Last Saturday was ace. It started well. Jaz at The Walsall Arms had announced that she was going to trial doing Saturday breakfasts for a few weeks. Well this needed looking into. This is the kind of investigative journalism that I got into this game for. Breakfasts are served between 10 am and midday which suited me perfectly as I had to be in Leamore for 12.

The deal is a full English and a pint for £10. Cracking value but I’ve got to be honest, and please don’t think less of me but I wasn’t feeling booze that early. I asked if I could have a mug of tea instead, and they dropped the price to £7. Everyone’s happy. Breakfast was ace. I’d requested no tomatoes or mushrooms as usual. The bacon was cooked exactly as I like it, which I can’t even manage to do myself.

It was time to meet Chris as we were starting at the North Walsall Athenaeum Club, one of the very few licensed premises in the Walsall borough that I have never been in. I wasn’t totally sure where it was but Chris had given instructions and to both of our surprise I got off the bus at the right stop.

Chris was waiting for me and was armed with bad mews. The club had put its opening back by half an hour. He suggested going to the Dog House (ace antique centre) to kill time as he knows I’d like to go. I turned this down as when I make my maiden visit I want time to have a proper mooch around, plus knowing me I’d have purchased one of the old telephone boxes outside. We’d have had to cart it round all day in a “to me, to you” style and this would have got tiresome by pub no 8. So we went for a stroll to the local shop.

We passed a skip and I always have to have a glance in. I stopped to admire a lovely looking white door which killed 30 seconds then we pressed on. I only play the National Lottery when it’s a must be won draw and as this was the case that night I had a go. I invited Chris to pick a number and he went for 8. This worked for me as it’s an even number plus also the luckiest number to the Chinese and they invented sweet and sour king prawn balls so they know their stuff.

Did Chris’s number help me win win millions? I’d love to say yes and I’m currently taking over Walsall FC and looking at houses in Saint Lucia but in truth I don’t know. I haven’t checked the ticket. I still have two tickets from May to check as well. Things don’t happen quickly in my house.

Chris bought us both a Fry’s Turkish Delight which was as random as it was delightful and we headed to the club. James joined us and after a pleasant pint we moved on to The Railway where Chris got excited by a horse called Popmaster on he tv. It led for a while before coming nowhere. Ken Bruce should have played his 5-4-3-2-1 countdown over the public address system to try and make it run faster.

The Lamp Tavern was next. Kingston Town was playing as we walked in earning the place an immediate point deduction. Things improved with Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s Murder On The Dance-floor and I was chuffed that someone else joined in with singing “the all together” like in the video. It”s usually just me.

The Beacon Way on the other side of Bloxwich was the next target. Annette the landlady was her usual friendly welcoming self. The crusty cobs with burnt tops looked amazing. I’ve never understood the burnt tops thing but it works. I grabbed a ham and cheese one to eat later. Chris commented that he couldn’t eat it as he doesn’t like butter or cheese. I couldn’t cope with this. How dare he. The music was absolute classics like Working My Way Back To You, Beggin’ and an ELO one the name of which escapes me. I’d struggled with the beer in the first pubs but in here I finally started to wake up, tucking into the pint and singing along gleefully.

I decided I couldn’t be arsed to carry the cob around so I demolished it. Chris said it was the best looking cob he’d seen in Walsall and actually could have eaten it. I’d offered him one at the bar and he’d turned it down and as a fellow quizzer he knows you can only accept the first answer.

On the way to The Robert Peel I stopped to marvel at the Princess Diana statue that was commisioned by the local stonemason with the intention of donating it to Walsall town centre but after negative reviews on it’s unveiling it now resides outside the company premises.

Chris announced a change of plan at this juncture. This worried me. In the week he’d announced us walking to Newtown which I’d flatly refused and we were now close to the road there, but no. We were off to a club I wasn’t aware of. Bloxwich Stafford Road Sports Club. My claim to have been to virtually every pub and club in Walsall was starting to look like it had huge holes in it. Chris crashed the Spicy Tomato Snaps, a favourite crisp of my childhood. It was in here that it was revealed that it was James’s birthday. Chris was going to wait until 7pm to wish him happy birthday. I asked James if he was born at 7pm but he wasn’t Chris just wanted a build up. If you;re interested I was born at 21.36 which I reckon my mom would have been chuffed with as she’d have been able to watch the soaps beforehand.

Sir Robert Peel was next. Beautifully decked out in England flags but we suspected that the multi country bunting may have been in storage since the 2022 World Cup, unless Wales Qatar Morocco Saudi Arabia Canada Argentina and Brazil had all qualified for the Euro’s while nobody was looking. Although saying that I had no idea that Austria had qualified until I got them in the work sweepstake then they topped their group ahead of France and Italy.

The Romping Cat was next. The barmaid was great although she proper had to climb up to grab crisps and then blamed Chris for saying he asked for the wrong ones. We settled down to watch the dying embers of Italy v Switzerland. I checked with a local if I would block his view and he was fine but also really happy that I’d asked. He thanked me and shook my hand which I liked. I always try to be courteous to people but it’s not often thanked for. The people in this pub are usual sound and this visit was no exception.

The Spring Cottage was busy with a disco in full flow and then it was the last pub The Hatherton Arms. I love this place. The karaoke is as close as I’ll get to how it was in The Fitters and the host Gaz is superb. An in pub running joke is whenever he says “any requests” everyone shouts “fuck off”. He was on his usual top form with a comment after one performance being “we’ve got some great singers here in Bloxwich. They’ll be here shortly.”

There was a group of nice ladies clearly in a party mood which added to the occasion and one of them kissed me on the back of my head then went back to the bar. I should maybe have chatted her up but after all the booze I probably wouldn”t have made much sense. But then again with my general conversation approach I probably wouldn’t have made much sense in pub 1. Another superb visit to this place.

We walked back to Leamore and went in Abdul’s, which I’ve never been in before. It’s unlicensed, which I didn’t know prior to entering but for once I didn’t mind. I’d had a bit to drink. I went for a chicken balti with cheese naan and it was nice but a bit more sauce to mop up would have been good. Chris paid for mine and James’s food which was thoroughly decent. Chris announced that an X51 was due so I bade them both farewell and ran for it. Unfortunately the bus wan’t going up near my house, terminating instead at Walsall bus station but I still felt right as rain so took a very pleasant walk home over Church Hill (sorry Carole).

Magnificent day from start to finish. Thanks to all involved.