I’m 50 this week, but the celebrations started on Friday when Swill my best friend of 45 years offered to take me out round Bloxwich. Naturally I accepted without hesitation. He picked me up and off we set.

First up was The Beacon Way. Swill looked behind the bar and exclaimed “ooh, what have we got here?” I thought he had spotted an exciting beer in the fridge but it was actually a dog. The barmaid was friendly and whist being served Annette the lovely landlady came over and asked how my anecdotes night went. (I recently did 3 hours of stories about my life in a private event in Katz which went down well). She offered me the room if I ever wanted to do another one. I’d better start chatting up the women to get more material.

Swill mentioned that I could do a quiz in there which was very spooky timing as only the night before I’d been thinking about quiz nights and how I’d love to do one more having not hosted one since 2014, but having done them regularly for the previous 15 years. Annette was up for this as she is currently quizzless but does like them. I’ll give this some thought.

Great pub this and I should use it more. They do cracking looking pork and stuffing baps on Mondays and Tuesdays, and with the 32 bus from Walsall dropping off and picking up right outside, I will deffo be going back soon to try these.

Swill parked up at his house and we walked to The Queens Head. The front outside area is now astro turfed with new benches so we opted for that all too rare pint in the sun. And very pleasant it was too. I used the loo before moving on and made a mess of getting back out of the pub, mistaking a glass/wooden panel for the door. Not a good look but it did spark a conversation with a lass who is a fellow Walsall FC fan who said she knows me from how long I spend in the bar at the games. We had a quick footie chat and she told me of the discos and karaokes in this place and invited me back and we exchanged names. Nice to meet you Nicky. I didn’t think to get her chaps name though. I made it out the pub easily this time.

New Invention Brewery was next. Our friends Sean and Lauren were in which was nice and the most important discussion of the night occurred i.e where are we watching the Euros? A vital chat I’m sure you’ll agree.

Next up was The Wheatsheaf and another outside pint. They had a live singer on and she was just starting Build Me Up Buttercup as we departed. Absolute classic but time was against us so we couldn’t hang around.

The pre curry pint was in the Hatherton Arms, which Swill has never been in. I went in this pub on pub 365 challenge volume 1 in 2010 and then it dropped off my radar until I started working at Cardboard Boxes 2 Go and the delightful Shelley Large told me about it and I started gong. The Monday afternoon karaoke and bingo is legendary. This is what is known as a proper pub and it’s very pro Walsall FC which is good. Someone was singing Poison by Alice Cooper as we walked in which was good but the highlight was a couple doing the Arctic Monkeys classis Mardy Bum.

Swill recently did my family tree and he discovered that my great grandfather Noah must have been a regular in here as when he died the family thanked the licencees and customers of this pub in the obituary in the Walsal Observer. Swill likes the idea that Noah would walk in here after a hard day down the mine and get chants of “Evo Evo Evo” like I do nowadays.

Super pub this and we were having a great time but we had to be in the curry house for 10.30 so we supped up and sodded off.

Ashoca is Swill’s favourite curry house and he knows the staff well. It was my first visit so the waiter actually took the time to sit at our table and go through what I wanted from my curry which was decent of him. I’m a simple man in this respect. Just meat and sauce. No shit like onion or tomato. Swill mentioned that I like a boiled egg and that was it, a chicken and boiled egg curry was on the way.

I normally like chappatis with curry but I have recently started experimenting with cheese naan. I’ve never had a keema one of these so when I spotted cheese and keema naan on the menu it had to be done.

The food was amazing and Swill paid for it as a birthday present. Cheers geezer. Great visit but I did have to deduct a point for not getting a chocolate at the end.

We popped next door to Wetherspoons to round the night off with gin. In here we discussed all sorts of stuff. Life, the universe, everything. Swill has always had a thing for the Northern Lights and he got excited at the end when pictures of it came up on his Facebook feed. He tried to show me, but I’m a philistine and couldn’t have been less interested. I had gin to focus on.

Swill ordered me a taxi which came quickly but I was slightly alarmed when the driver didn’t know where I lived. My sense of direction isn’t the best, hence my attempt at leaving The Queens earlier but as I was paying for this, a mis-direct could cost me money so I was bang on and got home quickly.

I treated myself to I Like It by Narcotic Thrust and then went off to kip. A great night indeed. It’s very rare for me and Swill to have a just us night so it was very much appreciated. Bloxwich I’ll be back soon. Annette, save me a pork and stuffing bap please.