Wham Bam Thank You Lamb

With most of South Derbyshire underwater at present, I managed to snorkel my way over to North West Leicestershire and Dave Southworth’s favourite town.

Martin has suggested a Life After Football sponsored route for the Southworths of East Midlands boozers taking in all the finest hostelries this region has to offer.

Ashby, as has been well documented, isn’t the easiest place to reach due to its lack of railway station…. but it is definitely worth the effort when you get there.

I thought I’d pop in for a quick pint on a Thursday at around 5.15 to catch up with the post work crowd and also to avoid watching any Birmingham City games live on Sky.

Having seen another (consecutive) defeat live in the flesh at Derby last weekend after the inertia of the previous week at St Andrews against Preston was bad enough. Throw in the red button purgatory of a 1-0 loss to Wigan  on Tuesday and I am in need of some light relief before tomorrow night’s live SKY classic against Middlesbrough.

Apparently there is also some rugby tournament going on at present and it was being heavily advertised in 477 – The Lamb LE65 1AH along with every other sporting event you could think of.

I know Martin mentioned recently about every town having a “town centre pub” that isn’t a Spoons and The Lamb is definitely Ashby’s version.

The obligatory mobility scooter outside and it’s a proper Craft Union Pub classic.  I quite like this company as they refurbish boozers and then adopt a no nonsense approach with sport everywhere, including Boxing TV as well as Sky in this place.

Even Marston’s has got in on the act with the Rugby World Cup in Japan and as well as Worthington’s beermat with a rugby ball in the background the cask offering was Samurai Try (Marston’s), which was actually very quaffable.

The bonus price of £2.60 a pint (Yes that’s right London/American/Canadian/Solihull readers £2.60!) and it felt like a local in a town centre.

A good crackle was helped by a bloke with a laugh like a hyena who was with his pal and a pair of couples who were starting to warm up for the evening ahead with some proper East Midlands language and  increased volume.

The barmaid sounded like a native of Brum and although she confirmed it was Tamworth then, as Fazeley shows, that is a Brummie as the Bull Ring even though it has a Staffordshire postcode.

She was good value and very chatty and seemed to have that knack of knowing exactly who was next in line unlike the barmaid in Coleshill recently.

Bench seating in a booth style all the way though this big long boozer and, as whatpub suggests, this is a lively town centre pub on the Market Street which is raucous on a Friday/Saturday evening.

There were 70’s disco tunes belting out with the sound turned down on the sports and I reckon Craft Union are doing as good job with this place as the last time I saw them in Cheswick Green.

Cheswick Green is in the West Midlands and that might just be another essential on the Southworth’s tour of the East/West Midlands postcodes….