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A short march and we were in "The Maverick" with its cowboy theme and Pig Iron and Fiddlers Elbow ales. The Porcine Pint prompted many a puerile comment : "What's piggin' goin' on 'ere" , "piggin' 'ell, youth, what's yours ?" and so on ....again we retreated to the beer garden (or concrete wasteland), supped our piggin' drinks and discussed our school years - Jaycee, Anytime Tone and 2 Pie Hard Dave all went to the same school (or was it a piggin' correction centre?) and seemed to have suffered terrible piggin' hardship - with hindsight, this explains a lot in their cases !! Not entirely sure what was the verdict on this place ..... piggin' good or bad ?!

The day was rounded off with a meal at Cellars - everyone seemed reasonably satisfied with the Fine Indian Cuisine apart from Jaycee who didn't really enjoy his meal for a reason which piggin' evaded us.....

Back on the Noddy Train to Stourbridge Junction with the majority of the lads journeying back to Stoke while Roadrunner headed to Worcestershire. Granpop Bill, feeling the effects of the Australian lager down under, needed the 'dunny' on the train back to Wolverhampton and disappeared for an unusual length of time which nearly caused him to miss the connection to Stoke - evidently there had been a problem with the 'flush' - next time, Bill, it may be better to nuke whatever was in the bottom of the pan - don't want to miss another train,mate !!

With a tight deadline to meet, we made the decision to make the 23 minutes hike back to the town centre much to Sean's relief as he could now reach his daily target of 10,000 steps. On the way, Roadrunner pointed out an historical local landmark : the glass kiln. There ensued a short lesson in the life and history of the Black Country glass blower, at the end of which the lads were able, firstly, to appreciate and comment on the ornate pieces of crystal displayed in a local shop window but, more importantly, to understand the origins of the phrase "sweating like a glass blowers arse".

It was now off to the Triangle which would involve a 23 minutes walk - accurate or what !! Roadrunner then revealed that Bus no 246 would be passing our route in a few minutes and that we could all jump aboard if we preferred to travel by public transport. Surprisingly, everyone was in favour apart from Sean who was worried that this would jeopardise his fitness regime but soon relented when he realised that the bus would allow more time in the pub. However, the time saved on travel was soon swallowed up by the time taken to pay the bus driver who was offered fifty pound, twenty pound and 10 pound notes for a £1.90 ride - no change given ! Suddenly, the bus didn't seem a good idea !! Finally sorted, we disembarked at "The Starving Rascal" (on the original agenda but only open at 4pm) and descended the hill to "The Robin Hood" where we consumed pints of Enville Ginger, Golden Glow, Purple Moon Elderflower and Admiral - again , very favourably received and, had time permitted, we would have spent more time there, particularly as it is CAMRA pub of the year in 2015 and has a reputation for its "Bostin' Baps".. The barmaid recommended that we tried "The Swan" but, much to Jaycee's disappointment, this, like "The Starving Rascal", did not open its doors until later.

Pub no 3 was "The Red Lion" which had been refurbished - Oracle was ordered by some and Norwegian Blue was the other one which Jaycee mistakenly thought was a porn film - Granpop Bill had a senior moment and somehow ended up with an Australian lager - in some ways , it was understandable because Oz can easily be confused with the Black Country ! On this occasion, we sat outside in the beer garden and were entertained by the local canine population - a Staffy went ape at the sight of another dog (or perhaps it was a dingo, Bill ?!) and at one stage we thought we were going to be witness to a dog-baiting spectacle - instead, we witnessed a quaint Black Country Custom whereby a dog mapped out his territory in the beer garden by dropping his stools in amongst the pebbles - very sneaky because the colour difference between pebble and stool was very subtle - watch where you are putting your feet, boys !! This, together with a discussion on the dimensions and price of railways sleepers (which adorned the beer garden) certainly elevated the conversation to a more cerebral level !!

The first port of call was "The Duke William" in Stourbridge which was not strictly in the Triangle but which had glowing reviews, had its own brewery with Craddocks ales and, more importantly, offered pies ( Ali Gee note for future reference) and mash ranging from Deerstalker (venison) to Aragon chicken. There were a variety of beers on offer and the afternoon's drinking began with pints of Saxon, Monarch Way and River Storm all generously paid for by Anytime Tone who was on the cusp of a major birthday. Happy Birthday, Tone !! And welcome to free prescriptions, free eye tests and a free bus pass chirped Jaycee - oh, and a free bowel screening test cried Yup !!! Tim looked on with pity at the rest of us as he was the only one who had just narrowly qualified for the fuel allowance ! The pies and mash turned out to be very tasty and were accompanied by a second round of drinks. The verdict on The Duke was very good - the only negative comment was from Yup who had difficulty understanding the staff - but then he never was much good at languages at school !!

Having been reassured that a trip to the Black Country would not be without the assistance of a translator and guide, the boys arrived prompt on the Noddy Train (or "Dinky Toy" as coined by 2 Pie Hard Dave) to sample the brews in the Amblecote Triangle.

Tim had jettisoned his life as an upmarket travelling gypsy for the day and was looking forward to a session with the lads before resuming his nomadic lifestyle with a trip to Cornwall. Retirement is tough !

Strolling through the High Street, we encountered Donatello and Rafael who had left the other Ninja Turtles in Merry Hill on a shopping trip and had come to Stourbridge in search of some action and excitement. Then again, perhaps it was the local students celebrating the end of term in fancy dress !!

Pumped up by "Piggin' Iron", we arrived earlier than anticipated and so paid a final visit to the "Duke William" to enjoy a last tipple and pork scratchings which were given the thumbs-up by 2 Pie Hard Dave ; the slaughterman had had the foresight to run the blowtorch over the sow's hide and burn off all the surplus bristles - Dave doesn't like his pork scratchings with piggin' bristles on 'em !!