Coopers

Those who have studied the Merseyside Pub Guide will already be aware of my fondness for Coopers on Cases Street, and as time goes on we can also add rarity to its attributes.

This tiny two-room boozer is always packed with happy drunks, no matter what time you go in. I was there on a recent Monday afternoon and just managed to squeeze in. The live singer was belting out an Abba song (Ten minutes later she was serving behind the bar.) No real ale any more, so I just stood in a corner with a pint of Guinness. and soaked up the atmosphere.

Truly a classic English boozer, you just don't find them like this any more.

Some years ago, when 24 hour licensing was being discussed, I suggested this would be the first 24/7 pub in Liverpool, and I can imagine it being just as lively with just as many drunks at five in the morning. That hasn't happened, in fact the whole 24 hour thing seems to have been a damp squib - Is there anywhere open all night?

Victoria Cross

Located at the junction of Victoria Street and Sir Thomas Street, this corner house has gone through a number of changes of style and name. It started as the New Court, but that was before my time, I think, as I never went there. As Ned Kelly's it was a fun plastic Australian bar, decorated with the inevitable stuffed crocodile and kangaroo (wearing boxing gloves). I didn't visit the short-lived Reuben's Bar, but recently I had a pint in the latest incarnation, The Victoria Cross. The Antipodean decor has gone, replaced by a pleasant plain interior. I was pleased to see four hand pumps on the bar, although three had the clips turned round. The fourth provided a mediocre pint of Bass.