At the risk of sounding like an absolute food heathen, I’ve kind of gone off the full English breakfast of late. However I woke up on Bank Holiday Monday craving one like I’d given them up for Lent and it was now Easter Saturday. A quick inventory of my food supplies revealed I had the ingredients for an egg sandwich with a side salad of baked beans. Oh and a mug of tea. I always have the ingredients for a mug of tea, and beans of course.

I was heading to Pelsall on the afternoon but couldn’t do this on just an egg sandwich so off to Saint Matthews Hall it was. My normal Wetherspoons breakfast of choice is the Eggs Benedict but again this wasn’t cutting the mustard this time so it was the large breakfast with the free refillable mug of tea. It costs just over £7 but with the current climate I’m guessing that most of this cost was the two small packs of Lurpack.

The highly sought after odd incident of the day didn’t take long to occur. A man walked up to my table, clutched the chair opposite me and asked “is anyone sitting here?” I said “no” and down he sat despite numerous other tables being vacant, and I was still eating. It’s not the first time that this has happened but at least this guy asked. I pondered as I ate. Do people see me and think that I look like I’d be good company, only to plonk themselves down and find out that I’m really not? Anyway I finished my meal, refilled my mug and sat down at the vacant table behind where I’d been sitting.

I’m no stranger to Pelsall. We used to go there all the time as kids because my parents best friends Mike and Mavis Thacker lived there, and I still remember them fondly whenever I go there nowadays. The no 8 bus was on time and off we set. The timetable had said the stop was adj The Fingerpost which I assumed was the pub not the actual sign but it turned right before the road the pub sits on and dropped me off in what could best be described as a small clearing in a long hedge. Still it was a nice day and I enjoyed my walk back.

Absolutely no issue with being served here as the barman asked what I wanted before I’d got near the bar. I quickly glanced at the options and then a Breakspear Gold was coming my way. As I made my way outside “Reach” by S Club 7 came on.

I love the outside section of this pub. I find a pint next to water just so relaxing and as nobody else was about it was a nice quiet time to myself and I was able to collect my thoughts after a busy couple of weeks. In the Ozzy Osbourne song “Dreamer” he sings “if only we call all just find serenity”. Well this is where I find it. I really should come more often. Especially as I now know where to get off the bus.

I headed back inside and opted for a Kingstone Press Wild Berries cider. The barmaid asked for £4 which I happily handed over but just as I was about to walk away she called me and said she’d made a mistake, forgotten it was happy hour and gave me 40p back which she really didn’t have to do so I was pleased with that. I sat on a nice settee and relaxed once more. Then another S Club song came on, this time “Don’t Stop Moving”. Got to love a pub that plays happy music. Clearly there aint no party like a Fingerpost party. I’d have stayed but there were other pubs to visit.

As I walked to the Old House At Home the sun came out and a rare good mood washed over me. So much so that I started singing “Reach”, quite loudly although I calmed it down as people approached.

The Old House At Home is a Marstons very foody pub and not really my cup of tea but it also serves booze so I’ll always pop in. The food though smelt amazing so I perused the menu. I find the menus in pubs a bit meh but this one had things on it that grabbed my attention but the thought of the cauliflower and red pepper curry had my ready to go and retch all over the car park.

I really wanted the Sicilia Lemon Muffin Cheesecake. I know that there are now shops that sell just desserts but I wasn’t sure about the etiquette of ordering just one in a pub. I’ll go back one day and order this along with a starter and main just to be sociable.

Next up was The Queens. This is the me pub of Pelsall. My local should I ever move to Pelsall. I’ve only ever sat in the front section but this time I had a bit of time to explorse and I found a superb outdoor section at the rear. It was ace. I sat there for a while then ventured inside to a previously undetected panelled room which I also utilised. I eventually moved back into the front part and was treated to some excellent 80’s music in the form of Belinda Carlise and Curiosity Killed The Cat. This was a great visit.

Last pub of the day was the railway. They had a beer festival on and live music which my mates H and Al were performing in with their band Hal. While they were setting up my mate Mark turned up. It was good to see him and we had a catch up. Despite being very close at Walsall games we don’t really get to talk as there are normally 3 or 4 people in between us plus the other problem of him spending the 90 minutes watching the game while I spend most of it in the bar.

Hal performed some great covers and the sizeable turn out enjoyed it. The only fly sorry wasp in the ointment being one of those appearing right in front of me. I’m not scared of wasps as most people think, I just don’t like them. It moved onto the lass next to me who couldn’t have given less of a shit about its presence. I was jealous.

With my alcohol levels rising and wary that it was back to work tomorrow I headed back to town for one last pint and a bit of food. It was off to Blue Ginger on Bridge Street. Earlier in the day the owner Mo had sent me a message saying it was his last day there. Well I had to go and say goodbye. He is always so welcoming and upon my first visit, after just two Facebook messages he recognised me as I walked in and addressed me by my name. Anyway we are used to a departure from Walsall just before the transfer window closes but I wasn’t expecting this. He is looking to open a new place in Shropshire and I wish him well. I had a Nargis Kebab and a kind of cheesy chicken tikka dish which were both ace as was the pint of lager.

Anyway it was a class day. Pelsall I shall be back, don’t eat all the cheesecake.