retiredmartin

A day away from the in-laws, leaving them to explore Sheffield Stonegate pubs, as I head to north Leicestershire.

Sadly, not Coalville.

No, it’s mysterious Syston, offering a fourth (!) Beer Guide entry in a decade to its 12,804 residents.

Never heard of Syston ? Well, me neither till the Queen Vic started attracting my GBG fancy. Wiki can’t enlighten me much beyond mention of the white plum and a member of Showaddywaddy you’ll not have heard of either.

I found three two main features.

A shopping centre bollard that will do your unmentionables some damage if you don’t look where you’re walking at night;*

and there seems to be an inability to distinguish ducks from rats,

It’s plain, but the pubs look decent and there’s plenty of play area for the under-12s. Come along on July 17th and have inflatable fund (not that sort of inflatable fun, Russ).

The new GBG entry, inevitably a micro, looks fun as well.

If you enjoy remembering biology lessons from 1977, I guess.

Didn’t Damien Hirst have a restaurant like this ?

The Guvnor is seated with the locals, very Worthing, but he’s charming and helpful and brings the Shipstones and scratchings over.

“How much is it ?” I ask holding a fiver.

“I don’t know yet !” he says, and goes back to the till to check.

“£5.30″. £5.30 !! I scramble for 30p in 5p pieces, dropping them under the stethoscopes. To be fair, they’re fantastic scratchings.

And the Shipstones is beautifully conditioned, cool and foamy (NBSS 3.5), if a bit dull. Unlike everything else.

My seated position is just weird. Luckily I like weird.

But it’s perfect to hear a sweary conversation to my right about the girl who liked the boy who cried wolf.

“His f****** mum’s a MILF” seemed to be the punchline. I may have got the order of the words wrong.

Anyway, BRAPA heaven, as are the toilets.

These are the bits I CAN show you.

On the basis of the toilets alone, I think it’s an essential visit. But don’t pick the Shipstones.

*See also: Macclesfield, Whitehaven