The Metropolitan Bar - London, Marylebone

Visited 17th July 2010.

We find ourselves with some unexpected time on our hands so a quick look at the Wetherspoon directory informs us that there is a 'spoons directly between us and Paddington next to the Baker Street tube station. It turns out to be very easy to find and we are soon sat at a table drinking pints of Green Jackets and admiring the fancy lights and ceiling. For me, surprisingly, this was the Wetherspoons of the day (and the beer was fine too). One thing about this hobby is that you are never quite sure when you are going to find a little gem.
We eventually made it back to Paddington and guiltily stood eating yet another burger whilst waiting for our train. Note to self... Stop eating so many burgers... Ha! Like that's going to happen. An hour and a half later, foot sore and weary, we made it indoors and to bed. Great day!

© John Sinner. None of the material contained in this post, or this blog as a whole, may be reproduced without the express and written permission of John Sinner. All rights reserved.

The Sir John Oldcastle - London, Farringdon

Visited 17th July 2010.

As is usual when I visit London I don't always stick exclusively to Wetherspoons pubs so the next pub on our my list was somewhere slightly different. Well, different for Mrs S. who had never visited a pole dancing establishment before today. The walk to 'The Griffin' produced a small drama as we thought we were about to view an accident as a man who was a little way off from us was almost knocked down by a police car with its blue light flashing. As we got closer we realised that the man was actually on the pavement and that the police car had mounted the path and that two officers had rapidly emerged from the car and were attempted to detain the very bewildered looking man. We stood and watched for a few seconds but then thought we would get out of the way as there suddenly seemed to be a plethora of police vehicles arriving. I wonder what that was all about!

Shank's pony eventually took us passed 'The Sir John Oldcastle' and eventually on to the surprised tones of a doorman informing Mrs S. that there were fully nude ladies inside. And he was quite right, there were. Not sure why but after a pint and four dances Mrs S. announced that she was ready for pudding so it was time to make our exit and walk back to Sir John's. I liked the place, the staff were attentive, our puddings arrived quickly and were not overcooked and we ended up staying slightly longer then planned. This was unfortunate as by the time we left and had walked to our next destination, 'The Knights Templar', it was closed!


Oh dear, we will have to make a return visit to the Holborn area...

© John Sinner. None of the material contained in this post, or this blog as a whole, may be reproduced without the express and written permission of John Sinner. All rights reserved.

Penderel's Oak - London, Holborn

Visited 17th July 2010.

We know there will be a lot of walking today, but fortunately it's not to far to our next planned watering hole. Again it's big and airy inside, so big in fact that it takes us several minutes to find where Mrs S. has found for us to sit and so my friend and I spend several myopic moments wandering around, drinks in hand, looking for her. Wonder of wonders they have Buffalo Trace and I have my customary double and happily sit drinking it watching a "blues and two" fire engine trying to perform a five point turn outside. It finishes its maneuver and disappears from sight (but not sound) and is swiftly followed by a second. We finish our drinks and upon exiting the pub see that the two fire engines are parked up no more than a couple of doors away attending to some smoke wafting from a small shop. In true English tradition we totally ignore what's going on and set off for our third pub of the day.

© John Sinner. None of the material contained in this post, or this blog as a whole, may be reproduced without the express and written permission of John Sinner. All rights reserved.

The Shakespear's Head - London, Holborn

Visited 17th July 2010.

It's Saturday and we have arranged to meet up with a friend and take a trip into the Smoke. We arranged to meet at 11am. At 11.50 he still hadn't appeared so a quick phone call to make sure that he was OK and hadn't overslept revealed that he had a slight headache from the previous night and had indeed overslept. We were slightly later than expected setting off. By the time we arrived at our first 'spoons of the day we were more than a touch peckish and immediately placed our orders for our beer and burgers. I also tried a pint of Bearskillfull - nice. Mrs S. was disappointed her burger took much longer to arrive than ours but at least a waitress did come and apologise and let us know (although not why). The pub itself we liked, dark panelling and plenty of space. A proper, "traditional" Wetherspoons. We have a sort of loosely formed plan involving several more drinks in the area and feel the need to move on... So we do!

© John Sinner. None of the material contained in this post, or this blog as a whole, may be reproduced without the express and written permission of John Sinner. All rights reserved.