12th February 2020
Sometimes I think I tell you too much.
I shouldn’t even have been in Liverpool; I’d completed Merseyside GBG before Christmas in New Brighton.
But on that fateful North Wales wobble, Duncan innocently asked;
“What did you think of the new Head of Steam in Liverpool” (he’s got a Scottish accent).
“Yer what?”
I did that before VAR, a decade ago.
“No, this is a new one, same name”
Duh. So I’d lied, coloured in Merseyside in the book and updated the spreadsheet, even turned down an Old Codgers Day Out in the Pool as I’d done it.
Since Christmas that chapter has been taunting me every time I flick through the hallowed pages. How many other false ticks have I made ?
Anyway, easy to resolve from a Chester base, and a short stroll from the White Star through the impressive but characterless Liverpool ONE to the new Head of Steam aka Head of Steam.
Actually, HoS can be a bit impressive but characterless; like a TGI Friday’s alehouse.
Hard to distinguish this from the one in Leeds (the first one) or Cardiff, except that the folk here are wittering on about the Prem.
Who actually plays these games?
In their defence, the staff are cheery, the food calorific, the soundtrack indie, and young people drink cask in some volumes.
There’s a Tiny Rebel tap takeover. There’s always a Tiny Rebel tap takeover somewhere in the world.
Only one thing for it.
It was great, rich and weird, 3.5 easy.
I had time to consider my next step. Having paid £5.50 for a Merseyrail Day Pass I needed to get my money’s worth with a preemptive tick or two.
Preferably somewhere with limited opening times.
Yes, the Einstein looks promising. No idea what that picture of The King Offa is all about.
Congrats to Simon for the best response.
It was open. I doubt it ever shuts. I took a look, just in case they’d succumbed to the rage for Bass.
It looked quite fun, but they didn’t have Bass. Or Edwardian loos..
I have found beer quality in the confusingly new Heads of Steam to be very good but know what you mean re character or lack of it. Cameron’s owned chain I think. Congratulations on completing Merseyside (properly!)- I still need Maghull and St Helens.
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I didn’t blog on Maghull as a bit crowded but the young chap running it was great and it had the sense of community pub you don’t always get in a micro.
The St Helens one is right opposite the famed Turks Head but a terrific boozer in its own right.
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I fear a BRAPA blog about Edwardian loos would involve an unfortunate incident when meeting his mate Eddie at a mainline station.
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Sounds like a song by Sleeper.
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Possibly a Sheffield epic by Pulp?
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They’re not proper Heads of Steam now that Tony Brookes no longer owns them.
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You’d be impressed with the beer though, Paul.
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Yes, it was okay in the Leeds one two years ago.
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All you need to know about Einstein’s is that for many years it was Walkabout… I made the complete schoolboy error of combining the two White Harts in Hull and thinking I’d done both
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I do remember Walkabout, made the Spoons next door look quite classy.
I was convinced I’d done that new White Hart too.
Mark from Amber Valley lists them by postcode on his lists, a good idea.
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The trouble being that my computer has been broken since before xmas and I have not had access to my lists ! Obviously not an issue at the moment though.
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Turn it off and turn it on again, Mark. But not in a Genesis way.
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