Willenhall (Twice Weekly)

Strange how things turn out sometimes - you don't visit a place for ages, then suddenly you pitch up there twice within a matter of days. Willenhall has long been categorised under the heading of WME favourite locations, dating right back to childhood Saturday market visits or Geography coursework trips to the Rough Wood nature reserve, so it'll be good to catch up with the town and its pubs once more...

- A Carling Call in the Three Tuns -

My Willenhall reacquaintance quest begins on Tuesday 16th July in the company of Mr D9 Esquire as we stage another of our Hub Marketing evening extras. The Chairman is already waiting for me in the Three Tuns by the time I've caught the 529 over from Wolverhampton; the pub seems improved from when we last saw it (admittedly over ten years ago) although the external cladding remains the kind only Jack and Vera Duckworth could love. A Carling each is suitable refreshment on a warm day when it almost feels like it could be summer!

- Shepwell's Awaits -

Mr D9's insistence on a Willenhall workout was largely inspired by his curiosity to see what had become of the former Shepwell Green Social Club, which used to be a fading flat roofer with a vintage Carling Black Label flag sign. It's recently been subject to a major overhaul and now calls itself Shepwell's, complete with a pronounced liking for the colour orange. Internally it feels like a vast space with raised seating areas and a large performance stage, and there's plenty of room for playing pool or darts should that be your thing. We merely account for more Carling whilst sitting beneath a multitude of European football banners attached to the ceiling.

- Surveying Yale with the Bald Spot -

As ever with a Hub Marketing trip, there are silly songs to share and they don't come much sillier than a Goons-related double header. The 'Ying Tong Song' is an all-time classic (iddle-i-po, iddle-i-po) whereas Spike Milligan's rendition of 'Remember You're A Womble' is a lesser known oddity credited to Eccles and Bluebottle. The daft ditties soften the blow of seeing the ex-Yale Social Club site gradually decaying before our very eyes, but at least the bald spot's sorrow can be mitigated by rapid halves in both the County and the Ring o' Bells, the latter threatening to take Dive of the Day honours with its salt of the earth allure.

- D9 drives the 25 to Bilston -

The Crown is a traditional Banks's house that's very much to our liking (albeit with Marston's Smooth and 1987 MTV tunes in the absence of cask ale), and the Royal George is a lively haunt showing both horse racing and the England Women's football match. The Chairman's app tracking prowess comes in useful for intercepting the 25 into Bilston where we can finish off in the none-too-salubrious surroundings of the Horse & Jockey on Church St. Secretary WME always feels nervous about sampling this one but cheap Carling does earn him a devious discount to offset lurid tales of the Stowlawn Gobbler from D9's youth. Cheers!

- The Robin Hood -

After Tuesday evening's whistlestop wander, a Friday 19th foray with the Chip Foundation is altogether much more sedate. We're meeting up to mark what would have been Mr B Senior's 81st birthday (the day itself fell on Monday 15th July), so the 529 is again pressed into action. Our first port of call on this occasion is the Robin Hood as positioned on The Crescent on the way towards Darlaston. This Black Country Ales offering has been crowned Walsall CAMRA's 2024 Pub of the Year and proves a delightful setting in which to discuss Gunpowder Plot tomes and the apparent rise of Artificial Intelligence technology. The Curious Case of Mr Spock and the Exploding Sticky Toffee Pudding makes for a surreal start to the trip.

- Expired Hardware -

Via Birmingham Street and Doctor's Piece we gradually weave our way into Willenhall Town Centre, pausing on Lower Lichfield Street to recall Roy Birch's DIY and Hardware shop which has been empty since the long-serving proprietor retired. A large Morrisons store is certainly very popular but it is noticeable how the once-thriving street market has dwindled down to a handful of hardy stalls trying to keep tradition alive. A key component of remembering Mr B Senior involves us posing outside the former Willenhall Central School at the top of Stafford Street; John would have been a pupil here back in the 1950s although the premises is now used by Wedge Group Galvanizing Limited as some kind of training academy.

- The Royal George -

JB would have been no stranger to Willenhall's watering holes over the years so it is likely he would have frequented the Three Crowns at some point; we rather liked it as a no nonsense local boozer serving decent cask ale, in my case a solid pint of Pennine's Heartland deep amber. It helps of course that we can watch some of the Trent Bridge test match from the rudimentary comfort of the beer garden, albeit with England struggling to take wickets. The long-term closures of the Falcon (a much missed favourite of ours) and the Malthouse (which used to be Willenhall's Wetherspoons) mean a rapid revisit to the Royal George where I'm sure some of the faces from Tuesday evening are still resident - did they even go home?

- Grinning in the Grapes -

Two more boozers with firm Beardsmore family links will ensure we've paid a suitable homage to our elder statesman, although we can't include the Castle because that too is shut and very much looking like it might have pulled its last pint. A 529 short hop conveys us to Portobello, the area where John spent his formative years after first moving up from Truro. The Grapes on Moseley Road is a typically sizeable suburban roadhouse situated directly opposite the fishing pool of the same name - I'd hesitate to call it a beauty spot even if you do have Stowlawn flats on the horizon! We take occupancy of the bay window in the games area to ponder word puzzles, discuss coach holidays and hope England conjure up more West Indies scalps.

- Something Smooth to remember John by -

Last but not least is the Merry Boys on the corner of Deans Road and the A454 Willenhall Road, a hostelry where John used to regularly meet up with his brothers over drinks and a game of dominoes. It feels highly fitting for me to sample the Marston's Smooth in his honour whilst we consider the various cheeky canine portraits - pugs in sunglasses anyone? Stephen has been wearing his dad's Warwickshire cap as his own personal tribute, and although said headpiece doesn't attempt to drain our halves by a process of osmosis, we're pretty sure John is with us in spirit. Willenhall Twice Weekly = Mission Accomplished!

Another April Assortment

April 2024 seems to have developed a liking for double-header blog postings. With Perton and Pensnett already accounted for, I'll now combine two more outings into a single report so settle back and enjoy. First off is a Carling collision around Deansfield with Mr D9, followed by an Acocks Green assignment accompanying Nick and Ken...

- Sir Jack's Statue -

There hasn't been much scope for Hub Marketing action this month with the Chairman and the Secretary both having busy diaries, so squeezing in a quick evening catch-up is about all that we can muster. Tuesday 16th April is the agreed date whereby Mr WME manages some lunchtime photography in the vicinity of Molineux Stadium, home ground of Wolverhampton Wanderers of course. Sir Jack Hayward was club owner and benefactor during the 1990s and early 2000s so a statue of him can be found close to the stand bearing his name; the design recreates Sir Jack's famous thumbs up pose which celebrated achieving promotion to the Premier League after the Play Off Final victory over Sheffield United in 2003. 

- Marston's Smooth in the Merry Boys -

To Hub Marketing matters and 529 buses from differing directions see members converging upon Deansfield shortly before 5pm. A mini Willenhall Road pubcrawl is in the offing, starting at the Merry Boys which is a fairly typical Banks's establishment on the junction with Deans Road. Secretary WME remembers having belly busting brunches here, as well as meeting up for lunches with ex-library colleagues, but today's visit concentrates on Marston's Smooth and some brightly patterned booth seating. Chairman D9 is in good form, regaling all with tales of timetable scheduling meetings and falling off stools in the Great Western.

- D9 'drives' the 529 -

Diagonally opposite the Merry Boys is where you'll find the Cleveland Arms, occupying the corner with Stowheath Lane. Well known as a sporting pub, the Cleveland regularly hosts event nights with personalities drawn from the worlds of football, darts and snooker - indeed, former Wolves midfielder Kevin McDonald is due to take to the stage here in a few days time. We partake of a swift Carling each whilst noting an impressive amount of dartboards and pool tables, then decamp back onto the 529 so that the Chairman can showcase more of his bus driving expertise. A short hop is all he needs to supply some steering action...

- It's A Lovely Day for a Bald Spot Sighting -

A two stop helping hand is all we require to get us to the Beehive, a Coventry Street contender drawn very much from the backstreet boozer category. More Carling here keeps us refreshed - once Mr D9 has figured out which door can get us inside - as we sit under the trophy shelf admiring their Beehive Wolves 1877 flag. A cheeky call into the Glassy Junction (formerly the Malt Shovel) completes proceedings amongst hi-vis workmen and woolly-coated grannies; for a Tuesday evening it's very lively, the curries being part of the attraction. There's just time for the bald spot to listen to some silly songs, including some German rapping nonsense from Die Woodies plus Renee and Renato warbling 'It's A Lovely Day', and the crawl is complete.

- Douglas Road Bird Art -

Three whole days later and Friday 19th April 2024 has Nick, Ken and I meeting up for a spot of Acocks Green reconnaissance. Our resident Bluenose Mr May used to live in the area prior to departing for Wolverhampton pastures in the 1980s, so this outing is dedicated to revisiting a few of his old stomping grounds. We therefore set forth from Acocks Green railway station shortly after half past ten, noting the closure of the Great Western pub (boarded up) and the lack of public helpdesk services at the nearby police station. Douglas Road yields a neat line in avian street art as Nick ponders whether to call in at Jess Phillips MP's constituency office, while Alexander Road offers a former Ken residence as well as a historic fire station premises.

- Summer House, Shaftmoor Lane -

The village centre in Acocks Green is clustered around the main island where Westley Road, Shirley Road and the A41 Warwick Road all intersect, although the Inn on the Green as was is now a Kabul restaurant. We peruse some of the local shops, noting the closure of Haynes Butchers (they had been trading since 1939) and weigh up our pub options which appear to amount to Wetherspoons or bust! We've earmarked Tim Martin's empire for food consumption later on so a ride on the 1 can get us to Shaftmoor Lane, technically crossing into Hall Green. The Shaftmoor pub has been renamed as the Summer House but is still a sprawling suburban edifice; it'll do us fine for respective glasses of Guinness and Worthingtons, trying not to get deafened by Dua Lipa songs being emitted at almost painful decibel levels.

- St John's, Sparkhill -

Needing to give our eardrums chance to recover, we continue along Shaftmoor Lane to the College Arms which remains a fine Stratford Road landmark even with some of its lettering falling off. Union Jack flags in the left hand bar offset some occasional drilling noises and we  rather like the traditional green leather upholstery provided Nick doesn't get swallowed by a devious dip. The Shire Country Park includes 'Blackberry Way', an almost unheralded River Cole footpath which may or may not have anything to do with The Move's number one hit of late 1968. Either way, we emerge via Percy Road into Sparkhill so as to track down another of Ken's previous addresses (32 Blackford Road). The Sparkhill area has become much more multicultural since the 1970s but St John's Parish Church has been a constant presence. 

- A 'Wow' Moment at No 1 DoveHouse Parade -

Sparkhill and neighbouring Sparkbrook are very much Muslim communities these days but do have longstanding associations with Birmingham's Irish population. McDwyers on the Warwick Road is something of a survivor given how many pubs have perished, and proves well worth a look with its redbrick terracotta clock turret not to mention some very creamy Guinness. We round things off with two altogether more modern establishments in Olton, namely Number 1 DoveHouse Parade (our setting for a very hoppy 'Wow' from the Silhill Brewery) and Platform Three (barely a minute's dash from Olton railway station). Cheers all and Happy Birthday Ken!