Big Pete's Singalong at the Seven Stars

I’m not a big fan of walking into a pub to find that Karaoke’s on. I don’t mind it, I’m even game to taking part if I’ve had a few drinks; but to enter to see a bald man blasting away is something that puts me off the whole thing. It’s there so that the locals can have a laugh; and in this case we did know the chap that was singing; though his dress sense portrayed that he’d also planned for the evening and that he was game for a laugh. But we didn’t know any of the other locals; and I was trying very hard not to laugh at him rather than laugh with him. We also don’t know how many drinks he’d had before getting the courage to stand up and sing. I’ve also got no idea what he was trying to sing; but he was certainly getting into it.

Go Wild for Mild

Mild is that weird and wonderful flavour of beer that encompasses many different beer styles. Gone is the seventies image of flat-capped men calling in for a pint from M & B on their way home. A traditional mild has dark and delicious flavours and are full of tasty roasted malts. Some brewers have added interesting ingredients like chocolate, honey or hazelnut to their brews to sweeten the taste to appeal to a new age of drinkers. Milds have traditionally been low in strength such as Cannon Royall’s Fruiterer’s Mild (3.7%), but some milds like Bewdley brewery’s William Mucklow’s Mild go all the way to 6%.

CAMRA is urging Mild drinkers in the West Midlands to go Wild for Mild by joining them for the regional Mild trail on May 13^th in historic Burton-upon-Trent. The local branch will be on hand to provide maps and advice on the best pubs to visit; and it’s a great chance to meet other like-minded drinkers from across the West Midlands. For more information, visit www.burtoncamra.wordpress.com.

Ambridge Flower Power at the Southcrest Manor Hotel, Redditch

So the fancy hotel just up the road from me has decided to have a go at running a beer festival. Oddly, it’s decided to dedicate Friday night to CAMRA members only; which is great for us but it makes for a very quiet night. When I arrived, I headed outside to find a single marquee has been pitched at the end of the lawn; and inside is a choice of eight beers alongside a selection of cider and a prosecco bar. The bales of hay were very decorative but shame that that weren’t any others to join us. It was £6 to get in, but the offer also included half price beer; though some couldn’t understand that you had to sacrifice one offer to get the reward. I wonder what that conversation sounded like in the lobby where there were discussing it? They didn’t even come down to say hi. We spent a happy couple of hours chatting amongst ourselves then when darkness set in we invaded the tent and tried to chat up the bar staff. I never made it back over the weekend; though I heard that most of the ‘live music’ just turned out to be a resident DJ.

Ticket Trouble #dreamdiary26

I’ve got tickets to see Blink 182! But as usual, everyone is either too ill or too poor to come with me, and I also didn't book the time off work so I end up setting off far too late. My first stop on my journey is to collect the tickets themselves from a bus station in Solihull. When I arrive, I accidentally find a cash machine instead of a ticket machine but I need cash anyway. I take out my wallet but for some reason I have a NatWest bank card instead of my own. I program the machine to swallow the card by entering the incorrect pin, then use my own to get cash. Then I find a giant sign pointing to the right ticket printing machine pointing to a corner. At this point I consider the risk of collecting my tickets from the venue but their offices may be closed. When I arrive, I have to park at the very end and have a mountain to climb to reach the arena. Instead of following the windy path I decide to take a shortcut by climbing over the rocks. I stumble near the top, but manage to swing myself back onto the main path. When I arrive, the venue is closed. 

Greyhound under fire Again

In our Winter issue, we reported that Bromsgrove District Council voted to list the Greyhound as an Asset of Community Value (ACV), and that the council also denied permitted development rights of the pub to the property developers. Since then, the developers have submitted a full planning application to demolish the pub, alongside another application to build over 400 homes on Whitford Road. Nearly 200 objections were made by residents and concerned CAMRA members, and a public meeting was organised in January by local councillors and a local campaign group named Whitford Vale Voice.

Redditch and Bromsgrove CAMRA’s Branch Chairman Gez Quinn said: ‘We know that local councils are always under pressure to build more houses but this shouldn’t be at the expense of existing facilities; especially those that have been identified as local assets.’ 

The full application is yet to be voted upon by Bromsgrove District Council, but it was submitted after the Greyhound’s ACV status was granted. The developer has now appealed against the pub’s ACV status; and a tribunal is due to take place in July.

Tickets Please

Tickets are now on sale for the 2017 Great British Beer Festival which takes place in London’s Olympia on 8 – 12 August 2017. This paradise for beer lovers will have over 900 real ales available alongside a wide selection of craft beer, cider and perry. And for the first time ever, fruit ciders and English heritage wines from some of the best producers in the country will also be featured.

This year is the festival’s fortieth year; and to celebrate CAMRA members can buy advanced tickets for themselves and their friends at the previous year’s festival entrance price of just £9. There’s also the option of a season ticket which includes all sessions on all days for just £24 to CAMRA members.  

If you’d like to treat yourself or a friend, then why not buy the enhanced experience package? As well as fast track entry which includes a glass, tokens and programme, you’ll also have access to a reserved seating area to enjoy your drinks. Or why not join a tutored tasting panel to learn more about your favourite drink?  

For full details and to buy tickets, visit www.gbbf.org.uk.

A Bloomin' Busy Time

During the school holidays, the town was to play host to a children’s celebrity, and I decided to take my nieces down to see the event. This was to see Mr. Bloom; a man who hosted a garden-themed puppet show.  We decided to get there a bit early to get a spot, but many other people had the same idea. The children’s seating area which would be the closest to the stage was already full; and there was a whole wall full of strollers which the stewards had designated as a parking zone so that others could have a decent view. Fortunately, one of them was too young to understand what was going on, and decided to stay in the pushchair for a nap rather than try to see what was going on. So the big one was quite happy sitting on my shoulders watching the show; and even though she had a good view she was still too far away to participate in the balloon game. Eventually she grew tired of sitting on my shoulders, so she hopped down and we carried on our family shopping trip.

Computer or Camera?

I’ve been having some trouble copying some photos off my camera onto my computer. The camera is connecting to the computer, but the computer isn’t detecting the camera at all. I’ve changed the batteries in the camera; I’ve made sure that it’s the correct lead, and the camera says ‘connected to USB’ when it’s plugged in. I’ve also tried my camera on a different computer, and it works just fine. So I now know that it’s the computer rather the camera. When I check the devices on my computer; it detects that there’s a fault with the camera’s driver. So with just a few clicks, I’ve managed to re-install the driver and the camera now works perfectly. Which is great as it takes ages to upload these photos to a cloud drive so that they can be used on other computers. But why did it go down in the first place? Did another driver corrupt it in an update? Weird.

The Swan Song

Redditch & Bromsgrove CAMRA have announced the winner of their 2017 Pub of the Year Competition. Licensees Mark Titman and Lucy Stringer of the Swan in Chaddesley Corbett were presented with the award moments after England were denied their Six Nations Grand Slam title; which certainly gave the locals something to cheer about. Mark and Lucy have only been at the Swan’s helm for two years; but the branch’s judges recognised the outstanding quality of their cask ales. Branch Chairman Gez Quinn said that as a Batham’s pub the Swan only sells Mild and Bitter, but it goes to show that you don’t need to have a forest of hand-pulls on the bar to win an award like this.

The Swan is a characterful village pub that dates back to the seventeenth century, and has a large lounge alongside a number of characterful rooms as well as a large rear garden which overlooks the village countryside. It also serves a full food menu and is close to historic Harvington Hall.

Congratulations must also go to the Weighbridge in Alvechurch for coming second in the competition, and the Bronze award was won by the Hop Pole in Alvechurch. The Swan now undergoes a county round of judging to battle it out for the title of Worcestershire Pub of the Year. Its contenders will be the Coach & Horses at Harvington, the Weavers Real Ale House in Kidderminster and the Plough in Worcester. 

Here comes the Rise

Despite campaigns led by the Campaign for Real Ale and the British Beer and Pub Association, Chancellor Philip Hammond has increased the duty on beer by 2p a pint in the March 2017 budget. Since 2013, pubs have enjoyed a consecutive cut in beer duty, and prices were also frozen in 2016. But few venues have been able to pass these savings onto the consumer because of increases in other rates. The government argues that this year’s increase is in line with the inflation of the Retail Price Index. But since the March 2017 budget, some venues have already increased their prices by as much as 10p a pint.

The government has promised that pubs which have a rateable value of less than £100,000 will receive a discount of £1,000 this year on rates that they would have paid. This calculation is based upon the pub’s rentable value of its space. However, some larger rural-based pubs may not benefit from this relief as their rentable value can be compared to the property market.

CAMRA believe that the pub is the home of responsible drinking; offering you the chance to socialise with friends while you enjoy your pint. However, high taxation is driving people away from community pubs and towards the supermarket and other stores to buy their beer. 

The beer, brewing and pubs sector provides nearly 900,000 jobs in the UK and contributes over £23 billion to the economy each year. The UK also pays around 52p a pint on beer duty; the second highest in Europe. 

Beer Safari

Wyre Forest CAMRA are inviting you to don your khakis and join them on a beer safari at the 2017 Kidderminster Beer and Cider Festival! The event will once again be held in the magnificent Kidderminster Town Hall on 1 – 3 June.

This year there’ll be more beer to cheer about; as up to seventy beers will be featured, including delicious golden ales, rich and hoppy bitters, full-flavoured IPAs and dark and mysterious porters and stouts. The festival will also be celebrating Worcestershire’s rich cider and perry heritage with a selection of local producers, showcasing the marvellous range of flavours and styles being produced.

Regular attendees of this event need to know that the festival is a later than usual this year and is held on 1 – 3 June rather than the May Whitsun bank holiday weekend. The festival opens to CAMRA members on Thursday for a preview session at 4pm, and opens to the public from 6pm. On Friday and Saturday the event starts at 11am, and all sessions run until 11pm. Entrance is free to CAMRA members at all times; and is just £2 for non-members (£3 Fri eve after 5pm). A refundable commemorative souvenir glass will also be available for just £2.

Entertainment on the Friday evening is being provided by popular local bands The Murmur and Some Other Beings, each with a wide range of soulful and exciting musical styles. Saturday evening sees the return of The Ranters belting out their lively Irish music and songs. The venue is only a ten minute walk from the Kidderminster railway station, and bus services from Bromsgrove stop just outside.

But this excellent event cannot happen without the sterling efforts of CAMRA volunteers. If you would like to volunteer or find out more about the festival, visit www.wyreforest.camra.org.uk for the latest information.

Take Me Out to the Ball Game #dreamdiary25

My American friend decides to show me a traditional American ball game. We arrive at the stadium and take our seats, but they’re way too low. They’re actually below the viewing area and we can’t see anything. The guy next to me asks who am I here to see; and I tell him that we’re here to watch the Pittsburgh Pirates. As we slowly climb the rows of seating towards a point where we can watch the action, day turns into night and the floodlights cast huge shadows over the pitch, covering its perfect lawn trim. And there’s just one team on the field in yellow on black uniforms. I’m gasping for a beer but this means climbing over everyone to get to the bar. I also wouldn’t mind a hotdog but there isn’t a vendor in sight. In fact there isn’t even any aisles in this seating layout; it’s just row upon row of seats.

White Horse Blowing Stone at the Rising Sun, Redditch

You’d think that a beer with a name of ‘Blowing Stone’ wouldn’t be a bitter at all. A name like that conjures up images like dust being blown off a pebble or rock to reveal something else completely; especially when it originates from Oxfordshire. But the beer is as bitter and as traditional as it can be, and it’s even brewed with only English ingredients. There’s actually a story behind the beer; it’s named for the legend that whoever can blow the stone at the foot of the White Horse in Kingston Lisle shall be King. It’s a much better way of judging a King that simply passing the title on. But there’s more. The White Horse is actually a vale of hills with a physical horse chalked into one of them. It’s kind of like that big dog that Plusnet uses for their adverts, only without the paint. But the weird thing is that if you actually look at the county boundary of the White Horse area; it’s shaped more like a rabbit than a horse. Shame on you Oxfordshire.

The Superwatch

I’ve got myself a super watch for Christmas. It was a joint present between me, my parents, and my company for celebrating a ten-year anniversary. And it’s taken me quite a while to get into the swing of using it. Firstly, it was well-packaged. It was so secure that it actually took me half an hour to get the box open without actually smashing the casing. And when I finally got into the box, the darn thing needed charging so that took another hour. The cable is quite flimsy; it comes loose too easily. And it doesn’t always sync up to my phone. As of yet I haven’t managed to get any of the smartwatch notifications working. I guess it’s because I don’t get on well with Bluetooth as it has a habit of draining my phone’s battery. It’s great when it comes to telling the time or how many miles I’ve walked. But there’s still a lot more that it should do.

Winter Pub receives Warm Reception

Since opening in October last year, Alestones has been a big hit with ale and cider drinkers alike. Over the last few months, many events have been organised at the Tardebigge-based micropub such as Meet the Brewer evenings, curry cook-offs and even a cider festival. Bringing people together to drink quality real ale and cider is what a pub should be about, and in recognition of this members of Redditch & Bromsgrove CAMRA voted Alestones to be their Winter Pub of the Season. The pub was packed out for the presentation; and many visitors were invited to sit in the outside courtyard on the pub’s cask cushions. Four real ales were available at the event, which included Woodcote Manor’s Supreme Pale Ale and a golden bitter from the Stratford upon Avon Brewery infused with Amarillo hops. During the presentation, Branch Chairman Gez Quinn recognised Licensee Adrian Stone’s celllarmanship and praised the upkeep of his cask ales. The next event at Alestones is a meet the brewer evening featuring the Worcestershire-based Teme Valley brewery, and it takes place on Tuesday 18 April. 

A card you don't really want

Like many businesses, you are given targets when you work for them. For us, one of these targets is encouraging people to take out a store card. We always seem to get into trouble when we don’t hit these targets, but we can’t force people to take them out. So on one particularly slow week just after Christmas when it seemed that we were truly in for a bollocking, I decided to step up and apply for one to help my team out. Of course I made sure that I would be paid for it while the application was being processed; and this was to my greater advantage when I found out that I got deferred mainly because only the manager is now able to sign staff up to have a store card. I bought something very small and cheap that I could just stash in my locker, then as soon as the card came I got the item refunded. Job done. 

Purity Pure UBU at the Cumberland Arms, West Kensington

The Cumberland Arms was the second pub that we visited as part of our post-festival pub crawl. This corner pub blends in perfectly with London; with its dark oak panels in one long corridor-style room with tables large enough to accommodate groups. The pub’s front windows and mirrors creates a very bright atmosphere in the room, and as soon as the bar stops there’s some large booths and tables set in the dark for groups like us to hide away in. The Purity that we tried was in good condition and we also managed to collect a Cask Marque scan. The patio area is hidden away from the pub’s front which makes it an excellent escape from city life. It’s a shame that its high street has nothing but tacky shops, but at least the locals have somewhere nice to retire to after they’ve finished working or shopping for the day.

Immobilise It!

I’m slowly getting my possessions uploaded onto immobilise.com. This website helps police to identify the rightful owners of stolen items and reunite them. You can also report stolen items on the site, but you can’t check to see if your recently purchased items have been stolen. Ironically, there is a sister site that lets you do just that, but you have to pay a fee. So far, I’ve registered a laptop, TV, tablet, camera and smartphone. It’s a long process to upload each item as you have to squint to see the serial number of your device. There’s also kits that you can purchase the truly paranoid. I fail to see the point in uploading photos of each item; I haven’t exactly decorated it to my own taste. Hopefully I won’t ever have to use this site. But the safeguard is there in the hope that if my stuff does disappear, there’s a slim chance of getting it back.

Colonel Cluckers Ventures Out

I was born in a barn with mother chicks. As part of a large family, food was always a struggle; and it was always a wait to get the juiciest worms. I often had to tug them with my brothers and sisters. When I became strong enough to be left enough on my own two feet, I struggled to find a nice place to roost with my mother. Every night when it was cold I was always left without any hay. Yet in the morning, I looked up and saw the sun stream in through the hole above the barn. So as soon as I learnt to fly, I made sure that the nest up there would be my own so that I would be the first to feel the sun’s warmth and be the first up to find the best food. So when my family got driven out by the farmer, I decided to stay since there wasn’t much that they were offering me at the time.

Rock the Garden

We bought a new chair set for the garden. It was metal with a rattan canvas; cheap-looking and light-weight. It was easy to fold away without trapping your fingers, and it was also quite comfortable. No assembly was required, and the chair also reclined. The top of the chair also rose to form a slightly padded headrest. The only problem was that it was hard to set just how far the chair reclined to. It was either fully upright or fully reclined. It was done through the armrest which felt quite flimsy. It also doesn’t really match any colour in the garden, and the black canvas also gets hot in the sun after a while. But if it’s too hot to move, then you don’t need a cushion and it’s quite easy to relax and bask in the sun. And given how dark the garden gets, it does blend in with the atmosphere. 

The Adventures of Captain Cluckers #sharrack3

‘I’ve had Captain Cluckers with me ever since I was a nipper. He’s accompanied me on many an adventure since I first found him on an abandoned farm. We’d been stationed there all night to stop the Germans entering France and the villagers had been forced to evacuate. But during our primary scout out of the area, we stormed an old barn and woke up this chicken who had abandoned its coop in favour of a cosier nest in the rooftops. The instant we saw it; everyone had just one thing on their minds – lunch. But I said, hang on a minute Sarge; this chicken looks quite healthy. We’ve got a truck now and if we play our cards right we could look after this chicken and have fresh scrambled eggs every morning wherever we go. I didn’t realise that at the time that we’d only get one egg a day; but scrambled egg Sunday became a much loved event for our troop and Captain Cluckers became a permanent mascot.

Greene King Purple Reign at the Rose & Crown, Stratford upon Avon

From the outside, this looks like a fantastic merchant’s house which blends into the streets of Stratford upon Avon perfectly. There has been a pub on this street since the sixteenth century, but the pub itself doesn’t think to advertise this fact. It makes a lovely effort with hanging baskets, but inside it’s clear that this pub is part of the ‘grub to go’ culture, and you could be in any generic pub. There were tables that needed clearing, and there were hardly any locals there just for a drink. But inside, From the entrance, there was a fair amount of hidden seating divided up into sections before you reached the bar. Opposite was more seating which was ideal for groups, and at the rear was a large space which could be used for It was good to see a seasonal guest beer on the bar, and it was kept in good condition. I also managed to snap up the pub’s Cask Marque certificate. 

From Rags to Riches

This year’s National Pub of the Year Award organised by CAMRA has been presented to a small village community pub on the outskirts of the Yorkshire Dales National Park. Its journey to national acclaim began when the residents of Hudswell lost their last village pub in 2008. The village banded together to form a community action group, and within two years formed a co-operative to purchase the George & Dragon. After extensive renovations, the pub re-opened in 2010 and incorporated the village library, a volunteer-led shop as well as community allotments.

 The George and Dragon takes pride in serving Yorkshire ales, and up to five of them can be found on the bar alongside a real cider. An annual beer festival takes place during the August bank holiday weekend; and the pub’s beer terrace offers stunning views of the Swale Valley. CAMRA’s judges were impressed by the pub’s strong community ethos and its warm and welcoming atmosphere. CAMRA’s National Pub of the Year Coordinator Paul Ainsworth said “The story of the George & Dragon goes to show that in the right hands a closed pub can become viable and successful.”

A warning against cheap batteries

I recently bought my nieces an activity game. This game required batteries, and I’d started out poorly by buying them the one wrong ones. When I got to the pound shop, I discovered that they’d stopped selling the quality brands, so I bought them a lower-grade size instead. I got more in the pack for the same price. The toy did work, but it wasn’t powerful enough to make the thing work. When I got around to replacing these batteries, they loved it. But why do the lower manufacturers think that their products will work just as good? Or better yet, manufacturers should include high-quality batteries so that customers don’t lose faith in their products, and it would even encourage them to seek out better quality batteries when it comes to replacing them. At the end of the day, it’s just a waste of energy and money, and people lose faith in the products that they are using.

What the Chicken Saw

It took a while, but I’m finally wobbling and bobbling on someone’s head. It’s great. I get to smell yeasty odours from people’s glasses; I’m petted often and I travel from person to person. Everyone wants to bear me around. Sometimes I get to take in a whiff of food too. Everywhere I go I’m universally applauded. Occasionally I see a fellow chicken who has also been liberated, and we give each other a cheeky grin as we’ve got no idea where we are going, but at least we’re not hung up on the wall any more. I’m even being worn outside in the fresh air rather than being stuffed into someone’s trousers or into a bag. It’s great to get out and about. But although I’ve begun to fly, I do miss my friends. And I kind of wonder whether I’ll return to them or where I’ll end up tomorrow. But in the meantime, I’m ready to party.

Limitless

This is a fantastic story of how a struggling writer gains a rich and powerful lifestyle; all thanks to the ability of one little pill. It’s not too long and the music matches the pace of the movie; making a second viewing a must-see. There’s also realistic action scenes as well as reality moments and unclarified mysteries. I love the camera angles too; especially when Morra comes back down and he starts to lose focus of his surroundings. The ending is a little unrealistic as Eddie begins his political ambitions and we also see the other characters come forward who have access to the drug. And the film isn’t exactly promoting a chemical-free lifestyle. It’s also a shame that Eddie didn’t uphold his romantical interest; though perhaps that’s a theme that the TV series picks up on. But I need to get hold of this stuff! Anyone got a source?

Do ya Wanna be in my Gang? #sharrack2

Why do we start our lives off in large groups? Is it because we need safety in numbers? We’re individuals, so why do we need to split ourselves into groups? Yes, it’s more fun to be together but at the same time you sacrifice your individual freedom when a group chooses to do something that you may not want to. Granted, this may not be that often when you’re in a group that shares the same tastes as you, but not everyone wants to wear a chicken on their head. But at least Mr. Sharrack is able to keep up the pace with our gang. He entertains us all with his travels and war stories; and he’s also got an eager mind to learn about beer when it comes trying out new breweries. And he’s also able to charm his way into any crowd of tables; which is very handy for when the rest of us show up.

Froth Blowers John Bull's Best at the Weavers Real Ale House, Kidderminster

Not far from the railway station is the Weavers Real Ale House. It’s a boutique for beer and with it only being a stone’s throw away from the Severn Valley Railway, it’s a perfect place to visit as you enter and exit the town. Inside is an open-plan lounge with a mixture of casual and bar seating; with stools at the bar for the locals. The walls are filled with brewery memorabilia as well as a huge line of pump clips from brewers across the country. There’s also real cider as well as keg beers tapped into the wall and a variety of novel bar snacks. Conversation is king in this micropub, and the pub always aims to welcome and get know all its customers. After a beginning of private ownership, it’s now owned by the Pig Iron Brewery which is based in the Black Country. It’s not someone to go for a quiet drink; it’s more to get to know the locals of the community.

The Great British Beer Festival at Olympia, London

I’ve returned to London to revisit the Great British Beer Festival. It’s one of the highlights of CAMRA’s calendar, and I haven’t attended this event since it was last at Earl’s Court around the corner. The trip was organised by a friendly Birmingham pub landlord who’d put on a coach so I wouldn’t have to worry about delays on trains or overcrowded and annoying passengers. The journey down wasn’t too bad and we were on the move most of the time. There was a bit of confusion with our pre-paid tickets but we got an extra drink out of it because of a few no-shows. The layout was a bit confusing as the individual bars seemed difficult toi locate. It also took me a while to find an enjoyable beer. Although the atmosphere of the dome let in a lot of natural light, there were still several dark and dinghy places. Many of the themed bars from my previous visit seemed to be absent; and there was a lot of metal and piping on display and not enough decorations. A lot of thought needs to be put into the venue layout for future events.

Batman: The Dark Knight Rises

This is the epic tale of a retired crimefighter who stands up against amazing odds to become a martyr for the city he cares about so much. Along the way, he discovers the grudges against him which makes it all the more difficult to defeat his enemies; but once he begins his path he is determined not to give up no matter what the consequences are. The plot is good but is dragged out into an extensive film. But after the opening sequence, not much action follows until stock exchange scene nearly an hour later, and many of the secondary characters have already been forgotten about. There’s also some questionable methods such as being able to kick through a brick wall with just a bare leg. The score is amazing; and a great effort has been made by Hans Zimmer to produce music that can serve as a backing track to the action as well as a suspenseful tune in its own right.

Ipanema Pale Ale at the Briar Rose, Birmingham

The Briar Rose is the place to go to see all of Birmingham’s die-hard alcoholics. It’s a Wetherspoon hotel, so it’s one of the few places where you can get a cooked breakfast in the morning. It also serves beer from 8am, and has Birmingham’s biggest whiskey bar. We were there to get a quick bite before our trip down to London, and many of our fellow trippers had the same idea. After word got round that our coach would be delayed for half an hour, we decided to get stuck into the beer. This IPA was brewed as a seasonal special for the world cup, and was very flavoursome. It was also quite fitting to drink a London beer at a non-capital price. The pub itself is found on a hill nestled between Birmingham’s train stations, and it’s hidden behind a row of shops. Inside, it’s a typical open-plan corridor pub with a long bar in the middle and a larger seating area at the rear.