Chapel an Gansblydhen - Bodmin

Visited 29th November 2013.

We left The Perkin Warbeck and drove the hundred miles to the next pub on our list, it was goodbye Somerset and finally hello Cornwall. As it turned out we arrived just after the turning on of the Christmas lights and the town and more especially the pub was heaving with people. Inside there were two small floors and nowhere to sit on either of them. Mrs S. went off in search of a couple of seats while I headed towards the bar. Unsurprisingly it took quite a while to get served, with a Pepsi for me and a Sailor Jerry and Pepsi for Mrs S. Unable to find any spare seats we stood at the bar and had a chat with some of the locals who turned out to be quite a sociable bunch. This was to be the last pub of the day for us, next stop, somewhere to sleep.

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The Thomas Lloyd - Warwick

Visited 15th December 2012.
 
For our final pub of the day we had to drive a bit further but at least it was in the general direction of home. We arrived in Warwick just as the market was starting to close and just as we were starting to lose the light so we hurriedly took a few photos and then went for a look around the town. We ended up buying a lot of sweets and some Christmas lights before returning to the pub for a drink. I liked this pub a lot, mainly due I think to it being a lot larger inside than it first appeared with what seemed to be lots of side rooms or "alcovey" bits. Again it was busy and it took us a few minutes to find somewhere to sit. We did eventually and I was then promptly dispatched to the bar to purchase another couple of hot chocolates, our drink of the day it seems. We sat and read the Wetherspoons magazine while consuming our drinks before deciding it was finally time to leave the warmth of the pub and once again brave the rain. It had been quite an exhausting weekend with a Christmas party and five pubs visited. I wonder where we will be this time next year?

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The Spon Gate - Coventry

Visited 15th December 2012.

Yesterday Mrs S. and I drove to Birmingham for my company Christmas party. We had a bit of a boogie, a few beers and spent the night in a very nice hotel. We decided to take advantage of the situation and spend to day visiting a few 'spoons (wow, I bet came as a bit of a surprise!) The first pub on my list was 'The Spon Gate' in Coventry. Actually it wasn't, the first was meant to be 'The Flying Standard' but after parking and asking a police lady for directions, she thought it would be easier to point us to 'The Spon Gate'. It was fairly dark inside and had a dance floor at the far end. It was also fairly busy with about half of its tables occupied. Mrs S. had a Pepsi and I had a Buffalo Trace and Pepsi. We both quite liked this one but had a busy day ahead of us so we were off as soon as we had finished our drinks.

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The King of Wessex - Bath

Visited 10th December 2011.

Yesterday was the company Christmas party and they had kindly put myself and Mrs Sinner up in a very nice hotel in the Cotsworlds. We had a great evening and the breakfast this morning wasn't to bad either. We have arranged to meet up with some friends in Newbury tonight so we have to decide whether to drive home, almost passing through Newbury and then drive back or find something else to do to pass the day... Hmm, a little Christmas shopping in Bath maybe?
We hadn't been to Bath for many years and the one thing I remembered about it was that it was not the most car friendliest of cities. As it turned out it has got worse, but we eventually managed to find somewhere to park only about half a mile away from our target 'spoons. A bit of a walk later and we are sat down with a pint of Pepsi for me and a large latte for Mrs S. The pub was one of the narrow but long pubs with some booths along the right hand side and some purple mood lighting in the ceiling. It was pretty busy but we got served quickly  and with a friendly smile. We didn't stay to long as Mrs S was keen to take a look around the city, which was heaving with people. We found the Christmas market and bought a few small items before heading back to the car. We still had a busy day ahead of us, lots of pubs to visit before meeting our friends in Newbury .
 
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The Moon Under Water - London, Leicester Square

Visited 18th December 2009.

I've booked a day off work to pop into 'the smoke'. The plan is to meet up with a friend and visit a couple of Wetherspoon pubs and then take in a few of the sites. Unbelievable, it's not raining! I wake up and find there's five inches of snow instead. A cold thirty minute hike gets me to train station where I'm surprised to find the trains are still running, as is the underground (well most of it anyway). We have arranged to meet up in Leicester Square. As I'm early I have a quick 'Christmas Kiss' while I'm waiting and sit and read the latest Wetherspoon News. My friend arrives and we start on the Buffalo Trace. We like the pub but it's very busy and the noise from the temporary fairground outside provides the excuse to move on.

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The Bright Helm - Brighton

Visited 13th December 2009.

Getting to Brighton didn't take to long but we queued for about 20 minutes to get into a car park. We immediately had to start shopping - no time to waste, at least that's what Mrs S. and Jess said. Jess started trying on clothes and went for the Daisy look while Ray and I thought about looking for some plumbing outfits! Luckily everybody was a bit hungry so we went in search of the Bright Helm. After asking a friendly local we had our directions with the advice that "you can't miss it". Within seconds of leaving our friendly local we had forgotten the directions and ended up guessing. He was right though, you can't miss it. It's a big place and was very busy (as was Brighton). A quick lunch and a pint was all we were allowed though as the girls felt we needed to do some more shopping. Finally they were shopped out and we headed to the "world famous" Brighton Pier for a look around. By now it was cold and dark and pancakes were needed... (apparently!)
Our last pub to visit was at the marina. My idea of walking there was shot down (I confess I didn't fight for the idea to hard) so it was back to the car. Weather report - still raining, but not as hard!

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