So there we were, 16 real ale-drinking Tamworth FC fans sitting in a pub deep in the Leicestershire countryside at 11am on Saturday, just about to tackle our opening pints of Wychwood Dogs’ B******s, when a white horse appeared in the road outside.
We should have known it was going to be that kind of day.
We were on our way to the FA Cup first-round tie between Tamworth and Hinckley United at the Greene King Stadium. The name gives you a clue as to why we were also on a meticulously-planned pub crawl.
We wanted proper local beer in proper local pubs, offering a friendly welcome, either side of what was always going to be a testing 90 minutes against our neighbours from the league below Tamworth in the football pyramid.
I had just raised the first glass to my lips at our opening venue when the horse and its’ owner appeared. I put down my pint, wandered outside and found that horse and owner were deep in conversation with a large brown spaniel and his owner - right in the middle of the road. ‘You don’t see that too often on the A5,” I mused, while becoming engaged in fascinating conversation with everyone involved.
Eventually, the mare wandered off to her stables, I returned to finish my pint and the party headed for one of the highlights of the day - the new pub which Church End Brewery owns in......oh, I’m not telling you; if you’re interested, it’s not too hard to find.
We found a wonderful welcome, some of the best beer in the Midlands and food that clearly had not come out of the microwave. Church End deserve enormous credit for this - even as the nights draw in, I urge you to venture into the countryside and give it a go.
Our final pre-match venue had been warned in advance that we were coming and, rather than banning us or ordering up a contingent of Leicestershire’s finest to monitor us, had got in an extra barrel of beer. Should Hinckley win promotion this season, we’ll remember that gesture when planning next year’s trip.
Which brings us to the match - and if I told you everything, I’d still be writing this time next week. So, in brief - Hinckley’s goalkeeper is sent off in the first half for kicking a Tamworth forward (who kicked him back and wasn’t punished); the referee tried to award a penalty to Tamworth for the above incident, having already given the hosts a free-kick because the Tamworth player had originally fouled the goalkeeper; Hinckley’s replacement No 1 played a blinder; all four goals came in the last 12 minutes with Tamworth equalising twice, the first time via a highly questionable penalty given for a ‘foul’ in the area by a referee who lost control early on; there was a minor brawl in the stands involving some teenage idiots; a fight broke out in the dugouts when some water was ‘allegedly’ thrown - and the winners of the replay on November 22 have to haul it all the way up the A1 to Gateshead in the second round.
Your blogger will be on holiday in South Africa on that day......
Pub Crawl, part two - We recovered from the game in an Everards’ pub which seems to be the highlight of its’ native village in the Leicestershire countryside. After games such as that, it often takes an hour or more to get rid of all the adrenalin and we could have happily stayed all night - but the man with the satnav and the schedule had other plans.
And so we were off to another pub which I will only refer to here as ‘The D&H in D.’ It didn’t look the sort of place that would greet 16 scruffy and fairly well-oiled oiks in Tamworth scarves and shirts and big coats but once again, I’ll remember it for the warmth of the welcome. Mrs W and I will certainly be paying a return visit to sample the menu.
There aren’t many places, even the finest CAMRA-recommended pubs, where the landlord collects empty glasses from your table and asks you if the beer was acceptable.
Our day ended in the finest possible fashion, in the gentle care of Church End Brewery. First it was back to the country pub, then to the brewery tap, which I am happy to reveal is in Ridge Lane, near Atherstone.
If you can’t find the former, you should certainly visit the latter, where every one of the Church End range is on tap and you can look from the bar through large glass windows into the brewery plant itself.
The replay of the football is on November 22 at The Lamb - sadly, there won’t be a replay of the crawl as your blogger lives five minutes from the ground.
And as for Gateshead? Some of us will be at Sun Eden Naturist Resort in South Africa on that day - and with a game reserve next door, I suspect I might be watching something even more remarkable than white horses in the middle of the road.
No comments:
Post a Comment