Hub Marketing 2017: Desi Day

The Desi Pubs phenomenon is becoming increasingly celebrated as a feature of Black Country and Birmingham culture. Asian owners rescuing tired old boozers and breathing new life into them through a combination of curry cuisine, sports screens and relatively cheap beer – what’s not to like you may well ask. A community arts project has brought the emergence of such establishments to wider attention and now it was the turn of the Hub Marketing Board to investigate - we'd covered a few Desi places already over the years but hadn't dedicated a specific trip to them until now...

- Claypit Lane Construction Zone -

Friday 20th January 2017 sees Secretary WME enter the action early with an opening West Bromwich stroll exploring Claypit Lane. Educational establishments in the vicinity include the George Salter Academy and Ryders Green Primary School although of prime photographic interest are the new housing developments springing up. Park View is one such example and judging by the Sandwell Council signs there is more construction to come.

- The Oldbury Hub -

For once the Chairman leaves work promptly but his attempts at extorting a WME cob penalty end in failure as the Secretary is swiftly on the scene with wallet unscathed. The number 4 bus is ready and willing to whisk us to Oldbury where the D9 sleeves unearth an Albert Street gem, a former toilet block turned into hub offices proving a perfect place for a marketing pose. 

- Baldness beneath the motorway -

Mr D9 is very much intent on rediscovering lost Oldbury haunts so he leads us on a merry march down Birmingham Street and on past the George - the M5 motorway casts a considerable shadow by Blakeley Hall Road but a certain bald spot is still visible below the concrete carriageway. Turning by the British Queen, we then take Popes Lane among industrial wasteland to eye up the fascinating frontage of Global House; sadly this once-elegant office block has clearly seen better days having become a disgraceful eyesore strewn with skips, fly tipping and smashed window glass. A depressing sight such as that requires an immediate antidote so a rendition of 'Gossip Calypso' by Bernard Cribbins restores a happier disposition - there can't be many hit records with lyrics that mention oxyacetylene welders!

- A Phoenix Pint -

Our ferret takes us full circle back into Oldbury town (via Tat Bank Road) so that we can pick up our 89 connection to Lion Farm, a 1960s-era council estate with street names inspired by Worcestershire villages. The Phoenix on Martley Road has the honour of being our first pub call of 2017, Secretary WME being only too happy to claim a sneaky discount on our pints of Mansfield Smooth. D9 has an affinity with the estate having driven buses around here a few years ago, plus he always likes a bit of high-rise architecture. Rounds Green Library and St James's Church have a little less altitude but still merit a photo or two.

- Desi Detail at the Four Ways -

The Phoenix itself might not be a Desi pub but the Four Ways nearby certainly is. Situated at the junction of Portway Road and Portway Hill, the pub boasts an almost exotic illustrated sign not to mention a whole array of replica animals - you wouldn't normally expect a giraffe's neck to be protruding from an Oldbury rooftop but there you go. Pandas, dragons and who knows what else can be found in the back yard menagerie so we can only speculate what might await inside the actual main building. 4pm opening means we're too early to find out but Blackheath's Shoulder of Mutton is on hand to slake our growing thirst instead - Pardoe's Entire is a cracking drink therein as we talk bus passes with a regular punter and soak up the timeless hospitality of a landmark positioned just across from Blackheath's famous market hall.

- WME Whirlwind wins at the Abbey -

A swift shuffle on the 129 is required to link us to Hurst Green in readiness for the Chairman's planned call at the Full Moon, an estate pub overlooking the shopping precinct off Woodbury Road. A Tandoori grill restaurant occupies half of the building but we settle in the main bar for some M&B Mild and a Sky Sports football transfers update. D9 comes over all peculiar upon leaving the pub and insists on rolling out the barrel by sporting some hi-vis headgear, very strange! He recovers some of his senses in the Abbey at Bearwood but not enough to threaten victory on the oche, WME Whirlwind seemingly intent on retaining his crown for a fifth successive year.

- Guess the pub folks! -

You can't do a Desi Pubs day without partaking of a curry somewhere so our spicy selection will take us to Smethwick. Bearwood still has a surprise for us first though, the Sandwell Snooker Centre having been renovated as the Windsor Theatre Bar complete with Holden's Golden Glow for our delectation. We can then decamp to Smethwick High Street for our chosen culinary target, the Red Cow being a long-serving landmark with a well-known bovine sculpture standing sentry on a pillar outside. The biryani and pakoras here are things of wonder satisfying the most ravenous of appetites - we could definitely get used to this Desi lark if the food is always this good!

- Cheers from the Windsor Castle -

Chairman D9 has a final couple of entries to pluck from the Desi directory so we finish off in West Bromwich by combining the Island Inn and the Windsor Castle. Both establishments are in the environs of Spon Lane, a locality that apparently once had 32 possible pub options but only a handful remain. The Island proves cheap and cheerful enough while the Windsor Castle has D9 misty-eyed reminiscing about how the Lyng looked prior to its wholesale redevelopment over recent years. It's then over to the Midland Metro for our ride home and the first Hub Marketing adventure of 2017 is successfully filed away - cheers!