Visited 22nd May 2012.
Something a little different today. I have been to visit an exhibition at the ExCel centre. The day started with a long train journey into London Docklands and was then followed by a very full day listening to speeches and generally being brought up to date with some of the latest Cloud technologies. By the end of the day I was more than ready for a beer. Just a few stops on the DLR followed by a short walk took me to 'The Ledger Building'. It was a warm evening and there were a lot of people standing outside having a drink so I had no problem getting a table in the much cooler interior. Today was steak night so I ordered the 8oz sirloin and a pint of Old Growler. As usual, whenever I've had a steak in a 'spoons, I was asked how I would like the steak cooked. Also as usual I replied medium and also as usual it arrived well done... Well, at least it's consistent! I would like to say a big thank you to the very nice waitress who took the photo for me, so much better than having to try and do a self-portrait. I was hoping that by the time I left the evening train rush would be over and that I might get a seat. Sadly this wasn't the case and I do worry how our train system will cope during the Olympics, I know I won't be trying to use it... I guess we'll find out soon...
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Visited 13th May 2012.
Our final pub of the weekend and the natives were definitely friendly. This was a big pub with lots of nooks and crannies to get lost in and in the centre a strangely shaped staircase. It was very quiet and we had the upstairs floor almost to ourselves. Having found a table I then had to go back downstairs to the bar to order. A burger and another J2O for me and a strange mixture of garlic bread, onion rings and a Malibu and Pepsi for Mrs S. This was probably my favourite pub of the weekend although it was a close things as I quite liked 'The William Tyler' too. We left the pub and headed back to the car with tired bodies and aching feet. It had been quite an exhausting weekend and Mrs S. never did get her keyring. Maybe on the next trip!
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Visited 13th May 2012.
Another short drive and we were in Solihull. Plenty of shops for a bit of keyring hunting but by now Mrs S. had pretty much given up the hunt for the day and just wanted to get home. How could I distract her? How about visiting a 'spoons (for a change). I almost got a smack in the ear from her handbag but despite my size I'm a bit more nimble than I look. Following the obligatory photo we went in. It was a modern style pub with an upside down swan hanging from the ceiling. I ordered a Pepsi for myself but once again Mrs S. went drink free, claiming to be unable to drink another drop. I had a chat with the bar staff and found that our last pub of the day was just a short walk along the road and round one corner. Would we make it? Would Mrs S's handbag find its mark? Stay tuned for the final thrilling installment...
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Visited 13th May 2012.
Another mile and a half down the road and we arrived at 'The Spread Eagle', which turned out to be surprisingly difficult to spot from the road. We ended up driving past it twice before we saw it set back and half hidden from the road. We turned round it and drove passed it for the third time before we found somewhere to park. Inside it was pretty busy but we found a table where we could sit and watch some of the Spanish F1 while drinking our large lattes. It was a bit scruffy inside but comfortable enough, although we left before the end of the race, hoping to make it to the next pub on our list in time to see the finish...
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Visited 13th May 2012.
Less than two miles in the car and we are at 'The William Tyler'. This pub only opened at the start of the year and it felt very new when we entered. There were a lot on nice touches that we liked in this pub, from the bow door handles, to the bottle lights and ornate dragons. Not sure what it all meant but we liked it. I was still on the J2Os but had an apple and mango one this time. Mrs S. had a Pepsi. It was nice and comfortable and we would have stayed longer but once again the lack of suitable shops nearby meant that we had to move on.
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Visited 13th May 2012.
Our second stop of the day was at 'The Hornet'. This one was fairly small and dark and once again there were very few women in evidence. It was however very busy and we thought it might take a while to get served but once again efficient staff soon had me sitting with an orange and passion fruit J2O in front of me. On this occasion Mrs S. had decided to opt out of the round. The lack of keyring laden shops in the neighborhood meant that we needed to move on...
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Visited 13th May 2012.
Day two started with a good fry-up at the hotel so by the time we reached our first 'spoons of the day we weren't really ready for a drink and definitely not ready for anything to eat. However we had to have something so Mrs S. had a cup of tea and I had an apple and raspberry J2O. The place was busy but there were almost no women in there. The service was good and friendly and we felt at home sitting in one of the booths. It would have been easy to remain there for a few hours but we had another five pubs to visit today and Mrs S. didn't want to be home late (and she was still looking for a keyring).
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Visited 12th May 2012.
The plan was to make 'The Bishop Vesey' our last 'spoons of the day before heading off to the hotel. We were definitely ready for a rest! As I was taking the photo of Mrs S. the sign she was leaning on moved on its springs and almost pitched her over. A friendly wag immediately suggested she should pop along to the AA after leaving the pub. I ordered a pint of Backyard Brewhouse Blonde and Mrs S. had a cup of tea. We took our drinks out the back intending to enjoy the sunshine again but ended up sitting in the shade where we quickly got cold so traipsed back inside and then went upstairs. Upstairs we felt as though we were sitting in a small barn, it was light and airy, a contrast to the darker atmosphere downstairs. By now we were starting to get a bit peckish so decided it was time to head for the hotel where we going to have afternoon tea.
The hotel was only a couple of miles away and it wasn't long before we were sat in the bar enjoying our tea and cake. The hotel was fine and after a nap we were ready for dinner but didn't fancy anything on the hotel menu, hmm where should we eat. If you're guessing a 'spoons then you're wrong although we did end up driving back to 'The Bishop Vesey'. We had noticed earlier that across the road there was a Harvester and the lure of free refills and the salad cart tipped the scales. Come on Tim, free refills please.
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Visited 12th May 2012.
We paid for an hour in a car park that turned out to be on the opposite side of the main shopping area so we ended up doing a fairly brisk walk through the town. I had one eye on Mrs SatSav and the other on Mrs S. in case she made a dive for an open doorway and ended up promising her we could look for a keyring on the way back if there was enough time. The pub was busy but we had no problem getting served, Mrs S. with a large latte and a Buffalo Trace and Pepsi for myself. We went looking for somewhere to sit and wandered upstairs where we had a good view of the body moldings hanging high above the bar, but ended up walking back down again and finding a table outside in the sunshine. As it turned out it was so pleasant sitting in the sun that we totally lost track of time, ended up rushing to finish our drinks and finished off with a mad dash back to the car. We arrived back at the car park just in time to see a parking attendant eying up the ticket on the dashboard. He wandered off and we dived into the car with a whole three minutes to spare! Come on Murray, go, go, go. We went...
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Visited 12th May 2012.
Another complete contrast. This pub was very modern and even had a car park next to it. The trip had taken slightly longer than we thought it would due to heavy traffic. Inside it was bright and cool and had a long bar set against the far wall. I liked the lighting above the bar and spent some time admiring it while being served. Once again I had Buffalo Trace and Pepsi with Mrs S. skipping the Malibu and just having the mixer this time. It wasn't very busy which was surprising, I had though there would be more people eating lunch, I wondered where everybody was... Actually we never did find out as we soon left, we had a plan and a timetable to stick to, well sort of...
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Visited 12th May 2012.
We walked from 'The Bole Bridge' in to the town where there was a fair sized market in full swing. We meandered past the various stalls until arriving at 'The Silk Kite'. A complete contrast to the previous pub in looks, it felt a lot smaller and was a lot darker inside. It was very busy and initially we thought we were going to have to sit on some high stools that surrounded the dance floor but then Mrs S. with her eagle vision spotted an empty table. We were a blur as we made our way across the pub and were soon sat down on seats where our feet could reach the floor. I went to the bar and ordered a Buffalo Trace and Pepsi for myself and a Malibu and Pepsi for Mrs S. We did a little people watching while we sat and drank but ended up not staying long as Mrs S. was keen to get back out to the market, she was on the hunt for a keyring. As it turned out she was unable to find one and I was the only one of us to actually buy anything, would you believe it? We headed back to the car with me wondering how I could persuade Mrs S. to carry the very large G-clamp that I had bought. We were still discussing it and I was still carrying it when we arrived back at the car. According to Google the next pub on our list was six and a half miles away, shouldn't take to long to get there then.
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Visited 12th May 2012.
It's been a few months now since we've had any sort of break so we thought that a weekend away might be in order. A quick visit to Groupon a few weeks earlier had resulted in a coupon for a hotel somewhere near Birmingham. I had spent a fair bit of time planning a route (straight up the M40) and producing a list of pubs to visit, eleven in all spread over two days. Packing is starting to come naturally to us now and even though we didn't wake up till about eight we were still out of the house and away by nine, we even managed not to forget anything! The trip was uneventful, as was the parking and we were sat in the pub in time for breakfast. Inside there was a large, open plan area with the decor being mainly red and wood, it was also about half full with many people eating breakfast. Mrs S. went and found a table for us, gave me the number and I was quickly at the bar being served by a very nice man. I ordered the large breakfast and a large latte and scrambled eggs and tea for Mrs S. Having paid for everything I then went and sat down and started reading the paper. I sat there for maybe a minute before Mrs S. asked where the drinks were... Doh! But then just as I started getting up to go back to the bar to get them the 'very nice man' appeared with cups in hand. Excellent service. I thanked him and we had a brief chat about directions to the next pub on my list and then breakfast arrived. Speedy, more excellent service. All in all we both enjoyed our visit to 'The Bole Bridge' but it was time to move on, we had a lot to do...
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Visited 6th May 2012.
It's been a while since I've managed to drag someone new to the 'Wetherspoons Challenge' to a 'spoons with me, but accompanying me today I have a new friend who was feeling a bit bored and fancied a drink. To break him in gently we are only visiting one pub today and it's a relatively new one. The journey was uneventful and being a Sunday we managed to park with no problems. My new friend took the obligatory photo and in we went. The pub, whist being very wide was not very deep and was covered in light wood paneling with a few books at one end of the room. We had no problem getting a table and soon I had a pint of Gold Muddler sitting in front of me. We ended up staying for quite a while just sitting, chatting and generally putting the world to rights. Do I have a new beer buddy, only time will tell, but I have done my best to give him a gentle start...
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