retiredmartin

September 2023. Hasland, Chesterfield.

My second “recommended pub” wasn’t in Chesterfield, it was in Hasland.

But show me someone who doesn’t think Hasland is a suburb of that noble town and I’ll sell you a crooked spire.

Leaving the Spread Eagle I’d already got my pre-emptive tick for the day, and I could relax and enjoy all that Hasland had to offer. Which wasn’t much, and you know how hard to try.

There was a bar called Hasland Hops in the centre, but it was closed and seemed to focus on private functions, so if it does get in the Guide it’s sure to be closed when BRAPA makes it there.

So I stuck to the Working Men’s Club, which has the most, er, functional entrance you could ever hope for.

It was very quiet. Two old boys studiously ignored me as I tried to gain the attention of the bar steward who seemed to be in the cellar. “Am I invisible ?” I wondered.

I walked from one bar to the next, contemplating whether to cough or go “Hulloah there“, but I couldn’t muster either.

In most situations like this one of the locals will intervene on your behalf and shout “Customer, Dave” (it’s always a Dave), but here I was studiously ignored for 5 minutes before being asked “You looking for someone ?“. Er, no, just a beer.

On the upside, the beer was dead cheap. On the downside, five pumps seemed too many, and that Blue Bee of Kelham Island fame drifted out to a 2.5, recovered a tad to a 3, then slipped back to 2.5. A bit like the betting on the racing from Haydock on the telly.

Still, Simon might come in a month’s time and love it; luck of the draw and all that.

Frankly, after two quick pints I was mildly p***ed, which generally means a Chinese takeaway, even if it is only 1:30 in the afternoon.

So thanks to Chopsticks for being that rarest of beasts, a lunchtime opener.

Just need to find somewhere to eat it now that’s not someone’s garden.

Now, Wiki has nothing to say about Hasland (pop. 6,615). Except for Eastwood Park, where I headed, and as the birthplace of a musical legend.

Phil “Philthy Animal” Taylor’s drumming on Overkill alone is of more musical merit than the entire output of Oasis, and I won’t be argued with on that point.

It started to rain, and the mums and toddlers scarpered, but I wasn’t for turning and enjoyed a classic Crispy Shredded Beef and Singapore Rice (NCTSS 4.5). It may well have been my 500th Chinese takeaway tick; it was certainly one of the very best.

I had a third Chesterfield pub to visit, a couple of miles north, but I was completely done, bar a couple of snaps from Riverside Park, home to the UK’s most minimalist play area,

and it’s most useless piece of play equipment.

What is that ?