retiredmartin

18th February 2023.

Fame for our favourite, as Blackpool Jane‘s exploits in promoting Teesside (I always add a third “s”) send her to stardom.

'What a find this had been!'https://t.co/RKTtj0fcXM

— Teesside Live (@TeessideLive) February 25, 2023

Wait till they see her “healthy” parmo, mind. Then they’ll be a backlash.

Jane saw more of Boro than we did, but she missed out one gem.

Despite having been four times before, there was no way I was missing out on the banked Bass in Stockton’s Sun. Now I’ve finished the GBG, I can do whatever I like !

Almost.

Entering a packed pub at 3pm, I became very anxious as the first part of the bar had no sign of the red triangle, let alone the half poured pints in the fridge.

Ah, here’s the pumps, anyway.

But the fridge looked “banker” free.

“Bass please”.

And then the Landlady reached in the back of the fridge and took out a half poured pint, All was well with the world.

“I was worried you’d stopped doing the bankers !” I said, handing over my three pound coins.

“Oh nooooo, NEVER” she laughed, as if I’d asked her if folk round here had stopped putting mint sauce on their pies*.

Should have asked Mrs RM to buy me that 4 pack of flakes from Heron Foods.#

What can I say ? Well, it’s wonderful, even if the beer when you finally reach it is probably NBSS 3 if I’m honest, and I always am.

The pub remains 5 star, and not in a Denise and Doris and Lorraine and Stedman and Delroy way. Packed with groups of mates, standing room at the bar only, and if Carling really has been overtaken by Guinness you wouldn’t notice it here.

I stood by the betting slips for five minutes, realised I was obscuring the football scores no-one was following, and settled on resting on the post by the bar.

Still plenty of Bass trade, some of it from (gasp) younger drinkers.

By all means, drink Bass with a tight head in the Smithfield. Definitely head to Bath and sup a jug of the flat stuff in the Star. But miss out on the bankers in the Sun and regret it forever.

*Private joke