Birds, Beer & Little Drummer Girls

Date: Saturday 18^th February 2017

Match: Nuneaton Town v Bradford Park Avenue

Squad: Bowen, Quincy, Richo, Laddsy, Laddso.

All aboard – Nuneaton (pop 86,552) is a fairly pain free hour and a quarter train ride from Peterborough so off we went with a plan and a bounce in our step.  And boy did we have a plan. Once in Nuneaton we did the usual and set off to find the local Spoons. The Felix Holt was a worthy starting place and breakfast and beer was had by all.

Once nourished we set off for the taxi rank and then proceeded down the line until we found a carriage for 5. And off we went to the Church End Brewery.  A brick built edifice nestled down a lane between some old council houses, the Brewery has a spacious two room tap room so in we went. 

Now Church End is a well renowned brewery with many awards to it’s name so a couple of hours with their home brews would be satisfying enough. Add in an in house beer festival and you have a grown man’s utopia. So some pleasant beers were had from the extensive menu. 

 

There was also a visit from some exotic birds – the feathered kind.

 

All in all a great start to the day so from there it was into the taxi and onto the ground. 

The ground is a council built affair built predominantly in the 2000s – so a bit soulless. The one genius redemption though was that as soon as you walked through the turnstile you were in the bar – sheer genius. Not so clever was the club shop – which is closed on match days!

Anyway after finding our way out of the bar it was on to the game. The game was decent enough but the home crowd were quiet as the visitors took a late first half lead. Luckily the away fans had a drummer and some Yorkshire chanting.  Some chips and gravy were very welcome during the break as was the Guinness.

Bradford scored again midway through the second half and it looked game over but Nuneaton did peg a goal back to set up an exciting last 15 minutes. All to no avail though as the game finished 2-1 to the visitors. Obviously you have to pass back through the bar on the way out so rude not to avail ourselves of a drink. We met the Bradford drummer as the fans waited for the players to get changed (they shared a coach). 

Then it was onwards into town – a town we hadn’t explored too much. The next stop was the Crossed  Khukris Gurkah restaurant and some curry. An excellent meal was had along with some of the hottest chilli sauce you are ever likely to taste. Very enjoyable.

Then it was back to the train station and the trip home. Can’t remember it so it must have been uneventful.

Stats

Nuneaton Town               1              Bradford Park Avenue   2

Stadium – Liberty Way.   Capacity – 6,250              Attendance – 573

Pubs      -              2

Pubs we’d visit again      -              The Church End Brewery Tap Room

Lunch    -              Brekkie at The Felix Holt plus in ground food

Dinner  -              Crossed Khikris Gurkha Restaurant – excellent curry

Pies        -              Poor

Ground                -             Decent

Match                  -              Not bad

Beer                     -              Excellent

Food                    -              Average

Pie                       -              Very poor

Enjoyment Factor – 10/10 because of the brewery.

It's brrrr up North

Date: Saturday 17^th December 2016

Match: Alfreton Town v Salford City

Squad: Bowen, Richo, Quincy

All aboard – and off we went to chilly Derbyshire and a visit to Alfreton (pop 22,302). A trundle of 1 hour 45 minutes on the train and then a 20 minute wander into town. The town centre is a fairly typical small town centre. After building up a thirst we gathered our thoughts in the King Alfred pub.

After a loosener there we trundled on, picking up Gaviscon on the way, to the Waggon & Horses – the obligatory Wetherspoon’s offering. And it wasn’t half bad – decent beers and good enough that we had some lunch there.

On to the The Blue Bell – this seemed a bit more

traditional. Friendly enough but no great ales. 

Then a lengthy walk towards the ground, punctuated by catching some racing in the Plough Inn. Again beer choice was poor but it was wet. 

On to the game. The crowd was segregated and I was asked if I was an away fan but even my best Manc accent wouldn’t fool that smart copper. Inside there was a little club shop. And pies.

Anyway with the day still bright we parked our bums behind the goal with the home fans in the first half. It was a decent game and the home side went ahead on 24 minutes. The next excitement was the queue for the pies which was a friendly affair. The pies however were not really worth the wait.

The visit to the toilet likewise – a corrugated tin with no light so I couldn’t see a thing (not even a little thing).

The rest of the stadium was decent though. Seating available behind the goal, plenty of covered space. Nice and tidy all things considered.

Into the 2^nd half and the game is getting spiky. Eventually after plenty of pressure Salford find an equaliser. By this time we have moved to the relative warmth behind the dug outs where we listened to the banter with the Salford bench. Despite efforts from both sides it ended all square and we left to find the station….via the pub.

We passed the Victoria Inn on the way to the ground but didn’t have time to go in so we felt the need to put that right on the way back out. And as it turned out it was probably the best of the bunch. Sport and real ales available, so we watched the scores come in and enjoyed a good final beer in Alfreton before heading back to the station for the journey home. 

Stats

Alfreton Town   1              Salford City         1

Stadium – The Impact Arena.                     Attendance – 718 (Capacity 3,600)

Pubs      -              5

Pubs we’d visit again      -              The Victoria Inn

Lunch    -              Waggon & Horses (Wetherspoon)

Dinner  -              Think it was just pie???

Scores for the day

Ground                -             Decent

Match                  -             Good

Beer                     -             Very average

Food                    -              Not bad

Pie                       -              Poor

Enjoyment Factor – 7/10 it’s always good to be up north after all. Friendly enough town, decent crowd.

What's the plan?

So where did this all start? To be honest I can't really remember.
Logically I guess it's the love of football and beer. More particularly grassroots football and real ale / craft beer. It may have just been boredom mind.
So what to do. Visit football grounds and towns we don't know. Discover new pubs, bars, restaurants and friends. Come home pissed. 
Let's hit the tracks - choo choo.....