WME Review of the Year - 2018

Happy New Year everybody! Whilst I wouldn't say I'm an absolute stickler for tradition, one of my little customs here on the WME blog is to pitch the first post of a new year as a reflective look back at the preceding twelve months. Now that 2019 is upon us, let me pause to consider the year that was 2018 and in the process I'll quietly submit WME blogpost number 700...

January: the old year burst into life first and foremost with an Ironbridge solo session, making use of my Gorge Museums passport with calls at Coalbrookdale and Broseley plus an opening pint in the Tontine Hotel. There were family visits to Tipton (the Pie Factory) and Codsall while Stephen and I spent a spare Thursday morning exploring Ettingshall, unearthing railway heritage and new housing developments. Elsewhere, the Chip Foundation contributed our Bumblehole Bash comprising a Windmill End waterways wander before we sought Shell-ter in a new Halesowen micropub.

February: stealing the headlines here has to be the WARP Reunion, a Worcestershire outing that saw me join forces with Messrs Wood, Chance and Lunn for a fun-filled tour of Stourport, Worcester and Redditch - the D9 bald spot came in for a lot of attention that day! The remainder of February was dedicated to judging duties, firstly with D9 around Cradley Heath and Warley (Ivan's Chip Shop was one of my culinary discoveries of the year) and secondly with the Chip Foundation cohort in Enville where Nick was apparently spotted manhandling a dismembered cock!

March: the Beast from the East was making its frozen presence felt, not that the blizzard would get in the way of a Friar Park and Bilston blast with Mr D9 - we've only just about thawed out again mind. A trio of solo treats then took centre stage, featuring input from Stafford (specifically Marston Road around the Stafford Rangers football ground), Telford (Sutton Hill and Woodside) and Lichfield, the latter involving a Good Friday investigation of canal restoration efforts at Fosseway Heaths and Borrowcop Locks. I certainly plan on returning in future to see what further progress the Lichfield and Hatherton Canals Restoration Trust have made.

April: spring was now in full swing as evidenced by some Moor Pool moments in Birmingham; there was quite a contrast between the inner-city scenery of Ladywood (the ex-Twin Towers pub being a particularly prized flat roofed find) and the leafy suburbia of Harborne. Nick Turpin clocked in minus his Stagecoach for some High Wycombe hijinks whereby Haddenham & Thame Parkway installed itself as the unexpected (some would say unwanted) bonus location of 2018; twelve minutes waiting for a connection there felt like we'd landed in purgatory. That experience did not deter me from the jamboree that is Rail Rover Week, landing this time around at Etruria, Whitchurch, Honeybourne and Cheltenham. The Chip Foundation found time to squeeze in an Ironbridge itinerary (Jackfield japes in the Tile Museum) plus Stephen and I witnessed Warwickshire storming to cricketing victory at Northampton.

May: a quieter month to begin with, save for a scorching Sunday solo walk to Trysull and Wombourne augmented by some Stowlawn snippets with Stephen (how sad to see the Happy Wanderer as an overgrown mess). An afternoon at the Banbury beer festival kept Nick and I out of mischief with twin micropubs to account for, namely the Bailiff's Tap and the Old Town Ale House. May's major event however was undoubtedly the 2018 WME family holiday which entailed spending Whitsun Week in Wales, or Fishguard to be more exact. Tenby, Aberystwyth, St David's and Cardigan all succumbed to my camera's gaze over the course of five exceptional days, and how could I forget two classic Draught Bass pubs in the form of the Fishguard Arms and the fantastic Dyffryn Arms (otherwise affectionately known as Bessie's).

June: my return home from Wales was immediately followed by duck-detecting Coalbrookdale action with the Chip Foundation; Mr Beardsmore Senior certainly hasn't forgotten the hoppy taste of his ale in the Coracle, a beer far-removed from his usual John Smith's persuasion. The Beardsmores were likewise in attendance for a day in Shrewsbury checking out Coleham, Quarry Park and Frankwell, while the Going Quackers duck sculptures also registered during a Paul solo special that took me to Much Wenlock. In other news, I strapped on my hiking boots when covering the Seisdon section of the Staffordshire Way, Nick and I were impressed by Newhampton Arts Centre as the venue for Wolverhampton Beer Festival, and Mr D9 returned from a three month hiatus to resume our Hub Marketing mission courtesy of Gornal and Sedgley.

July: the nation by this stage was gripped with World Cup fever as England progressed to the semi-finals, Nick and I witnessing the fateful Croatia defeat at the Victoria in central Birmingham (Titanic Plum Porter could not mitigate the disappointment). Mr D9 and I galloped around Great Wyrley and Cheslyn Hay to a footballing soundtrack (World Cup Willie, Nice One Cyril) on a sticky day of Staffordshire imbibing, whereas the Beardsmores were my accomplices for a Worcester safari that required us to hunt down various giraffe sculptures before pondering the beer temperatures in the Sociable Brewing bar. Besides all of that, there was still time to sample the Shrewsbury beer festival, to carry out some Shenstone reconnaissance (Stephen negotiating the narrow lanes to drive us to the Plough), and to muscle in some micropub magic (Ken and Nick being on hand for my first visit to Tivi Ale).

August: the height of summer and 2018 did actually provide us with a fair amount of sunshine. The fine weather was put to excellent use watching cricket at Colwyn Bay, Warwickshire beating Glamorgan inside three days on their way to County Championship promotion - superb! The annual Hub Marketing away day excursion necessitated getting 'Hoodwinked' in Nottingham, Mr D9 and I duly rummaging for robins, old closets (Sneinton Market) and various hub locations. Back in the West Midlands, I enjoyed a gentle morning taking pictures of Kingswinford - St Mary's Church looked spectacular - whereas Shropshire was again the setting for some Chip Foundation antics, Coalport taking its turn in the Ironbridge Gorge Museums spotlight.

September: a month that began with Stephen and I still in Wales, the Bears' rapid victory giving us a free day with which to consider the drizzly delights of Blaenau Ffestiniog, very atmospheric despite - or perhaps because of - the rain. A successful cricketing season would later come to a close at Edgbaston whereby Ken, Nick, the Beardsmores and I celebrated Warwickshire's title success with an ale appointment at the Physician. Railway-related matters were very much to the fore in September; Nick and I wallowed in Inter City APT nostalgia at the Crewe Rail Ale festival, then Stephen, John and I sought out train sculptures in Bridgnorth (keeping an ear out for news of Wolves drawing 1-1 at Manchester United but of course). Even the Hub Marketing Board got in on the act, walking the remains of the old Harborne branch line out from Winson Green and dancing a Dick Emery conga for good measure. 

October: no year's autumn agenda is ever complete without a Hub Marketing Coventry caper, the 2018 edition thus focusing on Canley and Coundon - the quiff was present and correct for the requisite rock and roll singalong although Johnny Mathis gatecrashed the playlist in reference to a local estate agents! I spent a few days staying with my sister in Loughborough being thoroughly enchanted by my niece and nephew, nipping out but briefly to partake of Bass in the Plough at Thorpe Acre. Solihull was somewhat soggy when Nick and I descended upon the town's beer festival, albeit the Tap & Tandoor's vegetarian mixed grill and a canal walk at Hockley Heath soon took our minds off the damp conditions.

November: continuing with the beer festival theme and Stoke's Spode Hall is where Dad, Nick and I contemplated Potteries life over thirds from Titanic, Fixed Wheel and such like. Dudley Winter Ales gave Mr D9 his festival fix, ploughing through the programme with steely determination on the same day in which we found our final pepperpot and savoured the Parkfield Central Bar, wow! The Chip Foundation got sent to Coventry again, lingering on Lentons Lane and landing up in Longford prior to an industrial estate encounter with Byatt's Brewery Bar, we do introduce Mr Beardsmore Senior to all the best places! A quick note too for a couple of solo strolls, one gently getting to grips with Greensforge for Kinver Edge in the Navigation, the other weaving around Wightwick and Wrottesley on the edges of Perton.

December: and so we reach December, a month always concerned with festive forages and calendar unveilings. The 2018 Forage concentrated on Kenilworth and Leamington, Nick seemingly being on a quest to astound me with weird and wonderful establishments - can that Smeg fridge entrance to the Apehangers Bar ever be beaten? The Hub Marketing Christmas adventure comprised a Whitmore Reans circuit involving inflatable Santas, Pegasus pints and Winning Post wonder, whereas Dad and I made Bridgnorth our 'Twixmas' destination for Belgian brews in the Merckx Bar and gastro experiences in the Woodberry Inn. The closing word is reserved for New Year's Eve and a Dudley No. 2 Canal dart that concluded at the hallowed Waterfall below Blackheath - perfect!

I say it every year and 2018 is no exception - what cracking outings I've done and magnificent memories I can cherish. As always my sincere thanks go to the intrepid folk who have made all these terrific trips happen - Andy (a.k.a. Mr D9), Nick, Stephen, John (a.k.a. Mr Beardsmore Senior), Ken, Dad, Rog and Woody. It simply wouldn't be the same without you, and I hope 2019 will give us plenty more moments of mayhem and mirth - cheers!