aka More Pubs Saved By Drinking BBB
On Friday morning I arrived into Shifnal without fanfare and parked up at Odfellows, my room for the night as well as our last pub.
It was nice of Odfellows, renamed Od for the kidz, to let me park my car there early, 10 feet from the station entrance. In fact, it was the best thing about the accommodation apart from the WiFi.
Despite seven (7) pubs on the agenda our intrepid band of pubbers were meeting at Codsall, on the posh side of Wolves.
At 10.23 I stood on Codsall Station bridge and did my best Jenny Agutter impression to greet the arrival of Pubman Paul from Wolverhampton.
But he never got off the train. What had happened to our hero ? Had he been robbed at knifepoint, his endless supply of breweriana stolen by evil Wetherspoons Museum staff ?
Only one thing to do. I headed for the Crown Joule’s, a pub bought and named specifically to trigger anxiety attacks among apostrophe pedants.
Would it be busier at 10.30am than on my afternoon visit last year when it resembled the library at Chethams ?
An irrelevant question, since it wasn’t actually honouring the WhatPub hours anyway (Facebook told the sad truth).
Just then Paul appeared from nowhere, even more nonplussed at the closure.
Having been barred from Wolverhampton Spoons (a long story, shortly to be a film starring Dustin Hoffman and Emma Stone) he’d had to make do with a Goose and a (Hungry) Horse and was now forced to wait for the Bull to open at 11.
Killing half an hour in Codsall was harder than you’d think, even when we’d wasted 5 minutes with our nose pressed to the windows staring at activity behind the bar.
This was the best we could find.
Eventually, at exactly 11.00.01, the door opened.
An extravagant beer selection greeted us (there was exotica like Wainwright round the corner).
Paul made himself at home, and we noted how comfy this place seemed compared to Spoons.
Back in 2016 I thought the Bull a bit plain, but oddly without the Fosters Men it felt very unspoilt and lovely, with a pleasing straw twang to what I will still call Bitter.
Not a gem, just a nice pub, and nowt wrong with that.
The next one would be rather better than nice.
Ah, yes, a nice reminder that at that time of day the Bull was better than Wolverhampton and very soon to be bettered by Codsall Station but that’s your eagerly awaited next instalment.
( With apologies for me getting into Codsall on an earlier train than you had expected )
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“In fact, it was the best thing about the accommodation apart from the WiFi.”
Ugh.
“a pub bought and named specifically to trigger anxiety attacks among apostrophe pedants”
(slow golf clap) 🙂
“and was now forced to wait for the Bull to open at 11”
Sigh.
“This was the best we could find.”
Shrunk to the proper size she’d make a great knocker for the front door. 😉
“Definite future micro”
Makes sense. I mean, there’s no hours posted.
“at exactly 11.00.01, the door opened.”
That is a very accurate watch (or phone) you have there.
“Extravagance”
They’re just doing that to annoy the apostrophe pendants I’m sure.
“and we noted how comfy this place seemed compared to Spoons.”
I would have to agree; although I’ve never actually sat on a spoon.
“The next one would be rather better than nice.”
In the photo below, is that a pic of the very first self-serve bar?
Cheers
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Point of order: oxymorons are banned from pub blogs so therefore your posh side of Wolves comment is vetoed
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I’ve been to Oxley in Wolverhampton and they’re not morons.
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