Destination Bloxwich

A northbound bus from Walsall dropped me in Bloxwich on the evening of Wednesday 27 November, 2020.

I was keen to visit The Bloxwich Showman since reading about the Wetherspoon pub in Martin (retiredmartin) Taylor's 'A wet Wednesday in Walsall' blog post after his visit a week previously.

The photos I took, including one of the unique carpet (above), should complement Martin's to give a bigger picture of the converted cinema!

With plenty of space inside, this was a good place for a meal break with a soft drink after an afternoon of drinking beer in historic Walsall pubs as a member of Tony Lea's tour for the 'Farnham Trubbellers'.

A framed print shows the front elevation of the Grosvenor Cinema dated 1921. A Commissionaire is illustrated standing in a uniform at the entrance. Pat Collins (The Bloxwich Showman) had the cinema built to replace the Electric Palace Theatre which he had operated. The premises were purchased by JD Wetherspoon and opened as The Bloxwich Showman in January 2015.
The pub appears in CAMRA's Good Beer Guide 2020 (replacing the Wheatsheaf which was featured in 2019) and this explains the reason for Martin's recent visit as part of his mission to visit all the pubs in the Guide.

The Turf Tavern

Martin did not have time to visit 'the legendary Tinkie’s (the Turf Tavern)' but this is where I had arranged to meet up again with the 'Farnham Trubbellers' after its 7pm opening time.

28/11/2019 The Turf Tavern, Bloxwich - Crookham Travel's Gerald Daniels (nearest to entrance)

The exterior does nothing to dispel its reputation as 'the last truly unspoilt terraced pub left in the country' quoted in CAMRA's historic pub interiors entry which includes a few rare interior photos.

The weathered sign over the entrance refers to Doris Hiscott-Wilkes. 'Known as Tinky's, the pub has been in the same family ownership since around 1875.' Tony Lea's tour notes mention 'Zena the landlady asked us if I had been before and gave us the 'no photos' warning'. My Google search revealed a family announcement from the Express & Star that Doris Hiscott, nee Wilkes, 'Sadly passed away in the Walsall Manor Hospital on Sunday, May 3, 2015'. Zena is Doris's daughter.

Before I was served at the bar I was asked if I was with 'the group' and reminded that no photography is allowed inside the pub. There were boxes of small sheets of scrap paper (for betting purposes?)  and I used one to make a rough sketch of the interior room on the right of the entrance hallway which was the only room open. There is a central pole supporting a beam where a load bearing wall may once have stood.

I enjoyed a pint of Hobson's Town Crier (£2.90). Tony Lea enjoyed Beowulf Dark Raven and commented on Untappd 'What an absolute gem of a pub. It’s stuck in a time warp so glad I got to see it. 3 beers on and this ones another classic stronger mild.'. David 'Tankard' Bunyan also logged his beers at this 'Classic Grade II listed pub known as Tinky's served by Zena' on Untappd.

[Photo: David Bunyan]

Tankard obtained permission from Zena to take a photo of a certificate presented by Gerald Daniels of Crookham Travel after a previous visit to the pub in December 1998. I can't imagine that Gerald noticed many changes to the interior of the pub since this previous visit.
With no photos allowed my notes included: William Morris floral wallpaper on chimney breasts, varnished wood benches of wooden strips, red and black tiled floor, cream-coloured embossed wallpaper, two chimney breasts one mounted with a clock (C) and the other with a mirror (M), low bench in front of the bar.
The only lighting was from two bare light bulbs above each end of the bar. During our visit a lamp standing on the bar counter near the rear window was also switched on for some additional light.
Before leaving, a visit to the Gents toilets, reached via a dimly lit yard, was rewarded by the sight of the 'massive 100 year old urinals'.

A trip to Tinky's is recommended for anyone wanting to enjoy beer in the traditional fashion, with no intrusive music or TV. Don't leave it too long for an opportunity to travel back in time at Tinky's!

A 25 minute bus journey on the National Express West Midlands 60 service took us from the stop near the pub to Wolverhampton. We changed here for a bus to Stourbridge.
See separate post for details of Stourbridge pubs visited later.

From Stourbridge to the Bull and Bladder

A pleasing way to arrive in Stourbridge is on the West Midlands Railway shuttle from Stourbridge Junction to Stourbridge Town. This was the final stage of my train journey from Newbury via Reading and Worcester on Tuesday 26 November, 2019.

The small railway vehicle heads downhill on the 0.8 mile branch line which can claim to be the shortest in Europe.

After crossing the ring road, a short walk along Stourbridge High Street leads to the Talbot Hotel, a traditional coaching inn which dates back to the 1630s.
I had time to take a photo of the High Street from the second floor bedroom before noticing that the shower fitting was damaged and leaking into the bath. After returning to reception via the creaking staircase I was able to change keys for a different room.

The hall passage to the rear second floor bedroom gave views of the hotel's open courtyard. The tower of St Thomas' Church beyond could be seen from this bedroom. All the floors appear to be sloping at second floor level!
A short walk via Victoria Passage led to Barbridge, based in an old retail unit since 2015.

Barbridge, Stourbridge  [Photo: Mark Geeson]

Mark Geeson and the 'Farnham Trubbellers' were already well established on the high level seating and the only seat I could find was at low level! Mark established that our group included CAMRA members from seven different branches. This is a bar with an appeal to all ages that features music memorabilia.

A blackboard lists four cask beers and four keg beers. My first beer here was Black Iris Snake Eyes, a 3.8% ABV hoppy pale (£2.90 pint 'Happy Hour'). Blues music was playing on the sound system. Our attempts to revisit this bar on subsequent days were unsuccessful as it may have closed early.

As Craddock's Brewery is based at the Duke William, Stourbridge, this was the next pub we decided to visit.

The Duke William was the second Craddock's pub to open in Stourbridge (in 2009). The brewery was installed at the Duke William in March 2011.

Trevor - The Duke William

The Duke William has atmospheric lighting, a fireplace with a stove, and hops for decoration.
Pieminister pies are available with a blackboard above the fireplace giving further details.

My first beer here was Craddock's King's Escape, a 4.7% ABV cask ale. Craddock's pubs have a loyalty card system where stickers are given for each beer and once a card is filled with eight stickers a free beer is offered. Our group were soon able to fill a card!

The Vine Inn aka The Bull and Bladder - Farnham Trubbellers assemble!

A trip through residential streets on a National Express West Midlands number 8 bus service from Stourbridge Interchange to Delph Road, Brierley Hill, took us close to the Vine Inn, also known as the Bull and Bladder. This is the home of Batham's beers.

The public bar on the right of the entrance has an Edwardian bar and a three-bay bar-back with a central clock and a bell for calling 'time'. On arrival, only Batham's Bitter was available but this was the beer that I had been looking forward to drinking.

As the public bar was already busy our large group found tables in another of the rooms and carried our beers through.

One of the large cheese and onion cobs from the bar made an ideal accompaniment for a favourite beer. Martin Taylor's Bull & Bladdered blog post, about his visit to the Vine in April 2019, includes photos of the public bar and a cob at this 'classic pub' which is featured in CAMRA's inventory of historic pub interiors.

A long room at the back of the building has further seating and a darts board over a fire place.

Thanks to an earlier arrangement made by Mark Geeson, our group was privileged to be invited on a tour of the large cellar by landlord Tom. He mentioned that at busy times, the pub can empty a hogshead (54 gallons - shown in photo) in a day. There were also barrels (36 gallons) of Batham's beer in the cellar. (For comparison, the largest size container of cask ale seen in pubs in the south of England is usually a firkin (9 gallons) although brewers supplying CAMRA's Great British Beer Festival are asked to use kilderkins (18 gallons)).

Photo: Mark Geeson

Bitter, Mild and (seasonally) XXX are the three Batham's beers served. Roger Protz's 'Black Country family affairs' article in What's Brewing (January 2020, with same text as linked Protz On Beer blog post) has more details about Batham's 'delicious and uncomplicated' beers, from the brewery located behind the pub.
After this enjoyable introduction to the Black Country and its beers we would catch a bus back to Stourbridge and our hotel for rest before a visit to Walsall the next day.

Hammersmith rendezvous

Originally planned for Shoreditch, a rendezvous with Martin Taylor, to hand over copies of the winter Ullage magazine, was switched to Hammersmith to minimise travel. A first visit to the new Mikkeller and Goose Island bars in Shoreditch will now be the subject of a future post.

Old Suffolk Punch

From the Hammersmith roundabout, the Old Suffolk Punch is a short walk south along the busy Fulham Palace Road, a damp prospect on Wednesday 5 December.

Arriving before Martin, and being familiar with the cask ales from West Berkshire Brewery, I ordered Watneys The Cosmo and looked for a table that was not occupied or reserved by Tash for the weekly AdVenture quiz night.
When Martin arrived he ordered West Berkshire Brewery's flagship Good Old Boy bitter and joined me. I am grateful that he could find space in his bag for some copies of Ullage to distribute to fellow pub bloggers and perhaps even feature in his own retiredmartin blog posts and @NHS_Martin tweets. (Ullage magazine regularly includes Boak & Bailey and Curmudgeon columns.)

The pub was tastefully decorated for the Christmas season, mainly around the entrance, near our table. With large windows at the front and south side, this part of the pub might be compared to a goldfish bow. A tip for anyone requiring seating with less external distractions would be to head towards the deep red wall of the lower level rear section.

At 5pm, staff distributed menus to the tables. The left side of the menu has various chip based dishes. Veg, meat and fish main dishes occupy the centre. On the right are details of live music on Fridays, Saturday brunch and Sunday roast (with unlimited gravy).
After discussing the White Horse, Parsons Green, as a possible next stop we decided on a closer alternative, within walking distance, the Dove.

 Dove

After a stop for coffee at a branch of Leon in the Broadway shopping centre above Hammersmith station, we headed under the Hammersmith Flyover and along Hammersmith Bridge Road, towards the river Thames..

Shadows playing on the curved white walls of the Hammersmith Bridge Road Surgery merited a quick photo. Heading west along Lower Mall, on the north bank of the Thames, we passed The Blue Anchor and the Rutland Arms before reaching the Dove on Upper Mall, just beyond Furnivall Gardens.

After the damp walk it was pleasantly warm inside the bar area of the Fuller's pub but all the seats were taken. The handpumps are on a section of the bar that serves a small front room but the pumpclips are angled to be visible. Martin was pleasantly surprised to receive change from £10 for his round which included Martin's Bengal Lancer and my pint of Fuller's Off Piste IPA.

This was my first taste of the pale gold IPA brewed using lager malt and wheat and hopped with Saaz, Chinook and Citra. Although brewed for the winter I hope it will become a permanent fixture and made widely available as it matches my style and taste preferences.
An effort to find a table in the dining area of the pub, up a few steps from the bar area, was thwarted by a staff member who denied us access unless we were dining. We retreated and propped up the bar for a while.

We were then granted temporary access to a table in the dining area which was not busy at this early part of the eveing. The beamed ceiling, framed pictures, subdued lighting and log fire made this area feel rather cosy and sophisticated.

Plough & Harrow

After crossing the Great West Road, we walked to King Street and entered the Plough & Harrow, a Wetherspoons located underneath the Holiday Inn Express. This was a complete contrast to the Dove, with a busy clientele of mainly older men and some animated conversations. My round was much cheaper than Martin's as the £2.15 pint for cask ale was discounted by 50p by using a 50p CAMRA voucher. Here I enjoyed Enefeld London Pale Ale from Enfield Brewery. Most of the seating was stools and high tables so we settled for an elevated view.

My only photo here was to log the unique pattern of the carpet, one of the distinctive features of Wetherspoon pubs that can add some interest to a first visit. Like the Dove, the Plough & Harrow is also listed in CAMRA's Good Beer Guide 2019.
It would soon be time to say goodbye to Martin whose permanent exploration of places, pubs, people and new music would now take him to the End of the Road festival Christmas party at Corsica Studios, Elephant & Castle.

William Morris

As there was time for another beer, before I headed to Paddington for the fast 20.03 train back to Newbury, I left Martin on King Street, near the Lyric Hammersmith, and entered the William Morris.

The Wetherspoon pub is named after the designer who lived at Kelmscott House, Hammersmith, from 1878 until his death in 1896. This pub was also busy but with a more varied clientele, including  women and younger drinkers.

Happily, a pint of cask ale could again be purchased for £2.15. It was nice to find Razzle Dazzle, a seasonal golden ale hopped with Cascade, from Loddon Brewery on the bar.

From my stool at a high table by the bar I could see a blackboard at the side of the bar mentioning that 2,313 pints of real ale were sold in the previous week. This equates to 32 casks of ale and might explain why my pint was in good condition.

Before leaving to catch a Circle Line train from Hammersmith to Paddington, a visit downstairs to the Gents, involved passing an interesting artwork - 'Six Seconds' by Thomas Winstanley. In my view, it's always good to see artists' original work featured in pubs.

Cheers! to Martin for guidance around Hammersmith and for suggesting that a blog post to commemorate the evening would be worthwhile.

 

Social Oxford Saturday

It was an honour to be invited by Martin to join an Oxford pub crawl on Saturday 24 February, 2018 which would include pubs on the map below.

Martin a.k.a. NHS_Martin on Twitter regularly updates his retiredmartin (Travel, Pubs, Music) blog with posts about his visits to pubs in connection with his mission to visit every pub listed in CAMRA's Good Beer Guide. Martin's posts always include a catchy title eg 'Tottering with Tim Thomas to the Turf Tavern'- an inspiration for the title of this post. If only I could adopt Martin's admirable ability of posting in a timely fashion instead of waiting until many relevant details have escaped my memory.

I arrived at Oxford station by train at 11.20am on a cold and bright morning. Heading towards town I noticed that Oxford has been colonised by colourful fleets of bicycles since my last visit. An encounter with perforated tyres, a feature of Pony Bikes, called for a photograph.

Walking down Lower Fisher Row and Paradise Street beside the Castle Mill Stream, an ivy covered Saxon St George's Tower, a remaining part of Oxford Castle, also deserved a photo.

My destination was the Swan & Castle, a contemporary Wetherspoon pub opposite the new Westgate shopping centre and beside an access route to Oxford Castle Quarter.
Friends have told me that a Wetherspoon breakfast is the best way to start a pub crawl but today was the first time I graduated from a bacon roll to a full breakfast. Complemented with a 'bottomless' cup of coffee, my brunch cost less than £5.
I was already on my second Flat White when Martin and Christine (aka Mrs RM) arrived to join me for coffee.
We walked to the Victorian era St Aldate's Tavern via Bonn Square and past Oxford Town Hall, the venue for CAMRA's Oxford Beer and Cider Festival in October.

Cheers to Martin for my first beer of the day, a half of Wild Weather Ales Pirate Captain 6.5% ABV Jester IPA. As the narrow bar area downstairs was full we headed upstairs to 'The Blue Room' where Winter Olympic coverage was on the flat screen TV prior to the Six Nations Rugby.
We made ourselves comfortable and were soon joined by the rest of our erudite companions - Peter  (Twitter's Pub Curmudgeon) whose The Pub Curmudgeon blog includes a link to the Beer and Pubs Forum. Other contributors to the Forum who joined us were Paul Mudge, Jon Benger, Michael a.k.a Citra and Oxford resident, Tim Hampson. A photo of the group appears later in this post.

As editor, this was my proud opportunity to hand out copies of the winter issue of Ullage - the West Berkshire CAMRA magazine, which includes a regular Curmudgeon column by Peter. I was also able to give Peter a proof copy of his column in the Spring issue. Martin promised not to set fire to his copy after an incident when a pub's candle had this effect on a previous issue. Martin confessed to this atrocity with a photo as evidence in a blog post!
See Martin's post about our visit to St Aldate's Tavern for more details of Saturday's visit.

The Chequers

It was now time for the short walk to the reclusive and historic Chequers which is entered from a courtyard approached from a narrow alley at 131 High Street. Once again we had Christine to thank for finding a big enough space for us all to congregate on an upper level.

In debt to Martin, it was my turn to buy the drinks but confusion arose when I asked for the beer to be topped up and was told it was not the Skinner's Porthleven Pale Ale that I had ordered. After a dash to locate my beer, which Martin had taken and was about to drink, I returned to the bar and authorised a top up of Pedigree IPA which was the beer Martin had ordered. Of course, the full pint did not survive being carried up the stairs but a napkin was found to dry the outside of the wet glass and we were both reunited with our respective pints. Porthleven is a beer that I will look out for again. Thanks go to Martin for spotting the 20% discount, for CAMRA members available at this Nicholson's pub, in time. The main group ordered lunch here but after my brunch I only needed a pint. See Martin's blog post for more photos of the Chequers and its courtyard.

While Martin & Christine later headed to the Covered Market for their lunch, I headed back to the mock-Tudor style Castle pub, near the Westgate shopping centre, which is Hook Norton's first pub in the city.

The bar front, made from old Hook Norton beer crates, was my favourite decorative feature here.

A lower room had a TV for the Six Nations rugby match. The raised level of the main room with steps up to the corner entrance is an unusual feature. My half of Oakham Inferno guest ale had the right flavour but was not as cool as hoped for. Martin and Christine would soon join me here. See Martin's blog post for photos of the Covered Market and the Castle. On our departure, while Christine made a detour to visit Uniqlo, Martin and I took a circuitous route to the tucked away and historic Turf Tavern, which is overlooked by the Bell Tower of New College.

Martin's blog post (with my name in the title!) includes interesting photos taken en route.
There was a limited choice of beers at this Greene King pub and my choice was the indelicately named Daleside Old Legover.
We were able to rejoin the main group at a good sized table near a window in the busy pub.

Paul produced a bag of badges dating back to a 1981 campaign to save the Burton Unions. Paul handed them out and this seemed to be an ideal time to get a partial group photo as this would be my last beer with them.

L to R: Paul Mudge, Jon Benger, Peter (Pub Curmudgeon), Michael (Citra) and Tim Hampson.

Our group would walk to the nearby King's Arms, a Young's pub covered in scaffolding. This is where I shook hands with the stalwart group and said farewell.
See also Pub Curmudgeon's blog post on this Oxford Day Out.

My second ambition for this trip was to visit Tap Social Movement on Curtis Industrial Estate near the A34. With a tagline 'Criminally Good Beer' an unusual feature of this brewery is its focus on social justice. The brewery provides training courses for people serving prison sentences, o ffering courses in brewing and business start-up, and providing one-on-one support in securing permanent employment to assist in e ffective rehabilitation.

The S1 gold bus heading west towards Witney / Carterton from George Street stops nearby.

The Taproom is open between 4pm and 11pm on Fridays and Saturdays.

An award certificate shows that Goodsize Eh was Runner-up in the 2017 Oxfordshire Beer of the Festival Competition. All the beers are served on keg here and this would be my first half pint

The spacious taproom is decorated with various artworks.

My favourite decorative feature was Hugh Pryor's bottle chandelier suspended from a BMX wheel.

Some good music was being played on the sound system. I liked hearing the lively latin sound of Moliendo Café by Fanfare Ciocãrlia and the jazzy sound of Elijah's Remedy by TRI-Force.
The second half pint I enjoyed here was Hops off the Press a 5.1% ABV American style IPA with tropical flavours.

Waiting for the bus back to Oxford station as the sun set

This had started out as a social day meeting fellow beer and pub enthusiasts and ending up at Tap Social Movement. I look forward to the opportunity to do both of these things again!