I’d been looking into Gillingham (a) but the coach I was considering was full and the trains were £80 which I couldn’t really justify in the same week I’d used them to go to Scotland and London. Literally seconds after I closed the Trainline tab I got a message from Sean. 

Last year he asked me to be best man at his wedding and now he was sorting a meet up of his “Groom Avengers.” Did I want to go to a bottomless brunch at a horror themed bar in Birmingham? It was the same day as Gillingham but I’ve never done a bottomless brunch and the bar sounded good. Plus it was a bit closer so basically Sean 1 Gillingham 0.

In Birmingham I wanted to flick the v’s at Santander again but as I approached I realised I needed pound notes so popped in and used the machine. The air con was immense which distracted me but I still flicked the v’s mentally which worked well for me. It’s the way forward.

We were meeting at The Square Peg. I know The Square Peg is the Wetherspoons by Snow Hill, it’s the one I use the most but I always doubt myself and wonder if I’m getting mixed up with the ones on Broad Street. I had to send a text to reassure myself I was going to the right place. I was. 

I was first there giving me time to grab a latte and a table and was soon joined by the happy couple Sean and Sammy along with Sean’s sister Claire and cousin Owen and their friend Drew. I’d met Claire and Drew previously at the awesome Ming Moon night – catch up on that blog here but first time meeting Owen. 

First discussion was about directions. Sammy coming up with an early contender for “Line Of The Day” with “I don’t come with a built in GPS system.” I told her “I can relate to that” and advised that I would be plagiarising the comment. It fits me very well. 

It was only a brief visit, long enough for me to claim a free refill of latte then it was time for the main event. Merlins. We turned off Corporation Street, and through a passage and there it was. 

Sean certainly wasn’t lying about it being horror themed. Two floors of it. I had to explore. There was a massive skeleton. I was terrified of these as a kid. In hindsight I should ask why as an 8 year old I was allowed to watch horror films. No such thing as safeguarding in the 1980s. Good job that I saw The Chemical Brothers “Hey Boy, Hey Girl” video a few years ago to reassure me that I was over this fear. 

I had to reign in the exploring as we had other business to attend to.

Sean – “the worst thing about a bottomless brunch is the eating part.” Another great line.

The main food options were Monster Munch, Black Widow Bark, Scream & Gore and Zombie Brain – which was the vegetarian option. I went Monster Munch – not crisps I might add (beef are the best, don’t came at me with pickled onion) but a pulled pork and fries dish with 3 Mozzarella sticks as the side.

The table could have doubled up as a ouija board. I opted not to use it for that purpose. I’ve seen films were it doesn’t go terribly well.

Food came quickly and the serviettes were either white or red. My two favourite colours. They were doing their best to impress me. I hate having to make decisions on an empty stomach so went predictable. I went white.

Food was decent. Sean compounded his earlier comments about eating by leaving some of his food to press on with the drinking. Drew and I were on hand though to hoover up the leftovers, Sean commenting that he’d sat by the right two people.

Music was loud and mostly metal but I knew the odd one or two. A rocked up version of The Killers Somebody Told Me being a high point. 

There was still exploring to do. I found stocks that just had to be utilised and the toilets were something else. The film Saw popped in my head but they could have been based on any slasher flick.

About 6pm a dj came on and invited requests. Sean rushed up. I wondered if he’d asked for Nothing Matters by The Last Dinner Party as he’d done at my birthday bash, knowing I love it but I quickly realised that one wasn’t quite in keeping with the general music policy. In truth I know not what he asked for as he gave portions to everything else that came on.

Class place this. Lads on the bar were great as was the lady collecting the glasses. Even if the music isn’t to your taste you need to go just for the decor. I’ve only posted about 2/3 of the pictures that I took and there is plenty to see in there. It’s on Martineau Place about 10 minutes walk from New Street.

Time was getting on so I said my goodbyes and departed. I needed a little hors d’oeuvre so popped to McDonald’s “on the ramp” as the locals call it. I clearly wasn’t yet sated with the old Mozzarella sticks as I had a little pack of those to keep the metabolism ticking over. The hot honey sauce is amazing. Get on it.

On the train, a little kid played Baby Shark all the way back to Walsall. A bit of yang to go with the metal yin that Merlins had provided. 

Class day. Thanks to all involved and Walsall got a superb 3-0 victory to round it off nicely.