Walking. Gossip. Travel.

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Coventry – Earl of Mercia

I appear to have forgotten to write about this Good Beer Guide listed pub in Coventry. It’s operated by JD Wetherspoon and is nearby to their sister pub the Flying Standard. As usual, I’ll use their history of their venue:

“This is named after Leofric, Earl of Mercia, who founded St Mary’s Priory, Coventry’s first cathedral. A larger-than-life statue of Leofric and his wife (Countess Godiva) can be seen above the main entrance to the council house, opposite this pub.”

The building on High Street opened in June 1896 as the London and Midland Bank, later becoming the Midland Bank. It was turned into a public house in the early 1990s, initially being Cassidy’s until 1994, then the Phoenix Bar until 1996 and then it became part of Lloyds which was bought out by JD Wetherspoon as their more youth focused brand. The pub was renamed its current name of the Earl and Mercia in 2001.

I haven’t taken many useful photos of the pub, but as Julian (wise) says, I’m sure we’ll all cope.

This is from my visit with Richard a few months ago, I went for the Tesseract from Black Hole Brewery which was only £1.64 for a pint after the CAMRA discount. It was better than I had expected, it was rich, smooth with lots of plums to the whole arrangement.

And this is the Key Lime Pale from Hogs Back Brewery which I had this weekend as part of the JD Wetherspoon October beer festival. This was just 98p for a half and it was certainly full of lime flavour, being light, soft and hoppy.

As usual, best I have a little look at the reviews for my own amusement. It’s rated very highly for a JD Wetherspoon venue and that fits in with my experiences here, which have been positive.

“First of all, the staff discriminated against Chinese people. If you’re a local, the servers will bring the drinks to your table, but we had to go downstairs to get our drinks and bring them to our table on the second floor. The entire time, they watched us through the surveillance cameras. I told them I don’t drink alcohol, and they said I didn’t need to show my ID in that case. When we brought the drinks back to our table, I smelled the dark beer out of curiosity because I had never had it before. Then, a server came up and asked us to leave, claiming that I had drunk the beer. However, I’m allergic to alcohol, so I couldn’t have drunk it in the first place. The manager insisted that I drank it, not just smelled it. This is clear discrimination against Chinese people.”

Hmmm, they bring everyone their drinks but this reminds me though of a woman in one of the London pubs in their chain that was getting frustrated that no-one was serving her at her table, but she saw others getting their drinks delivered. She stomped out in the end after the team member refused to take her order himself and insisted she use the app.

“I feel violated, we ordered two pitchers exactly the same price, mango monster mash or something

This is the difference in ice/drink

The guy who served us was rude all night, insisted they were all the same even though I showed him the difference.

Don’t order here, wetherspoons please sack the only guy working here on 28/01/20″

Please sack a team member as he served cocktails in two different shaped jugs? Yeah, that sounds reasonable…

“We were just having lunch and the guy came up to us saying that we need to leave. We politely said that wr will leave after finishing our dinner but the guy was so rude and racist that he came back again and argued with us, forcing us to leave the place which is totally not accepted. He was the shift manager for the day 20/11/2023. I never expected this kind of behaviour as we have already paid for the food and atleast accept a decent service from the employees. Please have a look at your team and recruit people who are not racist.”

I wish reviewers would give a bit more information about why a team member actually came up and asked them to leave.

“Discrimination on a young adult with SEN needs. We come to this pub as young person finds atmosphere friendly and welcoming. Not today. Bully tactics by staff. 1 day we forgot passport she is 18. We have been served lots of time by staff at wetherspoons without ID. 1 staff member followed me to the table. Hassled me about her drinking alcohol beverage. Very abrupt, unfriendly and aggressive. He watched us for 5 minute’s and came over and said she had taken another sip for a drink. He snatched all the drinks from the table. They would not accept a photo on my phone, which I’ve used previously. Young person was upset and distrraught. Went to the toilet and was physically sick. We went onto have our food dropped on the table by the disgruntled staff member. Duty Manager was unsympathetic and crude. No training given how to deal with people with disabilities. All disabilities are not visible. Shame on wetherspoons we will not be going there again. Wasted £20.00. The food was cold and disgusting. Refused a refund.”

If this story is as it’s told, it’s not clear to me what the team member could have done other than been more polite and engaged better. Someone without valid ID has seemingly been drinking alcohol, the pub’s licence is at risk if they don’t check ID.

“I came here on Saturday, had one drink with my friend and decided to go outside in the seating area as it was too hot inside. There were empty glasses on our table which we just moved to the side, and while me and my friend were talking one of the staff (man with long hair) came over and asked if the glasses were finished with, I said they weren’t ours. About 5 minutes later we realised he had put 4 shot on our table, so we were confused and asked the people next to us if they were their shots, which they weren’t. So I assumed someone had bought them for us on the Wetherspoons app, and had 1 shot out of the 4, then the man came back over shouting at me for having a shot and demanding that I pay for it. I told him that he put them on our table so we assumed they have been bought for us, which he then said I said they were mine when he took them over to us (I didn’t, I didn’t even realise he bought them over as I was having a conversation with my friend). This staff member then started arguing with me and was SO rude to me over £2.50, which I did pay. I will not be coming back, as he was so rude to me and was shouting at me.”

It might have been easier not to take one of the drinks that they hadn’t ordered.

“I didn’t go there!!”

Another helpful review.

“Another wetherspoon which is more expensive than the Gosford Arms for a pint of Stella. No good for sight seeing as all you can see are bill boards of things that won’t necessarily come true in the eye of the public.”

Probably best to go to the Gosford Arms.

“I mean as most know they dont have music so that’s one sad thing.”

At least that makes me happy 🙂

Anyway, this seemed like a a well-run and organised JD Wetherspoon venue, although it does get very busy and although it’s over two floors it’s not the largest. Keenly priced, popular with students and a decent selection of real ales.

October 7, 2025
Leipzig – Stadtgeschichtliches Museum (St. Nicholas Church Time Capsule)

Time capsule probably isn’t the best terminology here as I’m not sure that this is what was originally intended, but it has transpired to be something like that.

These lead plates are written in Latin and they were walled into the foundation stone of St. Nicholas Church (Nikolai) during the Gothic reconstruction which started in 1513 and finished in 1535. At the time, this was a Catholic church, but in 1539 it became a Protestant church as part of the Reformation sweeping Europe and it remains that today.

I’ve had to go to AI to try and give me any indication of what it says on the lead plates and it came up with:

“…in nomine … patris et filii…”
(“In the name of the Father and the Son…”)
and a section below that seems to mention something like:
“…dominus … in … ecclesia…”
(“…lord … in the church…”)

And:

“…memoriam … perpetuam…”
(“…perpetual memory…”)
and
“…requiescat in pace…”
(“…may he rest in peace…”)

Whatever it said was likely really planned to be known only to God…..

October 7, 2025
Leipzig – Stadtgeschichtliches Museum (St James and St Peter from 1410)

Being slightly odd, I find medieval religious artworks to be intriguing and interesting because of how important they would have likely been to their owners or the congregations of the time. These two polychrome statues, made of linden wood, are in the museum and they think that they date to around 1410.

This is St. Peter with his keys and book with some effort made here to show his dignified drapery and a kindly, albeit now slightly weathered, face.

And here’s St. James the Greater with his scallop shell and walking staff, inspiring countless generations to go on pilgrimages and come back home with a shell. I’m not sure quite what look the sculptor was going for here, James looks like he’s just walked 90 miles of an LDWA 100, but there we go.

Bearing in mind that they’re over 600 years old, they’re still in rather good condition and retain a fair chunk of their original colour. There’s a warmth to these characters, I wouldn’t go quite as far to say that they’re almost cartoony, but they do have a warm and fluffy feel to them. They would have once been part of an altarpiece, but that element has been lost to history.

October 7, 2025
200 Years Ago in Norwich : Angry King George IV in Brighton

Another article in the Norwich Mercury of 200 years ago this week. Now, I accept this has little to do with Norwich, but it’s some early form of royal gossip of which there has been plenty more over the last 200 years. The story is likely true, as King George IV made only one more visit to Brighton following this story and he had made huge efforts to make the Brighton Pavilion a decadent and suitable home.

Its future as a residence for the Monarch was already reaching its end. King William IV did use it, but Queen Victoria wasn’t that surprised and delighted with it, so she sold it to the City of Brighton in 1850.

October 6, 2025
200 Years Ago in Norwich : Abandoned Wife

And another in my series of articles in the Norwich Mercury of 200 years ago this week. Back in 1825, if a man abandoned his wife and children without paying any support then he would face consequences from the local parish. Under the Poor Laws and Vagrancy Acts, if his deserted family became chargeable to the parish, local overseers could apply for his arrest and he could be punished as a rogue and vagabond, facing imprisonment or hard labour. The law’s primary concern was protecting the parish purse, not enforcing domestic responsibility, so prosecution generally occurred only when abandonment led to public expense as was the case here.

The £5 reward was a generous one, that’s worth over £250 in today’s money. The village of Beddingham is around ten miles south of Norwich and it’s clear that they were displeased that they were left funding William’s wife and children. It’s an interesting snapshot of the benefits system of the time, which did ensure at least that women and children were looked after.

October 6, 2025
200 Years Ago in Norwich : Rosary Cemetery Extended

And in my continuing series of posts from the Norwich Mercury of 200 years ago this week, there was an announcement about the extension of Rosary Cemetery. The cemetery was the first non-denominational one to have opened in the UK, with the first burial taking place in 1821.

The shareholders had met at the Old Library Room at St. Andrew’s (now demolished) and they were pleased at the progress made in the first few years of the cemetery’s operation. The first few years hadn’t really stressed the gravediggers (although it made it easier to guard against body-snatchers), as there was one burial in 1821, two burials in 1822 and three burials in 1824 (goodness knows what happened in 1823).

The decision made 200 years ago was very sensible as although their priority was actually keeping the church out of their affairs, there was to be a cholera epidemic in 1831 and the land at Rosary Cemetery was a useful overflow to church graveyards. And, in 1855, after a major national cholera epidemic, all new burials in churchyards were banned. The original five acres were filled by the end of the nineteenth century, so the additional land they had already acquired proved to be very useful.

“ROSARY BURIAL GROUND,
NEAR THE FOUNDRY BRIDGE ROAD.

At a MEETING of the Shareholders, held at the Old Library Room, St. Andrew’s, Norwich, on the 22nd of September, 1825:

MR. THOMAS MARTINEAU in the Chair,
Statements of the number of Interments since the appropriation of the Ground as a Public Burial Ground, and of the number of Shares engaged by individuals, having been read by the Registrar,

IT WAS RESOLVED,
That the Rosary, from its situation and the extent of ground belonging to it, is admitted to be well calculated for a permanent Cemetery, for persons of all denominations, and will be found of great benefit and utility.

That from the number of Interments which have already taken place, and the number of Shares engaged, it is expedient the proper measures should be adopted for permanently establishing and securing the whole of the ground originally proposed for a Cemetery, without further delay.

That the Solicitors be instructed to prepare forthwith the requisite deed or deeds, to be enrolled in Chancery, for vesting the Rosary Burial Ground in Trustees, to be held as a Public Place of Interment for ever, subject to the management of Directors, to be chosen from among the Shareholders.

That notice be given, that applications for Shares remaining undisposed of must be made on or before the 27th day of October instant, on which day the list shall be closed.

That applications for Shares be made to the undermentioned Shareholders: to Mr. Drummond, at the Rosary; or to the Solicitors, Messrs. Parkinson and Staff, St. Andrew’s, Norwich, of whom prospectuses of the plan may be obtained gratis.

Mr. Thomas Martineau
John Taylor
Joseph Geldart
Wm. Davey
Thomas Hitchen
John Athow
Robert Blake, jun.
Wm. Wilde
J. Darken
R. Miller
Samuel Wiseman
J. Mottram, sen.
E. Cotman
J. H. Balls
G. Sothern
Wm. Newson
Thomas Hawkins
Henry Bolingbroke
George Kitton

Mr. Isaac Wiseman
J. Mottram, jun.
Wm. Busley
Manning
E. Martin
Hewett
Rev. F. Tagart
Mr. Wm Chapman
W. Stark
G. Grout
C. Geldart
Wigham
E. Brown
Carter
Bluth
R. Morgan
Joseph Geldart, jun.
N. Rue”

October 6, 2025
Leipzig – Stadtgeschichtliches Museum (Door from 1200)

It’s a door. I sometimes wonder whether these things justify an entire riveting blog post of their own, but I remind myself that the museum has felt worthy enough to put it on display, so it’s the least I can do…..

This is an church door from Gnadenkirche Leipzig-Wahren, a church which is still standing today. The church was rebuilt in stone around 1200, which is from when the door is also dated, with the original having been made from wood.

The door itself is made of oak, but with wrought iron decoration which shows a sinful person being dragged by the devil into the flames of hell. What a lovely positive piece of imagery every time someone came in…. But, at the top, there is a twelve-leaf tree of life which is meant to represent salvation and hope. It’s very much damnation below and redemption above.

I’m not quite sure when it was decided that it would be better for this door to be in the museum rather than in the church, but I like the heritage that it has and that is has survived for so long in its faithful service.

October 6, 2025
Coventry – Flying Standard

Unlike the nearby Earl of Mercia, this JD Wetherspoon pub isn’t listed in the Good Beer Guide. It’s in what appears to be a grand old building (although that exterior is all mock Tudor and it’s a twentieth century construction) which is visually appealing and there’s a small external seating area as well. As usual, I’ll quote from JD Wetherspoon, who have operated the venue since 2000, about the origins of the pub name:

“This is named after the fondly remembered motor car, part of a range of models made in Coventry from 1903 until the 1960s. Standard’s first car, the Motor Victoria, was built in 1903 by Reginald Maudslay, in Much Park Street. The Standard Nine was launched in 1927. Inexpensive, at £198, its success saw Standard through the ‘slump’ and it was still going strong when, in 1936, the Flying Standard models made their début.”

I visited when the beer festival was taking place and there was quite a choice, with all of the beers in the festival being £1.95 a pint. There are a couple, namely from Titanic and Adnams, that I’m hoping to try although I haven’t seen them anywhere yet.

The first half I ordered was the Free Rein from Purity Brewing and this was really rather good with a tropical edge and it was smooth and fluffy. Quite punchy for 4.5% and a bargain for under £1 for a half.

The second half was the Blackberry Porter from Mauldons and it tasted as if there was as much hedgerow as blackberry in it, the beer was quite rustic. But, I like robust flavours and I like Mauldons, with the lingering taste being pleasant and it was under £1 for a half…..

The new light bites menu has been launched nationally this week, alongside another round of price increases on food and drink.

As this is a JD Wetherspoon venue, I always like to have a little look at the reviews so see how they’ve annoyed customers over the years. It is though really quite positively reviewed, so they’ve delighted a lot more customers than they’ve seemingly annoyed.

“So earlier this afternoon I visited this spoons with a friend as we fancied some drinks. We got our drinks and were sipping on them when I realized there was a fly that had entered my drink. I was absolutely shocked and took this to the bartender, they were shocked too and called for the manager. I had about half of my drink left when I brought this issue up and there was no I was going to drink it. I spoke to the manager and expressed my concern and she didn’t seem to care one bit. I asked if I could get another one and she said that no I couldn’t as I only had a sip left. I was sickened by this service and treatment as I’ve never had such a horrible experience before. Usually if there’s something wrong or an issue with a drink or a dish (say hair was found in it), it always get taken off the bill oror you’re given another one. But in this case I was given such sickening treatment and the manager didn’t bother to even solve the issue. I’ve worked previously in restaurants and hospitality and we’re trained and taught the opposite of this behavior. We’re instructed to treat the customer with respect and prioritize their thoughts, something that was far from what I had experienced today.”

I think I’d notice a fly in my drink before I had nearly finished it…. Or I’d just take the bloody thing out and carry on.

“Went there really wanting to have a good English breakfast. Didnt work out very well. The food is good.. many options on the menu to choose from, but i have visited weatherspoons before and this was not an experience i liked. I went to get a cup of coffee left half my breakfast on my plate to come back to it. Wen i came back, the table was cleared. As i checked with the servers i received an answer as they thought i was done, but i had half my breakfast still left. Didnt feel like sitting there any more after this. Wont visit the place again.”

Sit near the coffee machine and watch the table like a hawk when not at it. It’s the only way…

“One of the management team (Andrew), was quite rude when we had our food stolen, lack of management skills and communication”

There are a fair number of these reviews, either they have efficient waiting staff or there’s a hungry customer permanently waiting to pounce.

“On visiting Coventry my husband and I went into Witherspoons for our lunch I wish we hadn’t bothered it was really awful, we went in by one door but was blocked by tables and chairs so close together you would not get a person through so we tried another door and found ourselves on the upper floor but to get a table to sit and have a meal to go up into the lift, we got out of lift but once again found we could not get to a table I forget to mention I have to use a walker to get around I could not get through any ethereal at all so husband started moving tables and chairs to get me through. We got a table but the meal was really awful we ordered gammon,chips they do not serve pineapple only fried eggs with the gammon my egg was buried underneath the chips and peas we eat very little I just wanted to be out of there. Before we left needed to go to the ladies it was disgusting no flush the handled broke but no maintenance so we just moved a lot tables and chairs for me to get through to get out we will never visit a witherspoons ever again”

What a lovely lunch they had, I always love stories about how people battle through even through adversity.

“As with all Witherspoon’s it lacks any sort of atmosphere, people sat in small groups quietly eating and sipping there order,tv,s dotted around showing only sport channels with the volume turned down. the smokers area is a total joke a few large brollys on a very busy pavement, with only a extendable webbing barrier between not smoking area and people who may or mat not smoke if they wish just millimetre away,not the cheapest beer in town ,disinterested staff,turning into a rest home”

If we’re defining atmosphere as lots of music, then I like pubs with no atmosphere.

“Tried to order six pints of Greene king and was turned away. Outrageous”

They should be listed in the Good Beer Guide for doing this.

“Food was stone cold but staff was fantastic in there”

I like the bluntness of this one. Anyway, I digress once again.

I rather like this pub and I’ve visited a few times over the years. The service was friendly on this visit and I liked the manager was pro-actively engaging about the beer festival, they seemed quite excited by the whole arrangement.

October 6, 2025
Coventry – Triumph Brewhouse

As I’m in Coventry for the weekend, I thought it useful to try and visit a few more pubs. Richard isn’t here this LDWA weekend, he’s doing specialist things in Miami, but I am happy to battle on visiting Coventry pubs bravely on my own. This is the Triumph Brewhouse which sells keg beers, including those it brews themselves.

The venue was busy, perhaps boosted by Coventry City playing football at the time of my visit. They beat Sheffield Wednesday 5-0, so there was rather an upbeat feel to the pub.

The beer selection and the beers that they brew themselves, alongside some others including from the nearby Twisted Barrel.

It’s more than just a bar though, they serve light meals, coffees, milk shakes and there seems to have been an effort to source locally. It feels a little bit more like a cafe, but it’s clear that beer is an important element of their offering.

I thought that I should try two of the beers that are brewed on-site. The service here was friendly and engaging, the whole arrangement had an inviting vibe to it.

My first beer was the 1919 from Triumph Brewery, a clean tasting bitter with a malty edge and a flavour of Twix.

The second half was the 1987, also brewed in house, which was a wheat beer which had a bitter finish. There was plenty of wheat in this (handy for a wheat beer), banana notes and a pleasant taste, although it didn’t feel entirely rounded.

The whole arrangement felt like something of a family affair and it seemed like a venue which was welcoming to the whole community. I rather liked it here, it had an on-trend feel to it and the venue was clean and comfortable. All rather lovely.

October 4, 2025
Leipzig – Stadtgeschichtliches Museum (Johann Friedrich of Saxony Playing Chess)

I love a bit of political symbolism in artworks (I don’t get out much) and this is a suitably interesting example of it. The painting shows Elector Johann Friedrich I of Saxony (1503-1554) on the left, also known as Johann Friedrich the Magnanimous, who was captured in 1547 after the Battle of Mühlberg during the Schmalkaldic War. He was taken prisoner by Emperor Charles V, and his defeat marked a major blow to the Protestant cause within the Holy Roman Empire.

This portrait, which was painted after his capture, symbolises both his imprisonment and his resilience. The chessboard here is important, it is meant to represent the great game of power between the emperor and the elector. The artist, who I don’t think is known, is showing Johann as a man of calm demeanour and a man who is still playing the game, even in defeat.

Johann was actually already in checkmate in political terms, although he did get freedom in September 1552. As an aside, he married Sibylle of Cleves, who was sister of Anne of Cleeves, perhaps best known (rightly or wrongly) for actually managing not to get killed by her husband King Henry VIII.

October 4, 2025