A Good Friday for the Chip Foundation!

Anyone up for some Easter exploring? Believe it or not, it's approaching ten years since Nick, Stephen and I left the public library scene for pastures new. Back in 2014, we celebrated Nick's retirement with a special pubcrawl visiting some of his favourite hostelries and now - a whole decade later - we're going to stage a similar trip in order to mark this notable anniversary...

- Bantock Park Magnolia -

Good Friday (29th March 2024) is close enough to the exact date of Nick's escape from working life that it fits well for meeting up, and what's more I can indulge in some springtime photography en route to joining the chaps in Wolverhampton. Bantock Park looks especially pretty with pathside daffodils and magnolia trees in full bloom, and its heartening to hear the bumblebees buzzing around in search of pollen and nectar. Bantock House and surrounding grounds were bequeathed to Wolverhampton Council on the death of Albert Baldwin Bantock in 1938, with the main house subsequently becoming a museum. 

- Mr Beardsmore points the way from Sedgley Beacon -

Nick and Stephen are ready and waiting for me near Wolverhampton railway station so we can easily hop aboard the number 1 bus bound for Sedgley. An invigorating stroll should get us in the mood for the ales to follow, and the bracing winds up on Sedgley Beacon certainly help to clear any lingering cobwebs. One of the highest points in the Black Country, you can spot numerous West Midlands landmarks from such a lofty elevation including BT Tower, the Bond Wolfe block in West Bromwich, plus Wolverhampton's Mander House with Victoria Halls. One particularly strong gust almost sends the Beardsmore baseball cap spiralling off towards Ettingshall Park Farm but Stephen nimbly retrieves his miscreant headwear from the gorse.

- Dark Ruby Mild? Don't mind if we do... -

Keen that Stephen should not risk losing any more items of apparel, we dodge beneath the Beacon Tower (erected in 1846) and into the Beacon Hotel, home of Sarah Hughes Brewery and their prized Dark Ruby Mild. Intercepting Ken on the doorstep, we've timed our arrival not long after midday opening and yet the place is already very full with Bank Holiday merriment. Dimpled glasses and Taddy Lager beermats add to the effect as we commandeer the far table in the smoke room, always an evocative space in which to imbibe of 6% gorgeousness. Alas the special barrel of Snowflake winter ale has quickly sold out so the still-excellent Sedgley Surprise steps in for my follow-up half while conversation covers recent holidays in Cromer, Exmouth, Scarborough and Great Yarmouth.

- The Classic Beardsmore Chip Picture -

The 229 bus is due straight outside the pub at 14:03 and arrives promptly to whisk us off to Bilston, where we've time for a legendary chip shop lunch before Stephen has to leave us. Major's on Church Street has been a renowned local institution for nigh on fifty years, and although the business changed hands in 2023, they still serve the bright orange battered chips for which Bilston has become famous. Mr B gives them his special seal of approval albeit we have to scamper for the shelter of the bus station when a nasty shower sets in.

- Remembering Reg in the Trumpet -

As the rain relents and our resident Beardsmore bids us farewell by catching his 25 bus link into Wednesfield, the rest of us have a date with another Bilston mainstay. The Trumpet is a wonderful Holden's boozer which specialises in live jazz under the stewardship of Musti and Diane; many is the evening we've spent here over the years, listening to the likes of Patsy Gamble, Sheila Waterfield, Henry Newman and the much-missed Reg Keirle. Claiming our Golden Glows and Holden's Bitters respectively, we nudge below framed portraits of Tommy Burton and Louis Armstrong to chat about music, politics and travel in the time-honoured way. I particularly like the caricature sketches of the various musicians who've graced the stage here down the decades, not to mention a wide array of musical trinkets and figurines.

- Grinning with Glow in the Great Western -

Two pubs done with two more to come so we'd best get heading back to Wolverhampton. The number 82 bus offers a helping hand via Portobello (Moseley Road) and Deansfield, then we soon find ourselves descending the distinctive Corn Hill cobbles to reach the Great Western, nostalgically framed by its railway bridge approaches. An all-time classic, this pub is another of Holden's finest establishments with a neat line in railwayana, cobs and coal fires. Claiming our customary seats in the conservatory, we account for more Glow, Bitter and Woodsetton Pale Ale as the whole place seems alive with good natured Bank Holiday banter. 

- The Lych Gate Tavern Finale -

The fourth of our intended quartet sees us finishing off exactly as we did in 2014, by pitching into the Lych Gate Tavern just off Wolverhampton's Queen Square. Black Country Ales are the custodians here having brought the historic beamed interior back into public use in 2012; it had been an office space prior to that so it's good that the timber elements can now be fully appreciated again. Beartown's Creme Bearlee battles Birmingham's Stout Brummie in our darker ale affections albeit Ken takes a trip along memory lane by opting for Brew XI, the Midlands brew he forged his beery tastebuds on. The only things missing are the Catholic priests who kindly wished Nick all the best on his retirement ten years ago, but we've had a cracking afternoon with or without any such ecclesiastical interventions. Cheers!