Some short, sharp posts for you at the moment, due to the fact that I’m entertaining in-laws from Tunbridge Hell who are staying nearby for fourteen (14) nights and can only blog while pretending to boil the kettle.
They’d had a hellish journey up from the south as an accident left the A14 closed after a van deposited its load of tomato puree, creating an instant horror film set.
Back last Wednesday in Pontefract, Leon and I were still looking for a last pint before catching a train homeward.
Having checked ALL the pubs in turn and done that “No cask, walk out” so beloved of CAMRAs, we gave in and popped in the Spoons.
You’ll remember the Broken Bridge that Curry Charles so loved in 2019.
It’s the one with the John Smiths dartboard.
We had 15 minutes to check in, order a beer, drink a beer, go to the loo twice and run the 7 minutes for the train.
Normal people don’t do that, but (with all due disrespect) Leon and I aren’t normal people, we’re pros.
Yes, the Elland beers have gone; it’s Greene King or Spitfire and another one that was even duller hidden behind white shirt guy.
6 minutes gone, the pint arrives.
8 minutes gone, pints hardly touched, Leon goes to the loo.
9 minutes gone, Leon finishes that Spitfire (a 3, at best) in 2 swigs and in the same movement and heads for the door.
In 2021, pubs (especially Proper Pubs like Spoons) need drinkers, not sippers.
Somehow we made it to Tanshelf Station (one more Ponte station to collect the set) with seconds to spare, but I had aged 7 years in the process.
retiredmartin 
#Pubman
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Do you remember those “Accident Black Spot” signs that used to get put up? The red triangle with, yes, a black spot in the centre?
I wonder which literalist thought up those?
Time we brought him, or her, back.
Oh, the frisson, that it would surely bring…
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14 nights in Sheffield and they may decide to move north.
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You are a troublemaker.
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They will if they see the house prices.
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If I hadn’t fetched the spitfire from the tray on the bar, we may have missed the train.
If I hadn’t have taken us on a circumnavigation of Tanshelf station, we may have made it easily.
Finelines…
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There was bound to have been another train at one of the other stations within minutes. Not necessarily going where anyone wanted to go, but – hey! it’s a train!
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You’re right, Will, but our critical faculties may have been diminished by that point in the early evening.
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Oh yes, forgot that. So much detail lost in time.
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Since when have Spoons qualified as “proper pubs?”
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Since they started welcoming folk of all ages, sex, gender and income in a convivial atmosphere. So, 1979 ?
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– as long as they don’t have a dog.
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A Spoons with a dartboard !! Magnificent work
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Probably inflatable 😉
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You just can’t forget some of the inflatables in Tim’s venues !
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Given that definition Martin, I can’t disagree with your reasoning, it’s just that I find Tim’s barns rather soulless. I realise have their own groups of loyal regulars, and this is an important aspect of a proper pub, but despite initially welcoming Spoons, when they first came on the scene, their appeal has definitely lessened over the years, as far as I am concerned.
Each to their own though, and I accept that many JDW outlets do play an important role in their local communities.
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At least when you only spend moments on the platform, you have very little chance of unfortunate incidents occuring.
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