Pub |
Recommended
Beer
|
Visit
Date |
Comments |
Score |
Wych Elm |
Pride, Landlord, Copper something
|
27 Dec 2019 |
The evening drinking in the Waggon was
cancelled due to lethargy and illness and then surprisingly
revived by K2 for a session in the Wych; it was almost empty.
After a rather gloomy early conversation we turned to
sport and TV – a reasonable evening of beer and chat with an
early finish.
(Singles: K1,K2,M did not bother) |
8 |
|
|
20 December 2019 |
|
|
Willy |
Harveys, Twickenham Grandstand and Rripa
|
13 December 2019 |
Blimey –
it’s the climbers’ Xmas do again – they seem to come round
quicker and quicker. Plenty
of time to chat and mull over a very poor general election
result meaning the possibility of five more years of Johnson as
pm – enough to turn a man to drink!
(Singles: K1,K2,D,M + climbers could not be
bothered) |
9 |
Waggon |
TEA, Youngs London Original
|
6 December 2019 |
The Waggon
revival continues – it is so crowded that one struggles to get
a seat and there is absolutely no chance of getting near the
oche...and we were hoping to welcome Dave back from New Zealand
with a stringent darts workout.
Doubles: D,K1,K2,B and M were keen but no
chance of getting on the oche. |
7 |
Willy |
Twickenham Grandstand
|
29 November 2019 |
An early start to witness a very rare event
(Swansea City 1 Fulham 2).
It seems that the adult crèche has moved (been moved?)
on – during the match there were 7 Fulham supporters plus a
QPR man, but after the match 5 Fulham fans left
so it was just the three of us in the sports bar –
sadly not really sustainable.
Excellent Grandstand beer for a long-duration session.
(Singles: K1,B,M could not be bothered) |
9 |
Black Horse |
Harvey’s Sussex Ale
|
22 November 2019 |
A break in the bus journey home from
football (Friday night!) in order to register an unlikely
hat-trick for the Blackorse.
(Singles: K1 had nobody to play with) |
5 |
Black Horse |
Harvey’s Sussex Ale, SW19
|
15 November 2019 |
A quick return to the ‘Orse following
last week’s successful visit.
The darts were in the pocket again but there was no
enthusiasm for getting them out and playing – still waiting
for Dave’s enthusiasm.
(Singles: K1,K2,M elected not to play
again) |
8 |
Black Horse |
Timothy Taylor Landlord, Harvey’s Sussex Ale,
Park Brewery Gallows Ale
|
8 November 2019 |
Dave has an irrational dislike of the Black
Horse so we took advantage of the fact he was in NewZealand to
pay a rare visit. Of
course, it is excellent – comfy seats, good friendly
atmosphere and excellent beer.
To cap it all, if you so wish, you can play babyfoot or
darts!
(Singles: K1,K2,M elected not to play) |
10 |
Willy – Halloween Beer Festival |
Palaeolithic, Pumpkin Ale, Jurassic, XK, Listers,
Thames Dock Pale, Cave Dweller (and one other forgotten)
|
1 November 2019 |
K1 and K2 turned up in the 2003 T-shirt –
we have been participating for many years and remember when it
was very popular. There
is always a worry with beer festivals that you will get some
seriously dodgy beers – who can forget the time John bought a
beer that tasted of petrol, took it back and exchanged it for
another beer that smelt like vomit!
This time we were very clever (or lucky!) and enjoyed an
evening supping some excellent brews. (Doubles: K1,K2,B,M did
not have room to play |
9 |
Waggon |
TEA, Youngs London Original (ie Ordinaire)
|
25 October 2019 |
It’s great to see a revival of the Wych
and the Waggon; however, the downside is that there are now so
many punters one struggles to find a seat let alone get on the
oche. Decent beer
(excellent TEA) and a chat (just a touch of Brexit) is now the
call. Surely the
Willy isn’t the only pub where you get to fling your arrows on
a Friday night?
Doubles: D,K1,B and M were keen but no
chance of getting on the oche. |
8 |
Wych Elm |
Pride
|
18 Oct 2019 |
No chance of darts these days and even a
struggle to find a seat at 9pm – oh well, never mind, sit back
and enjoy a few pints of pride and a chat. (Singles or doubles:
No chance) |
8 |
Waggon |
Tribute
|
11 October 2019 |
Long time since the last visit. After enduring some perceptive football punditry from the
Waggon’s own Scum-supporting Derek and Clive we managed to get
some darts underway – it didn’t seem too bad but we still
only managed 9 games in 1.5 hours and that’s playing 301!
Dave has recently discovered some finishing skills and
hence was a worthy winner.
Tribute – an excellent beer.
Doubles: D-6, K1-5, M-4, K2-3 |
8 |
Split loyalties
Akbar Curry House/Bell and Jorrocks
(sometimes known as the Gel and Borrocks), Frittenden
|
Kingfisher Draft /
|
4 Oct. 2019 |
When half the drinkers are on the Tour de
Kent enjoying curry and darts, it seemed quite sensible to
partially replicate the activity with a trip to Akbars – very
good it was too! Unfortunately
the punters were too tired/full to transfer to a post-curry pub
(Singles or doubles: K1,B,Sheila and Fran
too full to try) |
8 |
Real Ale Bar, Craven Cottage |
Marstons EPA
|
27 Sept 2019 |
It’s a struggle to get the punters out
for traditional events; Friday night darts/drinking, Monday
night swimming....and then the football is rearranged for Friday
evening! Had a
decent beer down by the river but could have used some company.
(Singles or doubles: Darts not welcome in
football stadia) |
3 |
Wych Elm |
Pride, Seafarers, ESB, Adnams Mosaic Pale Ale
|
20 Sept 2019 |
Times have changed – the Wych is packed
at 9pm with no chance of getting near the oche – by 11pm the
pub is virtually empty as the diners have all gone home and it
really is too late even for a short cameo.
No problem as the atmosphere is fine (no adult
kindergarten) and there is an excellent selection of beers to
enjoy.
(Singles or doubles: No chance before 11pm) |
8 |
Willy |
Weltons
|
13 September 2019 |
That’s a hat-trick for the Willy but why
do we still go there? The
beer is generally good, you
can watch the football and get a game of darts.
However, there is very little else it has to offer –
the adult kindergarten gets worse and ensure no new punters
would risk it and this week the loo actually flooded.
Oh well, at least we played some reasonable darts this
week and Malcolm was ridiculously unlucky.
(Singles: K1-7, D-2, M -?) |
5 |
|
|
6 Sept 2019 |
|
|
|
|
30 August 2019 |
|
|
|
|
23 August 2019 |
|
|
Willy |
Who knows?
|
16 August 2019 |
Failing to spot that everyone was
‘away’ K2 enjoyed an evening watching Fulham clock up an
away win at Huddersfield
(Singles: K2) |
8 (football) |
|
|
9 August 2019 |
|
|
Willy |
Harveys, Citra, Hobsons, EPA
|
2 August 2019 |
What is wrong with this pub? After enjoying the first football league match of the new
season including a Row Z penalty miss, we settled in for a
serious darts session. Malcolm
kicked off with two 3-dart finishes and then the oche was
invaded by a darts/pool groupie who disrupted the match for ten
minutes. We
eventually persuaded her that pool was a better option but
frankly the darts never really recovered.
A good win for Dave but hard luck on Malcolm who was on
top form before the interruption.
Who was this mystery woman and what was she doing in the
Willy of all places? This
simply doesn’t happen in other pubs.
At least the Willy has a selection of good beers.
(Singles: D-7, K1-5, K2-4, M-4) |
7 |
Waggon |
Sambrooks Pale
|
19 July 2019 |
The ‘end of term’ and the pub was
completely full – we found the last empty seats. The dartboard
was in use all evening but fortunately we enjoyed a surprise
visit from the ‘Wednesday Drinking Club’ and were given much
advice on films and TV programmes to be watched.
Singles: K1 and D were unable to play due
to others playing (unusual) |
8 |
|
|
12th July |
Week Off |
|
Willy |
Weltons, Grandstand, Something Else?
|
5th July 2019 |
A chance to replace the fluid lost during
the day on the bike and after – 1 litre sweat, 1 litre nose
drips, 2 litres leaking eyes – I think the pollen count was
rather high! However, viewing the dartboard through a flood of
tears appeared to do no harm. The good news is that a few
punters had returned to the pub and some were watching US golf
on the big screen. (KS) Singles: K1-5, K2-3 |
7 |
Willy |
Harveys Sussex Ale, Avocet
|
28th June 2019 |
A surprise appearance by K2, football
(France 1 USA 2), excellent Harveys beer and some late darts –
a good win for K2. Was
this the lowest ever attendance for the Friday Willoughby?
One of the few punters even bought a beer and then
disappeared. A warm summer’s evening, excellent beer, music, pool, darts
– where is everybody? (KS) Singles: K2-5, B-3, K1-1 |
8 |
Waggon |
Grandstand, Youngs
|
21st June 2019 |
Excellent session in the Waggon with decent
beer and chat followed by a short game of darts when the players
well were lubricated. Doubles: K1, D, B and K2 played a cameo
starting at 10.45 – the darts were of excellent quality but I
have no idea of the score (I think Dave may have won) (KS) |
8 |
Willy |
Harveys
|
14 June 2019 |
Football (England 1 Argentina 0), excellent
Harveys beer and some darts – Dave’s consistent finishing
proved decisive despite a 3-darter from Malcolm and a 12-dart
game with a 3-dart finish from K1.
A good evening for the Friday peloton with very few
punters to keep us company. (KS) Singles: D-5, K1-3, M-1 |
7 |
Waggon |
Grandstand
|
7 June 2019 |
Unfortunately a man from Block H6, Craven
Cottage had brought a crowd to the Waggon and this prevented any
arrers. No great
problem – the Grandstand was really excellent, we had a good
sporting chat and the torrential rain forecast did not
materialise. (KS) Singles: K1, D and Malcolm keen but the board
was blocked |
8 |
Wych Elm |
Pride, Tribute, Lime and soda, G+T etc.
|
Saturday!! 1 June 2019 |
An unprecedented event – Friday night
drinking is postponed until Saturday to permit viewing of the
Champions League Final (normally an integral part of the cycling
holiday). Another
late decision was to switch from the Willy to the Wych as the
Willy is deemed to be rather too hostile (and smelly) for women.
A good table with a view, good food, good beer –
unfortunately the quality of football was very poor. (KS)
Singles or doubles: No thought of playing |
7 |
Clonakilty ‘Irish’ Bar, Chateaulin |
Coreff and other Brittany Beers (good name for a
pop star)
|
24 May 2019 |
This was a superb venue simply because it
was open - the city of Chateaulin had previously been declared
totally dead. Unfortunately
the birthday curry had to be delayed for a day as Chateaulin was
unsurprisingly ruby-free. However,
after discovering a good restaurant and an open watering hole
the evening must be considered a resounding success as we had a
full turnout of eight punters and nobody went to bed before it
got dark. (KS) |
10 |
Willy |
Grandstand
|
17 May 2019 |
Pouring rain, some one-day cricket, some
excellent football (Charlton vs Doncaster) and excellent beer.
However, with an enhanced pretzel in the morning and
K2’s visit to the Kingston beer festival there really was no
enthusiasm for darts, so we had an early bed in
preparation for the upcoming cycle trip where early bed would be
the norm. (KS) Doubles: Too fatigued to play again |
6 |
Waggon |
Sambrooks Pumphouse, Landlord
|
10 May 2019 |
A well-deserved win for Dave – taking
inspiration from the Champions League over-excited commentaries
he ensured that every finish was greeted with enough noise to
disturb most of the punters in the pub.
An excellent evening of darts following on from the
Friday Peloton’s earlier Richmond Park pretzel – good fun
but very hard work in my opinion.
Always good to see Landlord on the menu. (KS) Doubles:
D-8, K2-6, M-6, K1-4 |
9 |
Wych Elm |
Pride, Lime and soda, G+T etc.
|
3 May 2019 |
After a reasonably tough outing for the
Friday Peloton (why is it so cold in May?) it seemed sensible
that the riders invite their personal trainers along for drink
and in some cases excellent value food.
Unfortunately the food and drink in the Wych are now so
popular that the only chance of any darts occurs after 11pm when
the diners have gone home. Singles or doubles: No chance
whatsoever of any play (KS) |
8 |
Waggon |
TEA
|
26 April 2019 |
A few games of singles of reasonable
quality despite the fish and worse. Excellent play from K2 using
others’ darts. Combined
with some TEA and avoidance of the worst of the rain this was a
successful evening in the Waggon. Singles: K1-7, K2-6, D-2 (KS) |
8 |
Willy |
Ascot Starting Gate (they’re off!), Front
Runner and many others
|
19 April 2019 |
Phil the Power’s Guide to top darts –
do not do the following prior to a big match: cycle to Shoreham
and back 100 miles, 40 miles around Box Hill and then a match at
QPR or merely just the 40 miles.
There was never any mention of the darts being
unsheathed. We
enjoyed the St George’s Day Beer Festival with a few other
punters, remembering the days when this event was packed out.
Anyhow we enjoyed a few different beers and retired
earlyish to bed. Doubles: Too fatigued to play) (KS) |
8 |
Akbars/Grey Horse |
Kingfisher, Cobra, TEA
|
12 April 2019 |
Your reporter’s birthday curry again!!
With the Willy now deemed too unpleasant for women or men of a
sensitive nature and the Wych now too popular to allow Friday
night access to the oche, an excellent decision was made to
transfer 20 metres along the road to the Grey Horse, a boozer
unvisited in decades. It has certainly changed a bit since Little Sister, John
Ottway and others strutted their stuff but the ambience was fine
and the beer was excellent. We
made our disappointment known on the removal of the dartboard
(about 25 years ago) – there is certainly plenty of room for
its reinstatement, in which case the Grey Horse would be back as
an excellent venue. Great
turnout for ‘my’ curry – time for someone else to step up.
No Darts (KS) |
10 |
Willy |
Weltons, Granstand
|
5 April 2019 |
After some reasonable ‘Friday Night
Football’ Saints 1 Scousers 3, and a short rest the darts
kicked off at 10.30 with a traditional set-up rarely seen since
John moved further south; the five-man doubles with four playing
and one chalking. This
is the best arrangement and the improvement in quality was
quickly noted in both scoring and finishing (K2 bagged a now
rare 3-darter). A
close match ended with K2 declared champion on the stroke of
midnight. Doubles: K2-5, K1-4, D-4, M-4, B-3 (KS) |
8 |
Waggon |
Grandstand
|
29th March 2019 |
If you run a pub why would you allow a
drunk middle-aged yobbo (Chelscum of course) to stand at the bar
singing football songs and swearing with no wit whatsoever?
Who knows, but eventually he did fall out the door and
hopefully had a severe hangover.
Apart from that the beer was good and we even managed a
few games. Singles: B-3, D-0, K1-0
Doubles: B-3, M-3, D-2, K1-2 (KS) |
7 |
Willy |
Weltons
|
22nd March 2019 |
Some decent football with England winning
5-1 in Montenegro; after that the stands cleared pretty quickly
but not enough to free the darts arena – we could have asked
but the general consensus was that we could not be bothered.
Excellent beer as usual at the Willy. Doubles: K1, K2, D,
M could not be bothered again (KS) |
6 |
Waggon |
Sambrooks
|
15th March 2019 |
Always a risk returning so soon after an
excellent evening! This
week the board was in use (very unusual) and chat was in order.
After discussing serious and interesting issues
(holidays, football, cycling etc.) somebody (who was it?)
mentioned Brexit and we wasted at least 20 minutes demonstrating
that there are as many solutions as there are people – surely
Brexit should be banned on a Friday!? (KS) Doubles: K1,K2,D,B
couldn’t get on the board |
3 |
Waggon |
Sambrooks
|
8th March |
An excellent evening in the Waggon where
Dave met his match on the noise front – a petite young woman
with a voice like a foghorn and occasional outbursts of
Tourettes – really funny! The darts were OK and once Malcolm got started it was fairly
obvious that a draw was the likely outcome, although we ran and
of time and enthusiasm to try for ‘the beast’.
Good beer and an excellent noisy atmosphere in the Waggon.
(KS) Singles: K1-5, D-5, M-5 |
9 |
Willy |
Grandstand
|
1st March 2019 |
It’s probably time to decide whether we
are on for darts before we go to the pub – frankly, if you are
not watching sport or playing arrows the Willy is rather
dispiriting. If you
are going to chat there are far better options (for example the
Wych). The Willy
desperately needs more (young!) punters. Singles: K1,K2,M could
not be bothered (KS) |
5 |
Wheelwright Arms |
Guinness
|
22 February 2019 |
No punters about – time for some
nostalgia – go to the cinema and rush out for last orders in
the Wheelwrights when it shut at 10.30 or 11 (no problem now).
The pub is largely unchanged except for the installation
of a large number of big screens showing sport.
No dart board, but good to see that it is still going
strong. Singles:No! (KS) |
6 |
Waggon |
Sambrooks
|
15 February 2019 |
The team not in the best of health but we
did manage a few beers and games of darts before an early bed.
A surprisingly large number of treble 20s mixed in with
the 2s and the fish. Singles: K1-5, D-2, K2-2 (KS) |
7 |
Wych Elm |
Dark Star Hophead, Seafarers, Pride
|
8 February 2019 |
It’s great news to see the punters
returning to the Wych; unfortunately this means that there is
little chance of Pete finding the space to force us to play some
darts. No matter, a
decent chat over some excellent beer is fine. Singles or
doubles: No play (KS) |
8 |
Waggon |
Tribute, Youngs Ordinary
|
1 February 2019 |
The sort of cold, wet, sleety evening where
it seems a touch heroic to jump on the bike and head for the pub
– at least the threatened ice did not appear.
The effort was rewarded with some rugger, some excellent
beer and a reasonable game of arrows, although scores of 1,2 and
3 were recorded. Doubles: K2-9, D-5, K1-4, B-4 (KS) |
8 |
Willy |
Hobsons Pale, Oakham Citra, Harveys Sussex,
Weltons Horsham
|
25th January 2019 |
The pub was full for the football (Arse 1
Manu 3) but soon emptied when it finished.
The last woman left the boozer at 10.30 after much jovial
shouting and swearing and a bizarre conversation with Malcolm
who made the mistake of looking round.
The beer is good but the general atmosphere could use
some improvement – Rick’s bagpipe playing for Burns Night
was vaguely amusing. Doubles: K1,K2,B,M could not be bothered
(KS) |
7 |
Waggon |
Youngs Mixed, Twickenham Redhead (ugh!)
|
18th January 2019 |
The beer is normally excellent at the
Waggon but wasn’t so good this week.
The Redhead tasted good at the start but I reckon it went
‘off’ after that – Brian couldn’t drink his pint and I
wish I hadn’t drunk mine – had to retire early feeling a
touch tom-and-dick. Injuries
affected the darts; Brian-ankle, Dave-knee, K1-take your pick. However, we did manage 16 games and Dave was a worthy winner.
Singles: D-8, K1-5, B-3 (KS) |
5 |
Wych Elm Dinner and Dance (Darts) |
Dark Star Hophead, Seafarers, Pride, various
|
11th January 2019 |
Twelve happy punters for the annual dinner
and dance were divided randomly into a female table and a male
table – the main purpose was to prevent the females having to
suffer various conversations re bike lights, gear ratios, Strava
etc. The curry was
excellent value. Unfortunately
the darts never got underway due to some rogue diners under the
dartboard and, to maintain a decades-old tradition, there was
absolutely no dancing. Another
successful MPGS D+D. Singles doubles or more: No play (KS) |
10 |
Willy |
Hobsons Pale, Oakham Citra, Windsor and Eton
Roasted Chestnut
|
4th January 2019 |
Happy New Year and a big welcome to any new
readers – and just like 2018, the new year starts with a trip
to the Willy. Last
year (5 Jan) it was buzzing; this year there were more real ales
on offer than punters in the pub – one punter was watching the
football (Tranmere 0 Spurs 7) and left on the final whistle;
just the 4 of us and a couple of guys playing pool in the whole
of the ‘sports bar’ for the rest of the evening.
It certainly wasn’t warm in the pub and
this had an adverse effect on the dart grip (that’s my excuse
anyway) – some pretty average fare but Dave was the worthy
winner as he finished the most games and made the most noise.
The beer quality was excellent.
It is worth noting that we are all now twice the age we
were when the ‘Friday Night Drinking’ started back in May
1986 – no wonder it’s tough picking up a dropped dart!
Doubles: D-8, K2-7, B-7, K1-4 (KS) |
7 |