Visited 4th February 2012.
The challenge was to get from 'The Moon on the Square' in Feltham to 'The William Webb Ellis' in Twickenham in time to see the second half of of the France v Italy 6 Nations rugby game. Luckily we had a local with us who 'knew' the way and said we wouldn't be needing Mrs SatNav. Sadly, we listened to him and didn't even get close to seeing the second half. Still, on the bright side, we did get there eventually, we did find somewhere to park and when we got in to the pub we did manage to get a table with a very good view of one of the many screens. We ordered some food and drinks (not sure why but I suddenly had a craving for a beer and a burger, well a double burger beef gourmet and guest ale actually with the traditional chicken burger and Pepsi for our designated driver) and settled down to watch the game. The pub was busy with a lot of England fans and as far as I could see both of the Scotland fans, Duffy being one of those. Towards the end of the game I received a text from Stiggy, who wasn't able to make this trip, saying that the snow was starting to settle pretty thickly back home and not to leave it to late so we had a quick look out of the window, couldn't see any snow, so carried on watching the game. We liked the pub, the food, the warming fire, the atmosphere, the staff, Duffy getting hooked on Buffalo Trace and for two out of three of us, the final score. By the time we left the pub it was snowing and the walk back to the car was a little treacherous. The car was covered by the time we reached it and the journey home, while uneventful, took longer than expected and Stiggy was right (she usually is), the snow back home was about 10cm thick. We made it home just in time. This might have big implications for tomorrow though...
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Visited 4th February 2012.
The plan was to meet up with Duffy in Feltham, have a beer, watch the France v Italy game and then to move on to Twickenham for the big one. Mrs S and myself made it to 'The Moon on the Square with plenty of time to spare, well a couple of minutes anyway, but received a text from Duffy saying he was running late due to self inflicted transport problems, so I got the beers in with Mrs S. opting for a Pepsi. The pub was busy (but we didn't see anyone eating) and from the booth where we were sitting we couldn't see the rugby - the screen we could see was only showing a menu of channel options. I went back to the bar to ask if the channel could be set but was told "maybe I will, maybe I won't". As it turned out, he didn't. By now Duffy had arrived and we had found new seats where we could almost see the one screen that was displaying the game. So a change of plan was required. We drank up and headed back to the car intending to try and get to the next venue in time for the second half. This is one pub we won't be returning to. Check out the next post to see if we made it...
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John Sinner. None of the material
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a whole, may be reproduced without the express
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Visited 19th March 2011.
Course training completed and out in time to see the rugby, but where? The Pilgrim Oak is selected and in a short time we are driving round looking for a car park. We find one just a brisk walk away and as it turns out we are in plenty of time to see England play. The pub is popular and there are quite a few families eating, for a while anyway, as a group of very loud, drunk women gradually start to clear the area around them. The staff seem powerless to do anything, I don't know why as I'm sure an equally loud group of men wouldn't have been allowed to drive nearly as many of the customers away. Fortunately they eventually left, much to the relief of the few remaining patrons. And to cap it all England lost, much to the delight of the very happy Irishman sat at the table next to us. Still the food was nice and the beer was good so no complaints there.
On the downside, we were so disappointed and distracted by England losing that when we left we completely forgot to take any pictures. Sorry about that so here's a picture of the bill instead. Now of course I'll have to stand outside the pub for a photo on our next visit to Nottingham!
Update, 19th May 2014: As part of a roadtrip weekend to Sheffield I revisited The Pilgrim Oak and finally managed to get a "selfie" photograph with the pub in the background.
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Visited 13th March 2011.
"Where were we going to watch the Rugby?", that was the question. A quick look at the map and we decided on Leatherhead, no real reason other than it was one of the nearest that we hadn't visited and as it was a last minute decision to go out we hadn't left ourselves much time. Proper "mans" organisation. We made it to 'The Edmund Tylney' with about a half hour to spare and were then able to watch the barman spend ten minutes trying to set the correct channel on the Sky box. It wasn't too busy and we managed to get seated and get our food ordered very quickly. The beef roast for me, along with a pint of Red India ale and Mrs S. selecting the all day brunch. We were with a friend who had offered to be our driver for the day - he opted for the curry (I've yet to see him choose anything else).
The pub was standard 'spoons, that is, large, comfortable, food was fine, beer was great. And to cap it all England managed a win. I guess I should mention the new hat. My daughter had recently visited Disneyland and apparently they are the "height" of fashion there. It certainly caused a bit of a storm walking along the road and come photo call time we were suddenly surrounded!
An excellent afternoon. It always seems a shame to just visit one pub so I had previously checked the map and had also planned a visit to North Cheam. I imparted this knowledge to our driver who was more than happy to oblige!
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Visited 14th February 2010.
It's back to the car and a short drive down the hill to the seafront. We find an expensive car park and start to search on foot for our next target. The first thing we find is a much cheaper car park! Still, we know we're in the right area but we must find it quickly as the girls want pudding! Whoops, they get side tracked by the shops. I put it to them that it really was time we to the pub for some toffee pudding while forgetting to mention that England had been playing Italy for some time now. Eventually we made it and I was able to sit with my pint of of Silent Slasher and see the last few minutes of the game, which we won, Hurrah! The pub itself was warm and busy and the girl who served us was very pleasant. But we can't sit around enjoying ourselves, the shops don't shop themselves and we still have one more pub to visit.
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