7th December 2022.
I enjoyed Stafford, a lot. Ten (10) varied pubs, half of them new, and a sense of getting to grips with the town.
The two Mudgies performed their sacred duty to CAMRA by declaring the Grapes cask-free, so we met up a minute away in the Sun.
Now, pubs called the Sun are usually pretty good, and last year this Titanic house impressed with both beer quality and a level of social drinking rarely seen in smarter pubs in the afternoon.
It’s almost boring to tell you the Plum Porter was as good as it was in 2021 (NBSS 3.5), and the Sun was again bustling with (checks notes) “courting couples”. I have no idea why I thought they were “courting couples”, but my notes never lie.
Or perhaps they do, it was Pub No.9.
Pub No.10, which I’d never heard of before, was a real oddity.
Geared up for the World Cup, obviously.
The Bear & Pheasant had just the one beer, an Abbot not designed for session drinkers but it scored well with me (NBSS 3.5).
“A pub with character and full of characters” says What Pub, euphemistically. Paul made notes.
Actually, it may have been here that I saw courting couple, and where a bloke tapped my knee. Most excitement I’ve had since 1995.
Anyway, if anyone needs a Cliftonville scarf, you know where to come.
Oddly great end to a great day. Sadly, I still had to change trains in Tamworth.
retiredmartin 
I’ve had the pleasure of reading Paul’s notes. They are fantastic. They’ll certainly be in the ticker museum someday.
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“A pub with character and full of characters” and the first time I’d been in for about eleven years. I thought the Abbot was drinking well but it’s totally unrecognisable from when it was just the Pheasant and kept from 1939 to 1980 by Sid Tomlinson who had no till and until the last few years also had a milk round.
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