ended up stopping for four pints. One of the reasons that we got so comfortable was the quality of the music that was being played. Now I'm a heavy rock man but I appreciate many other genres of music including Northern Soul, and whoever was putting the songs on the pub's jukebox was obviously a Northern Soul fan as that was all we heard for the first hour.

I was almost tempted to sprinkle talcum powder on the floor and move from side to side to dance to Northern Soul classic The Snake by Al Wilson. Who needs Christmas cheese about spacemen that come travelling or cavalry that need stopping when Al's singing about a snake being wrapped up in a curvature of silk?!

I didn't cover myself in glory when I made a much needed trip to the loo, (is a snake comment appropriate at this point?!!) not only did I go completely the wrong way (I could have turned back but I would have had to do the walk of shame past Alan) I also had major difficulties with a door, it didn't matter whether I pushed or pulled it the thing wouldn't open......it was a door that needed sliding to open !!

We decided a pub move was in order so we slithered down to The Winning Post...

The Boldmere Tap

Long before I started stepping out with my significant other I used to share a flat with my mate Neil in Boldmere. Lack of clothes washing facilities meant Scrubs launderette was the venue for us to wash our designer gear, and we used to make a night out of it. It used to go something like this, leave flat with washing and go to the launderette, empty clothes into a machine and start wash cycle, go to pub, go back to launderette move clothes from machine to drier and start the drying cycle, go back to pub, go back to launderette empty clothes from drier into bag, go to the Chinese take away and order food, go back to pub, pick up Chinese and go home. Who says domestic chores can't be fun?!!

The pub in question was The Boldmere Oak and it had become a bit unloved since I moved to Tamworth resulting in several changes of ownership and periods when the pub has been closed so I was delighted when I heard that it had been taken over by the Market Drayton based brewery Joules and turned into a pub with an emphasis on real ale.

It was very reassuring when I turned up on the opening night of the pub (now called The Boldmere Tap) that the three destinations of my old school wash night still remained....

The launderette...

The pub...

...and The Chinese take away...

The brewery had made a good job of the refurbishment, structurally it hadn't altered that much but it's amazing what a false wall, a lick of paint and brand new loos can do.

The promotional material for the opening night of the pub encouraged customers to bring a bottle which could be exchanged for a pint, unfortunately my bottle of Trooper (the Iron Maiden beer) wasn't what they were looking for, they wanted old fashioned bottles which they would use to compliment the Old Curiosity Shop feel to the place. I think the landlady took pity of me when she saw my pleading eyes and said to the barman 'Oh, just give him a pint' !!

One look round the place confirmed that there were still a few regulars from The Boldmere Oak days, the owner of the launderette, and an eccentric old bloke who used to pour over reams of green and white computer print outs. We were always convinced (given that those things haven't been used in an office for around fifteen years) that it was a ploy to escape a nagging wife, 'I'm just catching up with my paperwork love' !!

I was joined by mate Kap, my mate and work colleague Paul, and former flatmate Neil and we were all in agreement that we liked the place and the beer. Beer Philistines Neil and Kap disappointingly were on Carling, whereas myself and Paul were happy to knock back a few pints of Joules Pale Ale, a very pleasant little number.

Our numbers were swelled when some of Shelley's chums turned up, Michelle x2 (I know, what is it with that name?!!), fellow Sabbath fan Tony (who was sporting a splendid twirly moustache) and his boss Vaughan. They were drinking a very dark looking ale that scared me !!

Given the fact that it was a school night, we halted proceedings at a fairly work friendly hour but all vowed to return. Kap and Neil left just before me..

....whilst I required full powers of concentration on my departure to ensure that my automatic pilot instincts would not divert me initially to the launderette and then to the Chinese !!

The Roost

Yuletide over indulgence the night before meant that I was surprised not to hear eleven drummers drumming when I woke up on the day of my planned inaugural visit to The Roost particularly as it had been a fairly toxic mix of real ale, lager and shots of Tia Maria mixed with Baileys (aka Baby Guinness) the night before. I knew drinking with Shelley and her mates was a bad idea !!

After a much needed breakfast I made my way to meet my mate Dave, who was up from Weston for the day, for a pre match pint.

After getting off the train at Birmingham New St and making my way up Digbeth High St I soon realised that my initial smugness at my lack of a hangover had been misplaced. I suddenly felt rather unwell. The last thing that I needed was a pint. I was hoping the feeling would pass before I got to the pub.....it didn't !!

I walked into a very noisy, full pub....what a nightmare !! I need to quickly get myself a drink and move outside in the fresh air.

Whilst the décor in The Roost (formerly The Marquis of Lorne) is top quality (pictures of Francis, Horsfield, Dugarry etc) the beer selection leaves a lot to be desired, no sign of an ale so I had to resort to a pint of Guinness ( a daddy not a baby !!) as my fall back position.

Although it was mid December I still had no option other than to go for an alfresco drink. I'm sure that my mate Dave was suitably perplexed with my 'I'm in the beer garden' text !!

In some ways though my move outside was probably for the best, the Christmas tunes were being played in the pub and I went outside just as Sir Cliff's Christmas turkey Saviour's Day was starting. Although he is a religious man I was fairly sure that my mate Dave wouldn't object !!

I used to go to Blues home and away games with Dave as well as bumping into him when he used to literally stagger round Snobs night club. A good woman, the church (NB That's not the name of a pub !!) and two kids have calmed him down a bit but he still enjoys a pint and The Blues so it was great to catch up with him even if he was probably cursing me for making him stand outside in the cold, especially as there were some irritating youngsters playing tig in the beer garden..

Amazingly the legendary brew's former advertising slogan proved to be prophetic, Guinness really is good for you as my pint of the black stuff demonstrated miraculous healing properties, so much so that I went to get a second pint !!

We were joined by my friend Lindsey and her mates Di and Andy. Di is a Blues fan, Lindsey is a Liverpool fan with a soft spot for Blues however Di's fella Andy has a claret and blue persuasion. Maybe he was being a creep to get a better Christmas present. I decided not to out him !!

Di worried me a bit (and that is not because she is going out with a v*lla fan) she told me that she is going off drinking !! I told her to have a firm word with herself !! You can't be a teetotal Blues Fan !!

I was quite impressed with my first visit to The Roost though I'm told the post match disco is as woeful as some of the Blues performances that normally proceed it !!

The Windsor

I may have mentioned this before (okay I have definitely said this on many occasions !!) but I am not a big fan of drinking in pubs in the run up to Christmas, and my night in the Pure Bar and Kitchen illustrated why the experience is so ho-ho-horrid.

Not only did I have to queue to get into the pub, I then had to negotiate my way through the Christmas crowd control system at Birmingham's New St station only to find that my train had been delayed by fifty (yes five zero) minutes !! I half wished that Chris Rea was driving me home !!

I had little alternative than to go for another pint however finding a pub that I could get anywhere near was an issue. The Sun on the Hill...full, The Briar Rose...full, Colmore's Bar...full, I then had a brainwave....The Windsor !!

Now The Windsor is a pub that I used to frequent over twenty five years ago during my time at H Samuel's. It is situated on the road (Canon St) that runs at the back of the shop. The jewellers is long since gone but the metal shutters remain...

I looked back with some fondness (?!!) as I passed them remembering that I regularly used to have to clear up piles of vomit from the bottom of them before I opened up. Revellers from nearby pubs Le Pub and Cagneys used to empty their stomachs of Tenants Extra and Pernod and black as they passed the back of the shop !!

The pub has changed considerably since those days, it's a bit cheap and not very cheerful but definitely a step up from The Windsor of the 1980's when it used to be frequented by old men and Irish construction workers.

Surprisingly it stocks a decent array of different ales with Timothy Taylor Landlord being my drink of choice..

Like pretty much all city centre pubs during the festive/Frankfurt Christmas market season the pub was very full and there were some real seasonal sights, made worse by the fact that it was Christmas jumper day so the pub was made more colourful by knitwear depicting Christmas puds, snowmen reindeers etc !!

Shelley was out with the girls in Tamworth town centre and I received a call inviting me to join them. The fact that I had now consumed half a dozen pints meant that it probably wasn't such a good idea however I didn't want to be lonely this Christmas so I drank up and caught my heavily delayed train.

The King's Ditch

Wow !! What a fantastic surprise, I know it was the festive season but this was an unexpected early Christmas present, Tamworth has got itself a brand new micropub !!

I had heard a rumour that an empty shop had been purchased opposite The Globe with a view to it being opened as a micropub but I hadn't realised it had actually happened. The King's Ditch opened on November 27th. Why didn't they let me know?!!

Now, don't be expecting fancy décor and all the trimmings, just like The Whippet Inn in Lichfield this place is small and basic...

...but I love it !!

When I called in there were four ales on offer, none of which I'd ever had before, I went for a pint of Flipside Frank n Stein and there was nothing at all scary about it, it was a lovely pint. Cider drinkers are most certainly catered for here but don't expect to see draught Strongbow, there were eight 'real' ciders to choose from three of which had ABV's of over 7% including Badger Spit at 7.5%, good job Brian May ensured that they weren't all culled !!

If there are any single ladies reading this blog then The King's Ditch is the place for you, it was a dark, damp Wednesday night in December and the place was wall to wall with blokes !! Okay there were twelve of us and a few of them looked like they might blush if a girl did so much as talk to them but there's someone for everyone !!

I think you probably gather I am extremely excited by the opening of this place, I so hope that it is a success. I think once it gets established it will attract a very loyal customer base with me being one of them !!

Long live The King !!

The Three Tuns

Thankfully the third and final pub of my Lichfield St pub crawl was a good 'un. Okay, The Three Tuns is nothing special and realistically has nothing to make it stand out but that in itself is its' charm, it is a normal pub selling good beer.

I only noticed one ale on sale but it was the beer that most of the pub was drinking, Marston's Pedigree at a very reasonable £2.70 a pint. Now I'm not sure whether it was because I'd just had an awful pint in previous pub The Boot Inn but my pint of Pedy tasted better than ever, mind you I should have had mouth wash after my beer at The Boot, it actually tasted of old boot !!

The pub is still structured in a traditional bar/lounge format, being the sophisticated chap that I am I naturally headed towards the lounge however I'm sure the three blokes sat by me had got their geography wrong, their industrial language was definitely more suited to the bar, I've heard less effin' and jeffin' on an Eminem record. It would have made Gordon Ramsay blush !! The one bloke didn't know whether to catch the ******* 6.15 or the ******* 6.45 bus home. He was really ******* undecided !!

My visit was only a brief one but I vowed to return which is in total contrast to the promise I made to the pub's neighbour, I gave that place the boot !!

The Boot Inn

Pub number two on my cruise down the Lichfield Street strip was The Boot Inn..

Sorry about all the selfies !!

Now I'm a bit of a stickler for detail and, whilst there may be a few punctuation and grammatical errors contained in this blog, there is surely nothing as glaringly obvious as the vegetable misspelling on the board outside the pub...

When I walked inside though I realised that I was maybe being a bit unfair, the owner had quite clearly got learning difficulties, there was a large ast*n v*lla crest at the end of the bar !! Aaaah, bless it's a shame, and cruel to poke fun of those less fortunate.

There was a choice of three real ales, the rarely seen Bass, a beer called Dog's B*llocks and Andams Lighthouse. I went for the latter but I thought that the barman had got my order wrong, it tasted like choice number two, the canine's private parts, well, what I imagine them to taste like anyway !! It was a truly awful pint. I'd rather have eaten a raw onoin !! Sorry, I must stop mocking the afflicted.

This was a dreadful pub visit, a couple at the bar with a child 'entertained' the room with tunes from their mobile phone, well, when I say tunes technically it was only one song, Wrecking Ball by Miley Cyrus, it didn't inspire me to start twerking !!

They then proceeded to confuse the poor infant by recounting tales of when they used to get cassette tapes chewed up by their Walkmans which they then had to unravel with a pen. She just smiled at them in a patronising way.

I then spotted a man, who I believed to be the landlord, wearing a Santa hat with flashing lights, this was the sign I needed for me to make a bolt for the door though I was nearly cut up by an old man on a mobility scooter who was obviously also in a hurry to leave the place. 'Night night Roadrunner' was the farewell shout from the locals to the gentleman in question !!

Remind me NEVER to return to this pub.

The Tamworth Arms

I'd still got a few days off work following our thoroughly relaxing week in Egypt so after wrestling with the crowds while doing some Christmas shopping, erm, okay I went to get Shelley's card, I decided to pop into a few of the pubs in Tamworth's town centre that I haven't visited this year. Well, it was a nice way to escape the 'weather bomb' that forecasters told me that we were experiencing !!

The majority of the pubs that I haven't been to are situated on Lichfield St on the approach to the town centre, the first pub I visited was the Tamworth Arms, check out the impressive colour scheme..

The last time I was in this particular establishment I saw the infamous incident when Luis Suarez bit Branislav Ivanovic. Thankfully the only thing on the menu this particular day was nothing more sinister than a pulled pork burger !!

I'm told that historically this pub used to be frequented by Tamworth's heavy rock fraternity and, almost on queue as I walked in, I heard the opening bars of Bat out of Hell by Meat Loaf. Given the length of the song I was fairly confident that I would have sunk my pint before the record ended !!

The choice of drinks was somewhat limited to say the least therefore I had to be grateful that there was a solitary ale available Greene King IPA which was fairly uninspiring so that the fact that my smile is so broad on this photo is purely down to the fact that I was off work rather than my pleasure at the quality of the beer..

I did laugh when I heard the lady working behind the bar discussing with a customer what she'd asked for from her other half for Christmas, a diamond necklace and a Gucci handbag !! What ever happened to dressing gowns and pairs of slippers?!!

I must say daytime drinking can be a bit of a lonely experience, there were only three other customers and a dog in the pub, maybe the fact that the Tamworth Arms used to have a signed photograph of former v*lla winger Marc Albrighton behind the bar was enough to keep punters away !!

Surprisingly the pub has got accommodation facilities though I'm not sure whether guests have to pay extra for a room with a view of the adjacent road traffic island !! A male 'couple' were checking in just as I was finishing my pint, I didn't catch their name though it was more than likely Mr and Mr Smith !!

It was time to move on, I'd got more of the Lichfield St strip to explore...

The Tavern Bar

Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world we had to walk into this one !! Yep, we managed (totally by chance) to go into a bar in Egypt run by a Birmingham City supporter !!

We were halfway through a week of relaxation in Sharm El Sheikh and to break the week up we decided to take a trip into nearby Naama Bay. We were picked up by minibus from our hotel for the 15 minute journey, in the bus with us were a strange looking Russian couple who we christened Stacey (due to her similarity to Essex air head Stacey Solomon from the X Factor) and Vladimir (seeing as it was probably the only Russian male name we could thing of).

Naama Bay was dreadful, it was the Egyptian equivalent of a market run by African lucky lucky men selling all manner of tat. Thankfully we had only got less than two hours in the place so after being greeted by the mandatory Hello Boss by virtually every stall holder we decided to do the only thing that we could do in such a situation, find the nearest bar, we weren't exactly spoilt for choice however The Tavern Bar looked as good as anywhere..

What a find it was, who needs go looking at pyramids when you've got this kind of impressive artefact hanging on the wall in an Egyptian watering hole?!!..

The Tavern is owned by a Blues fan called Charlie who is seemingly a good mate of former Blues striker Geoff Horsfield as several of his signed shirts decorated the walls...

There was more Birmingham City memorabilia in the pub than you could sheikh a stick at with this being the centrepiece...

The pub itself wasn't a bad one, okay it was a bit blokey and Shelley was initially impressed but it was a well in the desert as far as I was concerned and after a glass of Egyptian vino she was all smiles..

330 Egyptian pounds bought me a pint of beer, granted it was Heineken but I had been drinking all inclusive halves of Pharaoh Beer all week so it made a nice change. Given the Brummie feel to the place I was disappointed that Brew XI wasn't available on draught !!

Two blokes literally propped up the bar, they were on a trip away without their wives and boy were they taking full advantage, mind you the one guy had certainly over indulged, he made two trips to the loo to throw up during our time in the pub !!

We stopped for a couple before quickly making our way back through the market to catch the minibus home for the agreed pick up time of 10pm. Unfortunately the time in Russia must be different as Stacey and Vladimir were late back and we went without them, either that or they took one look at the place when they arrived and thought no thanks and caught the first camel back !!

Okay, our time in Naama Bay wasn't romantic but all this changed when we got back to the hotel and had one for the road in the Caribbean Bar..

Yes, that's a heart shaped crisp. Aaaaah.

The Queens Arms

The Queens Arms is pub number 250 of this blog though shamefully I can remember very little of this landmark pub visit. It came at the end of a pub crawl around the Jewellery Quarter with Shelley, Craig and Maria. This was pub number eight of the day plus we stopped off for a pint at the German market, the fact that we also adopted the eating's cheating adage meant that my memories of our visit to the fabulous Queens Arms are somewhat lacking. Oh well, we'd had a great day.

This is more often than not the final pub of any visits we make to the Jewellery Quarter, it is handily placed on the route back into the city centre though we are normally feeling the pace by the time we get to this Good Beer Guide listed venue. This was particularly so during one visit when our friend Andrea was guilty of a man down incident outside the pub which was that spectacular it actually resulted in bringing down innocent bystander Gray who happened to be stood by her as she stumbled. I'm sure the beer in the Jewellery Quarter must be stronger than anywhere else in the city !!

Now as this pub is in The Good Beer Guide, is Cask Marque accredited, and is recognised by the Society of Independent Brewers this real ale fan should really go into great depth about the beer that he drank in The Queens, unfortunately for reasons stated above, I am unable to do so. All I know is that the beer was called Pacific, I am ashamed to say I have had to go on line since my visit to find out who brewed it, it was the Cottage Brewing Company and the beer is named after the famous Mallard locomotive.

So rather than listen to me waffle on about a pint, here's a couple of pictures of us in The Queens..

 

 

Right, one for the road in The Shakespeare then home......

Vertu Bar

I will admit we were now several pubs into our Jewellery Quarter pub crawl and several beers and no food was starting to catch up with me, so much so that I forgot to write up anything at the time to remind me about this pub so when I am writing up about visit to Vertu almost two weeks later it would be fair to say I'm struggling a bit !!

Like one of our earlier pubs The Drop Forge this pub is an expensive restoration of one of the quarter's traditional buildings with one of its' attractions being a roof garden though seeing as it was late on a Friday afternoon in November meant this this feature did not tempt us in the slightest. Mind you if I was told that we spent our whole visit up there I'd probably have to agree such is my lack of recollection about the place !!

My mate Andy's friend owns Vertu and I had hoped to give Andy my own unique critique of the place but all day drinking with Shelley and co meant that this was an impossibility !! Yes I know, nobody forced me to drink !!

I do remember one thing very clearly, I was drinking Sadlers Peaky Blinder, I remember that because it was the first time I'd seen it on draught and I was shocked just how dark it was but that's it, virtually no other recollection. I wouldn't mind but the train home was at least another couple of pubs away !! HELP !!!!

So here's proof that we were in the pub...

And if you are reading Andy, tell your mate that I really like his pub.......that might entitle me to a free pint on my next visit !!

The Rose V*lla Tavern

Don't be put off by the dreadful name, this is a cracking pub. The RVT is another Jewellery Quarter pub that has benefitted from an expensive but very effective renovation. The pub was built in 1920 at a cost of £15,000 and although the place was refurbished in 2011 many of the original features remain including the fabulous tiling and stained glass windows, there is little wonder that it is a Grade II listed building. I just wish they'd do something about the name !!

The change of image meant that the drink choice had a complete overhaul, the owners in their words 'wanted to move away from the Carling taps, the bottled alco-pops and the crusty cobs'. They have certainly achieved this with a fine selection of real ale (I was on Sharps Doombar) global beers, over fifteen different wines and a large selection of cocktails including a Bounty (Koko Kanu and dark chocolate liqueur topped with cream and milk) which sounds good enough to eat and is available for just £4 (as are all nine of the rest of their cocktails) for most of the week. I'm not sure what goes into a Pornstar Martini mind you !!

Our Jewellery Quarter pub crawl with Craig and Maria was in full swing and all talk of food had long since disappeared though it is a bit of a shame that we didn't notice the Man v Food style challenge that was available in the pub as I'm sure we'd have been foolish enough to try it by that stage. 12 chicken wings fried in a sauce that is made with three of the world's hottest chillies. All 12 have to be eaten with no help or drink and then you need to be nil by mouth for five minutes afterwards, only then do you make it onto the pub's Wall of Flame !! Yikes !!

The pub is frequented by quite a young crowd and there were several easy on the eye females in there when we visited though none more so than the two beauties either side of me. I couldn't resist a request for them to 'call me'..

There are always plenty of forthcoming events advertised at the RVT including a Sing a Long The Muppets Christmas Carol in the pub on Dec 17th. I think I might give that one a miss as the only pig I want at Christmas is the one wrapped in a blanket that is a great accompaniment to turkey !!

We could have easily stayed in this fabulous pub longer but we'd got more of the Jewellery Quarter to explore....

The Drop Forge

Talk about going from the sublime to the ridiculous, we moved from a ghastly pub (The Jewellers Arms) to a gastro pub, The Drop Forge. The variety of different pubs in The Jewellery Quarter is what makes it, in my view, the best place to go drinking in Brum and this tastefully converted industrial workshop is definitely one of the areas better pubs, okay it's a bit more up market aka pricier but it's well worth it. They pride themselves on the quality of their beer and, although it was a November afternoon my pint of Banks's Sunbeam made me think of the summer.....aaah, warm days, the cricket, long nights, women wearing very little. Ooops, have I given away too much?!!

We were out on a pub crawl of the Jewellery Quarter with Shelley's brother Craig and sister in law Maria. Craig had suggested we eat two pubs before we got to The Drop Forge and the contrast between the menu at previous pub The Jewellers Arms (a pub that is literally over the road) and The Drop Forge could not have been greater. Cottage pie was the sole item on the menu at The Jewellers Arms, whereas there was a veritable smorgasbord of delights of The Drop Forge though maybe by this stage (in basic terms we'd had a few !!) it was wasted on us, I mean who wants fillet of cod, confit fennel, crab beignet, pak choi and parsnip puree after a belly full of beer?!!

I left the place as quickly as my confit duck legs (another item off the menu) would take me, stopping for a quick photo outside..

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The Jewellers Arms

I will admit I was slightly disappointed by this pub, don't get me wrong it is a traditional back street boozer, and I'm sure it is popular with the tradesman and workers from the Jewellery Quarter, but it could be so much better. Maybe it was because we (myself, Shelley, Craig and Maria) had gone there after visiting the fabulous Lord Clifden so we had been spoilt or maybe it was due to the fact that, despite me remembering differently in previous visits, there was no real ale on but, whatever it was, it was a bad choice of mine and the only poor pub that we did during our Jewellery Quarter pub crawl.

It is very much a blokes pub and our ladies were the only females in the place with the exception of the barmaids. I ordered a pint of Worthington's smooth flow which did a job but the beer choice in the Jewellers definitely lacked sparkle !!

Craig had suggested food in the previous pub but and I'd dissuaded him, it was another mistake on my part, to say the food selection in The Jewellers Arms is limited is an understatement of monumental proportions, the menu consisted of one dish, cottage pie !! If you are of the vegetarian persuasion then I think you might consider dining elsewhere !!

Like the ale I'm sure that this pub used to have a good reputation for food so I have subsequently checked on line though I'm not sure that the reviews back up my theory. The volunteer driver of the Bridgnorth community bus was full of praise in a review that was headed up 'Found somewhere good to have lunch'. Though be warned the review was 18 months old, he spelt cuppa c-u-p-p-e-r, and to top it all, guess what he ate?....Yep a pie of the cottage variety !!

We played it safe, a packet of plain and a packet of salt 'n' vinegar...

Even the playing of Sad But True by Metallica on the pub's jukebox just before we left didn't save the day.

Our visit to the Jewellers Arms was not a good one, sad but true !!

The Lord Clifden

We were well into our late November pub crawl with Shelley's brother Craig and sister in law Maria. We had called in at The Railway, the German market, The OC's and next stop was The Lord Clifden.

There's a press cutting on the wall in the corridor at The Lord Clifden, I think it's from The Birmingham Post, listing what it believes to be the top twenty Birmingham pubs, The Lord Clifden, quite rightly in my view, makes it into the top five.

The pub is living proof that turds can indeed be polished and I think even Mr Sheene would be impressed with how the place has been transformed. Okay it has cost pub owners (Urban Art Bar) almost half a million pounds to turn what was once a run down old man's dive into a very popular place with the 'in crowd' (does such a term still exist) but it is money well spent with the beer garden being one of the best you will ever visit in a city centre pub. Unfortunately this photo doesn't do it justice...

...so you will have to take my word for it, but a place with four large HD tv's, two bars a table tennis table, a bar b q and even some art work from my mate Roy takes some beating.

Although we were well wrapped up..

..it was still an enjoyable experience in the beer garden however the place really comes alive in the summer as the garden is a sun trap. Unfortunately its' fame has spread far and wide and what was once a hidden gem in the Jewellery Quarter has now become its' crown jewels. Wow, jewellery references galore !!

The pub is also famous (and Good Beer Guide listed) for stocking a vast array of different drinks, Shelley and Maria were on the Th*tcher's Gold icy cider, a cider with the consistency of a slush puppy which is cider perfection on a hot summer's afternoon. Hereford resident Craig and myself were on Wye Valley HPA (Hereford Pale Ale), Craig felt very much at home as this is his normal tipple.

Earlier on we decided against the £4.50 charge for a hot dog at the German market so Craig suggested that we ate at the 'icy cider pub' as the pub has got a very good reputation for the quality of its' food but foolishly I talked him out of it, assuring him that we'd get something later.......(NB We didn't !!).

I had been building this pub up to Craig and Maria for some time so I was relieved when they enjoyed it as much as they did.

The Lord Clifden really is a diamond in the rough.

The Wellington

Just like The Malt House, The Wellington is another pub that I just had to visit this year. This is arguably Brum's number one real ale pub and the fact that I hadn't been in the place in the whole of 2014 is nothing short of disgraceful, it is almost worthy of me being thrown out of CAMRA such is the esteem that this place is held in real ale circles, it has won West Midland's CAMRA pub of the year on numerous occasions.

I'd been out with my American mate Jeff and his girlfriend Lauren so, as they had inexplicably chosen to go to watch v*lla v Southampton rather than stay drinking with me, I'd got a few minutes to kill before catching my train giving me just enough time for a quick pint in The Wellington.

The pub has had a bit of a refurbishment since I last visited and the aroma of the place is far more pleasant that it ever used to be when the odour of the mainly ageing male clientele coupled with the smell of the ale gave rise for its nickname of the Smelly Welly !!

The choice of ales is unparalleled in the city, a screen listing the different available real ales (normally sixteen) is constantly updated and is even available as a live feed on line..

You really are spoilt for choice and the helpful code which indicates the beer colouring with A being the lightest through to E as the darkest makes the decision process a bit easier. What is quite unique is that they encourage you to order your ale using the numbering from the screen, it's just like ordering food at the Chinese takeaway but much more fun. I ordered a pint of number 8, I did chuckle though at number 15 a beer called Number of the Rat which had an ABV of 6.66% !!

As I mentioned before this probably isn't a place for girlie girlies, I can't pretend that the average patron isn't anything other than a middle aged real ale bore but as I am sure that I don't fall into that category (oi, cheeky !!) I must have really stood out as I enjoyed my pint of Allgates Samhain which had a hoppy aroma with a flavour that had hints of coriander. Boring?! Me?!! Never !!!

I wandered upstairs for my first view of the new bar and, more impressively, the rooftop terrace. Okay, a dark, damp November night probably meant that I wasn't experiencing it at its best but it is still a welcome addition..

If you look carefully you may be able to spot an early Christmas tree in one of the windows. Aaaah.

My mate Kap and I have christened one of the regulars in The Wellington as the Child Catcher such is his likeness to the infamous character from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. See if you can spot him if you ever call in but don't get taken in by his gifts of sweets and lollipops !!

An impending train brought a halt to my short and long overdue visit but I vowed I'd be more loyal to The Unsmelly Welly in 2015 !!

The Malt House

I've said all along that this blog has never been about doing pubs for the sake of it just to get the yearly total up but with just over forty days left there are several pubs that I haven't visited this year that need to feature for one reason or another, The Malt House is one such place.

The Malt House was the pub where Bill Clinton popped into during the 1998 G8 summit, that was being held in Birmingham, and enjoyed a pint in the Brummie sunshine on the pub's balcony which is pretty much unchanged since his famous visit..

Well, if it's good enough for a US President then it's good enough for me so I left work on the dot at the end of the working week and made my way to The Malt House.

I was greeted with a sign on the door that informed me that for the price of a pound I could buy a kit that would measure my blood alcohol level, I'm not sure whether or not it was a device that you had to blow into but my mind began going into overdrive with Monica Lewinsky related puns for this blog !!

The place was fairly empty when I arrived then again firstly, it was very early on a wet Friday night and, secondly the German market was now in full flow so takings were probably at their wurst for local publicans !!

I was delighted with the number of ales that were available however my number was 666, Trooper, the beer launched and promoted by Iron Maiden was one of the numerous ales on offer. I sat down and enjoyed my post work pint..

Unfortunately the upstairs was sealed off so I couldn't recreate the Bill Clinton photo which was a shame not only for me but also for the glass collector as, had the moment been recreated authentically, as soon as I'd finished my pint a member of the CIA would have taken my glass off me and destroyed it. Yep, Bill's glass was smashed in case a finger print was stolen off it !!

This was only ever gone to be a brief stop, I was catching the 18.03 train instead of my usual 17.49, so although I'd got an extra few minutes my pace still needed to be fairly rapid which was a pity as this is actually a really good pub. The National Indoor Arena (former home to the Gladiators) and the National Sea Life Centre are yards away from the pub...

The National Sea Life Centre is a strange addition to Birmingham's list of attractions since the second city is as far away from the sea as most places in the UK. Seaside for Brummies is Weston Super Mare, some 105 miles away which approximately the same distance the sea in Weston is from the shore most of the time !!

I drank up and raised my glass to Bill as he had done to the people of Birmingham some sixteen years ago.

God Bless America !!

Patrick Kavanagh Bar

The information board on the bus shelter in Moseley is manna from heaven for us drinkers. I was on my way for tea at Shelley's mum's and I was informed that the next bus was eighteen minutes away. Had I got enough time for a very quick pint at Pat Kav's?!! Yeah, I reckoned so !!

The disappointment walking along Moseley high street was the recent loss of O'Neills, it used to be a good pub to watch sport but sadly it has been turned into an American diner. A quick look inside confirmed my fears, it isn't what I imagine as being the American dream !!

Pat Kav's is a great pub, situated down a side road off Moseley's main high street, it is a pub that we traditionally visit after the Warwickshire v Worcestershire T20 cricket fixture so there are normally a few shouts of Yooo Bears in there following our customary victory over the carrot crunchers from up the road !!

As well as being walking distance from the cricket ground, Pat Kav's is literally across the street from the fabulous Kababish curry house though I hurried past seeing as both Shelley and her brother Craig had a power nap in there during our last visit !!

The pub is named after Irish poet Patrick Kavanagh famous for such notable works as On Raglan Road and The Great Hunger....nope, me neither !! Apparently Patrick's father James came from a long line of shoe makers. Cobblers !!! No, really it's true !! *

* Joke courtesy of Morcambe and Wise circa 1976

As you would expect given its name the pub is decorated with photos of other famous Irish poets and writers, they are all there Joyce, Beehan and Wilde though I didn't spot one of Carson. Well, Wilde is apparently an Irish wit so why did Frank miss out?!!

Given the fact that it was just before 6pm on a Tuesday night the pub was very quiet but that didn't concern me as I ordered my pint of Purity UBU and found myself a seat..

Although the evidence would suggest otherwise, I did not drink an enormous pint, it looks like I am appearing in The Borrowers movie !!

I've drunk quite a few pints of UBU, from Warwickshire based brewery Purity, this year and this pint was the best by some way, an absolutely fabulous pint of beer. What a shame that my visit was only a short one as sitting in a great pub drinking lovely beer while listening to the Foo Fighters should be savoured however Shelley's mum Jan was doing my tea and I didn't want to incur her wrath !!

Right, four minutes 'til the bus is due, I'd best dash.....

Horse & Groom

Known affectionately by locals as the Doom & Gloom the last pub our Hereford pub crawl, the Horse & Groom, saw me well and truly feeling the pace, not only of that day's pub crawl but also of the bottles of Stella session at Shelley's brother Craig and sister in law Maria's house the previous day until 2.30 in the morning. My powers of recovery aren't what they once were !!

As much as I love my real ale I needed a cleansing of my pallet ahead of my much needed curry so I surprisingly went for a pint of cider. Weston's GL is normally a bit sweet for me but it did the trick. The popular cider was discontinued in 2010 but reintroduced after a public outcry two years later. There is much debate as to what the GL stands for, Shelley and Maria refer to it as Good Looking, locals call it Gloucester Lager, but the reality is actually a bit disappointing, Gold Label given the colour of the labelling.

I feared the worst given the re-branding of the name of this pub by Hereford locals but it was actually all right. We certainly had a variety of different songs coming from the pub's jukebox. I felt very isolated when Shelley, Craig and Maria began singing along to Meghan Trainor's song 'All About That Bass'. I have subsequently looked up the lyrics (I will confess to have never heard the song up to that point) and Meghan tells us, as well as her being all about that bass no treble, that her momma told her that boys like a booty to hold at night !! I bet Mrs Trainor is so proud of her daughter !!

If listening to the song wasn't bad enough the sight of Craig twerking along to it had to be seen to be believed !! He was definitely more Billy Ray Cyrus than Miley Cyrus !!

I got my revenge with the final song before our departure to the curry house. I plugged in my air guitar and began playing the legendary riff, dah dah dah, dah dah dah dah, dah dah dah, dah dah, and then began belting out the lyrics 'We all came out to Montreux on the Lake Geneva shoreline'.... No idea what it is?!! Shame on you !! It's Smoke on the Water by Deep Purple. I wonder if guitarist Richie Blackmore's mum spoke to him about booties ?!!

All day drinking was starting to have an effect and I got all Shakespearian grabbing a skull and quoting Hamlet Act 5 Scene 1, 'Alas poor Yorick, I knew him'...

It was definitely time for a curry !!