CLICK ON A HIGHLIGHTED LINK BELOW TO READ A BLAST FROM THE PAST (Note No full blown blasted notes from January 2016. Well maybe a few short blasts, but restarted after the pandemic)
Feb – Bolt’s local do – No notes but a cracking do anyway. The Holy Inadequate and The Hop Inn, (some visited the Greyhound Inn) finishing at the Kismet at Hartshill.
7th December – A Mysterious event.We met up mid afternoon at Wellers where Richee made a welcome surprise visit for half an hour before having to leave. The Scraggs 24 seater left at 4pm with news that the cd player was not working and sadly the extraordinary recording of Yup’s flute skills couldn’t be played. There seemed to be a sigh of relief around the coach……..unless it was the airbrakes? Sadly Dasher and Deb couldn’t join us due to an unexpected operation but we hope to see them both soon. Likewise Beardee didn’t make it with his organ. A duet with Yup would have been the icing on the cake.Keele University Post Grads Association club (KPA) was our first stop where a cracking spread was put out for us, and the accolades for the flute playing were read out.A brief stop was next at The Lord Combermere at Audlem, followed by a longer stop at the local community funded White Lion at Ash Magna, which had a great selection of ales.The Blue Water Indian restaurant at Whitchurch made us very welcome. Great service and food at very reasonable prices.
8th November – Stoke Beer Fest. Spode Pottery in Stoke Town Centre hosted this year’s Beer Festival for 6 of us. Extremely cold and bare but a multitude of ales, poor toilet facilities and open roof lites. Tandoori Knights helped to thaw us out.
6th November – London Trip. A great value (for London) meal started the day off well at McGlynn’s Free House at Clerkenwell for 12 of us before we experienced the underground Royal Mail Train. Refreshments were partaken at The Craft Beer Co in Leather Lane, followed by The Crown Tavern, The Slaughtered Lamb and The Jerusalem Tavern. The flames had been lit at the Tower to commemorate 100 years since the end of the 1st World War so we flew down to see them briefly before enjoying an excellent meal at The Standard Balti House in Brick Lane. Sid (Mind the Gap) carried the kitty which held out until the Euston Tap where it was almost emptied.
31st August – It was a Cloned Stone with Tone do this year, starting at the Limestone Brewery Tap “The Borehole” about 4ish. Ali G took the pie and canal walk option, arriving at the pub first and drank the place dry..Next was the Titanic’s Royal Exchange before moving down to the Swan Inn. The meal at Mojo’s was one of the best we’ve had in some time. Same again next year hopefully. Well done Tone.
27th July – Jaycee’s Jolly July Jaunt in Stafford began after a short train journey with a visit to the Stafford Beer Festival at DC’s Blessed William Howard High School. The Bird in Hand and The Picture House followed. The Floodgate Ale House was too busy so with fluidity we moved on to a delightful beer garden at the Bear & Pheasant. Moonbeam and Beardee made a rare appearance at the indian; The Island Indian Restaurant. Good luck Moonbeam with your permanent move to Cardiff. I can see a squarry trip to Cardiff coming soon. Another cracking day in the sunshine with around 20 attending, give or take a couple. Well done Jaycee for organising a superb day out.
22nd June – Granpop Bill’s Leicester Fiesta. A wonderful hot day began at The Classroom in Allendale Road, Stoneygate, Leicester with a fine selection of ales. Many thanks to Steve for making us so welcome. A bus back to the town centre an hour or so later and we visited The Kings Head, The Blue Boar, The Rutland and Derby Arms, and Richard 3rd.The stronger ales chosen by Bolt took their toll on him who later slid off his seat in the Chutney Ivory Indian after falling asleep. The youngster of the group obviously can’t take it. Many thanks Bill for sorting out a cracking day.
18th May 2018 – Nails Rails, a rail ale do to Buxton. Our first stop after Stockport was the White Lion at Disley, represented by a Zebra logo to distinguish it from the White Lion!!. A grand selection of ales was available including favourite, Indian Runner.The preordered meals were swiftly served and met everyone’s taste except Jaycee’s.The Shepherd Arms at Whaley Bridge disappointed with a very limited selection of ales but it had a beer garden in the sun. Their Wainwright ale was very satisfying however. 53 deg north in Buxton, situated on a steep hill, provided a decent pint of Factory Pale Ale from the Manchester Brewery, and The Red Willow Brewery pub, formerly an RBS Bank came next with a good selection shown on an electronic board including the Fyne Ales Amber Ale.A 10 yard walk led us to the Indian Palace for a very tasty curry. Many thanks Nails and Tony for sorting this one.
23rd March 2018 – A local do at last, staring at the Holy Inadequate at 2pm and continuing on to The Sanctuary and the Artisan at Hartshill, then the Hop Inn before strolling down to the Koh I Noor in Newcastle.
16th Feb 2018 – Macclesfield organised by Bolt in Yup’s absence. Bolt later confirmed that 12 were up for it, kicking off at 4:00, Starting off in The Treacle Tap, then over the road to the Snow Goose Cafe Bar, then back over the road to The Jolly Sailor and finally on to The Society Rooms (Wetherspoons). The meal was booked for 8:00 at Gurkha Dining (specialising in both Indian and Napalese) and most enjoyed it. The last train back was caught around 10:30.
Jan 12th 2018 – Leeking again. 10 of us taxied to Leek visiting the Earl Grey, The Fountain Inn,The Quiet Woman, The Bottle Lab, The Cobblers and the Beer Dock. The Qarma indian was disappointing this year. The chef allegedly wasn’t available. Discounts were provided. Great evening otherwise.
2017
1st December 2017 – The ‘It’s Not a Mystery’ trip began from the Bridge St Ale House in Newcastle. Delays on the M6 and the main road into Middlewich put us back half an hour so we had some catching up to do during the evening. First port of call was The King’s Lock where host Maureen provided us with a mega shipment of pork pies and chips. The 3 greyhounds at Lach Dennis allocated a room for us where we settled but not for long. Next on the list was the Beer Emporium at Sandbach. Of note, besides the ales were the old Safe doors and quirky urinals, Finally, The Swettenham Arms, where we could relax a while before our superb indian meals at the Nobanno Restaurant at Astbury Lake near Congleton. And the ales available throughout were fabarooni.
3rd Nov 2017 – 12 of us took the train to London which was First Class for Jaycee. The closure of Caterbake on Liverpool Rd was extremely sad news. Tapping The Admiral had an excellent selection of ales. Very hospitable and friendly service with tasters of all ales. CAMRA discount and a speedy house cat. £3.30 a pint. Highly recommended.
The Harley Arms.had just 3 ales available and was slightly crowded. A Music venue where Amy Winehouse allegedly sang? £50 round for the 12 of us.
20 mins in the Market for a bite and a photo with Amy.
The Ice Wharf (Wethers). Long wait to be served but little over £20 for a round.
The Edinboro beer garden was worth seeing but not at £5-6+ per pint.
It was a ‘5 minute walk’ to the Constitution where we hadn’t got time for a pint but joined the canal towards St Pancras and called into Charles 1st. A good selection of ales in a homely pub.
The Rajdoot Restaurant at Marylebone was excellent and confirmed by the praise and feedback received from everyone.
It was the last call to the Bree Louise before it’s closure for a farewell drink before the train home.
20th Oct – The Annual Stone with Tone do – deferred from it’s usual August slot due to Dasher’s retirement bash. The Limestone Brewery Tap “The Borehole” was the first port of call around 16:00 hours after which we moved on to the Titanic’s Royal Exchange, and on to the Swan Inn. A traditional curry was enjoyed at the end of the long Crown of India restaurant.
July 14th – Jaycee’s Jolly July Jaunt to Stafford began with a bus journey from Newcastle at 2.45pm. The Greyhound in County Road opened as we arrived at 4pm. Next was the Shrewsbury Arms, recently refurbished by Black Country Ales, and finally the Floodgate Ale House on the Newport Road. The Narvana Indian was up to it’s excellent standard and there was just enough time to catch a last drink at the Sun before making the bus home….. Great selection again Jaycee.
June 16th – A day out in Leeds was arranged by Anytime Tone. We visited Victorian arcades and and markets and a few pubs including the Hop where we all enjoyed pie, mash and minted mushy peas (great value inc a drink @ £5); Tapped, a Brew-pub; Whitelocks Ale House (oldest pub in Leeds); A Crowd Of Favours (Leeds Brewery Beers); and Baht’ap (great selection of ales). The Tharavadu indian was fully booked so we ended up in Shabab’s close to the station before taking the trains home. Great day out. Well done Tone.
May 26th – SquaRail trip between Matlock and Derby. It was a strenuous but rewarding day out starting at 9.30 from Stoke station. The Crown (wethers) was our first port of call followed by Stanley’s Ale House at the top of the main bank past the Council offices. Terrific guy running the place who also guided us to another pub, The Thorn Tree, which had extensive views over the valley below. There was no time to call into the MoCa Bar or The Remarkable Hare (which he also suggested to us), so we’ll have to visit them next time. Stopping at Matlock Bath we sat alongside the river at the Midland. Chips from Tuckers kept us going whilst looking for the Princess Victoria which appeared to be closed. A steep walk amongst the trees led us eventually to the Boat Inn at Cromford before we caught the train with seconds to spare to Belper. The Angels Micropub gave us another hill to climb before we dropped down to Arkwrights Real Ale Bar before returning to Derby, and the best ever indian, The Viceroy, for a 2for1 deal. Click HERE for a couple of photos.
April’s do – May 5th !! 9 of us travelled by train to Tamworth, visiting The Market Vaults and the Sir John Peel. Sadly the King’s Ditch didn’t open till 4pm so we missed out this time. Calling in Lichfield on the return leg we visited The Whippet Inn and the Queen’s Head, excluding the Malt Bar and the Horse and Jockey. The Eastern Eye was excellent and curried our taste buds.
March 31st – Several trains (and no Metro) took us to Kidderminster. Arriving earlier than anticipated we visited the King and Castle as we waited for Roadrunner and enjoyed our first pint of the day at a record breaking time of 10.35am. (for us it was anyway!!). On to Bewdley we started at the Great Western with cobs (not baps), pork pies and sausage rolls. The ale was good too. The Bewdley Brewery Tap opened it’s doors to us and also provided an impromptu tour. The Little Packhorse was closed so we popped in to the Mug House before returning to Kiddy. The Weavers and The Beer Emporium with mine host Peter, entertained us until an excellent curry at Sher-E-Punjab. Many thanks Roadrunner and Iffy for sorting the day out and accompanying us. Click HERE for photos.
Feb 24th – Sandbach (Beer emporium) and Crewe, (Wethers, Off beat brewery, Borough exchange and the Hops Belgium bar. No time to visit Beer doc ). A Passage to India lived up to it’s recommendation by Jaycee. 14 were eventually up for it, with Keithee and Huge (the 2 locals) having to drop out.
Jan 27th – A minibus trip to Leek included visits to the Earl Grey Inn, The Fountain Inn and Wilkes Head, culminating in a meal at Naz’s. Great evening had by all 9 of us.
2016
Dec 2nd – The ‘Not a Mystery’ but no-one knew where they were going!! The full bus of 23 (Craigee dropped out at the last minute!) was driven off by Barry from the Ale House in Bridge St, to the Young Pretender and adjacent Joules pub in Congleton; and subsequently the Harrington Arms near Macclesfield. The Bengal Tiger Lily at Nether Alderley was superb in respect of both food and service. Highly recommended. Many thanks to Dasher and Richee who made contributions towards drinks which were very much appreciated.
Nov 11th – At last, Jaycee’s Official Squarry Club Retirement do celebrated by a day out in Manchester. Pubs visited in the Northern Quarter were the Port St Beer House and the Pie and Ale pub in Lever St which served Yipee Pie Ale…. The Rising Sun, The Sir Ralph Abercromby and BrewDog were visited before descending on the Swadesh Indian Restaurant to end a cracking day. A swift whiskey or two were sampled at the Whiskey Jar in Tariff St on the way back to the station. Congratulations Jaycee and thanks for your much appreciated generosity on the day.
Nov 4th – London. A Thames Clipper took us along the river to Greenwich where the proposed visit to see the Cutty Sark failed to materialise due to time constraints. However we did visit several pubs including The Yacht, The Plume of Feathers and The Old Brewery, and soon demolished pies at Goddards the famous Pie and Mash shop before setting sail again to The Lever Building at Canary Wharf. The Liberty Bounds at Tower Bridge was our last call of the day before ending at Aladdins in Brick Lane. The few who stayed over to watch the West Ham/Stoke game also visited the Prospect of Whitby. A must see for a future trip.
Sep 23rd – Stone with Tone took on an alternative twist this year, visiting the Borehole, Langtry’s and The Swan; and finishing with Burgers at the recently opened Smoke and Rye.
Aug 26th – Roadrunner’s Saucy Trip to Wuster. An excellent day out was enjoyed by 10 of us which included visits to King Charles II, the Cardinal’s Hat, The Plough, The Dragon, the Cathedral culminating with an excellent meal at the Bombay Palace.
July 29th – Jaycee’s Jolly July Jaunt at Stafford. A jolly long bus journey culminated in visits to The Greyhound, No 7, the Floodgate and The Bear and Pheasant, finishing with a superb curry and service for £20 all in at Nirvana Indian Restaurant.
July 15th – Footgolf at Halfpenny Green near Dudley. Preceded with a lunch break at The Great Western in Wolverhampton and Ma Pardoes at Dudley. Minibuses provided by RH Travels and Boulton Travel. Ale stop at Slaters Craft Beer Bar and a cheap value curry at Jivan’s Balti House. ‘Belcher Minor’ Tom won the top prize. Adrian was nearest the pin and Yup, Tone, Jaycee and Patrick came 2nd.
April 1st – ‘Don’t be fooled’ Leicester trip headed by Granpop Bill, visiting son Steve’s Micropub (The Classroom), The Salmon, The Friary, The Criterion, The Ale Wagon and finishing with an excellent curry at Chutney Ivory. Click here for photos.
March 4th – Derby town by Yup – 14 visited the Brunswick, the Smithfield, the Tap, the Furnace and the Old Bell; and the best ever Indian (in Derby) the Viceroy.
Jan 15th – Bolt’s do in Leek starting from the Unicorn, up Hanley duck and visiting Den Engel, Green Dragon, The Roebuck and ending with a very good balti at Naz’s balti house.
