| Pub |
Recommended
Beer
|
Last Visit |
Comments |
Score |
| Willoughby |
Hartleys, ?? |
27th December 2002 |
What a relief! The darts were flying
straight and the butchers raffle was aborted due to illness. The
only problem was that we forgot to leave. I guess they must have
turned the clocks back without telling us. |
8 |
| Spring
Grove |
Guinness |
20th December 2002 |
Too tired to play darts was the
verdict so a whole evening of rabbit was the outcome. The only
trouble is I can't remember what we talked about so I guess we
had better play darts next week. Oh yes! I did take a photo
during the swimming
curry Tony. |
8 |
| Wych Elm |
London Pride, HSB, Winter Ale |
13th December 2002 |
Has my spelling become so bad that no
one can read the pub name? Am I writing in Swahili? With John
going to the Willoughby and many other unexpected no shows it
must be a possibility. A more likely explanation however is my
sudden and unexpected improvement in darts but that may be an
illusion as the improvement always occurs as the evening wares
on. |
8 |
| Lamb |
Old Speckled Hen |
6th December 2002 |
Another evening of darts against the
locals and we even managed to win a few games with some unlikely
doubles. Which pubs darts team do we play for? |
8 |
| Kelly's
Arms |
Jack O Legs |
29th November 2002 |
You just can't beat a good Friday
night in the Kelly's. With my darts returned to their rightful
owner the Keith monopoly was well and truly broken. Even
the treble 20 had a hard time on occasions. |
9 |
| Waggon
& Horses |
Young's or Guinness |
22nd November 2002 |
A whole evening of darts and almost a
whole evening of Keiths' finishing. What can I say except I need
to find my darts soon. |
8 |
| Cricketers |
Spitfire, Courage Best and London
Pride |
15th November 2002 |
It makes a change to sit down and
discuss the weeks events but the lack of a dart board caused
some nervous fidgeting and the noise of live music was too much
of a distraction. Under
new management? The only change I spotted since our last
visit was the lock on the door to the old public bar and some
flowers on the tables. |
7 |
| Kelly's Arms |
Easy Rider |
8th November 2002 |
Fatigue seemed to be setting in after
pool, darts, table football and more darts and even the
batteries on the camera ran out! |
9 |
| Willoughby |
Brains Skull Attack, Caledonian 80/-
and Shepherd Neame Spitfire were OK for me. |
1st November 2002 |
The Halloween Beer
Festival no less. This really is a
place to excite the senses. With Irish music in your ears,
yachting on the box and beer to get the taste buds going nothing
is left to chance apart from the weekly meat raffle. |
8 |
| Spring
Grove |
Young's or Guinness |
25th October 2002 |
Could the spluttering cough be an
excuse or am I just useless at darts? They say practice makes
perfect. Maybe that's why I always win the last game or maybe
it's because everyone else has given up. Whatever, a few glasses
of Guinness erases the memory very nicely thank you. |
8 |
| New
Prince |
Gales Butser |
18th October 2002 |
While the women perfected the art of
gossip the chaps settled for a game of darts. They say you're
only as good as your last game and that's especially true where
darts and goalkeeping is concerned. The evening was wrapped up
with a birthday curry
and a special sitting for passport photos. |
9 |
| Wych
Elm |
London Pride |
11th October 2002 |
Has a darts revival started with the
locals suddenly preferring it to a game of cards, domino's or
back gammon? Surely the rejects influence hasn't reached this
far. At least they haven't trained sufficiently to have the
endurance to last the whole evening I'm sure they're still
talking about our less than impressive exhibition late on. Was
the last dart of the evening really a bulls eye? |
8 |
| Victoria |
Young's or Guinness |
4th October 2002 |
The punters have returned in bucket
loads and it not the price of a pint which has attracted them
back. The Young's formula is the same although they have
introduced background music which can hardly be heard above the
lively chatter. Maybe its Fame Academy on the TV which has
driven everyone to drink. I can't believe they all came along to
discover how
a two stroke engine works! |
7 |
| Willoughby |
Landlord |
27th Sept 2002 |
A poor turn out by the regulars could
have been a disappointment but old
friends came to the rescue to provide some much needed
entertainment. |
7 |
| Waggon & Horses |
Young's or Guinness |
20th Sept 2002 |
The Rejects
cyling team discussed the best front and rear gear ratio
combinations for cycling in the Shropshire hills and concluded
that weight and training are the key factors. Unfortunately its
not beer drinking training that's required. |
8 |
| Kelly's
Arms |
Pigswill |
13th Sept 2002 |
Best beer guide or not this is the
place to be on a Friday night. Every visit throws up a surprise.
Not content with finding the beer garden as Autumn arrives the
darts team decided to invite Alan
Sugar no less to a game. One would have thought his darts
may be a little shaky with so little time to practice but he was
still better than the rest of us. |
9 |
| Lamb |
Archers |
6th Sept 2002 |
Autumnal temperatures sent us indoors
for a game of darts with the locals. When things were looking
hopeless the boy came good sending the curry eaters away with a
smile on there faces. |
7 |
| Woodies |
London Pride, IPA, Summer Ale |
30th August 2002 |
Could this be the last of the summer?
A token slurp outside was followed by the comfort of a seat in
the lounge. When it was looking like a quiet night those lulled
into an early sleep were rudely awaken by a late flurry on the
dartboard. |
8 |
| Spring
Grove |
Young's or Guinness |
23rd August 2002 |
Despite a protest of absence in favor
of a less boisterous venue by some the darts were as bad as
ever. This could not be blamed on the thru penny bits which
resulted from a brief visit to Paris but may have been due to
the volume of alcohol consumed. Lets hope televised football on
a Friday night is not the future. |
7 |
| New
Prince |
Gales Butser |
16th August 2002 |
Who cared that the dart board was in
use when we could sit outside on a warm summers evening beneath
the stars. Brian may remember when Elvis died 25 years ago but
when he can ride twice round the park in 38 minutes 46 can't be
that old. A well deserved curry
I feel. |
8 |
| Lamb/Black Lion/Waggon
& Horses |
None/Young's or Guinness |
9th August 2002 |
Who ever heard of a pub being closed
for the summer holiday's? Well the Lamb was and the Black Lion
should have been. With the smell of raw sewage wafting through
the bar the only option was to divert to the tried and trusted
Waggon. |
0/5/8 |
| None |
None |
2nd August 2002 |
A well earned holiday for all |
10 |
| Park
Tavern /Alexandra /Willoughby /Wych Elm |
Abbott
/Bearskin? /Greene King /London Pride |
26th July 2002 |
The
2 Keiths 5 pubs survey. Unfortunately,
due to early dithering at the Park Tavern and the need for an
evening-concluding game of arrows in the Wych, only 4 pubs were
surveyed (Richmond Park Tavern being the unlucky unvisited
venue). Pleasant
weather, good variety of beer, reasonable pubs (the Willoughby
in particular was buzzing) – all that was missing was a few
vacationing punters
(KS) |
7/6/8/7 |
| Wych
Elm |
Fullers London Pride |
19th July 2002 |
A late start, a late finish and some unexpected
guests. Just the place to while away your time on a summers
evening but there no point in discussing who will win Le Tour.
Lance has it sewn up already. |
8 |
| Spring Grove |
Young's Ordinary/Special, Guinness |
12th July 2002 |
A welcome return to this top darts
venue. It's only a pity there were no top dart players in
attendance. This happy
bunch did however try their best but all too often the
chalker ran out of room on the score board. |
8 |
| Bricklayers |
Jubilee Ale |
5th July 2002 |
The punters have returned and the ale
is good so this would be a decent boozer if they moved the table
away from the dart board. The question on everyone's lips of
course is where was Tim
Henman? Crying in his beer I hear you say but alas not in
the Bricklayers. |
7 |
| Lamb |
Archers |
28th June 2002 |
A top venue for a summers beer in the
garden and a game of darts. Pity only one of us was in the zone! |
8 |
| Waggon & Horses |
Young's Ordinary/Special, Guinness |
21st June 2002 |
What a wash out for mid summers day.
Following England's disappointing exit from the world cup the
heavens opened forcing us to move inside. Unfortunately the
darts were as inept as England's second half performance. Was Keith's
finish as lucky as Ronaldinho's
goal or was I as unlucky as David
Seaman? Who said Ronaldinho was useless anyway? |
8 |
| Willoughby |
Bomber, London Pride |
14th June 2002 |
What happened? You remember going out
for a quiet drink at the local with your husband but wake up
with a monumental hang over and a joint of pork
in the fridge. Lets hope its not Danish bacon. Come on
England. |
7 |
| Woodies |
London Pride, Summer Ale |
7th June 2002 |
What else is there to do after a
famous victory over Argentina but watch a rerun of the entire
match while discussing the finer points of the game. I must have
dreamt it. Whatever can be next? At least the darts are as
inaccurate as ever. |
8 |
| King's
Arms |
Sussex |
31st May 2002 |
Well who recommended this? The only
change in the last 10 years has been to remove the dart board.
Since no one else seems to visit on Friday evenings this must be
seen as a backward step. Overall a long way to travel for an
expensive pint of beer I'd say. |
6 |
| Wych
Elm |
Fullers London Pride |
24th May 2002 |
It's good to get back to a pub with a
dart board to pass the time and when your wayward dart bounces
out of the board and lands at your feet so you pick it up and
throw it in the treble twenty you know your luck is in. I guess
that's what it's like to be in the zone if only for a moment. |
9 |
| New
Prince |
Gales Butser, GB, HSB |
17th May 2002 |
A three line whip for the birthday
boys with an combined age of 136 caused a swell in the ranks
to hear first hand, stories of how the intrepid Majorca
explorers faired on their return. Darts were almost forgotten as
the English ale flowed and Jackanory took control. Did Mike
really sleep with Madonna? Only those who made the trip will
really know. Of course a curry
had to follow and they just managed to squeeze the full
compliment in. |
8 |
| Mulligans |
Guinness |
8th May 2002 |
A port in a storm, an oasis in a
desert and doesn't the Guinness taste good. No wonder the locals flock
to such watering holes. |
9 |
| Victoria |
Young's Ordinary/Special, Guinness |
1st May 2002 |
It hard to fault a quite evening with
a pint of Guinness
to hand but the service was strangely slow. Maybe they needed to
run up the road to the off license to get some wine in. Talk of
illness causing absenteeism was quickly dismissed and clearly
identified as an excuse for last minute training. Forget the
drugs test, the evidence will be clear to see on the first hill. |
7 |
| Kelly's
Arms |
Email's please? At 4.1% it was very
good. |
26th April 2002 |
At last a excellent Friday night out.
Decent beer, pool, table football all topped off with an
excellent curry. If we could find a way to dispense with the
smell and the head ache we could do this every week. |
9 |
| Grove |
IPA, Guinness |
19th April 2002 |
Some would say that a night on your
own in the Spring Grove would be preferable and who could
disagree. How can we waste our Friday nights in a place where
the locals want to brawl and the music is just loud enough to
ensure you can't hear the conversation? How can it be that a guy
on the Austrian ski slops can subject us to this? Surely the
voting system must be changed. |
3 |
| Swan |
IPA, Jennings |
12th April 2002 |
Oh dear what a disappointment. How
the lack of a free dart board can affect the evening and the
chance of a future visit. It was suggested we may as well stay
at home and get a few cans in. There may not be a pub atmosphere
at home but the Swan hasn't much too offer either. I'm sorry but
this pub won't get my vote next time. |
5 |
| Spring
Grove |
Young's Ordinary/Special, Guinness |
5th April 2002 |
Well, an exhibition of top quality
darts this wasn't. The theory that more beer results in better
darts obviously needs further examination. Compulsory practice
for the darts
team next Friday at 9pm in the Swan. |
8 |
| Kelly's
Arms |
Guinness |
29th March 2002 |
Surely we have too few bank holidays
already for the God squad to hijack them and enforce early
closing. Still how can we complain when we are presented with
pool played to such a high level. Picture this. You are standing
smugly with Guinness in hand having left the white ball near the
bottom corner pocket less than 1/2 an inch from the side
cushion. Your red ball is sitting right over the middle pocket
nicely snookering the black ball which is sitting in the jaws of
the top pocket. The only possible outcome is a free shot which
should allow you to win the game. After all a simple shot off
the side pocket is not possible because the middle pocket
prevents it. Up steps Keith
and plays an outrageous massy. The ball swerves around your red
clips the black into the pocket and the first game is over. Ten
games later the score is 6-5 and you have lost. You think back.
That was the shot that counted. Lets play darts next week. |
8 |
| New
Prince |
Gales GB, Butser |
22nd March 2002 |
Once we found the light switch for
the dartboard we could see how bad at darts
we really are. Thank goodness we had a curry
to look forward to. |
8 |
| Waggon & Horses |
Young's Ordinary/Special, Guinness |
15th March 2002 |
It's good to sit and chat with an eye
on the cricket but why was the dart board deserted? Has the idle
conversation become too interesting or are we just too lazy to
rise from our seats? I think the brothers
were saving themselves for something less serious. A 21 mile run
or a 40th birthday curry
perhaps. |
8 |
| Fox
& Hounds |
Courage Best |
8th March 2002 |
From slippers to students and from
Perry Como to Garage. This is obviously the place to get pissed
without losing the shirt of your back. At 85p for a tequila
slammer and £1.10 for a double vodka no one can argue its
Students night on
Fridays but at £2 for a pint of Courage best its certainly
not for old farts.
Will we ever return? |
6 |
| Waggon & Horses |
Young's Ordinary/Special, Guinness |
1st March 2002 |
Majorca or France? Arrive early or
late? How many miles can you cycle before lunch? Darts were a
distraction with such important things to ponder. Having solved
these complex problems there was only one logical outcome. A
good curry
with a pint of Cobra. |
8 |
| Willoughby |
IPA, Landlord |
22nd February 2002 |
Wall to wall television with a
different sport on each screen, 3 dart boards in a row and an
empty pool table. What could be better to beat the lethargy on a
Friday night after another hard week at work. A win at darts
springs to mine. At least John
is throwing with his right hand these days. |
8 |
| Black Lion |
Young's Ordinary/Special, Guinness |
15th February 2002 |
At last a game of darts
and now we know what happened to Martin Cloones after "Men
behaving badly". Unfortunately the board provided some
light relief by falling off the wall and the lack of a light
shining on the board provided a few problems but hey things
could be worse. We could have been in the Willoughby. |
7 |
| Park Tavern |
Breakspear's Special, Young's
Ordinary |
8th February 2002 |
Why am I here? I don't smoke, I'm
under 60 and I don't own a pipe or slippers. Is it memories of
summer nights after a trip around the park or do I own a pair of
rose tinted glasses like Evan?
I guess its time to get back to darts, pool or table football. |
6 |
| Albion |
Green King IPA |
1st February 2002 |
How this pub got on the list is a
mystery to me. No atmosphere, no decent music, naff beer and no
dart board. I feared the worst and although the gale blowing
towards the pub ensured an early arrival the place was a
disappointment. The lack of punters means this place is widely
predicted to be next to turn into a block of flats. What a sad bunch
we are. |
5 |
| Kelly's Arms |
Golden Arrow, Courage Best |
25th January 2002 |
Pool, table football but no darts
doesn't really sum up a evening or the complex organisation
required to ensure everyone arrived in the same pub. Rob
finally arrived late unaware of the frantic phone calls trying
to contact him as his mobile was off. Just as it should be on a
Friday evening. The pub was empty which is a little worrying for
those who appreciate the friendly local. No doubt the locals
will complain when they decide to close down. |
8 |
| Waggon & Horses |
Young's & Guinness |
18th January 2002 |
Darts was the name of the game and as
soon the secret of throwing left handed was discovered success
was quick to follow as the spectators were there to see.
Surely Joe's departure won't signify the end of an era as we are
only on our first
beer. |
9 |
| New
Prince |
Gales Butser |
11th January 2002 |
The first of a series of visits saw
the darts board in use by the locals. The beer was good even if
a little weak which was light relief for the sailors
after an day on Guinness at the boat show. The 4 pints
jugs were off but no one seemed to care least of all John
who was concentrating on staying vertical. A good investment by
Gales as their first London pub seems to be the consensus of
opinion. |
8 |
| Victoria |
Young's Ordinary/Special, Guinness |
4th January 2002 |
Plenty of rabbit was required to
overcome the affects of the train strike and general apathy
shown by some of the less regular attendees. But rabbit there
was in the bucket load. It's no wonder the dart board was only
spotted after closing time. Click here
to see what you've missed if you failed to turn up. |
8 |
