The Full House - Hemel Hempstead

Visited 27th December 2010. 

Our fourth pub of the day is coincidentally my one hundredth  Wetherspoon pub visited so far on this quest. And an interesting place it is too. Another converted cinema and a real mixture of clients. I know Wetherspoon pubs generally attract a broad cross section of the drinking community but 'The Full House' certainly took diversity to a new level - I loved it! A very willing barmaid tried hard to find a bottle of 'Buffalo' but I ended up with a double Bulleit and Pepsi. This 'Buffalo' stuff seems very popular... The pub has a very long bar, taking up almost the full width of the pub and I did like the life size sort of robot knight statues at either end, homage to Fritz Lang maybe. We sat and did a little people watching for a while before gathering ourselves for the trip home which as it turned out didn't take to long as our travels had landed us fairly near to the M25 (or 'The Road to Hell' as Chris Rea calls it).
Once again, not a bad way to spend an afternoon. Of the four 'spoons visited today we, unanimously, voted 'The White Hart' as our pub of the day but 'The Full House' will certainly stick in our memories.

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The Crown - Berkhamstead

Visited 27th December 2010.

The third pub on the list is a bit over eleven miles away so it's back to the car. We set off and en route Mrs S decides that our driver has had more than enough Pepsi, but we make it safely and manage to find somewhere to park without to many problems. A traditional pub which, as it turns out, would have had no problem supplying us with mountains of burgers. Mrs S. and myself, the sophisticates that we are, have a large latte each with our driver opting for nice cup of tea. We put the world to rights over our beverages and after checking out the loos (no lock on the door in the gents) we set off for our fourth pub of the day.

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The Bell Hotel - Aylesbury

Visited 27th December 2010.

Follow the path, past the cinema, under the arch and 'The Bell' is on the left. The instructions given to us were quite correct and it was less than a five minute walk. Now this one was very much along the lines of what we were expecting. It was also busy with lots of people eating. We had a plan. Mrs S found an empty table, I headed for the bar and our driver acted as the runner. It was executed with almost military precision. Unfortunately everything went to pot when we found they had no burgers, or breaded chicken, or buns! Apparently deliveries are usually on a Saturday and nobody appeared to have considered the fact that, this year, Christmas day was also on a Saturday. I can't help but feel that with just a small amount of thought this could have been foreseen and planned for... So, I had the mixed grill with a pint of 'Red Nose Reindeer', Mrs S had the lasagne with a 'Sailor Jerry' and 'coke', with our driver opting for the 'Chicken Tikka Masala' and yet another pint of Pepsi. Nothing wrong with the food when it arrived but it wasn't a table full of burgers! Perhaps we should have waited for the next pub...

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The White Hart - Aylesbury

Visited 27th December 2010.

It's in my head. Only four more pubs to go to reach one hundred... And I received some Wetherspoon gift tokens as a Christmas gift. I hear them singing, "spend me, spend me". I resist the urge and then the phone goes and a friend of mine is asking if I fancy going down the pub. As he offers to drive I check Google Earth and in almost no time have a list of four 'spoons to visit. An hour later and we are in Aylesbury, parked and walking across the road to the first pub of the day. As usual when we set off we have no idea what to expect but we were all pleasantly surprised by 'The White Hart'. Not very inspiring to look at from the outside but very nice inside. I opt for a pint of Rudolph's Revenge, Mrs S goes for her usual Sailor Jerry and Pepsi with our driver settling for a pint of Pepsi. We were feeling a little peckish but, unusually for a Wetherspoons, we could not see anybody eating so we decided to wait for the next pub. As we left we did spot two people tucking in but by then the decision had been made and we had been told that the next pub was less than five minutes walk away...

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The Moon Under Water - Cheltenham

Visited 27th November 2010.

There is a conveniently located car park less than one hundred yards from this 'spoons which had plenty of free space so we parked up and took a stroll. We liked this one as well, Cheltenham was on a roll. It was reasonably busy but Mrs S got us seats and we sat down and took in the ambiance. Mrs S liked the ceiling and we especially liked the way the bottles behind the bar had been displayed. As it was a bit nippy outside, Mrs S was in the mood for a mug of chocolate complete with tiny marshmallows. Unfortunately she was out of luck as they had run out of marshmallows, on the plus side they had a bottle of Buffalo Trace (and when that ran out they had another). All in all Cheltenham proved to be an interesting place to visit and we certainly enjoyed the two Wetherspoon watering holes it had to offer. Tomorrow we have designated as a rest day (hooray, no shopping)  and then it's back home. I wonder home many pubs we could visit if we had a week off work, hmm...

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The Bank House - Cheltenham

Visited 27th November 2010.

 

Being on holiday means different things to different people, for me it's the chance to visit a few new pubs and for Mrs S it's the chance to do a little shopping. Fortunately 'The Wetherspoon Challenge' allows us both to get our own way. After a little fussing around we managed to find somewhere to park and after a short walk we are in the town centre. Cheltenham turns out to be a nice place to visit with plenty for Mrs S to do! The Bank House also turns out to be a nice place to visit although very busy. In fact it was so busy it took us a fair while to find somewhere to sit. We liked the place a lot, modern inside with a nicely mirrored staircase leading to the first floor which is where we eventually ended up sitting and it is where I also saw something happen that I have never seen before in a pub.A queue formed at the bar! It's a shortish bar but still wide enough for several people to stand at, but no, a queue formed. It was like being at the post office, even to the point where a young lad walked passed the queue and up to the bar and was immediately told by almost everybody in the queue to get to the back and wait his turn. Eventually the line was served and things reverted back to normal as the the next few customers stood waiting along the length of the bar counter. In my many, many years of visiting pubs I've never seen this happen before... There is a second pub to visit in Cheltenham and having finished our refreshment we set off to find it. We start walking but keep getting sidetracked by the market stalls and then start to wonder how much time we have left on the parking ticket. We can't remember so abandon the search and backtrack to the car park where we find that we only had about ten minutes left , wow good call! Enough of this walking, we decide to drive to the next pub despite it being less then half a mile away...

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The Groves Company Inn - Swindon

Visited 25th November 2010.

After a very short walk we're in our fourth pub of the day. I finally manage to get my Buffalo Trace with Mrs S. mixing her drinks and opting for an orange and passion fruit J2O. This pub is a lot quieter than the others, it's also got a brighter style about it. The barman was on the ball and was keeping track of who was to be served next. An essential skill I always think but all to often lacking. Generally I don't take photos inside the pubs we visit, I think it can be a bit disturbing for my fellow drinkers but occasionally I see something that catches my interest and in this case it was the squiggly lights. Mrs S. also approved - those that know her would regard this as an accolade on a par with receiving an Oscar. We didn't stay to long as Mrs S. still had to go back to Boots to get her shopping. Fortunately for her, upon arriving back at Boots her filled basket was still sitting on the floor where she had dumped it previously and the tills were once again working. In and out in less than five minutes - result. Time to get back on the road, holidays don't get taken on their own!

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The Sir Daniel Arms - Swindon

Visited 25th November 2010.

After leaving 'The Savoy' we managed to get back on track and realised that if we had previously turned left instead of right we would have reached a part of town with two 'spoons in the same road, not next to each other, but close. We picked on 'The Sir Daniel Arms' as the first of the pair to try. It's a nice looking pub inside but a problem quickly arises - no Buffalo Trace, I opt for a Bulleit and Pepsi instead with Mrs S. opting for a Pepsi. Again, it's a busy pub but the lunchtime rush is over now so we are able to find a table with not to much effort. It's a dark pub, two stories and with a dance floor but I was disappointed with the loos - a bit more regular checking required.

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The Savoy - Swindon

 

Visited 25th November 2010.

We make the short, but slow and congested journey into Swindon town and find a car park. Now, we're on foot. The next pub on our 'Swindon' list is 'The Groves Company Inn' and by now I need a drink - Mrs S has just been upset by all the tills going down in Boots after she waited for fifteen minutes and had just reached the head of the queue. However, we take a wrong turn and find 'The Savoy' instead. We pick our way around the work site outside and head in to defrost. Inside is a very nice entrance way and it is very easy to imaging how the cinema was laid out. It was also very busy but Mrs S. managed to find us somewhere to sit while I was getting our drinks. A pint of Okell's Autumn Dawn for me and another large latte for my driver. There was a nice atmosphere inside and we both like the decor a lot but we still had another two pubs to visit so it was on with our hats and out into the cold.

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The Dockle Farmhouse - Swindon

 

Visited 25th November 2010.

We are off on holiday for a few days, and needless to say this involves visiting a few 'spoons. We are going to be travelling the length of the M4 for a couple of hours so it seems only fitting that we should take a break about half way, which means Swindon, for breakfast, at almost lunch time. The Dockle Farmhouse is first on the list and presents us with an immediate problem, where to park. There is a sign saying parking at rear -good. We head to the rear but find ourselves presented with a sign saying the parking is for the pub next door - definitely no Spooners. Second attempt lucky, we find another sign down the road and an entrance to another car park. Time is against us, breakfast stops at twelve so we need to get a hustle on. Second problem... the pub is very big, lots of rooms and lots of tables... lots of choice, come on Mrs S. just pick one! Eventually she does and I manage to get the order placed, just in time. A traditional breakfast and a large breakfast and a couple of large lattes. I pay using Wetherspoon gift vouchers and as usual the bar staff look amazed. "Do we give change with these?". 

However, we both liked the pub, it was warm and comfortable and the staff were quick with our order and clearing the table despite it being quite busy. We head back to the car and into Swindon town centre for our next pub of the day.

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The Moon on the Hill - Harrow

Visited 14th November 2010.

My final pub of the day.  I have a new phone which is providing the SatNav and it is telling me that I can only get close to 'The moon on the Hill'. I park up and use the phone as my guide while I walk the rest of the way. It seems to be about half a mile or so and it is getting cold so by the time I find the pub it is looking very welcoming. It is a wide but not very deep pub, reasonably busy and while I am waiting to be served I realise I cannot find my wallet. Now, I know I had it at the last pub so I stand there checking all my pockets and them my bag... Nothing! Bugger! I leave the pub and set off at a brisk walk back to the car - half a mile or so. I get back to car and after a (very) brief search I find it sitting in plain view in the middle of the passenger seat. Not sure how it got there but as least it's not missing any more. Half a mile back to the pub and by now I'm ready for a pint but have to settle for a large Pepsi! £1.80 for a soft drink... Hmm I always feel cheated at that, maybe if it included free refills I wouldn't feel so bad. Must remember to bring that up with the chairman if I ever get the chance to meet him. I sit and have a quiet drink as it is thinning out a bit now and when I finally leave there are no smokers waiting to assist me so it's a bit an arm stretch. I always look so ill when I do that. As I leave the pub I decide to have a little look round before heading back to the car and so end up turning right instead of left. I only walk a few tens of yards before I realise I can see the 'wrong' end of the road I parked the car in and with a loser look I can see the car. Doh! Oh well, at least I walked the drink off!

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The Village Inn - Rayners Lane

Visited 14th November 2010.

A couple of miles along the road is 'The village Inn'. It's very similar in style to my earlier visit but instead of going up a few stairs to the dining area we go down a few stairs. I had just finished ordering a large latte when Tony introduced himself and then proceeded to introduce me to other regulars. We covered a vast range of subjects from his birthplace in the Seychelles to his hobby of squash, his love of fast cars and even his choice of bed mattress! OK, coffee finished time to take a couple of photos and move on. I tend to look for a silver lining in any situation and the smoking ban means that, as usual there is always a 'cameraman' to be found among the external smoking population. Following a very quick modeling session I'm back in the car and on my way. 

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J.J. Moon's - Ruislip

Visited 14th November 2010.

It's all gone a bit quiet. Son has gone out with his girlfriend, daughter has gone out with her boyfriend and Mrs. S has gone to sleep on the sofa. Vettal has just won the 2010 F1 championship. (A message for Alonso: Vettal is faster than you!) So... What to do? As usual when left to my own devices it's out with the map and into the car. The first visit of the day is to Ruislip. I make it with about fifteen minutes to spare, just in time for a beef roast dinner. Whilst waiting I take a look around. It's a split level pub with a few stairs about half way back leading up to a dining area, nice wooden panelling and it's very busy. As usual when I'm on my own it can be a bit tricky when it comes to taking the photos. However there was a large group of curious smokers outside who were very happy to be stars and one who offered to take some photos. Also, as usual people are always ready to chat and give me a little local history - apparently J.J Moons was once a Woolworths!

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The White Lion of Mortimer - London, Stroud Green nr Finsbury Park

Visited 3rd October 2010.
 
Something a little different today. A friend of ours who is a keen dog fan is doing a charity walk for Dogs Trust and needs a hand getting the mutt mans best friend across London to Finsbury Park. Myself and Mrs S. truth be told are not really used to getting up early but on this occasion the alarm clock works and we managed to get our friend and four legged partner to the park just in time for registration. Now the fun starts. For a tiny person our friend turns out to be very quick and sets of at a cracking pace. Now I tend to amble along, Mrs S. is even slower. There is no way we are going to be able to keep up and it is only a matter of minutes before she is a mere speck in the distance. We complete one circuit of the park and then decide to take a shortcut across the middle and "catch up". We do and manage to spot our friend and let her know that we will just wander around until she has completed her four laps (10Km). And then we sneak of to the pub which is only half a mile down the road. By the time we reach the 'spoons we are both soaked through and not just from the rain. I quickly order a pint of Woodforde's Wheery and a Pepsi then join Mrs S. who has collapsed at a table by the window. We start to take stock of our surroundings which turn out to be decorated in a slightly unusual manner, everything is panelled and appeared to be painted in a very light colour. To be honest we were still drying out and getting our breaths back to take a lot of notice. Complements to Emma, who served us very efficiently. Drinks were drunk and we set off back to the park and met up with our friend. Our absence had gone unnoticed although we did come clean about our off site excursion. Yes... a very different way for us to spend a morning.
For anybody interested in a spot of sponsored dog walking check out http://www.waggywalks.org.uk/


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The William Jolle - Northwood Hills

 

Visited 19th September 2010.

A few miles down along a pretty-ish straight road brought us to our last pub of the day. Fortunately it was pretty straight forward to find which was just as well as the charging socket on my phone, which I rely on for SatNav instructions had fallen off earlier in the day and was now running very low on electricity. Mrs S. doesn't like being lost and was starting to worry that we would never find our way home - I was able to amuse myself for a while by not telling her that we were only about 18 miles from our "home location". The pub itself is essentially one large room, panelled with a light coloured wood, a few alcoves and a few bookshelves. Again, it was fairly busy with a few families eating and lots of couples. Everybody seemed very chatty and cheerful. I opted for one of my now favourite tipples, a double buffalo trace and coke Pepsi with my chauffeur sticking with a small Pepsi. Another nice pub. And that was how the day went, all very nice pubs in their own way but nothing to make either of us say "Wow". Comforting in its own way. Despite no SatNav we made it home without any problems but now I have to get a new phone, stay tuned!

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The Moon and Sixpence - Hatch End

 

 

Visited 19th September 2010.

We found our third pub of the day without any problems and it very much looks the part, dressed up as a quaint, traditional pub, full of alcoves and dark wood panelling. The staff were efficient and eager and produced our coffees in double quick time. I handed over a full loyalty card to pay for one off the coffees and the bar lady forgot to replace it with a blank one but I was only part way through pointing this out and she was off like a greyhound to fetch a new one. A decent local pub.

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The Moon Under Water - Watford

Visited 19th September 2010.

Our second pub of the day turned out to be a few hundred yards up the road, on the same side. Nice and easy to get to. Also narrow and deep but with a dining area half way in on the left. Definitely a quieter more family orientated place but just as busy. We decided to have lunch with myself going for a Sunday roast and Mrs S. going for the BBQ chicken and bacon melt panini. Which was all very nice. Once again Mrs S. had managed to find us a table in the busiest spot in the pub, right outside the kitchen door. All in all, a pleasant visit. We Mrs S. had penciled in a little time to have a look round Watford to check out its shopping potential so it was about another hour before we finally left town in the direction of our next watering hole.

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The Colombia Press - Watford

Visited 19th September 2010.

I had always hoped to try and visit on average one Wetherspoon pub a week but now that "Humbug Season" is fast approaching the plan has become to try and visit a slightly more ambitious one hundred 'spoons by the end of the year. With this in mind we decided to spend today visiting Watford and a little of the surrounding area, our goal being to visit four pubs starting with 'The Colombia Press'. I'm sorry to say that the first on our list turned out to be not at all to Mrs. S. liking. The pub was long and narrow and full of fans watching Manchester United and Liverpool running around chasing a football. It took us a while to find a place to sit as it was so busy and disappointingly I was told I was unable to have the beer I wanted as it was cloudy. Still, the cider was fine. Only a small Pepsi for my driver as she really, really doesn't like football and I knew we wouldn't be staying long. She also had one complaint - smelly toilets. But a plus point, as I said it was busy and while I was waiting at the bar to be served along with several other customers a member off staff appeared to help out and asked the serving barman who was next. The barman was obviously keeping track as he was immediately able to say. Now this should happen all the time but in many pubs it just doesn't!

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The Ice Wharf - London, Camden

Visited 5th September 2010.

Yesterday some friends of ours in 'the Smoke' invited us to a BBQ - how can we possibly say no to that!. It was a great evening with lots of beer, superb food and entertaining company. Having fed and watered us they then gave us a bed for the night, at a stroke saving us from the vagaries of late night public transport. Which brings us to today. The girls want to go shopping and one of the liveliest places for that is Camden, so we take the bus as much of the underground is not working. As it turns out the journey takes forever as there seem to be road works and detours at almost every junction. Eventually we arrive and that's it - the girls are off and the guys get to stand and wait. After a hurried conference the guys decide to wait in the local 'spoons before we are given bags of shopping to 'look after'. The Ice Wharf turns out to be situated next to the lock so we have a picturesque view and as it is a sunny afternoon we are able to indulge in a little people watching. Eventually the girls arrive and we have a few more drinks before setting off to have a look round the Stables Market. If you have never visited Camden markets they are well worth a look as is The Ice Wharf which has a character the fits in well with the vibe of the whole area. Far to soon we had to leave our London friends and head for home which amazingly turns out to be completely uneventful, despite many lines and stations being closed or partially closed. Everything went our way and we didn't have to wait more than a couple of minutes for any of our tubes or train. On the whole well worth a visit.

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The Diamond Tap - Newbury

Visited 27th August 2010.

Some friends of ours from Newbury who we have not seen for about a year now have invited us out for a meal. They know we like the 'spoons and have planned a visit to 'The Diamond Tap', which until recently was a Chicago's. When we arrived we could see that the place was already busy, luckily we had a reserved upstairs table. First impressions were that it was loud and that it had that still very new air about it. Also great chandeliers. We went upstairs where it was a little less busy and with a lot more people eating. It somehow didn't feel like a beer and burger evening so the guys opted large mixed grills with the ladies going for the BBQ chicken melts. The food arrived quickly and with only one mistake, chips instead of a baked potato with one of the chicken meals. About 9pm the already loud music was cranked up several notches (possibly to number 11) making it impossible to talk or even shout although the vibrations coming up through the floor and chairs gave a very pleasant feeling. We had a coffee but missed out on getting the card stamped as the stamp and pens were all downstairs. "Just show your receipt", we were told but it was way to busy to do that. We left shortly after that, passing a full dance floor and most surprisingly an entrance where people were paying to get in. This was a new one on me, I've not come across a 'spoons that required you to pay to get into, even if it is "only" £2 after 10pm. I was so taken aback I forgot to ask if it was only on a Friday. All in all a nice pub if you fancy a boogie* but not quite so good if you fancy a chat with somebody you haven't seen for a year.

*I was up for a bit of dancing but because of my super power - the ability to clear a dance floor in a matter of seconds - Mrs. S is always reluctant to let me let loose when I'm with her.

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The Cap in Hand - Surbiton

Visited 8th August 2010.

Our last pub of the day was an altogether different affair. Just down the road is 'The Cap in Hand' and it's got a car park. Pudding time. A Belgium waffle with chocolate and ice-cream for Mrs S. and the apple crumble for me. We sat in the conservatory to eat with a fine view of the A3. Hmm, what to drink. Whilst I'm not big on change I do like to try different drinks and my curiosity over the strawberry cider turned out to be overwhelming. I should have remembered my previous affairs with chocolate beer and banana beer, they did not end happily. The photo of the drink does not really do the colour justice. In the photo it looks almost brown, in reality it was pink. I cannot complain. I asked for a taste sample first and the pint was everything I expected and did taste of strawberries. Unfortunately I just couldn't finish it! I would like to say that I've learnt my lesson but I also know that if someday I spot mango beer, fish & chip beer or even a hearty cooked breakfast cider I will still be buying a pint to sample.
All in all a pleasant afternoon out with 'The Coronation Hall' being the real jewel in the crown.

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The Coronation Hall - Surbiton

Visited 8th August 2010.

As it turns out The Coronation Hall just down the road from Kingston is also in an old theatre. I spent several minutes chatting with a chap in a blue shirt who was more than happy to tell me some of its history including the fact that Phyllis Dixey, 'The Girl from Surbiton' had performed there as had many famous acts such as Laurel and Hardy. With a pint of spitfire in my hand I spent a few minutes chatting with a couple of other people about the place, everybody had something to say. Whilst taking a photo of the 'Peek-a-Boo' picture a young lady was kind enough to show me how to turn the flash off on my camera (and back on again afterwards) and her friends were kind enough to lean back out of camera shot while also quizzing me on what I wanted the photo for. An interesting pub with more than a few characters.

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