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Essex Pub of the Year Trip - 12th June 2004 Back in June, a hardy bunch of branch members boarded the infamous Tony Glew Battle Bus, and headed out on another trip to decide our choice for the Essex Pub-Of-The-Year. Here, Richard 'Whinge' Sparks tells how we got on. To see a full size version of each picture simply click on it. Just before 11am one Saturday morning a motley bunch met up for the annual round Essex pub crawl, ostensibly known as the POTY trip to distinguish from just a day out on the beers. Varying amounts of clothing (t-shirt and shorts through to thick jackets) and food (none to picnic) were in evidence. One pro had already had downed a couple of pints whilst watching New Zealand hammer England in some egg-chasing. )
Anyway, we set off for the first pub with the aim arriving there for midday opening. The journey flew by and we arrived at Three Horseshoes, Dutton Hill spot on; this is actually a rather poor choice of words as this fine pub is in the area threatened by some of the proposals for the expansion of Stansted Airport. This and several other topics were discussed with the friendly landlord over a couple of good pints. The range of artifacts around the pub including Butlins' uniforms were of interest to many, and I am reliably informed that the ladies' facilities were too! )
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Next stop was Stapleford Tawney where we arrived at the Mole Trap just before the 2pm deadline for ordering food. Sadly, this late arrival was greeted with a fairly frosty response though the food was quite acceptable when it did arrive. On the beer front things weren't great either with the heat taking its toll on the beer quality. Being blunt, if I lived in the Herts & Essex borders area and this is the best pub I'd move or sign the pledge! Shame really because it's actually quite a nice pub. )
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Following this disappointment we headed to the White Hart at Coxtie Green, South West branch's entry into the POTY contest. In total contrast to a previous stop, this was a traditional two bar boozer one with a collection of former beer guides the other with two televisions. On the large screen Coronation Street was gibbering inanely at nobody in particular, the other a standard size TV was showing England's cricketers gaining some sort of retribution over the New Zealanders. There was a garden but the changeable weather soon precluded spending too long there. )
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From there we travelled onto Mill Green passing Brentwood School en route where one former pupil on board began reminiscing - the affect of the beer perhaps? On arrival at The Viper there was a split with one group heading off to play pool and the rest of us heading to the lounge. The pub had quite a varied range of customers but pride of place went to one individual who was wearing a French football shirt, this just 24 hours before the clash in Euro 2004. On talking to him, we discovered he was a Londoner who supported Leyton Orient - no accounting for taste! )
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After a quick thrash down the A130 we arrived at the Shepherd & Dog at Ballards Gore. At this point, some decided that more solid sustenance was required at this hostelry which had a reasonably extensive menu to compliment the range of ales available for imbibing. Then quite tragically a bout of tickitus struck some of the crew; the thought of a quick run to nearby Paglesham to sample the Punch Bowl was just too much. The minibus was commandeered and we departed rapidly - in the wrong direction! I don't know if those sat outside noticed us sneak sheepishly past the pub some 10 minutes later. Having consumed a swift pint at the Punch Bowl we collected the others from the Shepherd & Dog and headed for our final pub of the day. )
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A bladder wrenching jaunt through country lanes brought us to The Swan at Little Totham. As ever, the welcome and beer was exemplary as befits a former National Pub of The Year. What can I write that hasn't been written before about this pub, especially as the beer was now starting to have detrimental affects on my brain functions, memory included. After a our final couple of pints we rounded all and sundry from various parts of the bar and garden and headed back to Colchester 12 hours (and a similar number of pints) after leaving. )
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An enjoyable day all round. It's nice to visit some of the far flung pubs throughout the county and it'll be interesting to see our comments fair against those of our colleagues in the other Essex branches. |