Greetings. It’s been a while. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my month off from blogging but let’s get back to it. Did I do any of the other writing I was going to do whilst this was on hiatus? Of course not. Oh well.

Last Saturday local band Reasons For Admission were playing at the recently reopened Drunken Duck pub in Walsall Wood. I knew singer Suzi’s parents Bob and Anne from The Fitters Arms, and I’d not seen this band before so I suggested it to Woza and off we went.

First port of call was the Brickmakers Arms. Only been in here once previously, with Blackpool Jane back in 2015. Thus I asked Woza to lead the way and take me here first.

First thing I noticed was how cheap the cobs were at £1.40. So I asked what they had and the friendly barmaid read them out and it was quite a range. She had me with the first one turkey and gravy but as she read the lot out I also had a ham and cheese one as a chaser.

Televisions were showing Chelsea v Aston Villa and I missed the winning goal as I was putting change back in my wallet. Nice to know I can miss goals at Premier League level as well as at Walsall. We had a decent chat and moved on.

I looked longingly at KFC as we strolled past it. I’ve not had any of the Colonels goodness since the one in ASDA in Walsall town centre closed, and I hadn’t been in there for about 8 months before it shut as they missed things off my order wrong twice on the bounce (and I’m too polite to moan). There is a link there that I can’t quite put my finger on.

I saw a curry house called Simla. Woza said “there’s one of those by me that’s just the same as that.” I knew where he was going with that.

Next up was The Boatmans Rest. A pub selling Indian food and it smelt amazing and I did recreate the Bisto advert nose in the air and sniff as we hit the bar. The barmaid was great and very friendly asking what our night entailed. Woza paid for the round with his phone which really threw me. Not seen him do that before and I think I’ve only ever seen someone do it once before. So I queried it. The barmaid laughed and said “it’s the way forward.” I replied. “I still pay for things by cheque. Good job it’s not my round.” She laughed but I doubt she has ever had a payment by cheque. I might go back next week, order a mossiv mixed grill and pay be cheque. I’m sure I’ve still got a cheque guarantee card in the loft.

Conversation in here was somewhat varied, from Woza telling me he once had sprout curry in Pontefract. I went all Catherine Tate saying “They were serving curry…with sprouts. This were in Pontefract. The dirty bastards.” If he’d said he had cauliflower curry, I’d have gone to the loo, climbed out the window and abandoned him.

I asked him what he was doing on Friday. He replied “when’s Friday?” “It’s the day after Thursday.” I replied. I nearly went all Airplane on him and followed up with “but that’s not important right now” but didn’t. He claimed he was reiterating the question, as he wasn’t sure what I’d said. There is always an odd chat with him. He went on to say he didn’t know what day it was. I haply confirmed that it was Saturday although it really didn’t feel like it with Walsall FC not playing.

We moved on to The Drunkenb Duck. It recently reopened after a spell closed and it was just so good to see it lit up and open again. When I sat outside on August 11th eating chips from Walsall Wood Fish & Pizza Bar for this review, I feared it might not reopen as most pubs tend not to nowadays. It was warm and busy as we walked in. A good sign.

The barmaid was great although my half a pint of Diet Coke seemed to cause some issue with the till and another colleague had to help. I like to think it was the first soft drink they’ve sold since reopening. My mind drifted back to 2018 and the time Mase and I stopped by at The Swan And Mitre by Aston railway station which had reopened the week before after many years of closure. He asked for a pint of Strongbow and it was the first request they’d had for it and it caused a right kerfuffle.

Anyway, I’ve always loved The Drunken Duck. Think my first visit was in 2008 and that was with Woza. It set the tone for more great visits. A Sunday afternoon rave with smoke machines in the company of Blackpool Jane also leaps out from the memory vault.

We made the start of the gig, and were treated to”Video Killed The Radio Star” (first and now final song to be played on MTV) – not the first time that Woza and I have heard this live having enjoyed The Feeling play it at The Civic Hall and also on a very wet evening at Cannock Chase. We had a rocked up version of “You’re The One That I Want” from Grease. Classics like “7 Nation Army”, “All The Small Things” and if you remember my Blackpool blog, you know how much I love The Beatles “Come Together” and this went down a storm.

During the interval we met Anne, Suzi’s mom. I’d not seen her since she stopped going in The Fitters due to the smoking ban. She presented us with pork pie which was great. I’ve not had it in over a year after having a crap one in a pub so that was pleasant.

The second half was just as good. People were singing and dancing. I had a lass rock up alongside me, who opened a live stream on her phone and she moved it across to put me on it. Honestly hope it made me go viral as this blog site hasn’t just yet.

A chap befriended Woza towards the end. He briefly tried to engage me but talking to people isn’t my thing. The Ghost Of Christmas Yet To Come is more chatty than I am. Plus I was rocking out. Final song was by Black Sabbath which people had called for. An absolutely superb show. Loved it. Reasons For Admission are playing at The Victoria (Katz) in Walsall town centre on January 10th if you want to see them. Nice to see people I now in there too like Adrian and Eileen. Hope they enjoyed it as much as we did. “99 Red Balloons” was Woza’s song of the night.

Becky (Mrs Woza) turned up outside and gave me a lift home which I was overjoyed with. Thanks Becky if you’re reading.

Reasons for admission to Walsall Wood? There are plenty. Foodelicious is a great cafe, Walsall Wood Fish & Pizza Bar is class, there is KFC and The Brickmakers, Boatmans Rest and The Drunken Duck are all worth a visit. I shall be reviewing one of the curry houses soon too.