Hancock’s Half Hour

Any pub in the West Midlands that gets a Tony Hancock reference in it is surely worth a few points in the ever-competitive blogging league table of ‘original but slightly lame’ titles. Bar staff, like gaffers, can often make or break a pub so, when you get a good ‘un it’s worth noting.  In my…

Have You Been Drinking Thwaites Beer? I Can See Flying Elephants

Back street local boozers on the outskirts of Solihull are always far better than any pub in Solihull and that has always been the case. Back in the eighties and nineties and my youthful drinking days then Olton, Shirley, Knowle Elmdon Heath, Cheswick Green, Maypole, Solihull Lodge and Yardley were all a better bet for…

A Week In Olton: Part 1

As tension builds ahead of the grand pub free for all / drinking frenzy, reopening on Saturday I thought it was a good idea to plan a holiday. No ordinary vacation of course but another in the series of “A week in…” which this time heads to my home town of Olton to spend a…

Seasons Greetings From Solihull

Solihull often comes in for a bit of stick on this blog so don’t assume this post will be any different. Many an evening in my youth was spent in Rosie’s Nightclub or The Snooty Fox/Mason’s Arms/Byron’s or Shades Wine Bar, none of which have particularly pubby credentials. Actually, that’s unfair The Masons Arms is…