- An early morning drive -
Members are up and about bright and early to catch the 07:45 London Euston departure from Wolverhampton, travelling in a first-class Virgin vestibule on a crowded commuter service. Coventry is in the midst of a heavy downpour when we arrive, so any thoughts of ferreting are put on hold in favour of staying dry aboard the 8A bus - the Chairman doing the honours with some expert wet weather driving.
- Modelling this year's quiff fashions -
Our scheduled breakfast stop was to be Pat's Cafe, the Clay Lane greasy spoon that so captured our imagination last year. Sadly our hopes were to be dashed once we discovered the premises had been sold, so we sought solace at Rosebuds on the main Walsgrave Road instead. Our Full English here is accompanied by the launch of the 2014 Quiff Collection, Mr D9 producing a rather fetching purple-grey ensemble held together with sticky tape - his creations have gone steadily more upmarket since the original quiff he fabricated out of a scrunched-up Metro newspaper!
- Riley Square -
Our breakfast preceded a ride out to Bell Green, the number 10 bus dodging the puddles along Blackberry Lane and through Henley Green before terminating outside Riley Square shopping parade. To critical eyes the precinct would be a depressing eyesore but I can't help having a certain fondness for its ugly spartan architecture taken straight from the 1960's and 1970's planning handbook - D9 is also appreciative even if neither of us would want to be here in the dark.
- Bell Green Closet -
Our Bell Green investigations also reveal the Rose & Crown pub, a Working Men's Club, the Health Centre and a branch of the Coventry Building Society. The piece-de-resistance however is the Riley Square toilet block, a sleeve item from the WME memory bank that has the Chairman quite literally jumping for joy. A celebratory hot chocolate in the Bus Stop Cafe sets us up nicely for more estate exploration.
- Wood End 'Scenery' -
Hillmorton Road thus leads from Bell Green into neighbouring Wood End, a place that also wouldn't win any accolades for artistic merit. Two years ago I distinctly remember deserted streets of boarded-up houses awaiting demolition, so its encouraging to see the Spirit Quarters development taking shape on the side of the River Sowe. Some less appealing local landmarks still remain though, notably Dr Phillips Shopping Centre and the solemn starkness of St Chad's Church.
- Bald Spot at the Boat bar -
Having breached the bald defences in Wood End, the floodgates were left open as we continued on to Walsgrave, pausing for a welcome pint at the Boat on Shilton Lane. Sperrin's Ansley Mild was the tipple in question, perfect lubrication for some darts action although the WME aim was still a little rusty to begin with. Chairman D9 thus pocketed a 2-1 lead before the tribute quiff made a guest appearance from the back seat of the Travel de Courcey 703 service.
- Bird in Hand, Aldermans Green -
Alighting on Aldermans Green Road by the Methodist Chapel and Jubilee Hall, we nip into the Bird in Hand for a quick half. Here we occupy a bay window seat while watching Youtube videos depicting Coventry pubs past and present, including a few flat-boxed dives that might well have whetted the Chairman's appetite had they still been standing.
- A Coventry Cat! -
A Windmill Road wander is next on the agenda, skirting the edges of Longford Park where we chance upon our first cat of the day. The said moggy was somewhat startled when Mr D9 scurried over for a stroke, but soon calmed down when the Pudsey ears came into play. The Old Crown pub and Windmill Road Cemetery are photo targets before a short hop 20E up the Foleshill Road means the Chairman can christen the Edgwick Park closet.
- Former Foleshill Leisure Centre -
While the Edgwick Park example was certainly a most welcome feature, the Secretary had another sleeve toilet block in mind so a Foleshill ferret was required to find it. Lockhurst Lane yields sightings of the Crow but it's on Livingstone Road where we hit the jackpot, discovering the disused Foleshill Leisure Centre site complete with the sought-after closed conveniences.
- Bridge 5, Coventry Canal -
Further Foleshill finds include the local branch library on Broad Street and an organ shop on Stoney Stanton Road. We then pass into the realms of Paradise, happening across the Adam & Eve pub on Eden Street where the landlord thought we'd come for a meeting about the local allotments - I blame the quiff! One swift half of Worthington's later, we follow a track down by the Coventry Canal and stage some impromptu karaoke over by Bridge 5 - sadly our mangled rendition of 'Three Steps To Heaven' didn't do Eddie Cochran any justice whatsoever.
- Double Duty for the Secretary -
The backstreet pubs theme continues awhile with the Bricklayers Arms, an Irish community pub on Cromwell Street with music straight off Bob Brolly's radio playlist. This is soon followed by the Rose & Woodbine in Stoke Heath, a watering hole we've been valiantly attempting to visit for the last three years and this time we finally succeeded. Such an auspicious occasion demanded more darts, and despite WME's sudden burst of double-hitting prowess it was Mr D9 who ultimately triumphed 5-4.
- An Enterprising Approach to Hub Marketing -
The evening was drawing in so members boarded the number 10 back to Coventry, whereupon events took an enterprising turn outside Coventry University's Ellen Terry building. Whitefriars Olde Alehouse produces a brief encounter with a Fusilier whereas its the Worcester Sorcerer that we meet by way of the Earl of Mercia - none of which explains how two tins of wild salmon have suddenly made their way into the Chairman's possession; I thought we were doing Ron West not John West!!
- A Fishy Finale -
That just leaves us with two closing tipples courtesy of the Town Wall Tavern and the Gatehouse, the latter being a suitable setting for Mr D9 to display all his various props for the day. The 19:22 train home then beckons and another Hub Marketing masterpiece is sadly over - it had certainly been a rock and roll day out though. Cheers!
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