Jaycee popped into Tesco Express to get some after 8 mints as the curry house no longer provided them. On exiting the store,
he met the Squarrites walking back up the road saying Bundobust would not let them in.
Jaycee spoke with the Bar person and said that both he and Dceen had previously visited to advise of our attendance, and it
was agreed which area would be allocated to us. See allocated area below right.....
Johns Jolly July Jaunt in Manchester - 29 July 2022.
Another fantastic turnout with 18 making the Jaunt namely:
Jaycee, Yup, Keithee, Huge, Sean, Mothy, DCeen, MCeen, Jodie, Anytime Tone, Bill, Nails, Bolt, Craigee, Pedro, Digger, Turk,
Tarzan.
Unfortunately, Corky could not attend due to recovery from an operation. Goosey had an hospital appointment and Jacko had
to attend the eye hospital.
The local contingent met at Stoke Station only to find the platform heaving due to the knock-on effect of the rail strike.
Most attendees had off peak rail tickets except Tim who had a fixed ticket for 11:44 train.
As the 11:44 rolled in the masses on the platform swarmed to board the train. Tim used his strength to cajole his way to the
train door and managed to board whereas the rest of the group waited for the next train 5 minutes later and travelled in
comfort.
With trains rolling in from Stoke, Crewe, and Stafford the group congregated on Piccadilly Station. Feeling peckish many
decided to fill their bellies with meat pies and pasties before setting off to the first venue, the Track Brewery, which had
20+ different beers on offer.
Upon arrival two female staff who were moving benches by the entrance told us that the venue had been booked for a funeral
wake and it was closed to the public. We explained that Jaycee & Dceen had previously visited to advise of our impending
arrival and followed up with an email confirming the date, time and numbers. In addition, Mceen had visited two weeks ago and
reserved tables leaving his phone number if there were any issues.
No-one from the brewery had made contact to advise of any changes. Unfortunately, it was like talking to a brick wall. It was
made known that it was appalling lack of communication from Track. Dceen (now known as Rant & Rave Dave) said his piece
before parting company.
Dceen saw a local Manchurian sit in his preferred seat so gave
him the ‘Death Stare’ to show him his dis-pleasure.
That was the last straw for Tone, and he flaked out for a Cat Nap.
Overall, a good day out with a few frustrations on the way.
Regards
Jaycee
Whilst a little bit disgruntled we ventured down the road
to the Cloudwater Taproom, who had confirmed our
attendance and welcomed us with open arms. They had a
good variety of beers, friendly bar staff and soothing
background music.
Everyone settled down in a well laid out taproom for a
well-earned beer or two.
Yuppy spotted the pile of cushions and said that the
wooden bench was too hard for his bum. Jaycee although
struggling with his knees scrambled over two 600mm high
platforms to get him a plillow so that he could sit in
comfort.
To avoid the disappointment of the Track Bar, Mceen suggested a substitute venue The Beatnikz Republic a short deviation off
our intended route, but one Jaycee had previously looked at, so it was agreed that we call in.
Like Snow White leading the Dwarfs Jaycee led the group to our next port of call. What a pleasant surprise. The place was
filled with a variety of beers including Squawk beers which brought cheers of joy to the chaps faces.
Yuppy wasn’t happy, he wanted to know why there was no
mention on the Events Board of our Squarry Sqwark around
Manchester.
But everyone else was filled with the joys of spring.
Upon leaving the Beatnikz Bar there was confusion over
which way to go. Mceen said one way and Jaycee said
another. The effect of more than 3 pints had taken over
Jaycee’s eyesight who was holding his map upside down.
A short stroll following Mceen’s route, and we arrived at
Beermoth everyone settled down and a variety of Bevvies
was consumed. Everyone was as happy as Sandpipers,
laughing and joking as we made our way to Bundobust our
final port of call with a rotating selection of beers to
prepare for a welcoming curry.
The Bar person said that no information had been passed to him by the Bar Management and our reserved space had been
taken. He then went onto say that no admittance would have been allowed as he had received verbal abuse from one of our
group. I apologised and we left.
Not to be outdone Yuppy suggested Peverill of the Peak, two minutes’ walk away as he could see Jaycee’s blood pressure rising
off the scale and was concerned for his wellbeing.
No issues here, and we managed to get a table outside for the more mature members whilst the younger ones mingled with the
locals.
With everyone now content and blood pressures back to normal we ventured to the Indian restaurant Sangam, where the tables
were already prepared for our arrival. We were directed to a seating area where drinks were ordered, delivered and sipped
before being shown to our table.
Poppadom’s & chutneys delivered, and main course orders taken we sat down to a very nice curry, except Tone, who had a lamb
shank and was continually bleating about how nice it was.
Craigee ordered a very hot curry and then complained that it was too hot. A yogurt was offered to cool it down, but Craigee
refused the offer determined to eat the Firecracker. Nails was disappointed with his curry and preferred the one at his local
curry house.
Due to the current economic climate the restaurant had cut back on after eight mints and hot towels which upset Pedro as he’d
always taken everybody’s chocolates home to Joan. Jaycee knew that he would have a roasting off Joan if he returned home
without any of her favourite mints, so he had purchased two bags of mint chocolate buttons which he gave to the management
to be presented with the bill.
Steve was delighted and filled his takeaway bag with chocolate buttons saying ‘tonight could be his night’
A quick check on train times revealed that most of the evening trains were cancelled so we raced back to Piccadilly station to
catch the 20:15 train arriving at 20:13 (phew made it) only for the train to remain on the platform for a further 50 minutes as
it had no train Manager.
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After a pleasant hour we ventured onto the next watering hole which was only a 15-minute walk away, Seven Bro7hers
Beerhouse where a further 20 beers were on offer.
We were welcomed by a very friendly Bar Manager and staff. We were told that we could sit in the main bar area as a beer
tasting session was underway on the lower floor, but we were welcome to sit at the rear of that floor if we wished.
Beers in hand the less fortunate in our group made for the Chesterfield sofas as they were only used to wicker furniture.