retiredmartin

February 2024. Uttoxeter.

Thursday night in Uttoxeter. Got the tick, done the pre-emptive Marston diner, one question remained;

Should I go in ? pic.twitter.com/aqfv9rCNzJ

— retiredmartin (@NHS_Martin) February 15, 2024

What a silly question.

Incredibly, only my third visit to The Vaults,

perhaps the most famous Bass pub, alongside the bankers of Stockton and the flat nectar of Bath. But then, I haven’t been to the Coopers for far, far, too long.

Only time for a pint (£4.10, a sign of the times ?), but enough time to hear all of Harry Belafonte’s most famous tunes.

Was Harry a Pub Man ? He’d have loved the seating,

and the banter with a lady called “Cheryl” who needed an extra layer on.

“Send Cheryl to Carribean, she’d still be b****y cold there !” says Bloke 1.

Note the landlord in default position, pulling a pint of Bass. What a job.

Cheryl returns from the loos.

“It’s FREEZING in the ladies toilets !“.

“Have you tried the Mens ?” asks Bloke 2.

I couldn’t find the loos, which tells you a bit about my memory of the visit last year, but the blokes in the games room pointed me outside.

Perhaps one of the finest views into a pub from an outside loo in the country.

Back in the bar, my pint (a bit too frothy at first) had settled at that NBSS 3.5 level you hope for, and I decided it was probably just as well I had to run to catch that (inevitably delayed) train back home via Derby.

And then I stopped, still, at the door as Harry started “Danny Boy“.

What a song. What a singer.