Evo Boozy Scribbler

The Met, Wolverhampton Street, Walsall.

Back in early May friend of the blog Sarah Sutherland sent me an Express & Star link saying that this place had launched a new menu and were offering 20% off the prices. I told her that I would look into it. It took me all of two days to get on it.

The bar was decked out in various nation flags. I wondered if there was any theme to them or just random but I spotted the flag of Georgia and deduced it was for Euro 2024. I grabbed and perused the menu. U2 came on performing “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For.” Well apologies Mr Bono, but I found what I was looking for straight away. The Big Brunch which was £11.49. I ordered it along with a tea. The 20% off didn’t seem to be in play and I couldn’t be arsed to query this.

The tea came quickly with the food shortly afterwards. Both were epic. Music was a right mixed bag ranging from “Grace Kelly” by Mika through to Billy Joel, Elton John, Communards and in a rare gap in my music knowledge “Angel Is A Centrefold” but I don’t know the artist for that one. “Tarzan Boy” by Baltimora is an absolute classic and nearly had me on the table dancing and belting it out. “Chelsea Dagger” by The Fratellis came on just as I was about to depart. Epic song by a band I love but not my favourite of theirs. Had it been “Baby Frattli” I’d have stayed and had a pint but instead I headed to W H Smith to buy a pack of whiteboard markers. That is probably the most middle aged sentence I have ever put on here.

Red Lion, Park Street, Walsall.

Had no idea ths place did food until Amanda Hignett visited and raved about it. It was June the first and I woke up peckish so decided it was time to try the food. Needless to say I’ve tried the beer in here loads of times.

Food doesn’t start until 11.30 and I was 15 minutes early but I was in no hurry. The all day breakfast was calling. They do a Belly Buster at £7.50 but it comes with chips but amazing as they are I don’t think they belong on a full English. So I went for the medium (£4.95 tea not included) with the usual bad guys held.

Also on the menu is a fish finger baguette which I’ve got to try at some point and they also do 2 for £12 meals which includes options like scampi or 3 lamb chops. Next time I’ve got a lovely lady in my life we are coming here for that. Mind I’ve not had a date since 2013 so I’m not holding my breath. I might go in, order two meals and then keep looking at my watch, glancing at the door and muttering “where is she?”. Then wolf down both meals while nobody is looking.

I sat at a table looking out onto Park Street which was busy with people heading to the continental market. The music was all 70’s disco stuff with a random 90’s track in the middle in the form of “U Can’t Touch This” by MC Hammer.

Breakfast was good. Once finished I still had a little plastic pot of milk left which I didn’t want to go to waste so I took the lid off and necked it like a shot. Yes I’m uncouth but I fancied a Calcium hit.

This is a great historic pub, apparently saved from demolition in the mid 90’s by a Walsall CAMRA campaign. I still have a picture of it on my phone when it was stood alone with everything around it gone. I can’t put it on here as it’s not mine but I’ll show it you when you see me. The spiral staircase in here is ace. I just wish they’d open upstairs again so we can use it.

To summarise well, with apologies to MC Hammer but breakfast at The Red Lion? You can touch this and I certainly did. Now to touch the fish finger baguette next time.

The White House. Bosty Lane, Walsall.

It was early June. I was making a rare appearance at a Walsall CAMRA meeting at The Manor Arms in Rushall, so no point in going home after work eh? I couldn’t go straight from Manor (Hospital) to Manor (Arms) though so opted to come here en route.

I like to make an entrance at pubs and I sure as hell did here. The doors were wide open with a television right in front. The Chase was on so of course I started to read the question rather than looking where I was going, and I didn’t notice a step which I went arse over tit over. I looked around and there were only two witnesses and neither of them pointed and laughed which I think actually disappointed me. And I didn’t get to finish reading the question either. I awarded myself a point anyway.

I went for a starter of crispy prawns and the main of a super steak. It came to about £22. The prawns were amazing. There is a offer where you can have 5 starters for £16.75. I might go back one day and have the crispy prawns 5 times and I wouldn’t care less if the person on the till or the waitress think I’m really odd.

The steak was good but they forgot the onion rings. I even checked the menu to make sure I hadn’t imagined their inclusion. I don’t like to query things so let it slide but I did dock them a point for this. Had they forgotten the steak though I would have had the place up. In hindsight I should have gone up the bar and queried this and offered to settle out of court for more crispy prawns.

Despite my unusual entrance and onionringgate this was a good visit. I even made a friend in the toilet on the way out. 3 urinals, he was at no 1 so I went to no 3 and he struck up conversation.

The King Arthur, Liskeard Road, Park Hall, Walsall.

Straight from work on Tuesday this week jobbie. My mate Chris was accompanying me and I would hate to suggest he was eager but he arrived at the pub bang on 5 while I was still languishing in the bus station. He had to make a snap decision. Go in for a pint or walk down and meet me at the bus stop. He chose the latter.

Things are never straightforward in my life. I got off the bus a stop early, and I just assumed that you walk up that hill and the pub would appear. Thankfully Chris was with me as there was left and right turns. I’d have ended up by The Longhorn. Organised Evans strikes again.

We got to the pub. The back room contains a pool table so we gave that a wide berth and marched into the front one. For a pub called the King Arthur I was disappointed that there was only two round tables and both small. Certainly not big enough to seat numerous Knights Of The Realm at. We sat at a rectangular table. I was hoping that we’d have a roped off VIP area following Chris’s appearance on Popmaster on Ken Bruce’s Greatest Hits Radio show on the Friday before but it was not to be. The barman must still be listening to Ken’s old station.

The menu is mostly Indian but there are staples like scampi and chips available. We perused. Chris said “shall we go halves and have the Kings Mixed Grill?” This is the biggest platter on the menu. “It’s got fish pakora on it. I’m on board.” “Well” he continued “I don’t eat that so you can have it all.” I was warming to this even more on a second by second basis. Motion carried.

The food came quickly and it was epic. The fish pakora was amazing but it was all good. We didn’t speak for a while but had the commentary from Turkey v Georgia to keep us company.

I didn’t want a pudding. Chris did. He asked what the Malai Kulfi is.He was informed that it’s ice cream. He probed further. “What’s the difference between that and the ice cream that is listed as ice cream?” “It’s made from milk.” We were both confused. He pressed further to be told you get three scoops of it, with all flavours. I now wanted in to find out what it was. It was indeed ice cream of 3 different flavours and it was delish.

There was an odd incident when I went to scratch my shoulder and somehow a bee landed on the inside of my hand which made me jump. Chrs sommented that my top had atracted it. It’s about time my clohes atrracted something I guess. This was the cue for Chris to start laying on some bee related puns and even the man on the next table waded in with one “he probably got here on a buzz route.”

I announced at this point that I would not be walking back to the bus. Fortunately Chris has something on his phone where you can order taxis without having to speak to someone. I’m not one for chatting to folk so will no doubt get round to embracing this technology in about 3 decades. He found a taxi 3 minutes away so after a toilet visit we departed.

We headed to Katz hoping to wish Mel a happy birthday and it was a successful mission. This was a fine evening.

While I’m on I must give a mention to the Eggs Benedict which is part of the Wetherspoons breakfast range. It’s ace and can be ordered without the rocket on top although this confused the hell out of the new barmaid last time. I now have this most Sundays. It started off as my post gym treat but after a couple of weeks I found that having a lie in, launching a blog, getting ready, walking to gym “mosiv” workout, shower then in Spoons before breakfast last orders at Midday was pushing it. So now it’s my pre gym treat along with numerous coffee’s.

Thanks for reading this. I did mean to review the food at The Black Country Arms but went on one of the days the kitchen is closed (Mondays and Sundays) and I was going to go to The Lyndon on Father’s Day but I was invited to Josh’s for an amazing beef and chicken dinner so did that instead. There could be a volume 2 of this and let’s be fair, I do enjoy the research.

Last Saturday I had a little tour of Sedgley for beers and a catch up with Amanda Hignett who I’d not seen since our wander around Wednesfield in 2022. If you missed that blog you can catch up on it here. The Tupperware line on it is still one of my favourite comments on this blog.

First up was a trip to Jack and Ada’s in Walsall town which was welcoming and epic as normal, then it was the 34 bus to Bilston. I worked for SciChem in Bilston for 21 years until they closed our office and moved it to the other side of Wolverhampton so it’s always nice to go back. Last time I went it was for an emergency trouser purchase ahead of my job interview at The Manor Hospital. I find Peacocks the best shop for trousers but they closed the one in Walsall to make way for an epic bowling alley so I headed to the one in Bilston. Typically they didn’t have my size or any deemed as close. I just chose the best option, meaning turning up for the interview in ill fitting trousers. They must have thought I used the same tailor as Rishi Sunak.

The 11.10 229 didn’t show so for old times sake I used Bilston bus station toilets to kill a few seconds. This brought back memories of the time I hopped off the bus one morning, needing a cheeky toilet. So I put my coin in the slot and yanked the door open. To be greeted by the sight of a man sat there having a good clear out. I don’t know who was more horrified. It comes to something when you are that desperate for a dump that you forget to lock the door. I closed up but of course I didn’t have another 10p coin so had to stop at McDonald’s. I had a sausage and egg McMuffin though while I was there.

The next bus turned up on time. The driver said it was his first time on the route and didn’t know where The Beacon Hotel was. Poo. I was a brave boy and asked people. Fortunately someone was going there so I followed him off and was in the pub just after midday. Amanda was already there so I nipped up the bar. Now I’m never likely to win any Mr Tall competitions but I had to crouch down to look through the serving hatch which was a novelty. I got a 4.0% golden ale (I forget the name) for £3.60, served in a proper jug style glass. And it was good.

We had a good catch up. I told Amanda some of my hopes, dreams, projects and general thoughts and it was a great chat. We were joined by Tony, Amanda’s ex husband but still good friend and the discussions continued.

The Beacon Hotel is a classic pub. Completely unspoiled and a must visit on any trip to Sedgley. Good beer at decent prices but what struck me most was how polite everyone was. Everyone that I stopped to let pass said “thank you” or “Cheers”. Cracking place.

We crossed the road to The White Lion Inn where a very pleasant pint of Salopian Hop Twister was served by an equally pleasant barmaid. We then ambled down to The Bulls Head. It was a pleasant stroll in the sun whilst Tony and Amanda gave me Halloween dressing up anecdotes but also pointed out buildings and gave facts about them. Pretty much like I do with visitors to Walsall. They are clearly as proud of their town as I am of mine and it’s great to see.

The Bulls Head is a Holden’s pub. The beer was crystal clear and in excellent nick. The barmaid is an Aldridge lass which gave us a conversation opportunity. The music was provided by Smooth Radio. I’d seen a post on Twitter in the week claiming “you know you’re old when you realise that Smooth Radio is banger after banger” and it was certainly the case. Huey Lewis “Stuck With You” and The Foundations “Baby Now That I’ve Found You” being the highlights.

Amanda told of her dad and how he likes to present “diabolical quizzes” which I really love the sound of, although anyone that ever attend any of my quiz nights at The Fitters Arms would probably say I’ve hosted some of those myself.

At the back of the pub is a Thai restaurant, complete with fish tank which brought back memories of the sadly missed Planet Spice in Walsall. Naturally I perused the menu.

Next up was The Red Lion. When I was doing the 147 snooker challenge using pubs with the colours in the names, this was one of my 15 reds. It was nice to revisit as this is probably the most me pub in town. It was fully decked out in England flags which I approved of. A local group of lads and lasses were having entertaining banter and the Thatchers Gold was immense.

We got talking about musical theatre and I mentioned that the favourite song that I’ve discovered since being in AMCS is Facade out of Jekyll And Hyde. A wonderful song with great lyrics and it helped that when we did it, I got a solo line right at the start. I would love to perform this song in full at some point. This was a good visit and I even got a high five off a very friendly Border Collie. I refuse to high five with people but it was cool getting one off a dog.

The Clifton is Sedgley’s Wetherspoons and that was next. A £2.36 pint of Butcombe “Gold” (4.4%) was my ale and I got a choice of glass which I’ve never known offered in Wetherspoons before. I went for handled jug again. We sat at a table with Amanda’s friends and had a laugh.

We had a pint in The Swan and moved onto The White Horse. This was very busy and according to Amanda boasting the only twin barmaids in town. This was another good pub and it had been a great day but it was time to start thinking about home. I had budgeted £30 for a taxi thinking I would be twatted after all the pubs but I fancied my chances on the bus, especially as it would only cost me 50p to cover a daysaver, having already tapped on two West Midlands Travel buses earlier in the day.

I left in time to get the no 1 to Wolverhampton and upon arrival a 529 to Walsall was in. Almost military style precision. Coming through Willenhall I had a text from my old mate Steve Stuart asking if I was about. Steve doesn’t live close by now so I don’t see him much nowadays but he did come to my Anecdotes Night in April. He said he was in The Registry so I headed there.

Inside was Steve but also Chris Garratt who I’ve not seen since we went to see Jerry Sadowitz in stand up in 2017. Also there was Leighton Williams who I haven’t seen since the late 90’s. It was a brief but enjoyable reunion, but they had to shoot off so I went home via Danny’s Chicken on Pool Street. I was in bed in time for Nick Abbott on LBC at 10pm, although I’ve got to be honest I may have nodded off during the news.

A great day. Cheers to all involved.

Saturday was good. Decent lie in then mugs of tea and You Tube music. We’d had Heart 90’s on at work in the week and I’d heard Show Me Love by Robyn (not the song of the same name by Robin S which I initially confused it with.) I’d played it loads since and it was looking to knock Nothing Matters by The Last Dinner Party off its perch as my most played tune of the week. Saturday was no exception and I was blasting i whilst ironing my t-shirt and giving it portions. I then left the house just as the door to door religious folks were arriving at the neighbours, so I missed them. Although I don’t answer my door anyway but it would have been hard to pretend I was out whilst singing Show Me Love at the top of my voice.

I headed into town on missions. Apparently I blanked a colleague on Park Street, Lizzy from Ward 4. Sorry Liz but in my defence I would have been in my own little world, focusing on breakfast and listening intently to hear if I got a mention from Sarah Champion on Absolute Radio (which I hadn’t by the time I reached the pub).

Breakfast was good and I will seriously consider reporting on it another time. Back out onto Park Street and the Continental Market was on. It’s good to see this back in town and despite people moaning about the prices on Facebook lots of folk were using the stands. My colleague Carole and I had been randomly talking about Turkish Delight in the week and then suddenly i was confronted by a stall full of it. I didn’t realise lemon Turkish Delight was a thing so it had to be done along with some of the more traditional rose flavour.

I went home. I meant to write. I meant to do garden work. I did neither. Had a rare bit of chill time. Craig came round at 6 and we headed straight for the Black Country Arms. Cider was the order of the day here, rotating between the Lilleys Pineapple and Apple & Pear varieties.. It was good to have a nice chat with the lovely April formerly of Walsall CAMRA in here and also to have a food discussion with friend of the blog Colin Walker.

Katz was next and we had a very pleasant hour outside, chatting with Jase and Mel.There was a live band on, which is the norm for Saturday nights in Katz but myself and Craig were startled when the lead singer jumped off the step into the yard and started belting out Judas Priest, a band fronted by Walsall lad Rob Halford. He did a good rendition whilst wandering around the garden with his cordless microphone, which was entertaining.

It was munchy time so we headed to Golden Moments although I still call it Golden Monsoon because Carl who I worked with at Corroy Products drunkenly misread the sign after my 21st birthday bash in 1995. Carl is a top lad and I’m so pleased we got back in touch recently after 24 years.

I wasn’t very hungry to be fair and Craig wasn’t feeling a curry with trimmings so we hit the starter menu. I went for white chicken tikka and a Nargis Kebab while Craig opted for a Tandoori Platter thing. The waiter’s mind was blown that we didn’t want main courses. We demolished the poppadoms although Craig said the red sauce was really hot and advised me not to try it. So of course I did. It was fine. I think Craig was being dramatic, I must be rubbing off on him.

The food came quickly and the waiter got his own back for the mind blowing as the Nargis Kebab was served with the omelette on the bottom which really threw me. This has never happened before. I made a point of putting some of it in it’s rightful place before proceeding. Craig necked his pint whilst I had barely touched mine and wanted photographic proof of this.

The food was great which is standard for that place. The bill came and Craig said “I’ll sort this if you get a couple of rounds of Baby Guinness in the Walsall Arms.” I was more than happy with this. I have had a Baby Guinness before but couldn’t tell you the ingredients.

We headed to The Walsall Arms. A decent singer was on and Jaz the landlady was serving which is always a bonus. I ordered our pints plus our Baby Guinness’s and asked Jaz what she wanted. She opted to join us in the shots. Craig got his card out and said “I’ll get these.” “No, I’ve got to get them as the curry house deal, plus I’m getting Jaz one.” “Don’t worry about it” he said. So I didn’t.

The shots were ace and the beer good. I repeated the order only for Jaz to say “I’ll sort the shots out.” Keeping my side of the bargain was proving problematic. I think I managed it in the end. It was epic having shots with you Jaz.

I think we stayed about an hour. It was a cracking day but despite the research, I still don’t know the ingredients of a Baby Guinness.

The title is slightly inaccurate. I’ve also had a small amount of alcohol on a strictly just to be sociable basis.

I’ve been off work this week celebrating my 50th birthday and on Sunday it was a BBQ at Josh and Lyndsey’s house with myself in attendance along with our great mates Laura and Pezza. It was a great afternoon and we were well fed and watered which is standard for one of Josh’s BBQ’s. Afterwards I popped to The Walsall Arms for a quick couple and Jaz the landlady was the first person to buy me a pint on my birthday week.

On the Monday Josh announced to Lyndsey that there was still a lot of meat left. “Is Evo coming around again then?” she laughed. Fair play to Lyndsey she gets the situation. Food cannot be wasted so it was another good feed washed down with 4 episodes of Baby Reindeer. Neither of us were prepared for the events of episode 4 so we had to dash to the Walsall Arms for a pint afterwards.

I don’t recall how it cropped up but on that Monday I’d told Josh and Lyndsey about how at primary school I seemed to be the only kid who liked Semolina so the dinner ladies who I got on well with used to let me eat it all. I would be left on my own in the dining area shovelling this down me while all the other children were outside playing. Of course the downside of this was on the Friday when the boss turned up to asses how the week had gone it would have been like “oh, all the Semolina went again? Bloody hell it goes down a storm here doesn’t it? Better do it again next week.” So apologies to all my primary school friends for how often we had it. Josh had never heard of it and took to Google to try and find out what it was. He couldn’t quite get his mouth round the pronunciation of it coming out with a word which sounded more like salmonella. Had it been called that it might even have put me off. I vowed to get a tin for him to try.

On Tuesday Josh came to mine for a full English breakfast. I’m generally good at cooking these but on one of his more recent visits he threw me by requesting a slice of toast and all was going well until I came to cook this. It unravelled quickly, I spilled baked beans all over the work surface and ended up having a mini meltdown.

I’ve coped better with the toast request since but on this occasion I didn’t suggest breakfast until quarter to midnight so didn’t have time to buy bread which gave me the perfect get out clause.

Post breakfast I headed to the gym to work off some of that goodness. Alas my favourite piece of equipment was out of order. I don’t know what it’s called but it’s the one where you sit down and use your legs to push yourself up the incline. It’s probably got a technical name but I call it the sit down pushy up thing. With that out my routine was reduced. I didn’t want the lady on Reception to think I’d had a shorter than usual work out though so I hid in a toilet cubicle for 20 minutes and checked my social media feeds. Putting the toilet seat down must have burned off a calorie.

On the evening I went to ASDA. I had my personal radio on which is standard and Absolute was playing. I usually sing along, sometimes louder than others. This time on came my favourite song of the moment Nothing Matters by The Last Dinner Party, which reached the chorus as I approached the bread aisle. Forgetting where I was I sang along to the chorus line of “and I will fuck you, like nothing matters.” A couple of women grabbed bread and scurried off. Sorry ladies if I startled you into buy loaves with a shorter shelf life than you usually prefer.

Wednesday was the big day so I headed to Jack & Ada’s. I couldn’t have a full English two days running so opted for poached egg on toast which is divine in there. Paul and Sam were their usual welcoming selves and the first song to be played was I Only Want To Be With You by Dusty Springfield which is magnificent.

I popped to work to drop some cakes in, as I couldn’t be arsed with the hassle of either buying them the night before or on the way to work. The plan had been to buy proper cream cakes but the fridge in the cake section is now filled with booze so Mr Kipling came to the rescue. It only occurred to me on Friday that cream cakes might be in the proper fridge area nowadays but at least I tried.

It was nice to see David and Carole at work and a few other colleagues. Josh then came to pick me up. He was a bit disappointed as he wanted to surprise me with a hot pork bap from the epic food van on Queen Street but it wasn’t there. He thinks he is cursed with that van as since I introduced him to it in January he’s tried to use it 3 times but without luck. If you see it though, it’s worth a visit.

We went back to Josh’s and he gave me ace presents and food. I got home and my mate Morty turned up to give me my card, which he’d forgotten but he gave me a lit to Katz, where I was heading for steak night which occurs every Wednesday.

Woza popped in to have a quick birthday pint with me and then it was upstairs which Jase the landlord had set aside to make it a more private event. Jase, his wife Mel, Asps, Ralph, Becki and Jon headed up there for goodness. As my steak was served it was brought in with a candle in it and they sang happy birthday. I was just pleased that they hadn’t put 50 candles on it or it might have been cooked a bit more than the medium rare that I like. The steak was ace and Ralph paid for it which was very much appreciated. Cheers Ralph.

Chris joined us for a post steak pint and then we all headed up to the Walsall Arms where Josh was waiting. I wasn’t expecting to see him so that was ace, and it was a great day.

On Thursday I headed to Prince Of Wales theatre in Cannock to see my AMCS buddies perform their current show Stages Through The Ages. It was a mixture of songs from shows dating from 1927 to modern times. It was great too see friends in the audience and performing. I’m not currently an active member of AMCS but I miss seeing everyone and being on stage but I’ve written a daft show which I need to focus on for the time being. I’ve done 13 shows with AMCS but that isn’t a number I can stick on. I might return for the late 2025 panto.

Afterwards it was a quick dash to the station as the show finished earlier than I expected and I though I could just make the 22.03 chuff chuff. I did with minutes to spare. Oh great I thought. I’ll be back in Walsall well ahead of schedule. Of course, nothing is straight forward in my life. I wasn’t paying attention to where the train was going, and I didn’t look out of the windows as I was fannying around on my phone. I heard the announcement “next stop is Walsall” and glanced up at the on board sign which also confirmed this. I pushed the button, the doors opened and I prepared to set foot in the Promised Land again. Only to be confronted by a big sign saying Tame Bridge Parkway. Two stations after Walsall. I dashed to platform 2 in case a train was due but it was 12 minutes away. Giving me time to reflect on my life choices. I then wondered if an inspector would be on the train. But then shrugged thinking I’ve got my tickets to and from Cannock, this is their fault. If they think I’m paying to get back to Walsall they can suck my chopper. I’m very anti fare dodging but this time I felt justified. There was no inspector on board.

It didn’t take long to get back and the good thing was that the train I was on now pulled into platform 1 which meant a straight walk off the platform onto the street. The train from Cannock would have plonked me on platform 2 which would have meant walking up the stairs and down the corridor. Oh my God, you read that right. I just made a positive slant on a situation. My friends will tell you that in every situation I will always look for the negative angle but a few of them have commented how my outlook has improved these last few months. There may be more positivity in the blogs to come but don’t hold your breath. When I first typed the p word in that last sentence I got the red line underneath. I right clicked but thee word I wanted didn’t come up. I had another couple of goes at spelling it, even chucking in an e at one point as e’s are good e’s are good but this didn’t work. I got the dictionary out to check and it was right 1st time. Even my pc can’t cope with me being positive.

Friday was the big birthday bash so it was back to The Walsall Arms. The first hour or so was spent outside with discussions ranging from me being urged to have a go at stand up comedy through to football and season tickets. Andy came up with the great idea of Walsall FC issuing season tickets just for the Bescot Bar, so you could have the match day experience of the booze and seeing lots of friends but without having to watch the match. I bet there would be a good take up.

There was a good turnout from my friends and also a surprise appearance from my cousins who I’ve not seen since a funeral in 2021 so that was nice. Then the karaoke started and I was first up. I’ve long wanted to sing “I Touch Myself” by Divinyls and this seemed as good a time as any. I didn’t quite get my voice right in the first verse but then it clicked and I nailed the rest and it went down a storm.

I was then presented with a cake by Jaz while everyone sang happy birthday which was a lovely moment. Everybody by Backstreet Boys is very much my go to karaoke song and Sean put it down for us to do together. Gotta love Sean. Two weeks earlier his band Delayed Response which he is the singer of were playing the reopening night of The Watering Trough and now here he was singing Backstreet Boys with me. I sang How We Do by Rita Ora (known locally as Rita O Ar) as I was up for party and bullshit but this one didn’t really work. Late on me and Sean duet-ted again, this time on Caravan Of Love. Audience participation on this one was immense and it was an absolute blast. Rounded off a brilliant night in a cracking manner. The plan had been to move on around half 9 but everyone was enjoying it so we stayed and I think that worked well.

Yesterday Craig came and we popped to the Black Country Arms and had a pleasant pint outside and then headed to Katz. There was live music on in the form of an Iron Maiden tribute band. They started just as we were about to leave so I said “we can’t go now as everyone will point and say look at those old men leaving cause the music is too loud.” Then another couple left so we were fine. We were on a tight schedule to get food and be in the Walsall Arms in time for the boxing.

We went to what was Gurkha Bhojan which is now called Gurkha Mountain, which was hand as they only had to change half the sign. I know this was the case as I saw them doing it. There is now a tv screen above the bar and stools at it but other than that the lay out is the same. The music? Well it was the kind of sad soft music that you get in a crem pre funeral. It was really odd. The drink menus still had the old name on but the food ones were new.

We got poppadoms but these didn’t seem the freshest. I went for a chicken tikka masalla. The music didn’t improve, “I can’t believe I’m spending the first Saturday in my 50’s listening to this” was one of the few comments we made on this subject. I half expected Gerrard Way, lead singer of My Chemical Romance to come in and start filming the Helena video. With the depressing music not abating it dawned on me that I’m now old enough to go on a Saga cruise and started to wonder if I would get a free pen with my curry.

Finally Craig had enough and asked if the waitress could change the music. She gave him a couple of options, he just said “anything more upbeat please”, She agreed and walked off and then didn’t change it. My curry was nice and got demolished but Craig said his was too spicy. Odd visit.

The Walsall Arms was busy and vibrant. We got good seats and I thought Fury controlled the fight but those 40 seconds when Usyk punched him all round the ring cost him. I thought it would be a draw from the judges. Decent night this and Craig paid for all the food and drinks as a birthday present. Cheers Craig. Top man. I first met Craig in 1992 at Steve Stuart’s 18th birthday bash and it was the night Lennox Lewis fought Razor Ruddock. Steve didn’t have Sky so we listened to it on Radio 5 and got two of the lads to act it out to the commentary which was very entertaining. It’s only taken us 32 years to have more boxing action together.

It’s been a fantastic week. Thanks to everyone who has been involved. Back on the straight and narrow now. Be interesting to see if my work trousers still fit me tomorrow. It might be touch and go, and I’m not doing Divinyls thoughts there.

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.

The Table, 33 Lower Hall Lane, Walsall.

I’d never been in this building. It evaded me when it was The Vine pub and I certainly didn’t frequent it when it was an alcohol free venue in the mid 90’s. I’ve heard good things about it since it became The Table. I pass it morning and night on my way to and from work but it’s always out of it’s opening hours so one Saturday morning in late February I finally ventured in.

There are two model giraffes to greet you on the way in which is nice, and the place is nicely decked out. It was busy so I found a seat against a ledge and perused the menu. I opted for the classic breakfast (hold the mushrooms) and a latte which came to £13.70.

It came quickly and while the price is dearer than other venues in town you can see that they use quality products. Dunno if my taste buds have changed over the years but I find sausages hit and miss these days, ok more hit than miss I admit. The sausage here though was absolute quality. Long, thick, firm and tasty. Talking Brian Adams Everything I Do kind of hit.

Enjoyable visit this. Decent staff and nice atmosphere. I’ll be back.

Pizza 2000, 95-96 Ablewell Street, Walsall.

I did this review around October time so prices may have changed. It was to be part of another blog but that has now been shelved. This is a long standing pizza place, originally located in the building next door before moving to it’s present site around 2010. I’m not a regular in this place by any means and on my last visit I ordered the kebab pizza and ended up with the meat on chips but I know mistakes happen. And the food certainly didn’t go to waste.

I knew that the collection offers are 5pm until 9pm and I got there at 4.58 so I stopped to take a picture and was then joined by a fellow customer eager for some Walsall FC chat, so it was actually 5.02 when I got in.

I was confused. The sign behind the counter had the collection offer as £8.49 for a medium pizza which was dearer than all of them of that size on the main menu on the side wall. Most of the pizza options had one or two ingredients that I don’t like. The All Day Breakfast pizza listed its ingredients as pepperoni, ham, mushroom and onion. Ok, I get that some people have mushroom on their breakfast even though they are vile but who has onion on it? My granddad was French and even he would be fuming at this.

I went for the meat feast pizza. Chicken tikka,ham, spicy beef and pepperoni. It was £7.99 so cheaper than the collection offer. I could have walked in at 4.58 after all.

The pizza was good and most of it was gone by the time I got home. Let’s all meet up in Pizza 2000.

Burger King, Crown Wharf Retail Park, Walsall.

This new drive thru opened last year in what was Frankie & Benny’s and I never visited it in that guise, and because I’m a poor man Burger King is a very rare treat for me so this was only my second visit to this place.

My first visit had been mildly entertaining. Despite pretty much every table being available, two blokes plonked themselves down on the one next to me. I paid no attention as I was deep in my social media feeds. Even when their voices raised I was still not looking up from my screen. George Orwell would have been very impressed. It was only when one of them stood up dramatically that I tuned into their world. The conversation went. “What are you doing?” “I’m going.” “But I’ve bought you your tea.” “Fuck off.” and he’d walked out. He must have got peckish outside as he returned 5 minutes later and sat down without a word.

Anyway I digress, this was a post work, kill time before cinema visit. I used the self service screen and in eagerness to order the Chicken Royale I missed the option to remove the lettuce. It dawned on me as I proceeded to checkout, I went back in and made the adjustment. Panic over. No milkshakes were available so they were definitely trying to compete with McDonalds. I paid 30p for a spicy mayo pot. To dip fries in, not to replace the milkshake.

No table service is available but you don’t get the scrum at the counter in here like you do in MaccyD’s. I sat down and fair play to them, the food was out while I was still making notes. The food as good as you would expect but one pot of sauce is not enough for the fries. At this point I regretted no longer taking my man bag to work which is about 3 quarters full of McDonald’s sauce sachets.

Only 4 toilet cubicles in here and they are unisex so don’t wait until you are bursting for a poo before going in case there is a queue. Decent visit this.

The Waterfront, 4 Waterfront North, Wolverhampton Road, Walsall.

Hungry Horse chain venue located beneath The Light Cinema. This was another post work pre cinema jolly and because I had plenty of time to kill I went through the menu with a fine tooth comb. I don’t get to use a comb too often nowadays so I loved this. I took advantage of “Save On Grill Monday” as 8oz rump steak was down from its normal price of £10.99 to £8.50. Obviously I couldn’t keep hold of the money I’d saved, that’s just not me so I had a side of scampi for £2.00.

The music was at a comfortable level. I didn’t know any of it but nothing leapt out that I didn’t take to. The place is nicely decked out with Walsall stuff including a sign in the style of a local bus destination blind. Despite having very little room left on my walls for stuff anymore, I’d love that in my house. When I become Mayor of this fine town I may turn up in the DH1 Mayoral car with my ceremonial chains on and ask if I can have the sign for my parlour in the town hall. Then take it home. God, I’ve not even taken office yet and I’m planning my first scandal.

The food arrived arrived quickly, the steak seemed a bit cooked for medium rare but I demolished it anyway. I still had lots of time to kill so I even ate the peas which must have confused the hell out of my digestive system.

Just as I was preparing to leave the television above the table opposite me started showing the weekends goals so I stayed to watch Taylor Allen’s one at Colchester. As I advanced for a better view the lone female beneath the tv looked anxious but I explained what I was doing and she joined me in marvelling at the fine hit. Decent visit this and the scampi was ace.

Danny’s Fried Chicken, 16 Pool Street, Walsall.

The sign on this place has been up for a couple of months but I was starting to think it wasn’t happening. Last Saturday I was having one of my rare “I’m not leaving the house” days then early evening friend of the blog Colin Walker messaged to say it was open and worth a visit. I replied that I’d check it out one of the days. I lasted an hour before getting dressed and scampering down.

Located in what was Pool Street Chippy but it’s unrecognisable from that now. It’s very bright in there and I’m not just on about the dazzling new lights. It’s main colour scheme is yellow and white. My 4th and 1st favourite colours and it’s nice to know that it’s not just my hall and stairs decked out like this.

It was friendly and welcoming on arrival, and so new the lass was being trained on the till. The first thing that jumped off the menu was the garlic bread with cheese and pepperoni. Unfortunately this wasn’t available as they’d run out of garlic butter. Next time then, and given this place’s location between the Walsall Arms and my house I’m sure this won’t be a long wait.

I went for 3 pieces of chicken without chips. The menu said £3.80 but I was charged £4.00. I know it’s only 20p but that’s half the cost of a large pack of Beef Space Raiders.

The food arrived quickly. Seating is now available in there but a glance at the clock revealed that I could be back home in time for the Legal Hour on LBC so I did that. My Saturday nights have certainly calmed down of late.

The chicken was great. Nice and succulent and the coating was crispy and devine. They also do burgers and pizza but with chicken this good that garlic bread I mentioned earlier may stay on the untried list. Cash only here which suits me. Danny it was nice to meet you and I’m sure I’ll be back again soon.

I have to open today’s blog with some grave news. If you read my St George’s Day blog published on Wednesday, you will recall my excitement at buying cheesy beans. Well I had them on Thursday and they were not great. Not worth £1.80. I probably made a rod for my own back by playing “Suzie” by Boy Kill Boy (a song in my top two of all time along with the album version of Wetsuit by The Vaccines). Suzie contains the chorus line of “countdown countdown countdown to the disappointment” and I was singing along loudly as the microwave was finishing its work. Talk about pre-empting things.

Friday night saw the reopening of The Watering Trough, a popular Walsall town centre pub now under control of the new landlady Angie Bosworth who is promising a return to its rock venue traditions. The pub has been shut a little while but she and a team of helpers have given the inside a makeover so that work day was spent looking forward to this event.

I finished work and strolled into town. It was the day after payday, a situation that automatically triggers my “Must spend. Must buy shit” mode. I headed to Savers and as I entered I made a mental note in my head as to what I needed. When I got to toothpaste on the list for some reason I put my index finger against my lips and made a brushing teeth gesture which must have looked odd. I had a pleasant amble around the store but possibly distracted by Absolute Radio playing Green Day’s “Basket Case” I forgot toilet rolls but I’m sure my fellow shoppers were relieved that I hadn’t made that gesture when doing the shopping list.

I headed down George Street and as you know I love a sign, so two pieces of A4 on a door caught my eye. The first said “We have moved” and the second said “8 doors to the left” my brain immediately thought “take it back now y’all. One hop this time” and that was it. Cha Cha Slide was in my mental jukebox all the way home.

On the evening I popped to The Wheatsheaf, grabbed a Wye Valley HPA which was priced at £3.90 and sat duwn but as soon as I did I got a message from Laura advising that her and Pezza were in Katz. The HPA was very drinkable so I downed it and legged it to join them as Laura said they weren’t out long. I don’t sprint often as it’s not a good look but sometimes needs much.

Laura and Pez were in good form and Jason the landlord was also at the bar so it was a very pleasant couple of pints but then it was Trough time.

Live entertainment was on with Delayed Response playing fronted by my great friend, the legend and former Sci-Chem co-worker and my podcast partner in crime Sean Westwood. The ex Sci-Chem contingent was boosted by Don Mills and Jon White, two also absolute top blokes. Sean’s missus Sammy and Jon’s partner Becki were also in. The pub was heaving and there were motorbikes parked outside. It was as if the pub had regressed back to the glory days of the mid 00’s when I used it regularly.

It was a good set from Sean and the lads. The second song was “Buck Rogers” by Feeder with Sean changing the line “get a house in Devon” switching said county for Walsall which went down a storm. A class cover of Iron Maiden’s “Run To The Hills” and then Beatles “Twist And Shout.” One of my favourite film scenes is in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off when he belts out that song on the float and I’d have loved that role for that bit alone.

“Proud Mary” followed, a song I adored as a child and when my dad got a new car with a tape deck in the early 80’s I was forever listening to that track and re-winding the cassette. I eventually broke it and never fessed up. Sorry Dad if you’re looking down. Set 1 ended with an emphatic cover of “Turning Japanese” a song I can certainly relate too.

During the half time break Don suggested we go in the little bar so we could chat and have a catch up but there was absolutely no room at the inn in there. Jesus and Mary would have been very impressed.

Set 2 was also good, with Sean even treating me to an “o ar” between two of the songs. The band gave way to a dj. Me and Don headed outside, initially to say our goodbyes but we ended up standing there for about 20 minutes chatting. The Trough was given the opening night that it deserved. The bar staff certainly earned their wages, they were on the go all night. Good luck to Angie and her team.

Don grabbed an Uber and I popped for a night cap in the Walsall Arms which is standard behaviour on my part. Woza and his missus Becky were in but just heading off. I had one pint, but as I hadn’t eaten properly before heading out I was starting to feel it so I called it a night.

Class night, great band, top company. And I still have two bog rolls left so no rush to head back down to Savers.

Hi all. It’s been a while yeah? Apologies the blog has gone quiet. I’ve had loads on and little writing time. Not complaining though. I’m really happy with life at the mo and that’s not always been the case.

Yesterday was St George’s Day. The national day of England and one of my favourite days of the year. As is the norm it’s English music only as I was getting ready and this time “Sense” by Lightning Seeds, “Death” by White Lies, “Magic Hour” by Cast, “Vice” by Razorlight and “Nothing Matters” by The Last Dinner Party were the choices. The latter of those I’ve really got into this last month and I’d love to sing it at karaoke despite it being performed by a female. Be interested to see if any ladies make eye contact with me while I’m belting out the chorus line of “and I will fuck you like nothing matters.”

I headed to town and first mission was to visit Eclipse Records, now located just inside The Crossing At St Paul’s Church building next to the bus station. This independent record shop is owned by fellow Walsall FC fan and all round top lad Pete Holland. He’d had something made specially for me so I popped in. Pete wasn’t about but his daughter was serving who was friendly and welcoming. We had a decent chat. Music along with Walsall FC, pubs and me is one of the subjects I can talk about all day. Turns out we both have “Acquiesce” as our favourite Oasis song. You can checkout the Eclipse online store here eclipse-records.co.uk

From there it was off to Jack & Ada’s for a superb full English breakfast and then the gym. Now at this point I need to mention that I have booked off St George’s Day when it has fallen on a week day every year since 1993 but this is the first time that the gym has occurred on this most magnificent of days. It was a routine visit other than finding out that it is quite tricky trying to hold in a fart when you are on level 5 of the treadmill. Normally I’d have unleashed it but a lass had rocked up on the machine next to me and there were no other suspects in the vicinity.

Last up was ASDA. I love shopping and if I had the money I’d do it more often. I’d heard the Heinz were bringing back the cheesy beans so you can imagine my excitement when I saw a shelf full of cans of them. This joy died when I saw the price. £1.80 for 1 can. I was very angry but still grabbed a can for research purposes. Although who am I kidding? Had it been two days after payday rather than 2 before I’d have probably cleared the shelf. The cheese they use now in them is Cathedral City. If you’ve ever wondered which city this refers to it is Wells in Somerset. I know this because I am sad and have absolutely no life and researched it once in case it came up in a pub quiz. Which it hasn’t. I also bought a tube of BBQ Pringles because on the Monday morning Absolute Radio Breakfast Show during the “is it weird that I?” feature, a lass had messaged in saying that she eats Pringles upside down as they taste better that way and I wanted to test this.

Something occurred to me whilst using the self service checkout. Since the rise of these machines you no longer get the kids football teams offering to pack your shopping. Is that still a thing? Although last time I used this service it didn’t go well. I paid the £2 and let them get to work while I had a flirt with the checkout lass. It was only when I got home I saw the horrors within those bags. Items just chucked in. Heavy things on top of bread. White plastic bottles in with mixed colours. It was carnage.

I got home and did a bit of work in the back garden. Josh and his wife Lyndsey had been around the previous day and cleared all the chainsaw debris from the previous year which I was very grateful for. Lyndsey had even neatly placed the to let sign back in the neighbours garden which they had thrown into mine after moving in. Nice to see it go back where it came. Who knew to let signs have boomerang qualities with just a bit of encouragement?

It was pub time. First up was Black Country Arms. Kim’s daughter Holly was serving. She is ace and I hadn’t seen her for ages so that was nice. A few fellow Saddlers were in so conversation flowed along with the ale.

The Tap & Tanner had put out a Facebook post advertising their St George’s Day event, with Strongbow and John Smiths at £1.75 a pint. It was never going to be John Smiths but the Strongbow appealed to me. I love The Tap but barely use it nowadays. The last few visits the service hasn’t been great and the last time was when I went to meet Kev Paddock and Dan Gilbert. Kev gave me £20 upon arrival and said “get the round in”. It took that long to get served that he thought I’d done a runner with his cash. So tempted by the cheap offer I headed in. I got served straight away and forgot the offers ordering Inch’s instead but it was really good.

Next up was Katz. I’d done an event in there on Friday night where I’d delivered over 3 hours of anecdotes about my life to a group of friends. Colin on the bar had helped to set it up and it was nice to have a chat with him about how it went. He said “you’ll have to do another one”. A couple of folk have asked for a second one too. I then came up with the title. “Anecdotes Night II. Return Of The Twat.” I just need some material now.

From there it was the Walsall Arms to meet one of my best friends Woza. The regular Tuesday afternoon karaoke was on, hosted by the amazing local singer Carla Yates. Kerry the lovely barmaid was on looking resplendent in an England football shirt, and the wonderful landlady Jaz was also about being her usual delightful self. I mentioned that I was doing a blog and requested a picture. This turned into quite the photoshoot as Woza tried various angles and distances and Jaz did quality control checks until we got one that she was happy with. Cheers Jaz.

My favourite beer Lemon Dream was on and a buffet was on the bar which was very much appreciated. As is normal for when I meet Woza he couldn’t get a word in as I talked non stop for a good half hour. But we had a good time, planned future blog missions and I even told him an anecdote I’ve never told anyone which was cut from Friday night.

We called it a night about 9pm but what a day it was. Same time next year St George yeah?

P.s Pringles don’t taste any better upside down.

It was an up and out early jobbie last Saturday. I had to be at The Square Peg in Birmingham at 11 to meet Shaz. Shaz is one of my longest standing friends having met her at a concert in 1990 but I hadn’t seen her since the legendary Great Barr day last Summer where it’s fair to say that I reached advanced levels of refreshment. Also I’d not been in The Peg since it reopened after refurbishment so it was exciting all round.

I arrived bang on time and ventured in wondering how the place would look. I find that modern day pub refurbs follow the same blue print. I.e remove any semblance of character and make it shit but this place had kept it’s features which was nice.

I got served straight away and headed for the coffee machine with my mug. Considering how drunk I got last time I saw Shaz, this time I was being good and just having latte’s. I touched the screen, stepped back and awaited my drink. I noticed it wasn’t coming and zoned back into the situation. Unlike the coffee machine in Walsall Wetherspoon this one was eager for more knowledge. Firstly caffeinated or decaffeinated? It’s never going to be decaff is it George? Then hot or cold. I couldn’t cope with this. I have a strict no decision making before midday at weekends policy but I put this aside, sated the machines thirst for knowledge and finally got my drink.

Shaz was already in and we had a great 90 minutes (not often a Walsall fan can say that) catching up, talking old memories and there was even an interjection of a poached egg recipe from Shaz after I expressed my desire to be able to cook those. Last time I tried to cook a poached egg it turned out like a lava lamp. My brother who is a Head Chef in a hotel in Eastbourne more than hoovered up the cooking skills in our family. I can only mash potato when dancing to Do You Love Me?

I went to the bog, and they are very smart. There is a full length mirror by the door which is adjacent to the urinals and I found that with just a small turn of the head I could admire myself whilst in full flow. I pray that I am not the only person to do this.

Shaz ordered a drink via the app, which is a bit new fangled for me. I like going up the bar, especially as outside of work ordering drinks is one of the few times females talk to me. I grabbed another latte and returned.

I’d had the Duran Duran classic New Moon On Monday in my head all day and I kept bursting into the chorus figuring that Shaz wouldn’t mind as she is a big fan of said group. I did apologise but pointed out that it’s their best song. “Actually, that’s Save A Prayer” was Shaz’s response. Now one thing that this blog site of mine is consistently short off is controversial outbursts so thanks Shaz for providing my readers with one. I did point out that we live in a democratic country so she is allowed to be wrong.

Shaz departed as she had missions. I grabbed a hot chocolate as I like value from my refillable hot drink Wetherspoons cup. I was in no hurry. I must point out now ladies and gentlemen that the staying on the latte’s was only a limited time offer while I was with Shaz. Booze was always to follow. The plan was to continue on to Hockley and get the last two pubs in that I needed to complete a blog I’ve been working on since last March but then Craig text asking what I was up to and did I want to meet up later for Walsall beers. I knew that this would involve curry and I’ve not seen Crags since January so sorry Hockley but I was heading back to good ole DH.

I hadn’t planned on being in the house this afternoon so I had some rare settee time and treated myself to “Like You Do” the best of Lightning Seeds album. So many wonderful songs with Sugar Coated Iceberg and Sense being the best two imo. Sense is amazing as is the Terry Hall version of it. Next time I’m in a relationship this will be one of my anthems but then again my last missus was back in 2007 so I’m not holding my breath on that front.

Crags arrived and we headed straight to Walsall Arms, Jaz the landlady was serving which is always a delight, and the music in there must have been tailored to my needs. The La’s, Blur and Kaiser Chiefs all figured. It was very pleasant and we stayed for a second.

Katz was next and we arrived just in time to see the England winning drop goal in the rugby which was nice. They were out of Wainwrights though. I can only imagine someone had cleaned it out by drinking loads of it the day before after Jase, the landlord’s wedding. The main room was busy with an event, with many in attendance including Mel, Jase’s now wife.

We hit the bar. Some men joined us who steered the conversation towards Premier League football which I wasn’t interested in. Craig had set me a challenge to name 20 of the 27 countries in the world where the capital city begins with the same letter as the name of the country, so I went into stand by mode and thought about that. I eventually got about 15 with Andorra (Andorra la Vella) being my favourite although when I mentioned Greenland and not being sure if Nuuk or Godthab is the English word for the capital, this was disallowed as Greenland is a Danish territory not a country. Had this been ruled out by the linesman putting his flag up late the fans would have rioted.

With the Wainwrights off we had Farmer Jim’s pear and passion fruit cider cider which was very good. Craig asked me a question about vegetables. I’m okay with capital cities, vegetables less so be it eating or knowledge of them. I didn’t get the answer which was cauliflower. This would be like asking Superman a question about Kryptonite. Glad I didn’t know it.

We moved on and headed into town The shutter was up on Chambers which used to be Bar Sport which I’ve not managed to tick off since it reopened due to not actually catching it open. Music was playing loudly but as soon as Craig tried the (albeit locked) door it immediately stopped mid song. Someone must have been watching. Quick pretend we’re closed. The little bald prick out the two of them will clean us out of Wainwrights. Please note, as I’ve not been in, I don’t know if they actually do Wainwrights. As we walked away the music started again.

We had a quick pint in St Matts Hall, the Walsall Wetherspoon and there was no latte for me this time.

We ended up in Gurkha Bhojan. I nipped to the loo and by the time I came out Craig had become best mates with the waiter. They chatted about everything. As you know I’m not one for talking to people I don’t know so was more than happy with this. I thought they were going to start swapping recipes at one point. Now that would have got me involved as I now know one for poached eggs.

I had tandoori chicken, chicken tikka massala and cheese naan. The food was amazing with the cheese naan being the best I’ve ever had. Craig paid for the food in exchange for me paying for the taxi back to mine. Terms I was more than happy with.

Splendid day. Sorry Hockley, I will come to you soon and as I write this a week later I still haven’t had poached eggs.

The Registry (formerly Yates’s) in Leicester Street have recently started doing Sunday dinners. I’ve eaten there lots of times before, the current 3 starters for £10.99 is superb and does me for a meal in itself but I thought I’d give the Sunday dinner a whirl.

When I used to eat there on a Monday, post work and pre CAMRA/Friends Of Highgate Brewery meet ups I’d sit on the first table behind the stairs, but on a Thursday it’s always table 14 by the window. I had no Sunday strategy. I pondered the Walsall FC booth but someone was in it, as was a group at table 14 so opted for number 12 in front of the big screen. It had to be an even number.

I hadn’t seen the barmaid before before but she was friendly and efficient and then it was back to the table for menu time.

The turkey is cheapest, then pork and finally beef although a combination of all 3 can be ordered. Sides such as pigs in blankets (yum yum) cauliflower cheese (no thanks George) and stuffing can also be added. You can also ask for more Yorkshire puddings and roast potatoes which is a nice additional option.

I went for pork and although lots of vegetables are included I asked for these to be withheld. The food came out quickly, served by Manager and all round top lad Matt Morris-Higgins. He did query the lack of vegetables but I assured him I was more than happy with what I’d got. The plate was huge. I immediately thought of the episode of I’m Alan Partridge where he moans about the small plates at the hotel breakfast buffet so he takes his own big plate. Well he’d have been impressed at the size pf this one.

As with any meal of this nature the acid test is the roast potatoes. Pleased to say that potatoes in The Registry passed this test. The pork was lovely and the Yorkshire puddings absolutely bang on.

The music was modern stuff but then long time staff memeber and local legend Carl Bob went behind the decks for a second. He must have pressed a button as the music changed to Voice Of The Beehive and Sheryl Crow. All good.

Desserts are available, the honeycomb cheesecake sounded amazing but I opted to be a good boy and miss out on that. I was in view of the the two poles at the front of the dance floor and considered having a few spins round one of those to burn off some of the dinner but there were a few people in and nobody wanted to see that.

There was two real ales on but I stuck to the Thatchers cider which really hit the spot. Dinners are served until 9pm so you can rock up even later than I did and still get fed. The dinner was very yummy and filling. Thanks to all of the staff.