Coventry Street

Come on now everyone, join in…….”Let’s all sing together, Play Up Sky Blues!” No-one? Miserable bastards the lot of you but it is a good way to start this week’s blog story with what has always been my favourite square on the board, named after my home town (or was Coventry named after the square?) Coventry Street. The actual street is rather anonymous, linking the top end of Piccadilly Circus with Leicester Square; you’ve probably walked down it hundreds of times without realising its name.

So it was definitely a square that needed a little more effort than normal both in terms of dress code and attractions. The attractions element was easily sorted as the three nearest Cask Marque pubs to Coventry Street were the Captains Cabin in Norris Street, the Tom Cribb in Panton Street and the Comedy Pub just around the corner in Oxendon Street. And funnily enough the Comedy Pub (geddit, “funnily enough” – “Comedy Pub”) has live comedy on Thursday and Friday nights so it wasn’t much effort to round up the normal suspects and entice them once more aboard the good ship Monopoly with an evening of top notch chortle fun.

Well I say top notch, I’ve got to say that the featured acts for the Friday we went touring I’d never heard of before, but at only a tenner for tickets, who really cares. What was proving to be slightly more problematic was the rounding up of the tourists for the evening. Spiky Haired Ed and Aussie Pete decided to play opposites with Ed claiming he was coming all week until crunch time when he bailed out with a pitiful excuse whilst Pete said with the imminent arrival of baby Pete he couldn’t risk going out until at the last minute his better half, Aussie Nicky, told him he was allowed to go, as long as he drank halves. Charlie and New Guy Micky were as ever reliable but the girls were proving much more difficult.

On the plus side the lovely Mags was free enough to make another appearance on the tour and was even bringing along two of her friends who had nothing better to do. But the girls who had so enthusiastically taken the BGC’s life mantras to heart whilst on Leicester Square were being very difficult to commit to this evening’s square. Alektorophobia Emma, who had even stopped me in the corridor this week to say she’d had a dream about me, “where you were a teacher at my school, taking us all swimming” (I mean, what are the subconscious messages littered amongst that lot!) kept saying how much she wanted to come out but would only umm and ahhh about actually coming. Nicole apparently had done something to her back, although there was more than a whiff of the Jackanory about this story than one might at first believe and Bomber Brenda’s only contribution to this week was to ensure we were all paid! Which I have to say, she did very well and I’m more than glad she did!

But the evening was rescued from the lip of the abyss by Gemmaration Game, who not only was up for another evening of ale-based tomfoolery but had managed to drag two of the other Payroll girls into the affray (more of them later). She was also slightly worryingly enthusiastic about the dress-code I’d set for the evening. Seeing as it was Coventry Street I thought it very appropriate that we all wore something Sky Blue. I’d even gone to the expense of buying a new Coventry City replica shirt (half way through the season, so they were half price) and was more than willing to lend my CCFC hats to anyone who wanted one. As it turned out, Gemma’s sky blue dress needed ironing (now she did mention she had on sky blue pants – she brought this up, not me!) so it was only Charlie who was sporting a sky blue shirt, but he does that every day anyway!

Nice hat Charlie!

 

We emerged from Piccadilly Circus tube station and took the Trocadero exit straight into Coventry Street itself. We then performed that most annoying trick of all tourists by trying to pose a photo next to the street sign and in the process blocked a pavement full of rush hour hurrying people. Just as we were wrapping up the photo shoot I spotted two other chaps obviously waiting for us to depart so that they could get their photo. “Are you just in the shirt cos it’s Coventry Street?” asked one, “well sort of” I explained “but I bet you two are on the Monopoly Tour then?” – “yes” bemoaned the other “we’ve been at it since 7 this morning and I’m knackered!” So I cheered them up by photo-bombing their snapshot – hope they remember their day out!

Ducking down the Haymarket we were soon ensconced in the Captains Cabin, a Taylor Walker pub with nothing remarkable about it whatsoever. I think when the main pub chain Cask Marque pubs of London shared out the pubs, Taylor Walker definitely got the short straw as their places are usually quite ordinary and they’ve taken no advantage whatsoever of their locations or history. The Captains Cabin is a prime example of this as the place, whilst being friendly and well run has all the charm of a B&Q outlet.

Outside the Captains Cabin

 

But talking about charm the ladies tuned their own brand of charm on by not only joining in with drinking beer but upping the half pint measure of last time by ordering pints! In fact the first order was for 6 and ½ pints of Black Sheep bitter and the half was for Aussie Pete. Retiring to a corner table we got to know the two lucky ladies who Gemma had dragged along. Firstly there was Charlene who has a disarming way of talking like someone from Eastenders as if they were in an episode of TOWIE. Charlie seemed delighted that there was a female version of his name joining the tour so seeing as I’ve never given him a nickname I’ll do the same for Charlene. The other tour novice was Sarah-Jane for whom I’d already got a nickname, one that’s been hanging around for some time. She’d once worn a yellow and black stripped dress at work and Aussie Pete had referred to her as “Bumblebee” and even though she’s never worn the dress since and both Pete and I had never spoken to her the intervening time, the name had stuck.

So the first pints were finished, in fact it should be recorded that the girls all finished before us although I suspect this was down to much nose holding and gulping rather than savouring (Charlene slammed her glass down with a grimace commenting “Gawd, my dad would be so proud of me!”) but they were still on board enough to have a second pint (St Austell Tribute) although obviously Charlene’s dad would have been proud enough to let her onto cider now.

Yeah, it's all smiles after the 1st pint - wait until it's your forth!

 

Mag’s friends turned up about the same time as New Guy Micky which meant the tour was well and truly Oestrogen heavy for the first time. I should add that I’d got the scan with the certificate being available just by the bar but I did notice that staff were pouring beer with the swan neck nozzle in the actual beer! They really should go on the Cask Marque Training Course! (see Intermission #4 for more details)

Across from Haymarket is Panton Street and it was there that we found the corner pub of Tom Cribb. A cosy little place, this is a Shepherd Neame pub with the walls littered with boxing related pictures (and the Cask Marque certificate). Apparently Tom Cribb was a famous 19^th century bare knuckle boxer, who when retiring from the ring ran a pub called the Albion Arms on Panton Street. Although the number of the pub was different from today’s Tom Cribb, both pubs are known to have being located in the same place.

Outside the Tom Cribb - Nice hat Charlie!

 

I think Tom would have approved of the pub. Although packed, which meant the tour was spread between three tables, the pints of Late Red were superb. (I think Gemma and Bumblebee were still bravely continuing with the ale – Charlene downing pints of Strongbow like they were going out of fashion)

That doesn't look like cider Charlene!?

 

I managed to catch a few words with Mag’s two friends, Anna-Maria stunningly attractive, Italian with a 80 year old dad who’s a playboy apparently, and Natalie, just stunningly attractive.

Pints of Late Red developed into pints of Bishop’s Finger, a challenging pint for even the most seasoned of drinkers and it was this drink that probably finished me off. We moved next door to the Comedy Pub where I spotted the certificate at the far end of the bar and decided that a photo will have to satisfy Trevor for this one, but the next thing I’m really aware of is drinking Jägermeister shots with Mags at the upstairs bar of the Comedy Pub, which was where their little theatre was.

 

That is the certificate at the end - honestly!

 

It was pints of Grolsch in plastic glasses for the comedy show (if their full and bustling bar downstairs can use glass glasses why in their limited seating theatre do people have to use plastic?) and I can remember absolutely nothing of the comedians. I remember the compare, who looked like a cross between Austin Powers and Rolf Harris and who used this as part of his material, was the funniest of the evening and I can remember going back downstairs after the show and being amazed that Gemma, Charlene and Bumblebee were still there waiting for us. (apparently they couldn’t get into the show – advanced tickets ladies! I did warn you!)

The Comedy Pub’s website promises a late night of disco, karaoke and dancing but it was only Charlie, Micky and I who would descend to the abandoned bar downstairs where no-one was dancing and there was no sign of karaoke. Two or three Gin and Tonics later, one lost key later and one manly bro-hug from Charlie later, I was more than happy to take Micky up on his offer of a sofa for the night. All we had to do was cope with the mad Columbian on the Central Line and cook up our own scrambled eggs…………never defeated, we’ll fight ‘til the game is won!

Number of Cask Marque Pubs visited  = 148

Laugh? = Well not at the comics anyway. Watching Charlene drink a pint of ale, now that was worth seeing.

Is it wise to go on a pub crawl after a brewery visit? = Yes, of course. Did you really expect a different answer?

Next Stop = Water Works

Fenchurch Street Station

“It’s Christmas time and there really is no need to feel afraid.” Well, speaking personally Paul, if I was to ever wake up and find you whispering those words into my ears I’d bloody well shit myself……..but that unlikely scenario aside, that introduction is just meant to inform readers (still hopeful that I can use that noun in the plural) that this will be the last posting before we stuff our faces with turkey whilst wearing paper hats.

Again in an amazing piece of planning, the square on this festive week is Fenchurch Street station, which if you’ve noted that Vine Street was the nearest square to our offices then you’ll know that this is the second nearest square. An ideal opportunity to rally the troops and force all the previous excuse-mongers and tour-dodgers out on the street.

 

Fenchurch Street Station - One of the prettier London Stations.

 

In reality what happened was illness claimed Aussie Pete, early Xmas holidays claimed Buddy Rob and most of the other fair-weather tourists cried off for one reason or another. Still, we had the welcome return of No-Nickname Michael after his dry month of November had ended, New Guy Micky had come back from the wilderness of working from home and tour regulars Charlie and Spiky Haired Ed can always be relied on. We also had the surprising appearance of Big-J, who apart from a fleeting appearance during Cask Ale week in a non-tour venue had avoid the tour so far, quoting excuses ranging from guitar practice, family taxi duties, bicycle repairs, filing claims against other road users and writing the 10^th volume of M&S memoirs (I understand the working title is “Mark, Spencer and I”).

 

Talking about Spiky Haired Ed (well sort of) I haven’t heard anything back from Debbie and her cut and keep Spiky  Haired Ed but in other blog news I did stumble across another pub review blog site thanks to a tweet from Beery Nate – It would seem that the mysterious Pubman79 has visited several pubs that we’ve also took in as part of the tour and it’s interesting to see his opinions compared to mine. But imagine my surprise when on his review of The Blue Posts (we did this for Pall Mall) the cheeky beggar had gone and used my photo! Not that I’m particularly bothered and if someone else has decided that my awful quality snaps are good enough to borrow then I’ll take it as a compliment!  

 

No-nickname Michael and a blurry New Guy Micky do their Flanagan and Allen impression - "Underneath the arches....." - Just ask your gran.

Anyway, onto the tour. Much in the same way as when we did Vine Street, it was but a short stroll past Tower Hill tube station and into Crutched Friars and the first pub, Cheshire Cheese. I promised this one when we visited a similarly named pub during Strand, not that I’ve found out in the meantime why this seems to be an not uncommon pub name whereas there doesn’t seem to be anywhere called The Wensleydale. This Cheshire Cheese is tucked beneath the arches that the tracks from Fenchurch Street Station run from and is owned by the Stonegate pub company, who I have to admit I’ve never heard of before (we have previously visited one of their pubs, The Earl of Camden) but they’re the company behind chains like Yate’s and Slug and Lettuce. The Cheshire Cheese is part of their “Great Traditional Pubs” brand and the pub is certainly traditional in the sense that it has a bit of an eighties feel about it. Dark red wallpaper (flocked?), patterned carpets and large hanging chandeliers. The beer range was a bit limited, nice to see 5 handpumps but all had fairly regular ales on, Pedigree, Hobgoblin, London Pride etc. I plumped for Shepherd Neame’s Spitfire with Big-J and Charlie following my lead whilst the other three went for Krombacher – which came in very nice branded and fluted glasses.

 

It looked more 80's in real life

 

Even though it was only a Tuesday I think a lot of workers had decided to celebrate the lead up to Xmas as the place was quite full with a raucous crowd, which wasn’t helped by the loud music being unnecessarily pumped over it all. We also had several big screen TVs playing footie repeats (at least the sound was off) which no-one was watching.

 

On the plus side the Cask Marque certificate was easily found, pinned on the wall just above the sink behind the bar, but accessible to lean over and scan. One drink saw us through though and we made our way further along Crutched Friars to the aptly named Crutched Friar. But before we discuss this pub, let’s have a quick history lesson. The name Crutched Friars comes from a religious order so named because of the staff the monks carried. There will be a test on this later………………. 

The Crutched Friar (the pub) is another from the Stonegate stable but this time from their Classic Inn brand. It certainly has a more up to date feel than the Cheshire Cheese and seemed to attract a plethora of “suits” as again the pub was heaving. I seemed to wait an age to get served but to their credit there were hundreds of barmaids and as soon as I was actually being served they all seemed to want to ask what I wanted. The one that did serve me failed to get three pints from the barrel of Black Sheep Bitter so Big-J and No-nickname Michael actually got pints of Cocker Hoop (they didn’t know this on the night) but the other three got their desires of Meantime Pale Ale, Cobra and Grolsh (no prizes for matching the beer to the drinker) 

 

BGC and Big-J - I am the crutch to his friar.

Again to Stonegate’s credit the certificate was hanging nicely available on the wall but as I was scanning I noted that there was a duplicate certificate opposite it. It turns out one certificate was running out at the end of December and the one for next year was already hanging up. Charlie tried to scan them both but Cask Finder is wise to this trick! 

Again it was a rather hurried drink and another hurry along the street, turning right into New London Street and the Windor, which ducks beneath Fenchurch Street Station itself. Amazingly again this was another Stonegate pub (they must save on delivery costs to these three) but we were back to the Great Traditional Pub brand now. It’s a compact little place not helped by the fact that half the pub was cordoned off for a poker evening. Unfortunately the framed and hung certificate was in the cordoned off area but that didn’t stop Ed and me sneaking in for a sneaky scan.

 

At the Windsor, not! Geddit, Windsor Knot.....Oh please yourselves

It was another different ale for the ale drinkers, this time being Adnams’s festive offering of Shingle Shells although No-nickname Michael and New Guy Micky went for a different Admans offering of Ghost Ship.  

We started to take casualties on the night now. Charlie had to leave for a family gathering whilst New Guy Micky had to scoot off to the late night Marks and Spencer to buy a dinner jacket for this Thursday’s Xmas Party. No-nickname Michael was getting a taste for the demon sauce again and persuaded us to take in one more pub. Just around the corner from the station is the Shepherd Neame pub of the East India Arms – the last remnants of the East India Company whose offices used to stand in the area. 

 

If Ed had taken the photo properly you might have been able to read the history here.

After the crush of the other pubs we elected to stand outside keeping ourselves warm with pints of Late Red (Oranjeboom for Ed and diet coke for Big-J)  and after the rather identikit fittings of the first three pubs the unique and charming character of the East India Arms was quite lovely. On return from the toilets I asked the barman what the interesting looking bottles in the fridge were. The answer was a 5% Double Stout, a 7% Christmas Ale and a 9% IPA. I volunteered to start No-nickname Michael and myself off on the Double Stout whilst Ed changed to Asahi. Big-J knowing that a wobbly bike ride home was still to come sensibly stuck to the coke.  

The Double Stout was gorgeous and when asking for the Christmas Ale I even got the choice as to whether I wanted a chilled one or a room temperature one. I went for room temperature which was a good idea initially but as the pint went on it did get quite heavy and claggy.  

Although I would have been most interested to see what the IPA tasted like, I think at 9% it would have landed me in the same position as the previous square so good sense won over and I decided it was time to leave – a short stagger down Fenchurch Street to Aldgate Station and a journey round to Paddington muttering to myself on the tube. At least this way you always get a seat. 

The final funny to report is when ordering some sustenance from the buffet car on the train I asked for “something with bacon” – The host turned a puzzled look on me and replied “something with pain killers?” – Well she did have a point! 

Number of Cask Marque Pubs visited  = 133 – I do declare the first visit where every pub had the certificate available!

 

Why are the Crutched Friars so called? = Please provide your answer in the form of a 200 word essay.

 

Will there be ale at the office Xmas Party on Thursday? = BGC reckons "no" and that means he'll have to winge and moan, boring the tits off those around him as he decrys how come no-one in Britain seems to respect the British brewing industry.

 

Next Stop = Leicester Square

Euston Road

A combination of last minute planning and the very poor incentive of a trip to Euston was enough to put off all the regulars from the office, so it was only me and Jack Jones who made the trip round the Circle Line to Euston Square on a sunny Thursday evening.

I also had mixed feeling about doing this square as on the pub front there is a heavy concentration of Cask Marque pubs round Euston Station but as previously alluded to, it’s not an area one immediately associates with beauty or sights worth seeing.

The first pub was The Britannia which is located within the concrete monstrosity that is Euston Station itself. It’s been noticeable that’s there’s been a bit of a resurgence of these station pubs recently with many of them having well needed facelifts and much needed refurbishments. It also seems to be a sector that the big brewing pub groups want to get into to. I’d already visited Fuller’s Mad Bishop and Bear at Paddington, The Isambard (also at Paddington) and The Wellesley at Waterloo – the latter two I’m not sure who runs them but going from the signage and styling it seems to be the same company which runs The Britannia. They are a bit of a conundrum these “new” station pubs; on the one hand I have to applaud a better class of boozer for thirsty travellers which have a commitment to Real Ale, and they certainly try to present something more than a swilling hole tacked on to a station. But on the other hand why do they go down the traditional pub styling route? You can’t just sling a few wing back chairs, a mock fireplace and wall lamps into what is a plasterboard box and expect to create an attractive atmosphere. Why try to recreate someone’s local when the one thing you’re definitely not going to have are locals?

The Britannia, coming to a station near you...

Anyway before I get too deep, The Britannia was clean and tidy and most importantly had the Cask Marque certificate displayed at the end of the bar. I’d only recently found out via Nate Dawg that it was in fact IPA-Day so it seemed only right to try to drink IPA. The only one on offer was Greene King’s version (which is discussed further in Kings Cross) and the ½ pint I ordered was fine and fresh but it was something approaching relief that I could escape the suitcases and other assorted luggage of the other customers and go and find a proper pub.

I’ve also previously mentioned in the Kings Cross episode my aborted attempt to find Fuller’s The Doric Arch (Head of Steam) – This time finding it was easier but it’s still tucked away on a corner of Euston Square and although there is a good flow of passing pedestrians, for drinkers searching for the place it can easily be missed. Which is a real shame because it’s a gem! Pleasantly decorated with a railway theme it’s quiet and personable and is probably everything The Britannia wishes it could be. There was a great range of Fuller’s beers on but I blindly plumped for a guest ale, a pint of Mauldons Pickwick which although was extremely well conditioned and very tasty I’d missed the fact they had a seasonal Fuller’s ale on, Wild River, which from the description seems to be very much an IPA to my untrained eye. If you’re wondering about the name of the pub, apparently Euston Station used to have a huge Doric Arch as the entry way to the station. Of course it’s since been pulled down to make way for the modern station but apparently there is a stone of it kept behind the bar.

Today's Doric Arch

Yesterday's Doric Arch

It was then just a short hop over the Eversholt Road to the Royal George, a large traditional corner pub from the Taylor Walker pub group. The barman was more than happy to lift the certificate from where it was displayed behind the bar so I could scan it, and with the pub merrily decked out in Olympic flags it seemed only appropriate to have a pint of Young’s London Gold.

The Royal George gets in the Olympic spirit

In terms of the Olympics I was in good company as on the next table to me were three official timekeepers from Omega but even their watches would have been put to the test by the amazing antics of the British Cycling Team who were performing world record brilliance on the big screen TV. When the world asks “where were you when Chris Hoy won his 5^th Gold Medal?” my answer will be the Royal George, Euston.

The official timekeepers measure the awesomeness of the GB cycling team.

So finally after visiting three pubs I hit the Euston Road proper and crossed it to head up Mabeldon Place to the aptly named Mabel’sTavern. Mabel’s is a Shepherd Neame pub and is a regular entry in CAMRA’s Good Beer Guide (although isn’t in the latest edition – The Doric Arch and Euston Flyer however are) and proudly displays a CAMRA Pub of the Year certificate alongside the Cask Marque one.

Mabel's Tavern

I asked the barmaid if I could scan it which slightly threw her and she needed to ask permission from the manager to do so (?)  - mind you this was the same barmaid who when asking me what I wanted, I indicated that another lady was in front of me, she then went and served the chap behind me! I know queuing is a national sport here but equally interpretation of the queue is a necessary skill that all barstaff should be able to do. Anyway, I digress; I choose a pint of Whitstable Bay and had a nice chat with the lady who had been in front of me in the queue. When the world asks “where were you when Chris Hoy got presented with his 5^th Gold Medal?” my answer will be the Mabel’s Tavern, Euston.

So finally it was on to the 5^th pub (yeah, talk about 5 gold medals – what about 5 pubs!) and the only one actually on the Euston Road. The Euston Flyer is another Fuller’s pub and is a world away from the Doric Arch. It’s a huge place where big screen TV takes priority and there was a large international crowd watching the Olympic swimming. Although the place was rammed with people, service was very quick and my pint of Seafarers was served up almost as quickly as the certificate was given to me from behind the bar, which seeing as the place was so busy was quite understanding by the barstaff. It was only when I was sat down that I saw that the pub actually has two Cask Marque certificates behind the bar, which perhaps reflects the hurly-burly nature of the pub.

The hurly-burly of the Euston Flyer

So with Jack reminding me it was time to go home I made my way back up Euston Road to the tube, it was then I reflected back on my attitude to this area of London. It’s still not the most attractive area but there are some glimpses of magic as well. Just check out the fantastic steeple of St Pancras parish church……………….seriously, check it out. I could also reflect back on a 5 Cask Marque certificate haul which is by far my PB!

Number of Cask Marque Pubs visited = 49

How did Jack enjoy the visit? = Much better than last time!

When’s the next visit then? = Not for two weeks. Unless there’s a Pentonville Road in Malta!

Next Stop = Pentonville Road