Too lazy to do a long range survey this week, I just headed into Liverpool where there are plenty of targets to aim for, starting with a brand new tick, Gravity Max:
There are three bars in here, I think, but I only sampled one where I selected Carling from the bog standard drink range. Ouch - £5.80.
A steady stream of families were keeping the bar staff busy selling beer, pop and bowling tickets.
So obviously not my sort of destination but you can't fault the place. Busy, friendly, spotlessly clean, it deserves to be successful although I can't see me returning any time soon!
After I'd written that and finished my pint, I took a walk round the rest of the place. The electric go-karts are on two levels so you get to drive up and down ramps as well; looks like fun. And then I discovered they've got Wendy's burgers. Forty-something years ago I was working in San Francisco for a few weeks, and the nearest food to my hotel was a Wendy's. Their burgers were so much better than McDonalds and I became quite a fan. Years later I used to arrange any visits to London to include the UK branch at Leicester Square, long since closed. I'll have to give this one a try some time.
So maybe I will be back soon after all. Also, the upstairs bar was a bit more peaceful than the one I used downstairs. Oh, and I should add crazy golf to the list of activities.
Next, I moved on to Mathew Street for some overdue revisits. The Cavern Club had a queue of tourists waiting to get in, so that'll have to wait for a quieter time and I walked on to the Grapes:
I didn't risk the lone handpump and had a Guinness for a change.
A steady trickle of Beatles tourists kept the pub ticking over, with hundreds of pictures being taken.
Next, just across the famous street is Flanagan's Apple which, inexcusably, I haven't ticked for ten years:
Shortly after I sat down a large group arrived and chose the next table. I tried to work out what language they were speaking but I couldn't make it out. After a lot of conversation from which the only words I could understand were "fish and chips" they sent an envoy to the bar to order some food.
Next, how about somewhere I haven't been in for twenty-five years, and I wasn't very complimentary about it then, Remeniss:
As he poured my £3.50 Carling, the barman warned me the prices go up at three o'clock. Good to know, but I won't be having more than one!
Last time I was here, when it was called Labinsky's, my report was somewhat disparaging: "The small dance floor had a sign saying "dance floor", possibly indicating the intelligence level of the clientele." The sign has gone, now.
In preparation for the three o'clock threshold, the disco lights were fired up. Is this supposed to drive the drunks out? It worked on me, anyway! The tellies were still showing two racing channels while the music got louder and the lights brighter. Quite a clever transformation, get some income from selling cheap ale early afternoon and then switch to a disco later.
Finally, across the road again and in to O'Brien's:
I recall last time I was here, when it was called Glass Onion, being a little scared of a very drunk hefty bloke who was refused service. The customers seem similarly inebriated under the new name, no surprise when a pint of Carling is only £2.50. That's less than in spoons!
All the people in here were about my age, mostly but not entirely male.
One of the tables became vacant, so I decided to move from my counter seat. My foot impacted on something, it was a shoulder bag vaguely similar to mine. I checked and then double checked that my own bag was already on my shoulder, and then, aiming to be helpful, I lifted the other one up and placed it on the counter. I hope its owner comes back to find it in due course.
What a classic cheap boozer this is, how does it survive in the otherwise expensive city centre?
I noticed it is attached to Hardy's next door, with a doorway leading through.
Just as I was about to leave, a bloke came in and retrieved his lost bag. Time for home.
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