For five points, name the player on the floor (above) being skimmed by Derek Dougan, hero of our next Wolves pub.
Pub Curmudgeon knows a thing or two about Heritage pubs, and after the Banks’s tour we headed for one, across what can charitably be called “Salt of the earth Wolverhampton”.
Actually, it passes the exceptional West Park, and within sight of Molineux, one of the few top football grounds in a city centre.
Because they always let City win there (mind, so do West Brom), I welcome the now inevitable return of Wolves to the Premiership next season. Look at this video taken by a Wolves fan tonight.
That reaction to Neves’s goal is pretty much how I felt when I walked in the Stile Inn last Wednesday.
I remembered a basic street corner gem, and it really is unspoilt.
Except for the arrival of seven well-oiled Old Blokes staring at hand pumps simultaneously. Below you see someone, probably a northerner, ordering a Sunbeam rather than The Mild.
This is a retiredmartin sort of a pub, even though it’s strictly in nearly posh Whitmore Reans. Professional drinkers and Old Boys spread out with the papers welcomed us into their Public House.
My good friend Charles stuck to halves so he could note key banter, which seemed to surround the ability of the ladies to “do their own nails“. I thought that was Willenhall.
Several of our group became animated as news that the £2 bowl of stew was more than edible filtered through.
Luckily, even the most well-oiled resisted the temptation to sing along to “Love of my life” by the Dooleys, the most cutting-edge selection on a jukebox which I couldn’t work anyway.
I thought the beer looked, and tasted magnificent (NBSS 4+). You’ll have noticed some sour comments (literally) about the beer in the Borders last week; this was the height of the Brewer’s art. Served at exactly the right temperature too (5 degrees cooler than in West London).
And here’s that beer again, in the art shot.
Wonderful. A little bit of Stockport in the Black Country, perhaps.
And if all that wasn’t enough, there’s a gnome. With a fishing rod. Breaking into the charity box.
“Several of our group became animated as news that the £2 bowl of stew was more than edible filtered through.” — If I had to choose a single sentence to show people the pleasures of reading your blog, this just might be it!
And that backlit photo of the #PubMan is among your finest. Might’ve been taken in 2018, might’ve been taken in 1918. Well, apart from the Carling beermats, I suppose! 🙂
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Thank you, Mark. I enjoyed writing that one more than most, and it was a classic.
I’ll have you know Carling dates back to the Dark Ages. Or is that now ?
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That £2 bowl of stew was not just “more than edible”, it was better than Fine Dining – and on a par with the Great Western’s hot pork baps.
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A figure of speech, Paul, to indicate culinary greatness ! You folk do eat well up there. I have some venison stew coming up (as it were).
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“Note resemblance of West Park to Mutant Ninja Turtle”
And, if I’m not mistaken, Leonardo (due to the blue eyeband).
“Bowling green out the back”
You could almost bowl right through the bloody window.
“the ability of the ladies to “do their own nails“. ”
Funnily enough I just had the nail clippers out prior to reading this. 😎
“Animated”
Who’s the dapper fellow in the great hat? 😉
“With a fishing rod.”
Ah… I just thought he had some sort of weird disease on his willy that turned it black. 😏
Cheers
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On your gravestone (hopefully many decades off) it will say “Recognised likeness of Leonardo in a Wolverhampton public park”
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I thought that “do their own nails/Willenhall” line of mine was a classic. Like BRAPA, I’ll be appreciated much later.
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From that part of the world I’d assumed “do their own nails” was a DIY reference, possibly involving repairing pigeon lofts.
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I’d assumed you were referring to Willenhall’s history of iron nail making? The sort of quality I’ve come to expect.
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I was ! How come no-one got it ?
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I was riveted by the post
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All white kit looks like Leeds United.
So I’d say Madeley,Reaney or Lorimer ?
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Madeley for me. The best ever play anywhere player.
Perfect post on a perfect pub. Lovely to read.
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Madeley it is then. They named a suburb of Telford after him, of course.
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Is that before he met Judy?
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No he named a northern DIY chain after himself #retailtrivia.
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I’m going for Paul Madeley.
Lovely looking pints with a proper head on them.
And none of your jam jar nonsense.Proper pub.
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Oh yes, no jam jars. It gets better and better.
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And a pic of me rapt in attention on his phone. I must have just come across a new cat video 😽
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And I think I know why Richard looks happy !!
Seeing pink marker pen in a vertically striped pattern on here comes as a surprise and I shall have to ask after its significance next time I use the Stile.
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We can only specualte as to the inter-linked spreadsheets RM has at home, detailing every GBG pub visit, beer quality, pub cat quality, beer colour charts (the closer to pure BBB the higher), deductive sections for jam jars and glasses with handles.
Half a pint and 47 minutes per pub to enter all the relevant data into the system – let’s not even start on the Pipers grading system.
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Surely we all have that ? It’s the jam jars that I take out of pubs in protest that take up the garage space.
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Haven’t you got a local cinema where you can trade jam jars for tickets?
Most of us didn’t realise until recently where all that NHS IT budget was really spent.
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Note I didn’t draw attention to that !
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Indoor non-hipster unbearded cap wearing.
This place gets even better.
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You must mean me there. I couldn’t be bothered to take my cap off. But yes, I ain’t a “hipster”. 😁
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We’ll be the judge of that !
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Oooh. Total different take to me. The beer and stew were excellent though and I daren’t mention the extras!
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I’d be disappointed if we had the same view 😉
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But we might expect to have the same stew there.
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