WME Flickr Focus - October 2017

I'm currently in the process of a major house move so naturally thoughts about the WME Flickr photostream have been placed on the back burner. October was rationed to fewer updates than usual although I did squeak through some noteworthy additions in between boxing up my possessions...

Doing the heavy lifting this month has been WME Sandwell which has muscled its way along the Smethwick Locks flight. A sequence of pictures here show the little toll hut (sadly fire-damaged), lock beams and the Canal & River Trust location sign. While in the Smethwick area, our metaphorical removal van stops briefly at the Old Chapel for a glimpse of the pub interior.

Manhandling a few bulky boxes of its own is WME Wolverhampton which applies ribbons of parcel tape around the Spring Hill area of Penn. The local Co-op supermarket and the Spring Hill pub both feature, whereas a Stowheath Lane street sign narrowly avoids being labelled as fragile. WME Staffordshire meanwhile takes the utmost care with Stapenhill (Burton upon Trent), delicately fixing a couple of New Inn pub signs into their new adopted position. 

Elsewhere, WME Birmingham has been rummaging in the loft to find a Selly Park Tavern sign and a Sherlock Street bus stop - I note too the dusting off of Pebble Mill Road, reminding me of when BBC Birmingham made the significant switch from Pebble Mill Studios to the Mailbox (the WME family relocation is nothing in comparison). WME Coventry's contribution is clearing out the cupboard under the stairs, blowing the cobwebs off the Humber Hotel in the process.

This just leaves WME Telford and WME Shropshire emptying the shed, Telford by grappling with the Randlay Farmhouse pub sign and Shropshire by sweeping up the Sutton Farm shopping centre. That completes October's offerings but if I may be serious just for a moment, November and December will be a busy time as I uproot myself across Wolverhampton and settle into my new home, so please bear with me if the blog and the photostream are quieter over the next few weeks...

Hub Marketing 2017: Coventry

Friday 13th might be unlucky for some but the date holds no fears for the Hub Marketing Board, especially when our annual Coventry compilation awaits completion. This is the outing we always look forward to more than any other so, with the quiff safely stowed in the Chairman's satchel, we are primed for some ferreting from Finham to Foleshill...

- An early airing for the quiff -

Indeed the 2017 edition quiff enters the action almost immediately courtesy of a D9 driving demonstration aboard the 9A - the Chairman's creations get more elaborate every year and this one involves scrunched up black paper with plenty of sticky tape. We caught the bus outside Coventry railway station just after half past ten, settling in for the short ride towards Finham via Styvechale Parish Church (St James) and Mantilla Drive.

- 9A at Wainbody terminus -

The 9A terminates in a residential estate just off Kenpas Highway, the bus pulling up outside the Green Lane Ex-Services Club on Leasowes Avenue. The Bishop Ullathorne Catholic School is another notable local feature as the Chairman treats us to the vocal talents of Mrs Miller warbling a hideous version of 'Act Naturally'. Via Wainbody Avenue South we make our way to our chosen breakfast venue, the Burnt Post doing the honours in typical Ember Inns style (albeit with a shortage of hash browns). 

- Finham Library -

Next up we venture deeper into Finham by following Green Lane down past St Martin's Church and a small clutch of shops (Finham News, Posh Nails and a piano tuition store). The local branch library can be found on Finham Green Road and is now a community-managed facility operated by volunteers; public library services up and down the country are sadly having to rely on such solutions to maintain provision in the face of ongoing austerity measures imposed on local government.

- The Festival, Fenside -

On a more cheerful note, we continue through to Fenside where the Festival on Leaf Lane becomes our darting destination for the day. The pub is a simple estate boozer with a combined allegiance to Coventry City FC and Glasgow Celtic. Fuelled by Old Speckled Hen, WME Whirlwind edges out a 3-2 victory by virtue of a clinical three dart 101 checkout in the deciding leg that left the D9 Destroyer gasping in awe (or something to that effect). 

- A Social Club Spot -

Availing ourselves of the number 23 bus in order to escape a sharp shower, we relocate to nearby Cheylesmore where the Social Club on Quinton Park demands our attention. The bald spot strides forth to get us signed in, then we can relax by munching scratchings, supping Ansells Mild and watching the horse racing. One club curiosity is a full length bagatelle table with a curved net at one end; Coventry is one of the few places in the country where the game is kept alive.

- Daventry Buildings, Cheylesmore -

Beyond the Social Club, Cheylesmore has much else of interest to keep us entertained. A long suburban shopping parade stretches along the Daventry Road whereby Bosworth's Butchers and Devlin's Newsagents occupy one prominent corner. Quinton Park has a pool popular with anglers and geese although the Chairman is disappointed to discover the closet block has been demolished. The toilets were formerly located on Cecily Road opposite where the Cheylesmore Hotel once stood, the pub site now being home to an Asda supermarket.

- Coat of Arms Bridge -

Elsewhere on Daventry Road, the Open Arms offers another slice of Ember Inns hospitality before the Secretary delves deep into his sleeves to summon up a memorable landmark. Coat of Arms Bridge is a sandstone structure that carries the Coventry to Leamington railway line near War Memorial Park; the bridge is decorated with the carved heraldic crest of the Gregory family, local landowners at the time of construction.

- Earlsdon Closet Conundrum -

War Memorial Park is subjected to a bequiffed Rock 'n' Roll singalong (with apologies to Neil Sedaka and Connie Francis) as members tra-la-la their way to Earlsdon, spotting a historic water fountain on a patch of Stivichall Common. The Royal Oak in Earlsdon itself is a pub that had eluded us previously so we enjoy adding that to our growing portfolio (a swift half of Bass does the job nicely); sadly neither the Watchmakers nor the Albany were open by way of follow-up, and the conveniences adjoining the branch library have been taken out of service.

- Byatt's Brewhouse -

Evening is encroaching upon Coventry now and the Chairman still requires his Bendibus fix, the remaining articulated fleet being due for withdrawal by the end of the year. Route 4 is where the Bendibuses currently ply their trade but luck dictates we end up with a boring Trident for our journey to Holbrooks, drat! The Hollybush provides Mr D9 with a Carling pit stop before Lythalls Lane leads us to Byatt's brewhouse base (i.e. yet another of those new generation brewery concerns that no self-respecting industrial estate should be without). The Coventry Bitter is quality here, easily the Secretary's favourite beer of the day.

- The Bendibus Bash -

The sun is setting on an epic adventure but we cannot leave Coventry before attempting a frantic Foleshill Road finale. The D9 dive detector goes into overdrive by pinpointing the Three Horseshoes combined with the Wheatsheaf - both pubs have a certain downtrodden charm that the Chairman seems to savour even if Secretary WME is distinctly less convinced. We survive to tell the tale though, the number 4 bus then granting our Bendi wish for a closing example of superquiff steering. A Philip Larkin nightcap brings the curtain down, and that's Coventry done and dusted for another year. Cheers!

Solihull and Knowle

The occasion of Solihull CAMRA's 18th annual beer festival gave Nick and I ample justification for attempting another ale adventure. The main event is being held at the Royal British Legion Club so we would combine our attendance there with some micropub magic and a visit to Knowle...

- Beer this way! -

Meeting outside Solihull Station come quarter to twelve, we make immediate strides to Union Road ready to exchange tenners for tokens (plus glass and programme of course). The festival is making a welcome return to the British Legion after a couple of years away (in 2016 the event didn't take place at all), so we settle in the lounge and eye up the tasting notes, especially Nick's favourite 'to be treated with caution' section. Moonraker's Mild was my tasty opener from Huddersfield's Empire Brewery whereas Nick went local, Silhill's Pure Star alluringly described as "liquid copper with a body to die for".

- Coffee and Doughnut Stout -

One ale that definitely required close examination was the Salvation #5 Coffee and Doughnut Stout, whereby Abbeydale infuse the ale with real actual doughnuts supplied by a Sheffield bakery. The result is a powerful brew that is certainly very moreish. Likewise enjoyable is the Waterloo Sunset from Kelham Island, a smooth porter with a savoury bite to it. Nick is very taken with his Havelock IPA, named after Sir Henry Havelock, a hero from the Battle of Lucknow who has otherwise faded into obscurity. While at the festival, we are delighted to meet up with Mike and his partner to chat about library cataloguing systems and horror fiction. 

- Champion stuff in the Ale Rooms -

With tasting notes ticked and tokens all spent, we bid the festival a fond farewell and catch the 88 Balsall Common bus through to Knowle High Street. Awaiting us there in a former undertakers premises is the Ale Rooms, a compact little bar that opened last December. Church End ales are our choices here: I opt for Boston Fat Boy (very pale with a canine pumpclip) but for Nick it has to be Goats Milk, recently crowned as the Champion Beer of Britain - it certainly gets his seal of approval!

- Poised at the Vaults -

A visit to Knowle never seems complete without a call into the Vaults, a Good Beer Guide regular with one of the most unpromising pub frontages in the West Midlands (it looks something akin to an adult bookshop). The plain white doorway leads through into a simple interior populated by happy drinkers and mounted fish. A combination of Wadworth 6X and Purity Pure Gold confirms that the beer here is up to its usual high standard.

- Knowle & Dorridge Cricket Club -

From a GBG mainstay to a new entry, Knowle & Dorridge Cricket Club having secured a prized place in the 2018 edition. The club is situated by the Station Road/Grove Road roundabout and proves both welcoming and comfortably furnished. We partake of Wadworth IPA and Bombardier Burning Gold while perusing pictures of successful playing squads down the ages. The cricket connection means this might be a place Stephen needs to sample in due course.

- All you need for an excellent evening -

Our final task is to travel back across Solihull to Hatchford Brook, Olton in order to pay our first ever visit to Solihull CAMRA's 2017 Pub of the Year. The Pup & Duckling micropub has quickly established itself among the area's upper ale echelons with the Berry family at the helm. Any place that serves pork scratchings in a dimpled half-pint glass is a winner as far as I'm concerned, but add in jovial conversation and some Tuck porter (Lincoln Green Brewery) and we were very impressed - and that's before we got embroiled in a fiendish word game. One of Nick's Coventry acquaintances dropped in for a chat too, taking us deeper into the evening than anticipated but we didn't want to leave. Exit we must for a madcap dash onto the X2 (once we'd figured out which direction we needed to travel in), then Solihull Station supplies our respective trains home. Cheers!

WME Flickr Focus - September 2017

Hello and welcome to RAF Exploration where an inspection of the aerodrome inventory reveals that our photographic fleet currently stands at 3,410 pictures. It is now time to take a roll call of the most recent additions to the crew - chocks away what!

September's squadron leader is our old friend WME Wolverhampton, summoning up several successful shots for ongoing inclusion. The Pelham Works building now graces Graiseley whereas Penn picks out the Old Stag's Head Inn and a Woodlands Walk noticeboard. There are pubs old and new as we trade Northwood Park's Staffordshire Volunteer for Oxley's Gatehouse Hungry Horse, plus Pendeford ponders the back end of some buses over at Whitburn Close turning circle.

Also venturing forth from the hangar are dual daredevils WME Birmingham and WME Sandwell. Birmingham assumes the appropriate formation courtesy of Rednal remnants (the Old Hare & Hounds Ember sign), Kings Norton knowledge (the Kings Oak at Vardon Way) and Longbridge lookout duty (a railway station sign); Sandwell meanwhile takes up Oldbury observations (the Waggon & Horses) before a Langley lunge grabs a snap of the village clock.

The aerodrome windsock is pointing for once in the direction of WME Coventry, making a rare 2017 flight with a raid on Radford. Jubilee Crescent shops thus make a welcome return to photostream action, ably assisted by the former Brookville Cinema on Holbrook Lane albeit in its modern guise as a Karpet Kingdom showroom. WME Warwickshire has winged its way over to Mancetter near Atherstone for a taste of Blue Boar altitude, the pub and its stanchion sign being plucked from the skies.

Finally we have a couple of craft seeking clearance to land. WME Staffordshire makes a smooth descent with Newtown's Ivy House safely accounted for, then WME Telford reaches the runway courtesy of some Madeley manoeuvres involving Williams' Funerals clock and a Bethesda Chapel blue plaque. With that all pilots have reported back to base, and we wait to see which photographs will soar skywards in October!