It's been another very busy week for the Hub Marketing Board with a double round of meeting minutes to place on file. First off came a Wolverhampton evening that had the Chairman and Secretary teaming up for a Penn Fields summit, then came the small matter of trying to capture some waddling Worcester penguins...
- The Jeffcock Road Bald Spot -
We'll commence with Monday 29th July 2024 and a solid slice of suburban Wolverhampton. Mr D9 has positioned himself in the Moon Under Water Wetherspoons, digesting an Exmoor Stag while awaiting the Secretary's arrival, and possibly regrets this speedy pint when running to catch the number 2 bus. We alight on Lea Road among the terraces of Penn Fields, albeit our intended first tandem target of the Bruford Arms is closed on account of having its flooring relaid. Jeffcock Road has the Chairman recalling the days of the former 513 and 514 routes, driving trusty Metrobuses and having a head full of hair. Alas these familiar surroundings are now only able to bear witness to the subsequent decline in his follicle coverage!
- D9 Destroyer in the Bradmore Arms -
Putting aside our Bruford disappointment, we make the Starting Gate our opening port of call instead. This Birches Barn Road micropub goes from strength to strength and has attracted a substantial following for an ordinary Monday evening in July; perhaps the £3.30 Happy Hour prices are part of the magnetism? We partake of Ashby Pale and Kinver's Witchfinder General respectively - the latter a hefty 5.5% stout, just what you need on one of the warmest days of the year. Sitting upstairs, Mr D9 is presented with his 'Toilets of the World' tome and is still delighted with said reading matter when we relocate to the Bradmore Arms for a darts duel.
- The Gunmakers gets into the Olympic spirit -
It's been a little while since we last graced an oche so it's understandable if we're both rusty to put it politely. D9 Destroyer gets his throwing arm into gear more quickly than WME Whirlwind, racing into a 3-0 lead and threatening to dish out a heavy Bradmore beating. The Secretary slowly finds his range though and completes his comeback over in the Gunmakers Arms on the corner of Trysull Road and Church Road. The pub's traditional ambiance here is boosted by Olympic Games bunting willing on Team GB to a variety of medal successes, hence we keep half an eye on the progress of the Men's Gymnastics team final.
- Golden Glow in Penn Fields Bowling Club -
Our ultimate landing point for this sprightly soiree is the Penn Fields Bowling Club off Coalway Road. We'd visited previously (as part of our Clubbing Crawl in early 2020) so we know what we're letting ourselves in for, namely the homeliest of glorified sheds overlooking two pristine bowling greens. Trophy shelves and musty green fabric seating transports us back in time as we savour Holden's Golden Glow and even treat ourselves to a Sam Smith's Taddy Lager for good measure. Club rulebooks and squad photos add to the flavour and the whole place is wonderfully friendly, with CAMRA members requested to sign the visitor book. Super!
- A Proper Priestfield Cuppa -
Normally that would be quite enough for one week but no, we'll fling ourselves forward into Friday 2nd August which has been specially reserved for the Waddle of Worcester, another of those Wild in Art animal sculpture trails which are always great fun. With 80 potential penguins to find later on, we need a fortifying breakfast so Jean's Cafe in Priestfield gets the nod. A Full Monty each is just the job, loaded up with black pudding, fried slices, bacon rashers and pork sausages - it takes some effort to munch your way through that lot but we're up to the task. The cafe has been a fixture on the corner of Hargreaves Street for many decades while the sepia prints around the walls suggest they have their own fondness for Worcestershire.
- Kingsley the Kaleidoscope Penguin -
Via Priestfield tram stop and The Hawthorns, we progress to Worcester Foregate Street with the train journey being enlivened by the silly songs of the day. We might as well declare them early in order to concentrate on our penguin-plotting mission: for the record, our choices this time around are 'Au Clair Du Lune' by Hattie Jacques and Eric Sykes (faux French warbling), and The Veterans 'I'm Jogging' in honour of Mr D9's choice of red shorts to show off his legs. It's then time for us to get serious about sculptures with 'Kingsley the Kaleidoscope Penguin' presenting a multicoloured appearance outside the Worcester City Art Gallery & Museum.
- The Chairman meets a Woolly Waddler -
Castle Street connects us to Croft Road in order to meet 'Silk Snowdrops' by the racecourse gates, swiftly followed by two penguins at the riverside gardens. 'Fisherman's Friend' has a bright yellow mac and a bottle of Worcestershire sauce (Lea & Perrins we presume) whereas 'Woolly Waddler' takes no heed of the boilingly hot temperatures by insisting on wearing his Christmas jumper. Over at The Hive we can make the acquaintance of 'Precious Penguin' in geometric shades of black and white, then the main library entrance is guarded by 'Doodle McZenguin' with its creative mixture of patches, some bright and some more restrained.
- Flappity VIP -
As with many Wild in Art events, the underlying aim is to raise money for local charities, in this case supporting St Richard's Hospice who provide end-of-life care across the county. Several schools have got involved in creating penguin chicks, most of which can be found throughout the Crowngate shopping malls of Chapel Walk and Friary Walk. Among those to catch our eye are 'Flappity VIP' (with artists' beret), 'Penny Lane' (a Beatles-inspired Abbey Road crossing) and 'Arlo' (with Maori patterning). Elsewhere in the city centre, we make sure to locate 'Calvin the Copperplate Penguin' in all his bronzed Friary Street glory, and 'Elgar's Enigma' in tie and waistcoat, a tribute to Worcestershire's legendary composer as stationed at The Cornmarket.
- The New Chequers -
After p-p-picking up around half of the penguin colony, we'll waddle next into some Worcester hostelries. Copenhagen Street is home to the TripelB Belgian Beer Cafe, a continental-styled gem purveying tripels, saisons, iambics and more. We opt for the Liefman's Fruitesse and its highly refreshing hit of berry goodness to cool us down after our travails. Venturing towards Lowesmoor, we note the Alma and the Bridge Inn as standard city centre boozers (the latter being handy for the Worcester & Birmingham Canal) before Rainbow Hill has us ascending Astwood Road to find the New Chequers near the cemetery roundabout. The Secretary loves his longstanding landmark roadhouses so this ticks a lot of WME boxes, from the two room layout to its setting beside the Brickfields Road railway bridge - the number 35 bus even makes timing point stops right outside.
- In need of a Good Rest? -
Two more targets to the north of Worcester's main centre await discovery next, with Church Road and Barker Street bringing us promptly to the Goodrest Tavern. We sense this would have been a Banks's number back in the day, part of its car park having been claimed for a Co-op store, but it still does the business for Carling quaffing and an Olympics catch-up; Team GB have won gold in the equestrian showjumping, not a sport we know much about in truth! The Chestnut Tree meanwhile is bounded by Lansdowne Road and Somerset Place in a neat little square. We really like this one, mainly on account of a cracking pint of Timothy Taylor's Knowle Spring but also because of its Will Killeen portraits of classic comedy performers such as the Two Ronnies, Barbara Windsor and Steptoe & Son. The presence of sound equipment and a vinyl records library suggests they love their music here too.
- Eighties Eddie with D9 entourage -
The A38 approaches back into the city centre would make for a serious crawl in its own right, such are the amount of cask options along The Tything and Upper Tything. We can't possibly try them all but make a decent fist of accounting for the Lamb & Flag (a narrow-fronted local institution by all reports, again serving high class Timothy Taylor wares), the Dragon (now owned by Church End Brewery which means Gravediggers Mild is an absolute must) and Black Country Ales's Saracens Head (a recent addition to the BCA portfolio which has been subjected to their usual style of refurbishment). Glugging down a Mr Grundy's Big Willie, we happily retire to Foregate Street for our homeward train but there's just enough time prior to the 17:40 departure for us to say hello to 'Eighties Eddie' complete with lurid tracksuit and a sizeable zip. The event runs until 15th September so more waddling may ensue deeper into the summer holidays, but for now we've made a very enjoyable start. Cheers!
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