Kingston & Surbiton Pub Review 2003

Pub	Recommended Beer	Last Visit	Comments	Score
Kelly's Arms	Spitfire	26th December 2003	With five punters including us and the barman you have to wonder how long this venue will remain. While it does we may as well enjoy the good beer and facilities provided. Just don't mention the score.	7
Willoughby	Adnams, London Pride, IPA, Royal Oak	19th December 2003	More proof if it was needed that the less you play the better you become at darts. When the husband and wife team beat the champions of last week all the practice is shown to be a waste of time.	8
Woodies	Adnams Broadside, London Pride, IPA	12th December 2003	2 down with 3 to play and the steel of the century was on the cards. Some highly erratic darts from Dave backed up by some sensational finishing from Brian in all the close games should have been enough to win. It could have been so different in the tension filled last leg. Despite Dave's truly awful darts throughout the evening it was set up for a flamboyant finish. The remaining punters don't know how lucky there were as K2 nailed it. The huge sigh of relief was almost tangible. Onto the next round of this endless competition. Did I mention that K2 had a puncture?	8
Black Lion/Lamb	Guinness, IPA	5th December 2003	There is always something strange about a Young's Pub with music and the Black Lion simply proves the point. So over the road to the Lamb were the toilet must be more interesting that the bar as the entire pub seemed obsessed with taking a leak. Still Rob proved what we have all known for years. The less you practice at some sports the better you become. Darts, snooker, golf, tennis...	4/7
Spring Grove/Kelly's Arms	Guinness, Pedigree	28th November 2003	Too many Rottweilers guarding the dart board forced an early exit from the Grove and resulted in another pool, table football and darts evening at the Kelly's. As always the two K's failed to excel on the dart board and Brian's bull finish killed off any sign of a revival. Still they'll remind us that they won the pool.	5/7
Wych Elm	London Pride	21st November 2003	Jonny should have been in the Wych Elm to see how to a finish a game. It may have saved a lot of finger nails early on Saturday in the RWC final. The tension was there alright but our finishing was spot on. I guess Clive is surfing in the wrong places.	8
Kelly's Arms	Pedigree	14th November 2003	The competition started early with pool followed by table football and darts. At the end of the evening honors were even despite some sensational goal scoring in the table football and unbelievable 2 dart finishes. How can anyone write this pub off when all this was accompanied by some classic 70's and 80's music featuring the Stranglers, the Stones and the original Fleetwood Mac.	8
Waggon & Horses	Youngs, Guinness, White Wine, Coke?	7th November 2003	The smell from the new English restaurant and the site of a busy darts board nearly drove the early arrivals to a more accommodating hostelry but a table away from the kitchen and an unusually large turn out made for some noisy if unmemorable conversation.	7
Willoughby	Harviestoun Bitter and Twisted, Archer Rite Spooky, Shepherd Neame Late Red, Archers Sky Rocket, Cain’s Traditional Bitter, Battersea Power Station Porter ...	31st October 2003	The sound of the band blended into the background as the evening progressed and the beer flowed. Was Bitter and Twisted better than Battersea Power Station? Did Head Banger live up to its name? Can you spot the difference between Shepherd Neame Late Red and Archer Rite Spooky? You've got to try them to know I'm afraid.	8
Woodies	Jennings, Broadside, Pride	24th October 2003	After discussing the merits of the 15km individual time trial up the L'Alpe d'Huez in the 2004 tour some stunning finishing saw John and Dave win 6 games of darts on the trot to take the match 8-4. Who would have predicted that? It must have been longer odds than a double of Wales beating Italy at football and Italy beating Wales at rugby!	8
New Prince	Busters, GB	17th October 2003	The dart board was occupied by a couple of easy chairs after refurbishment so we had no alternative but to discuss bike lights. This was followed by a traditional Indian curry subsidised by Walkers.	7
Willoughby	Douchards	10th October 2003	Team spirit and a little beer allowed us to stumble over the finishing line for a historic 9-7 victory. Unlike the English football team who could only manage a goalless draw in Turkey. Maybe they should spend more time with Rick and Lysa at www.thewilloughbyarms.com where they may meet the victorious English rugby team.	8
Wych Elm	Fullers London Pride, Chiswick	3rd October 2003	A humiliating trashing at darts again. From 5-2 up, the drink and distraction of visitors got the better of us and we ended up deflated and defeated 7-11. A switch to lemonade next week may be the only answer.	8
Kelly's Arms	Pedigree	26th September 2003	Televised football followed by darts. Two games up and a chance of a 180 turned to a 4-2 defeat. More finishing practice needed.	7
Spring Grove	Youngs, Guinness, Spritzers	19th September 2003	A evening outside the toilets doesn't sound too attractive and even less so when you find a spritzer cost £3.40 but we endured all this and the lack of a game of arrows to finalise plans for the forthcoming cycling trip. That done we still had time to discuss bike lights and other less memorable topics.	7
Swan (Hampton Wick)	Beer: Shepherd Neame Spitfire and Best	12th September 2003	A ‘new’ pub after all these years. The Swan is designed to intercept those young punters unwilling to walk over the bridge to Kingston. However, following an outdoor traffic census some reasonable darts were played in very gloomy conditions – England cricketers would definitely have retired to the pavilion. Strangely the light improved markedly as the pub prepared to shut! Worth another visit? (KS)	7
Waggon & Horses	Youngs, Guinness, Spritzers	5th September 2003	Could this be the last al fresco evening of the year or will we have an Indian summer? No one cared much as we recounted stories of holiday's past, present and future.	7
Woodies	Adnams, IPA, Fullers, Sprizters	29th August 2003	An evening of two halves. A sensible half were we sat and discussed current affairs and a bizarre half which revolved around the dart board. Forget Keith's bull finish of last week. Struggling back from a 1-4 deficit to Brian and Sheila (yes her with the doggy elbow who could only manage to hit the lower half of the board), Keith managed a 126 finish and followed this by finishing with a borrowed dart. Don't ask why he borrowed my dart.	8
Willoughby	Landlord	22ng August 2003	A traditional darts evening with plenty of noise a meat raffle and no reason to go home early.	8
New Prince	Butser	15th August 2003	While the tattoos enjoyed a party inside we drank the night away in the garden before settling down for a smelly curry.	8
Kelly's Arms	London Pride, Courage Best, Cold Guinness!!	8th August 2003	An evening of two halves. A pleasant drink in the garden was followed by a game of darts in which neither side seemed to have the skill (or inclination) to finish.	8
Kelly's Arms	Spitfire	1st August 2003	The Kelly's is back. It didn't close before 11, the darts, pool and table football were ready for action and the locals even chipped in the make up the numbers. What else could you want? Free beer?	8
Waggon & Horses	Guinness, Youngs	25th July 2003	A unexpectedly good turn out sat down to discuss the weeks events. Would Jan Ulrich beat Lance Armstrong in the final time trial of le tour? How dark is it in Gomshall at night?	8
Spring Grove	Guinness, Youngs	18th July 2003	Another night in the fresh air away from the dart board so why did I wake up with such a hang over? Will Ulrich catch Armstrong? We'll all be watching to find out. That's for sure.	8
White Hart (Shere)	London Pride	11th July 2003	A perfect summers evening bore witness to the Gomshall Pentathlon. The first event, a 15 mile cycle was soon forgotten as the contestants thrashed out the backward swimming competition. This was quickly followed by the beer drinking and darts events and the evening was capped with the now legendary Gomshall curry. Despite opting out of the cycling and finishing well down in the backward swimming the winner of the event has to be Evan for his outstanding performance in the darts in which he finished a game for the first time in over 3 months. Those present bore witness to a finish which will live long in the memory. Having set up a double one to win the first dart bounced off the wire around the bullseye while the second landed precisely in the double one.	9
Willoughby	London Pride, unknown but tasty fruity beer	4^th July 2003	A select few for a pleasant garden beer and a lively game of arrows, although this didn’t carry on till the early hours due to lack of players. Didn’t win the meat raffle and discovered a very tasty fruit beer too late in the evening to really benefit from a sufficient quantity. (KS)	8
Waggon	Guinness, Youngs, (white wine spritzers)	27^th June 2003	A pub crawl IN a pub. For starters, we settled in the public bar but this was so noisy we quickly moved to the garden. Initially the garden was pleasant and quiet, but we were soon surrounded by a noisy mob necessitating a move to the lounge. This was quiet and comfortable but when the conversation became repetitious we moved back to the public bar, which had quietened down, and finished the evening with a few games of arrows. A tiring evening! (KS)	7
Wych Elm	London Pride	20th June 2003	Since the professional dart player frightening us off the dartboard we spent a very pleasant evening under the stars. Unfortunately the beer must have been a little too good as Saturday morning was accompanied by a mild hang over.	8
Lamb	Pedigree	13th June 2003	An alfresco night away from the dart board for a change.	7
Woodies	Battersea, IPA, Pride	6th June 2003	A embarrassing run of wins by Brian and John was finally broken by the two Keith's which is just as well as the dart board was about to go out the door.	8
Willoughby	Archers	30th May 2003	Once the talk of recent endeavours had been exhausted the serious business began. With the crowd on the edge of their seats (at least until until the meat raffle began) the heavy weight darts contest took place. As with snooker the duel continued late into the night but unlike snooker the noise from a famous victory could be heard over most of North Kingston.	9
French Bar	None	23rd May 2003	The beer leaves a lot to be desired and must be one of the reasons so many refuges pass through France on their way to the UK. Why else would they choose to leave the weather and scenery of Provence?	2
Waggon	Ordinary, Guinness	16th May 2003	A treble birthday celebration swelled numbers but the topic of conversation continued to revolve around bikes, bike routes and bike bits. At the first sign of repetition the darts came out but the ladies had to endure the usual poor standard and raucous behaviour as the effect of excessive beer consumption began to kick in. All this was followed by the traditional curry.	9
Wych Elm	London Pride	9th May 2003	Some unbelievable finishing, a couple of close attempts at the 180 and some of the most appalling darts I've ever seen for a long time kept us amused around the dart board. More practice required I'm afraid.	8
Victoria	Ordinary, Guinness	2nd May 2003	Once all those intending to attend had found the pub and all the punters arriving straight from the office parties had left the evening settled down to some unmemorable conversation and serious drinking.	7
Round 32 Start Here
Willoughby	Various	25th April 2003	The St. George Day beer festival was a great success with many of the North Kinston residents staggering home in the early hours. The darts however were appalling until we got near a finish when for some unknown reason the lads came good (at least until the beer kicked in late on).	8
Waggon & Horses	Guinness	17th April 2003	The transfer to a Thursday night and early start was an unprecedented success with a record turn out (which included Tony) and fully attended curry. Some local even saved us from an embarrassing show at the dart board! The only cloud on the horizon seems to appear after a few beers when you reach 50. Thank god it only happens once.	9
Spring Grove	Guinness	11th April 2003	Despite the the old man of 50 spilling beer all over the floor the darts seemed to fly straighter than normal especially for Brian who won 10 games on the trot.	8
Wych Elm	Fullers London Pride	4th April 2003	What have darts, snooker, tennis and golf got in common? The answer was there for all to see in the Wych Elm on this Friday night. The answer of course is the more you play the worst you get as our welcome guests will no doubt confirm.	8
Kelly's Arms	?	28th March 2003	It was kind of the management to open the pub especially for us. The locals must have deserted due to early closing but we were unaffected as an early curry was on the agenda.	8
Who Cares / Waggon and Horses	Phuknose/Young’s/Guinness	21^st March 2003	We hyperspaced rapidly from the ‘Who Cares’ ‘cos the Phuknose Special Ale was rank. However, the Waggon was solid as usual where John gave a demonstration of how to finish some rather tired and apathetic games of arrows – suggest next week we row down the ‘Shock and Awe’ – a Henley theme pub!	0/8
Woodies	Broadside	14th March 2003	It may be a little too far for some but some amazing finishing at the latter part of the evening by K2 meant all went home happy.	9
Boaters	Chezhmate, Rocking Thunder, etc...	7th March 2003	A last visit to this restaurant come pub before its refurbished in an effort to find an identity. A beer festival seems to have failed to get the passing trade to stop for a drink on the way into Kingston so what's next? A dart competition maybe, but they'll need to install a dart board first and I bet that's not in the refurbishment plans.	7
New Prince	Butser	28th February 2003	How are we supposed to put in a decent show at the next darts world championships if we can't get any practice? I'm not sure talking about it will help that much although we can always enjoy trying. Particularly after hours even if we do get a bit tired..	7
Lamb	Tangle Foot, IPA	21st February 2003	A evening understanding the boat insurance business www.craftinsure.com and the rewards which come from such activities www.caterham.co.uk kept us away from the dart board to the relief of us all.	7
Willoughby	Old River	14th February 2003	The old river may have dried up but the darts just kept on going and going and going. It's just a pity that everyone decided to play well against me! The finishing was so good we even managed to win the meat raffle.	9
Swan	Courage Best	7th February 2003	No sooner had we arrived that we had to leave. Too old and a busy dart board being the excuse. So where did we end up? A pub that closed before last orders. Can you believe it? Well its not surprising looking at this bunch of over aged drinkers.	4
Wych Elm	London Pride	31st January 2003	How can the darts be so good one minute and so bad the next? Local knowledge may come in to it as the home team who arrived on foot triumphed over the away team who had to resort to their bikes.	8
Waggon & Horses	Guinness	24th January 2003	The lure of a birthday curry was obviously sufficient to ease a few from their armchairs on a Friday night. Any worry about not having practiced at darts was quickly dispelled as we collectively struggled to hit the double 1.	9
Kelly's Arms	?	17th January 2003	More beer, more pool, more darts but no table football. Shame on us.	9
Surbiton Flyer	London Pride	10th January 2003	Take a railway station waiting room, add a few television screens and a couple of tables and chairs and you could be in the Surbiton Flyer. But don't bother to stay as there much better taverns a few yards down the street even if one or two of the clientele are a little the worst for wear.	5
Woodies	London Pride, Greene King IPA	3rd January 2003	With 3 sets of darts ready and one stuck in quarantine at Heathrow we seemed the cope quiet well considering the multi coloured chalk and a crater in the 13. Encouraged by the TV coverage of the world darts championships there was no hanging around finishing and treble 20's were in abundance after reaching the "3 pint zone". Just remember "You're only as good as your last game" and who was it who won that?	8