Goodman's Field - Greater London, Tower Hamlets

Visited 15th April 2012.
 
Our final 'spoons of the trip was 'The Goodman's Field'. Regular readers will have noticed that so far I have not mentioned Mrs SatNav, that will now to be rectified. The nearest tube station on the Hammersmith & City line to the pub is Aldgate East which isn't to far away from the pub. Sadly we didn't know the way so we turned the route navigation over to Mrs SatNav who promptly took us in the wrong direction (we eventually realised) so the walk to the pub was a lot longer than it needed to be. But we made it, finally. The pub felt as though it was one of the smaller 'spoons we have visited but it was doing a brisk trade in breakfasts and the place was pretty full. Still full from our breakfasts and pretty much coffee'd out we opted instead for a small Pepsi each. We finished up and left, taking a much more direct route back to the tube station where we once again went in search of a member of staff to let us through the barriers. Next stop Paddington where we found we had a half hour wait for the next train to take us home. For me 'The Half Moon' was the pub of the day but Mrs S. preferred 'The Goodman's Field', yesterday's pub of the day was probably 'The Rocket' for the view over the Thames. Highlight of the weekend had to be the bit off Brazilian style beef we had at the BBQ on Saturday night - delicious.
  
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The Half Moon - Greater London, Mile End

Visited 15th April 2012.
  
As we had stayed overnight at our friends house we were still in London. Hmm, what to do today? Our friend was working and had left for work very early, in fact we were still asleep when he left so after letting his dogs out, and back in we left and headed to the nearest tube station where we found we had another two tickets that wouldn't work the barriers. We had a bit less of a plan today so we thought we would keep it simple and find somewhere to go that didn't involve to much mucking about on the trains. We ended up detraining at Stepney Green, just a short walk away from the 'The Half Moon'. When we first entered we thought we were the only people in there as there was no one about that we could see and the bar appeared to be closed. But then, why would the doors be open? We went further in and as we rounded a corner the pub seemed to suddenly open out. Quite unusual but at least we had found some people and another bar. It was quiet and Mrs S. had no problem finding a table while I went and ordered a large breakfast for me, a breakfast wrap for Mrs S. and two large lattes for the both of us. We sat and ate while watching the place start to fill up with a lot more people ordering breakfasts. The staff were friendly and very efficient and I quite liked the interesting interior design. We didn't want to be late getting home today so we decided to visit just one more pub and then head back. So we wanted a pub somewhere between Stepney Green and Paddington, fortunately I had already thought about this and we didn't have to use Mrs S.'s 'pin in the map' method of navigaton (also how she chooses her horses). With this in mind we headed back to Stepney Green tube station in search of a member of staff to allow us passage through the barriers...
  
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The Rockingham Arms - Greater London, Elephant & Castle

Visited 14th April 2012.
  
We got back on the Northern line for our final pub of the day at the Elephant and Castle. Once again, a very busy pub but the staff were working well and the service was good. Mrs S. sat with her large latte and bag of nuts, me with my pint of John Smiths and bag of Hula Hoops watching the staff refusing to serve a drunken man and checking ID's. The pub had a modern look to it but was a bit scruffy. We didn't stay to long as we needed to get moving so that we weren't late meeting our friends. As it turned out we did end up arriving later than we intended due to a problem on the Hammersmith line but we had a very nice evening, the BBQ was great and we went to bed exhausted after our very busy day!
  
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The Moon Under Water - London, Balham

Visited 14th April 2012.
  
Another short tube ride (in fact it took longer to get through the barriers than the ride lasted) and we were in Balham. Once again, we could see the pub from the tube station so it wasn't to arduous a walk for us. It was dark and fairly busy inside but we managed to get a table where we could sit and watch the race. Once again I went for a double Buffalo Trace and Pepsi with Mrs S. opting for a double Malibu and Pepsi. And they're off... eventually... after a few false starts... again. Mrs S. had three horses running, as had I. Very early on one of my horses fell, another refused a fence and my third managed to struggle in to fourth place. Woohoo! Mrs S. on the other hand was getting very excited as her horse Shakalakaboomboom was leading... Edge of the seat stuff followed, at least for Mrs S. Sadly Shakalakaboomboom faded towards the end of the race and after leading for most of it ended up not being placed. However with typical Mrs S. luck she had managed to pick the winner, Neptune Collonges and the third place horse, Seabass. How does she do that? Time to make a move, we have one more pub to visit before meeting up with our friends.

  
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J.J. Moon's - London, Tooting

Visited 14th April 2012. 

A short tube ride later and we are in Tooting and from the station entrance we can see our target. Mrs S. takes the photos and then in we go, only to find it is quite narrow and seems to be quite small. And very busy. Mrs S. heads off in to the darkness, past the books and booths and manages to find us a table near the back, which turns out to be quite a long way back. I, meanwhile am at the bar ordering a double Malibu and Pepsi for Mrs S. and a double Buffalo Trace and Pepsi for myself. We dawdled with our drinks as we still had plenty of time and I knew the next pub was also near to a tube station. Although we had been finding that it could take a few minutes to get in and out of the stations today. The tickets we had bought would not work the gates and the railway bods refused to replace them with ones that would. This meant that at every gate we had to find a member of staff to open the gates for us. Although we complained every time it was apparently impossible to do anything about the situation and it was just something we were going to have to put up with. Can you imaging during the Olympics thousands of people clogging up the tube system because their tickets, although valid, don't work the tube station gates. Come on Boris, this sort of thing should have been sorted years ago! Rant over - and it's off to Balham.

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The Wibbas Down Inn - London, Wimbledon

Visited 14th April 2012. 

From the Wimbledon underground station we had a bit of a walk to 'The Wibbas Down Inn' (great name) which was nice in the sunshine. By now it was lunchtime and it was pretty busy inside with a lot of people eating. So we thought we would too. Mrs S. ordered the ham and eggs with a Pepsi and I went for the chilli with a pint of John Smiths. We had managed to get a table almost directly in front of one of the screens where we could watch the start of the Grand National coverage. We still had plenty of time before the race started but we had already started planning where we should be to watch the race. Mrs S. usually manages to pick one of the top three, I usually managed to pick the first horse to fall. But I felt this year would be different!!! We had started our journey on the District line and the plan had been to walk from 'The Wibbas' to South Wimbledon where we would pick up the Northern line and visit a few pubs near to the stations on that line. I asked a barmaid for directions who gave me the best instructions ever with every route marker being a theatre, nightclub, pub or kebab shop. We had no trouble finding the station. 

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The Rocket - London, Putney

Visited 14th April 2012.

We have been invited to a BBQ at a friends, a perfect excuse to trundle into London and visit a few pubs. So, after checking the maps and the Transport For London (TFL) website we walked to the station, ran for the platform and sat for the ride to Paddington. The first pub on our list was in Putney, nearest tube station, Putney Bridge. This meant that we would have to talk a stroll over the bridge, not the sort of thing Mrs S. enjoys. If she can see water from a bridge she starts to get a bit nervous but she made it across by staring at the sky and holding my hand. I didn't feel it prudent to tell her we would have to walk back over it, at least not until she'd had her first latte of the day. I thought I would start the day as I meant to go on and had a Buffalo Trace and Pepsi. It was modern and dark inside, at least at the end of the bar where we were served but as the sun was shining we thought we would find a table overlooking the river and catch a few rays. After finishing our beverages, it was back across the bridge to the tube station and on to Wimbledon for the second pub of the day. 

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The Robert Fitzharding - Bristol

Visited 1st April 2012.
 
After leaving 'The Berkeley' we set off at a gentle amble back down the hill, across Queen Square and back to Temple Meads. As soon as we were in the car Stiggy removed her shoes to give her feet a rub. After a very vocal protest from me and Mrs S. she put them back on again, but it was far to late, she had already reaffirmed why she had the nickname Stiggy. We drove from Temple Meads to Clifton where we had a walk across Clifton Suspension Bridge and took a few more photos. If you have never seen it, it's well worth a visit as there are some spectacular views and the bridge itself also looks good. Having done our "culture" for the day it was back to the car for the drive to 'The Robert Fitzharding', our last pub of the day. We managed to park just around the corner, no problem parking at that time of night. It had been a long day and by now we were all starting to feel a little weary, so much so that we almost collapsed in to some window seats. We sat with our large lattes and biscuits balanced and warming on the top of the cup and chatted about the bridge. It was the first time that Mrs S. and Stiggy had seen it and both agreed that it had been worth the trip. (I wonder what they'll make of the Queen Elizabeth II bridge when we eventually get round to visiting a few 'spoons out Dartford way? Oh crap, Bluewater is out that way too.) It was a peaceful journey back, no chatter, the only noise being the gentle snoring of my passengers... Pub of the day? V-Shed.

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The Berkeley - Bristol

 











Visited 1st April 2012.
 
Once again we trusted our luck to Google and once again it failed us miserably. We eventually ended up doubling back on ourselves before being pointed in the direction of a steep hill. The pub was at the top but luckily (for some) there was a "must visit" shop about half way up where we paused for a break. A little more retail therapy obviously did the trick as the girls were happy to do a little modeling before our next drink. By now we were starting to wimp out a little and breakfast was starting to wear off. Two small Pepsis, one large, a bag of monster munch and two bags of crisps seemed to do the trick while we sat and eased our aching feet. It was quite dark inside and on first impressions seemed like quite a small place but there was a surprise for us as we took a look around. Not obvious from the entrance was the ceiling piece, our second of the day. The staff were very helpful and also brought us a small pudding to try - "new on the menu", they said. Having been 'fed' and watered we felt ready to head back to the car. Next stop, Clifton.

© 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.

V-Shed - Bristol

Visited 1st April 2012.
 
We followed the directions we had been given, passed the fountains and soon spotted the V-Shed. Easily the busiest pub we had visited so far today. Stiggy had been telling me how to "feed the pony" en-route (a phrase I'd never heard before) much to Mrs S. disapproval. Mrs S. took some photos, just me this time as Stiggy had legged it into the pub before I had a chance to grab her. The inside of the pub pub was divided up into three floors and we headed straight to the top where the girls grabbed a table and I was dispatched to the bar to order two sticky toffee and custard puddings, a crumble and custard, two lattes and another refreshing larger shandy for myself. The girls sat and chatted while I was left to work out how to get to the next pub on my list. We all liked the great location of this pub along with the view, certainly our favourite of the day so far, but we still had two more to go...

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The Commercial Rooms - Bristol

Visited 1st April 2012.
 
We had a plan, a list of pubs, a smart phone with Google maps, what could go wrong? As it turned out Google maps walking directions is still in Beta and led us on a bit of a mystery tour before the girls said enough was enough and just started walking in what turned out to be an almost homing pigeon like example of how to get to the shops. I decided to let them have their way on this one as it seemed to have a calming effect on them both. Several shops and many bags later I was instructed to find the next pub as they wanted a drink and a rest. Google said 'The Commercial Rooms' was the nearest so we followed the directions and after only one "shortcut"  ended up at the entrance where my companion Stiggy reluctantly joined me for the obligatory photo session. If her expression in the photo looks a little strained it was because she was being wedgied. Inside was a large, high ceilinged room with an unusual yellow and orange paint scheme. Stiggy and I had a larger shandy each with Mrs S. supping on a Pepsi. I then had a chat with a friendly barman who pointed us in the direction of the next nearest 'spoons... and we're walking...

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The Knights Templar - Bristol

Visited 1st April 2012.
 
I was starting to suffer from withdrawal symptoms from not having visited any Wetherspoon pubs during March. This definitely needed to be rectified so a day trip to Bristol was planned. The plan was to allow the girls to do a bit of shopping, visit a few pubs and also take a look at Clifton Suspension Bridge. As it turned out Biggles couldn't make the trip so it was just me, Mrs S. and Stiggy. We were up early and made good time in getting to Bristol but, as usual in the big cities parking turned out to be a bit of a problem. Anyway to cut a long story short we found a car park near to The Square but then couldn't get the 'Pay by Phone' service to work and as it was the only way to pay gave up and went in to Bristol City centre where I refused to pay £20 to park and ended up driving to Temple Meads railway station where we managed to find a pay machine that not only took coins but also worked. I was able to enter an almost zen like state to these frustrations but unfortunately the girls couldn't and tempers seemed to be getting a little frayed. The ladies abandoned me and went in search of the pub, leaving me to complete the parking process... By the time I caught up with them Mrs S. had ordered three breakfasts and three small lattes and they seemed a little more chilled. The pub itself was modern, bright and surprisingly busy given its location. The breakfasts were fine and we left the pub in much better spirits ready to tackle the rest of Bristol.

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