A Right Royal Visit

Date : Saturday October 13th, 2018
Match : Leamington FC vs Curzon Ashton
Squad : Bowen, Quincy, Richo, Laddso (5th cap), Laddsy, Beebs, Kenny (debut).

All aboard for an early start for this trip across the Midlands to see Leamington FC. The trip to Leamington isn't straightforward. Firstly the trek across to Birmingham New Street before changing to head back south east towards Leamington. The longer journey means a liquid brunch whilst perusing the horses to see how we can lose our money today.

We were taking a big squad including Kenny Ladds on his (her) first trip so keeping everyone together was going to be a challenge. This even applied to on the train as Kenny departed to the loo just before Leicester station and came out of the loo to find 4 million people had subsequently boarded the train.
The next challenge was the very confusing New Street station but eventually we found our connection and got on our way.

Royal Leamington Spa is part of an urban sprawl with Warwick and has a population itself of 55,733.
It is named after the River Leam which we cross as we head from the station towards the centre of town. First impressions are that it's posher than the places we usually visit! I'm even inspired to photograph a church....

All Saints Church

We had a plan of some pubs we'd like to visit but as we trooped up The Parade we encountered the obligatory Wetherspoon's pub and so it would be rude to pass by.

The Benjamin Satchwell

The Benjamin Satchwell is a fairly typical 'spoon. Long and narrow inside with a decent choice of beers. However it was standing room only and it was also boiling in there. The beer was ok but not great so it was a one beer stop.

So onwards via the bank of Betfred - up The Parade and then left down Regent Street to find the Fizzy Moon. The Fizzy Moon claims to have been voted best bar in Warwickshire and also to have the best beer garden in Leamington. So did it live up to the hype?
Well it was pretty good to be fair. A friendly welcome, a modern feel and decor, a great outdoors (helped by the mild autumn) and some great beers. We also tested the food in the name of lunch and that was pretty good too. All in all a great pub that did us proud for a couple of hours.

"I've got a tip....it can't lose"

Cheers

Nosh time

Kenny

Kenny, Laddsy and Laddso

So it was a bit of a bind to leave the Fizzy Moon but football called. A trek to the taxi rank and then a debate with the driver about where the football ground was and we are off. Eventually we find ourselves in the car park of an out of town low rise football ground. You could barely see it from the road.

Once into the ground it's into the bar for a pre-match refresher then on to the terracing. The ground is tidy enough, an unexciting out of town non-league ground. The atmosphere is good and friendly though so no complaints. We settled behind one of the goals and enjoyed some great banter with the crowd. The first and main incident however happened on five minutes when an innocuous challenge brought a penalty award for the visitors from the referee - a decision that was to bring her a torrent of abuse for the remaining 85 minutes.

Adam Morgan duly swept the ball home to give his team the lead and that was almost all the excitement done. Both teams struggled with the swirling wind and the ball was being humped and then heading back where it came from. Time for a beer......

The bar was nice (or was it the barmaid) and the beer was not bad so it kept us happy through a scrappy second half and through to the final whistle. The best entertainment in the 2nd half was the irate local who made his way steadily around the ground varying his abuse of the referee according to his audience.
Anyway back to the taxi and back to the town. The taxi dropped us at The Royal Pug, a nice place with good beers and a nice beer garden.

"Honest I never said it was a dead cert"

So from the Royal Pug it was back to the station. As we had no meal booked some people got some grub, some of us went to the Avenue and had a cheeky pint.

The Avenue was a lively looking little boozer - a world away from the trendy types we had tried to then. A proper pub with pool and tv and probably a fight a night. Watered and fed we headed to the station for the trip home armed with snacks, wine and some tunes. Cue bad singing episode....

All in all another good trip - albeit with a longer journey.


Stats
Match
National League North

Leamington 0 Curzon Ashton 2

Stadium – The Phillips 66 Community Stadium = Capacity – 2,300
Attendance – 703

Pubs - 4 plus football club
Best  - The Fizzy Moon
Worst - The Benjamin Satchwell
Lunch - Very Good (The Fizzy Moon)
Dinner - Various fast food
Pies - None

Marks
Ground  - 6/10
Match - 6/10
Beer - 8/10
Food - 8/10
Pie         - 0/10

Enjoyment Factor  - 7/10

Knee deep in the Waders

Date : Saturday March 24th, 2018
Match : Biggleswade Town vs Merthyr Town
Squad : Bowen, Quincy, Richo.

A bare bones squad, depleted by golfing commitments, set off to discover the sleepy town and football club of Biggleswade (population 16,551). It's a fairly easy train trip down the East Coast Mainline to Biggleswade - 30 minutes or so. On arrival there's a 15 minute walk into town where
first impressions of Biggleswade are that it is quiet…..very very quiet.

A saunter through the town square and the small market, an obligatory stop off for Gaviscon then we solved the mystery of where everyone was. On entering the local Wetherspoons, The Crown Hotel, it was evident that this was where everyone hangs out.

Crown Hotel

The Crown Hotel is a decent 'spoons too - the main bar area is spacious and there's a good choice of beers. After a couple of brown ales we decided that we would forego the Wetherspoons food and go in search of other options.

Richo had done some extensive research and had discovered that the New Inn Alehouse and Kitchen was the must go place. So that's where we headed.

The New Inn

It turns out this is actually a Greene King pub. A rubbish one at that so after a quick pint we moved on to the White Hart, another Greene King pub but a bit busier.

The White Hart

In need of food we decided this would be our lunch stop so we duly ordered - gammon for me, pies for Richo and Quincy. And the food was pretty good.

So fueled up we set off for the ground. The ground is situated by a busy main road some 30 minutes walk out of town so with no Laddsy to cramp our desire to walk we denied ourselves a taxi and marched. We had 50 minutes before kick off and only 30 minutes walking required so obviously we could fit in a pub stop on the way. So we stopped at the Whistle & Flute. It had the racing on but no real ales so Guinness it was.

Whistle and Flute

Onwards to the ground, out of town and under the A1. Admission to the ground was £10 and as is customary we checked out the bar first. Again no ales so a Guinness in a plastic glass had to suffice. Snaffled a pin badge too then headed out to watch the game.

A decent game it was too. Some decent play, Merthyr content with the long ball game, Biggleswade trying to exploit the space down the flanks.  The first goal came within 10 minutes – a cracking top corner effort from Nathan Hicks giving the 11 year old Merthyr keeper no chance.  On the half hour Merthyr equalised but only Richo was watching at that stage due to a couple of calls of nature so who knows how that came about. It certainly livened up the travelling Merthyr contingent who were making a racket over the far side.

The Merthyr Noise

Half time fun - Quincy hides his eyes whilst we hide

We bought raffle tickets off an enthusiastic and smiley WAG and then half time came and we took to the home end for the second half.  We were joined by 10 or so harmless looking Waders. And then they proceeded to sing.

and then they proceeded to bang the corrugated shelter......

...and then Cuddles the spaniel came and joined in.

Anyway Nathan Hicks gave them plenty of reason on the hour when he fired home what proved to be the winner and the home side were fairly comfortable from there on in.
It was starting to get chilly by the end of the game so we made a quick exit back towards town, stopping at the Pembroke Arms for further real ale disappointment.

Pembroke Arms

Then there was time for quick pint back in the Wetherspoons and then onto the Biggles Lounge, a small but tidy Curry House just off the High Street.

The curry was very good and there was a pleasant, friendly atmosphere in the place. It was pretty busy by the time we left and headed back to the station. All in all a low key but good day out finished off with a band in the club.


Stats
Match
Southern League Premier Division Central

Biggleswade Town 2 Merthyr Town 1

Stadium – The Carlsberg Stadium = Capacity – 3,000 (probably)
Attendance – 202

Pubs - 5 plus football club and our club so good effort
Best - The Crown Hotel (Wetherspoons)
Worst - Whistle & Flute although any of the others really
Lunch - Good (White Hart)
Dinner - Very Good (The Biggles Lounge)
Pies - None

Marks
Ground - 4/10
Match - 7/10
Beer - 5/10 saved by the 'spoons
Food - 8/10
Pie         - 0/10

Enjoyment Factor  - 7/10   the home fans singing was worth the admission.

50th birthdays and odd shaped balls

Date : Saturday February 17th, 2018
Match : Leicester Tigers vs Harlequins
Squad : Bowen (5th cap), Quincy (5th cap), Richo (5th cap), Laddso, Laddsy, Beebs (debut), Picton (special guest)

And so it went that friends of this blog did actually make the age of 50. In shocked celebration we embarked on a special birthday trip. Laddsy has long advocated a rugby trip and new member Beebs is a lifelong Tigers fan (honestly he has a shirt old enough to prove it). So on the eve before the trip we gathered at the local wine bar to surprise the boys and make plans.

It's a fairly painless one hour train journey to Leicester (population 444,000) and we disembarked the Rugger Express at about 11 - ready for a beer. By the time we hit the first pub we had already lost a member. Kev Picton is a wise man and his decision to start rather than end the day with a large kebab may have been genius. The rest of us decamped next door to - yes you guessed it - a Wetherspoons pub.

The Last Plantagenet, Leicester

The Last Plantagenet is a spacious and fairly typical 'spoons. Not a bad one either with a good choice of beers. Parked in a good spot with enough room we enjoyed beer and food ordered via the 'spoons app thus trumping those queuing at the bar. Horses were picked, accas were discussed, beer was drunk - 2 1/2 hours later we thought we'd better move on.

The Locker Room was the next stop. A sporty place with big screens and fizzy beer. Pleasant enough to while away some time whilst watching Sheffield Wednesday and Swansea slog out a nil all.

Leaving the Locker Room we headed towards the ground. Once in sight we could safely shelter in a pub again. This time the busy Bricklayers Arms.

The Bricklayers Arms, Welford Road, Leicester

Cobs on the bar were devoured and beers enjoyed but time was running short to get in the ground for kick off. Off we set again for the final leg and into the ground. Our tickets were on the terracing and getting in late it proved a struggle to get a good viewpoint but who cares when you can hold a beer in your hand.

The game itself is a lively affair. It's Six Nations time so both squads are shorn of many key players. In fact the most famous of those on the pitch is referee Wayne Barnes. That doesn't detract from the quality on show though and the highlight of a competitive game is Matt Toomua's solo try to edge Tigers back into a lead they would never relinquish. In the end the result looks comfortable for Tigers but it was anything but and a very enjoyable game.

At half time we had clocked the TV crew set up in the bar so on the final whistle it was straight back for a nose. And sure enough it was BT Sport and the Premiership show with Craig Doyle and Lawrence Dallaglio starring. 

The big man arrives

Getting ready

On air

After our moment of stardom and another beer it was time to wander in search of a grown man's treasure - curry. We ended up walking right through town and back past the station before we found somewhere that would accommodate us. The Mumbai Inn was that curry house and it was not bad at all.

Mumbai Inn

I'd be lying if I said I could remember what I ate. I can remember that Beebs just had starters and that he won a wad on a horse called Carolinea. The rest of my memories are augmented by the following photos.

Then it was back to the station and train and taxi home before a last one in the club. Good effort all round.

Stats 

Match

Leicester Tigers 33 Harlequins 18 

Stadium – Welford Road Stadium, Leicester.   Capacity – 28,849 

Attendance – 23,647 

Pubs - 3 

Best - The Bricklayers Arms 

Worst - The Locker Room 

Lunch - Wetherspoons 

Dinner - Mumbai Inn 

Pies - none it's rugger

Marks 

Ground - 7/10 

Match -   8/10 

Beer -      6/10 

Food -      7/10 

Pie-n/a 

Enjoyment Factor – 7/10  

The home of football (and beer)

Date: Saturday 23rd September 2017 

Target: Sheffield FC v Basford United 

Agents: Mick, Quincy, Richo, & Laddso 

All aboard – and we off we head to the home of football – the home of Sheffield FC which is of course in Dronfield (obviously). Dronfield is in North East Derbyshire and is a small, unassuming town with a population of just over 21,000. The town does have its own football team playing on the other side of town but it’s current claim to fame is hosting the oldest football club in the world – Sheffield FC. 

Sheffield FC was founded in 1857 and remains a proudly amateur club. It never owned its own ground in Sheffield so became somewhat nomadic and it wasn’t until 2001 that it finally bought its own ground…..in Dronfield. 

The Coach & Horses Ground has a capacity of just over 2,000 but its main appeal is the Coach & Horses pub nestled in the car park. Actually I think the ground is in the car park of the pub but whichever way it’s a gem of a pub with good food and good beer. More of that later. 

The journey to Dronfield entails a change at Nottingham. Time enough for a quickie at The Company Inn then back to the station for the 2nd part of our trip. 

On arrival in Dronfield it looked like we had been dropped off in the middle of nowhere and in truth I think we probably had. For everyone in need of a wee (and that was all) then a fairly tedious search began.  

With no obvious signs of life, we headed up the hill towards the town, and found a little shopping park with a Sports Centre (for the toilet) and a bakery (for snacks).  Once relieved we popped into the closest pub, a nice looking place called The Blue Stoops. A friendly welcome and a good range of ales gave us a good first impression.  

The Blue Stoops

Next stop was a fair walk away. The Dronfield Arms is a great little boozer with a great selection of craft ales and its own micro-brewery to boot – The Hopjacker Brewery. This was a fairly low key pub with some oddball locals (one in short skirt and heels bless him) but the beer was great.  

The walk to the ground is a good 15-20 minutes. The reward is the Coach & Horses pub. A Thornbridge Brewery pub which means Jaipur on draught. Not only that though – a great range of other Thornbridge and other local brews was most enjoyed.  They also do great pizzas - wood fired and wonderful. 

Pub & Ground in perfect harmony

Richo tucks into is lunch  - it's all his.

Thornbridge beer...mmmm

To get from the pub to the ground you literally walk across the car park. Inside the ground a badge and a shirt was acquired from some sales people young enough to be Richo’s grandson.   

The game itself was an ok affair.  Basford would go on to win this division quite easily and there were flashes of their superiority. It wasn’t one sided though…more just that Sheffield lacked real quality.  They did take the lead however – Jack Brownell converting a penalty on 39 minutes. 

The lead lasted only until the 51st minute when Keiran Wells equalised and 4 minutes later Basford had the lead when James Reid tapped in. 

The Home of Football

The main excitement left was when Basford’s Rob Duffy got sent off for a high challenge and then proceeded to fight the fans on the way down the tunnel. That was the last of the excitement mind and Basford held on comfortably to take the 3 points. 

From there it was back to the pub before braving the walk back to the station. 

Another cracking day out. 

Stats 

Match 

Sheffield FC 1        Basford United 2 

Stadium – Hummel Home of Football, Dronfield.   Capacity – 2,080 

Attendance – 235 

Pubs-4 

Best - The Coach & Horses 

Worst - Company Inn 

Lunch - Bakery 

Dinner - Pizza 

Pies - none 

Marks 

Ground - 6/10 

Match -   6/10 

Beer -    9/10 

Food -   8/10 

Pie-n/a 

Enjoyment Factor – 9/10 because of the Coach & Horses.