A Wednesfield Workout

Where would the Hub Marketing Board have been this year without our occasional Evening Blasts? Full - or even half - day meetings have proven trickier to arrange, but much essential business can be conducted during a three hour speedy session as this full throttle tour of Ashmore Park and Wednesfield will testify...

- Feeling Thirsty? In a word... yes! -

Hasn't the weather been hot again recently? We seem to have been subjected to successive heatwaves with temperatures nudging 32 degrees at times; I enjoy the blue skies but suffer as soon as the heat starts to get too stifling. Heading into Wolverhampton, a 'Thirsty?' sign seems to have read my mind as regards needing refreshment, so thankfully I know there should be a few drinks to be had when the Hub Marketing Board is in session. Mr D9 has suggested a Wednesfield area remit to continue our recent focus on Wolverhampton outposts - game on!

- D9 drives the 59 -

The Wednesfield Road corridor through Heath Town and New Cross is particularly well served for bus routes, no doubt on account of making the local hospital as accessible as possible. We require the number 59 to Ashmore Park which operates a very regular frequency for much of the day, heading through Wednesfield Village and then along the A4124 Lichfield Road as far as Peacock Avenue. The Chairman reminisces about driving duties on the 559 (back in the days when most Wolverhampton routes had that extra '5' prefix) and encountering gaggles of grannies outside the bingo, but this time around he concentrates on hi vis-skirted steering. We join Griffiths Drive to the strains of 'The Lonely Goatherd', the Ronnie Ronalde version of the song featuring some very enthusiastic yodelling segments.

- Griffiths Drive Baldness -

Still with that classic from The Sound of Music ringing in our ears, we alight for the Rogers Close stop at the top end of the Ashmore Park estate and beat an urgent path straight to the True Briton on Snape Road. This is a box boozer straight out of the Banks's mould with the building said to date from the mid-1970s. Most of the regulars are huddled together watching the nail-biting conclusion to the Lords test match, England eventually taking the last Indian wicket to seal a 22 run victory but it was mighty close. The pub is unapologetically a haunt for locals but has a nice community atmosphere to go with a vintage bin that catches the D9 eye. Perhaps the Chairman could have used it to protect his exposed bald spot from sun rays?

- Checking out the Ashmore Park Hub -

Topping up our tans, we proceed along Acorn Road and Ashmore Avenue where it is Mr D9's turn to declare his daft ditty of the day. Cue much 1970s campness courtesy of Larry Grayson and 'Shut That Door', a composition inspired by the comedian's notorious catchphrase. It only takes a few minutes for us to resurface on Griffiths Drive near the possibly disused Corpus Christi Social Club (with hints of Banks's branding through the overgrown bushes). A photocall outside The Hub at Ashmore Park is a must; this important amenity acts as a library, sports hall and community centre all rolled into one although the Secretary can very fondly recall working at the previous branch library closer to the shopping precinct.

- The Lancaster (formerly the Albion) -

The Ashmore pub is next on the agenda, its car park having partially been sacrificed to allow the creation of a Co-op store a few years ago but at least it is still going. Considering Mondays are usually a quiet day for the trade, this place seems very popular and we enjoy joining in with some pool table banter as two old chums merrily exchange insults. Apparently the Sticky Bingo (whatever that entails!) is due to start imminently so we - probably wisely - relocate via Linthouse Lane to the Lancaster on Lichfield Road. The Secretary always knew this as the Albion when he was growing up but the change of name references a wartime plane accident when a bomber crashed nearby in May 1945, sadly claiming the lives of seven crew members. Theakstons Tarmac meets Carling here as we briefly repose by a barrel table. 

- An Angelic Finale? -

The turn-up-and-go credentials of the 59 bus are fully tested as we breeze back into the heart of Wednesfield and avail ourselves of more thirst-quenching hospitality. The Dog & Partridge stands at the Neachells Lane end of the High Street and boasts historic beams plus a huge blackened fireplace that looks like it ought to belong in a museum. Ringwood Fortyniner here precedes a Monday Club cheap pint at the Royal Tiger Wetherspoons - you can't argue with Byatt's Cosmic Jungle at 5.9% for £1.76 can you! - then we round off at the Angel, possibly more against our better judgement but friendly enough to offset our worst dive fears. Cheers!