- Windrush Baldness at Coventry Station -
Trip Log: Friday 12th December 2025 and the day gets off to a dicey start when the Chairman times his arrival too close for comfort, resulting in a switch of intended train departures. This does have the positive effect of allowing a brief Birmingham New Street interlude for reindeer rustling ('Dasher' being positioned on the station's main concourse), and we're not running too far behind schedule once we touch down at Coventry where a platform display about the city's notable Windrush arrivals has the bald spot reading intently. It's a damp grey morning but we plod on via Warwick Road to witness significant developments underway. Firstly, the disused former NCP multistorey car park on New Union Street has been demolished, taking with it the classic closet signage we'd homaged in 2023. Arguably even more dramatic than that is the sight of Bull Yard all fenced off, and most of the Hertford Street precinct walkway too, as yet more of the city’s 1960s brutalism gradually gets dismantled.
- The 2025 Quiff is a Conical Contender -
This is the twelfth Hub Marketing visit to Coventry and a recurring theme right from the very start has been the tribute quiff to Rockin’ Ron West. Tradition dictates that the latest creation gets unveiled on the first bus ride of the day, hence it’s the number 20 to Nuneaton which gets awarded that high honour this year. D9 has been busy with the sellotape again and the 2025 version looks like an enhanced take on the 2017 equivalent (a mass of black paper but even more cone-shaped and pointy this time around). The route runs very regularly with shorter variations serving Walsgrave Hospital, Old Church Road or Longford Square (the 20B). We therefore grunt straight up the Foleshill Road amazed by the sheer amount of Turkish barber shops in such a dense area. Eagle Street, Lockhurst Lane and the old Courtaulds works (now simply called Tower Court) all resonate from previous journeys, likewise the Foleshill Gas Club is a reminder of the once-prevalent local gasworks.
- The New Stadium Cafe, Longford -
All good Coventry outings require a greasy spoon breakfast and this will be no exception, hence we ding the bell to alight in Longford one stop after the Arena Tesco turn. The New Stadium Cafe instantly looks the part and boasts an extensive menu from which the £9 Gut Buster is our pick for having two of everything (believe it or not there are even bigger options should you want them). Bacon, sausage, egg, hash browns, black pudding all slathered in HP brown sauce, plus thickly sliced toast and a cup of tea or coffee - you simply can't go wrong. It all gets polished off without undue delay as we keep a close watch on passing traffic while the rain steadily falls. We don't want to risk getting drenched unnecessarily so catching the 3 up to Hen Lane is a sensible decision rather than sploshing all the way to Whitmore Park on foot.
- Secretarial Smiles at The Hub -
When planning for today’s trip, the Chairman requested one thing as non-negotiable: that we finally gain entry to possibly the one pub above all others that we were invented so as to visit. The Hub on Whitmore Park has been on our radar for absolutely ages hence it is bordering on becoming a dereliction of Hub Marketing duty that we’ve never claimed it. All the hallmarks of a proper estate boozer are here with a public bar to the front, populated by Coventry City 'Play Up Sky Blues' flags mingled with two tone references. A Khushi restaurant occupies the far room but we settle in over a couple of Carlings to watch the World Darts from Ally Pally. The £3.50 lager pricetag earns the Secretary a devious discount although the WME wallet won't be exempted from suffering the pain of expensive rounds later on...
- Ash Green Quiffy Action -
This may have been billed as a Coventry jaunt but we're not averse to drifting over the border into Warwickshire if the chance arises. Wheelwright Lane reaches into Nuneaton & Bedworth Borough territory when encroaching upon Ash Green, a small settlement that just so happens to have its own boozer. The Bull & Anchor might only be standard Greene King fare but it has entered into the Christmas spirit with a multitude of highly decorated trees, and the Quiffed One certainly seems happy enough being able to quaff more Carling. Elsewhere, the village has a couple of primary schools, a post office and a car repairs garage, then Burbages Lane has the task of conveying us back into the West Midlands via sightings of the Coventry Welsh Rugby Club driveway followed by the abandoned and overgrown Rowley's Green WMC.
- Coventry Building Society Arena -
Aside from sampling the Hub and grabbing a greasy Full English, Secretary WME has also set his heart on exploring the Coventry Building Society Arena, thus adding to his West Midlands football grounds repertoire. Alas he never got chance to visit Highfield Road before that got flattened and this purpose-built replacement has had a chequered existence, with Coventry City being homeless for a few years due to ownership disputes which are seemingly happily resolved. Our survey starts at the West Stand where the CCFC Superstore and Ticket Office are located; a Wall of Fame along the South and East Stands features club legends such as Bobby Gould, Steve Ogrizovic and Brian Kilcline while a statue shows an iconic 1987 FA Cup winners pose, the likeness for John Sillett being surprisingly accurate. Talking of statues, the piece de resistance is that depicting Jimmy Hill in all his big-chinned glory, honouring the pioneering manager and broadcaster in a very fitting and affectionate way.
- Anecdote Affirmations -
Mr Hill’s distinct resemblance is stationed outside our third drinking port of call, whereby the Secretary's meticulous planning comes unstuck in the sense that it’s his round again. The Anecdote is a modern stadium bar, fairly fancy and still feeling reasonably new despite the heavy workload it presumably has to bear on matchdays. We duck inside to find it almost entirely deserted but a member of staff belatedly appears to dispense our chosen San Miguel (which at £6.70 for the privilege means Mr WME probably won't be hurrying to repeat such an outlay). The all-in-one room has a loosely elliptical layout as a curved feature wall lights up with the tagline “To go forwards you must go backwards”. Sports screens and shuffleboard tables add to the effect so the football fans seem well catered for.
- Rock & Roll Singalong on the Coventry Canal -
Three drinks down and it’s time for a ferret, hopefully making the most of the now-obliging brightness before the sun disappears once more. Judd’s Lane draws to a halt at a luxury sportscar painting premises but we can press on ahead over the railway to reach Bridge 9 on the Coventry Canal. The relative seclusion here is ideal for donning the quiff and staging our annual Rock & Roll singalong, for which Mr D9 has curated a short but entertaining playlist comprising ‘Blue Moon’, ‘Keep A Knocking’, ‘Pretty Little Angel Eyes’ and ‘Poetry in Motion’. Bearing north-eastwards towards Longford, we get fully immersed in our Teddy Boy brief, even resorting to Twisting underneath the M6 with 'Chubby Chairman'. Every year we say the same thing but it’s true, this is the stuff that makes Hub Marketing so much fun!
- The Longford Look? -
With our third rendition of ‘Who Put The Bomp’ resounding around Hawkesbury, we leave the towpath at Bridge 11 (Coney Lane) and aim to collect another Warwickshire watering hole in the form of the Boat on Black Horse Road. We merely have to set foot through the side door to know we’ve struck gold, the musty aroma and traditional brown tables telling me we’re in the inviting embrace of an unspoiled wonder. One snug is adorned with newspaper cuttings and memorabilia recalling the career of Bedworth boxer Les Allen, a noted personality who fought professional bouts during the 1940s and 1950s. We then decamp back into Coventry for the combination of the Longford Engine and the Coach & Horses; the former sees us chatting to an old Irish gent about his thoughts on the city's pub provision - he prefers Nuneaton as his drinking destination these days - whereas the latter is subjected to comedy reindeer antlers with the Chairman trying to extract every last photo opportunity from a quiff threatening to burst apart at the seams. We like the old green banquette leather seating in this one.
- Dhillon's Brewery, Rowley's Green -
Onwards, and the Secretary's research delivers a double dose of Dhillon's with which to finish the day in fine style. Brewery taps on trading estates can take some finding even in daylight hours but we’ve got to get to Rowley’s Green in the dark. Sydnal Road (passing Oban Road bus terminus) and Woodshires Road oblige as our approach method, so providing we avoid getting tripped up by hard-to-spot speedbumps we can weave our way into Unit 14a on the Hales Industrial Park, home to the Dhillon's Brewery tap. It’s a smart setup, smack bang on craft trends with Mariah Carey screens filling an entire wall and Sky Blue Fan Zones ready to welcome celebrating supporters after a Coventry home win. Fair Lady in plastic glasses goes down smoothly, which is just as well given we have to sprint for the number 3 bus or risk an angry D9 dragon. A neat nightcap comes courtesy of the Spire Bar on New Union Street, atmospherically housed in the old Christchurch Spire (the rest of the church being another casualty of Blitz bombing raids), and then we head home delighted at another Coventry cracker. Fingers crossed we'll be back with further quiffed mayhem near the end of 2026!
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