Go On, Show Us Your Ossetts

Date : Saturday November 17th, 2018
Match : Carlton Town vs Ossett United
Squad : Bowen, Quincy, Richo, Laddso, Laddsy (5th cap).

After our trip to the Midlands it was time to head north again. This time we were heading to the Nottingham suburb of Carlton in the borough of Gedling. An early start was the order of the day getting us to the station ready for the hour and a half train ride to Nottingham.

Once in Nottingham there were a number of pubs on the list, the first of which was to be the Vat and Fiddle. Trouble was we were early so like proper beer heads we awaited opening time. Now the Vat & Fiddle is no ordinary pub - it's actually the tap room for the Castle Rock Brewery so promised much.

The Vat And Fiddle - Castle Rock Brewery

Promised much....and delivered. A staggering array of ales on tap and based on our sample, most of them were damn good. Castle Rock own and other guest ales, light beers, dark beers, all beers. Beer heaven in short. Friendly staff also, a good looking menu - we could have stayed there all day. However other things were calling....darn it.

Beer mmmm

So onwards and back past the station towards the town centre. And into the Fellows Morton & Clayton. First impressions were decent - not loads of beers but a few decent choices.

Fellows Morton & Clayton

We chose, sat and perused the menu. A burger and a load of pies later and it's film time.
Which is lucky because there is a film star in town. Yep - none other than the legend that is Clint Eastwood (or maybe it was some other cowboy).

Keeping the streets of Nottingham safe

Next stop - the Canalhouse. And wow.................the beer day was just about to get even better. On entering you realise that there is actually canal in the pub - must be dangerous when the beer is flowing (Richo would defo be in there). And choosing what to drink was an issue with so much choice - so we had two paddles amounting to 11 different beers.

Quincy is excited!

Each glass had the name of the beer written on it so it became a big tasting session after which we concluded that all beer is good and Laddsy is fussy.

Done with beer (as if) we trundled off to find a taxi and head out to today's ground. It's approximately a 4 mile trip out to the Stoke Lane ground. On arrival we find another low rise out of town ground.

Let me in

The ground itself is tidy enough. A warm clubhouse and a snack window is all a man needs after all. Later as the sun starts to go down we find ourselves much in need of that warmth too.

Where the referee was concerned the bench never let the crowd get a word in edgeways 

As the temperature dropped we managed to forage some chips and a few cups of Bovril. We also purchased some raffle tickets and were rewarded amply when Quincy managed to snaffle the first prize. A tin of Celebrations - some of which we ate - the rest of which we stuffed into pockets to feast on during the second half.

Quincy's joy was shortlived as the Leather Finger was about to strike

As for the match itself, the goals were at either end of the game. Joe Wilkinson put the visitors in the lead in the 5th minute and in all honesty it was Ossett that made all the running for the first 70 minutes. However they were unable to build on that lead and paid for it as Riece Bertram equalised for Carlton on 90 minutes.
Most of what was in between the two goals was fairly low standard stuff - the ball in the air a lot and the pitch did not seem to be helping the teams either.
At the conclusion of the game we headed back into the bar for a warming beer and a chat with the club's Commercial Director before heading back to town.

Next stop on the Nottingham beer odyssey was the trusty and ever good Brewdog. You can trust a Brewdog, Quality beer, quality food, prices to match....but hey there's a price on quality right?
Anyway the beer was very good.

Can you see me now?

What about now?

We still had time for some chips and a last beer in the Barley Twist. A small bar....next to a chip shop. That's the extent of my memory of that one.

Then it was back to the station for the journey home. An all round great beer day.

Stats
Match
Northern Premier League Division One East

Carlton Town  1 Ossett United 1

Stadium – Bill Stokeld Stadium. Capacity – 600
Attendance – 108

Pubs - 5 plus football club
Best  - The VAT and Fiddle but all were good
Worst - The Barley Twist (I can't remember it so by definition not memorable
Lunch - Good (Fellows Morton & Clayton)
Dinner - Chips
Pies - None

Marks
Ground  - 4/10
Match - 3/10
Beer - 10/10
Food - 7/10
Pie         - 0/10

Enjoyment Factor  - 8/10 - the beer carried it through