Young Ivan kindly invited me on a CAMRA coach trip, an experience that I haven’t been on before. In short, for these evening trips he organises four pubs to visit, keeps it a secret from everyone on the trip (other than the driver) and then we drink beer and eat crisps at the pubs. It’s a concept I was on board with, literally in this case. There isn’t really a pre-party to this whole event, but three of us met at the Bell in Norwich, the JD Wetherspoon venue in the heart of the city. As for the beers, there were five guests and their normal selection of regular real ales, with the prices all being at the lower end of the scale.
I went for the Honey Porter from Conwy Brewery, a sweet dark beer with a slight honey flavour which was all a little quirky.
Ivan had quickly eaten a main and a side, which I thought was very sensible and I should have got there earlier to do something similar. But, I knew that there were plenty of bar snacks ahead during the evening, although I was disappointed to discover that Ivan didn’t walk up and down the coach selling snacks en route. There’s a learning point there for future trips.
200 years ago this week in the Theatre Royal Norwich there was a performance of the play Paul Pry on 20 May 1826. The theatre had reopened in late March 1826, so this performance advertised in the Norwich Mercury would have been one of the first in the new shiny building.
Paul Pry was a comedy that had become the theatrical sensation of the decade, so it’s not a surprising choice that Norwich Theatre Royal made to put it on. The play, written by John Poole and first performed in 1825, had become something of a public obsession, like an early day Inbetweeners. Well, maybe not quite like that and more like Ever Decreasing Circles, but the catchphrase “I hope I don’t intrude” became a popular refrain that lingered in the national vocabulary for some time. By the time this play was put on the audience knew at least what they were getting.
The character of Paul Pry is fundamentally unlikeable and a man without boundaries or self-awareness. For this performance, the provincial theatre here in Norwich was nicely on-trend, the cultural excitement had moved fast in the days before the railways had reached the city. There’s a pub called Paul Pry in Rayleigh in Essex which is a reminder of this piece of cultural excitement, although it’s operated by Greene King so I won’t add anything further on that. I can’t see that the play is performed any more, but perhaps there’s a need for a comeback at some point….
We had what could only be described as a sub-optimal match in the league last week where we lost 8-1. And next up was the top division team the King’s Head, so my aspiration was to try and not to lose 8-1 again. There’s nothing like a bit of optimism to start the night, so I focused on having a light and functional Schöfferhofer.
The Sublime from Floc, a tropical edge and a bit of citrus. There’s Luke the Lion practising in the background, we thought we’d get there early in the hope of only losing 7-2 if we upped our game from last week. Marginal gains and all that.
Then the draw with Graham from the King’s Head, we were ready to roll. I liked their cards which had their players on the other side.
I was drawn last in both the singles and doubles, the latter always gives the challenge of it potentially being the deciding match. This is the sort of pressure that elite athletes train for. I mostly cope by looking concerned, eating crisps and pretending that I have a plan.
Off we go, promptly losing the first match.
Kirsty pulled it back for us and the thought of losing 9-0 subsidised. This was positive as there are only so many character-building experiences one team should be expected to endure in two weeks.
The snacks then appeared. Some teams rely on coaching, tactics and psychological resilience. We rely quite heavily on crisps.
To cheer me up a bit, as we were losing 3-1 at this point, I went for the Peach Me Up from Woodland Brewing, a gentle and not overly tart sour which went well with the M&Ms.
Then PJ played a robust and confident game, which is exactly the sort of thing we needed, not least because some of us had already begun quietly calculating how bad the final score might look on paper. I decided to referee this one to distract me from doing too many of those calculations.
And then it was my game. Channelling everything that Zak and Nathan have taught me, or what I’ve learned when refereeing, my back cushion game actually worked, with 5 balls in the 100 pocket and 1 ball in the 200 pocket that I actually aimed for rather than just fell in by mistake. This was unusually decadent play for me and likely won’t be repeated all year….. And it was enough for it to be 3-3 at the end of the singles.
Luke the Lion treated me to a Flump for scoring over 1,000, which is precisely the sort of vice-captaincy that builds morale. He is definitely becoming the best vice-captain in the league, and I say this not just because he brings sweets, although that is clearly a major part of modern leadership.
Ivan came along to say nice things to me, although he disappointed me by telling me that the CAMRA coach trip I’m on with him on Friday night isn’t going to the Ber Strete Gates.
Kirsty and PJ had a dilemma towards the end of their game as Kirsty would need to get the ball into the 200 and then also hit the final ball in the 200. And she only went and bloody did it, one of the best doubles games that I’ve seen. Positively optimal. Then more delights came for our team, with Luke and Vaughan taking the pressure of Terri and myself by winning their doubles match.
We very nearly won the final game as Terri got the 200 final shot in, but the peg wobbled and fell over. But Ivan was the true star of the show, nearly collapsing the table while refereeing. I liked his style. Not necessarily in a safety-conscious way, but certainly in an entertainment sense.
And 5-4 in what was a great game, although quite stressful for me once again when it was close. The King’s Head are a lovely team and it was all very close. We were one of the first cup matches to be played, so it might be a while for the draw for the next round giving us plenty of time to become overconfident and then immediately regret it.
And my usual rule is that if we win, then I go to the King’s Head after the match which was particularly appropriate this evening. Thanks to PJ, Ivan and Julian for coming along, a very lovely night and many thanks to the King’s Head for a fun match.
James and I always look out for what we consider decadent dining options, which normally involve market stalls or places that serve chicken. I’ve walked by here a number of times and been tempted to go in, so when James and I discovered that our preferred market lunch option was closed, we came here. This venue is one of two in the chain, with the other being located in Milton Keynes.
The menu is quite substantial and the ordering system is a little unclear, although ultimately it’s seat yourself and then go to the counter to order. There is an online ordering system but it doesn’t have the discounted prices available.
The lunch menu and I wanted this, so I ordered at the counter. I accidentally decided that I should also order five chicken wings as that meant I got another five free as it was Wings Wednesday. There are times that I try and be dignified and moderate, but then things go a little awry….
The interior was mostly quite dirty when we entered with only one clean table, although that seemed to be more a lack of staff rather than a lack of effort.
There were a range of sauces in a style similar to Nando’s although I didn’t use these as the food arrived with more than enough sauce already on it.
I went for the £5 chicken and rice box with the Screaming Hot sauce and Korean BBQ, along with five chicken wings with the Screaming Hot sauce and the free five chicken wings which had the Tingly sauce on. Firstly, the Screaming Hot sauce was lacking in any sort of heat which for something advertised as “try it if you dare!” is perhaps rather sub-optimal. The Korean BBQ was a bit too sweet for me and the whole arrangement was also a little salty.
The chicken and rice box were rather swamped by the BBQ sauce and the rice was a bit bland, with the chicken pieces being tender but also lacking in much depth of flavour. The chicken wings were generous in size, as it included the entire wing, and they were all fine although they weren’t particularly impactful in terms of the taste with the chicken seeming to be slightly watery. I preferred the wings where the skin was blackened as it gave it some texture, but everything was cooked appropriately. But, if I had my way, chicken wings would always be crispy.
In terms of value for money, this was very reasonable and the portion size was generous for the price paid, although I accept that I leaned into the offers that they had. I struggled to finish all of the food because of the portion size, so that was a positive that I didn’t leave hungry.
James went for chicken pieces and fries, which fell outside of their lunchtime offer, but he’s far more decadent than me. He enjoyed his, probably rating it all a little higher than me. James also made less mess than me, it took me some time to get the sauce off my fingers although they did provide gloves which would have been far more sensible for me to use. However, James would have commented negatively on that as he has a laddish side, so I didn’t.
The team members here were friendly and personable throughout, and they did eventually get back on top of cleanliness in the venue. It’s all well reviewed online and it was a perfectly agreeable lunch, although I’m not sure that there was anything unique enough here to make me want to visit again. This might be one of those times where the problem is the quality of the meat they’re buying, rather than any particular problems of how they’re cooking it.
They are perhaps a little unfortunate to be so close to a Wingstop who have some dry rub options which can pack some spicy hit, as well being more flavoursome chicken going by my previous experiences. However, it’s all on trend and the restaurant was reasonably busy for a lunch-time, so they look as though they’re doing well. Anyway, I wasn’t blown away by the meal, but it was competent, the team members were helpful and I might return to try some other chicken items on the menu as locations are often best tried twice.
There’s really not much of excitement visible at Anglia Square now, certainly not without me going on the top deck of a bus to see over the top of the hoarding that has now been put up. It’s a shame that they didn’t put some plastic screens up so people could see in, that seems quite common at many sites and would have likely interested a fair number of people here. Anyway, these are the only photos that I could take of the site.
This won’t be the most riveting of posts as there wasn’t really any drama. But, I had the opportunity to pop overseas for the weekend and that’s not something that I was going to deny myself. That meant a train journey from Norwich to Stansted Airport which was a very reasonable £14 booked on a complex ticketing arrangement.
Waiting at the platform on a sunny Friday morning. It was already too hot.
Here comes the train sweeping in and it was clear that there weren’t that many commuters waiting to go to Cambridge, which meant for a quiet journey in.
And there’s my meal deal arrangement from the Co-op, very healthy as I’m sure that everyone would agree. Co-op sandwiches are not of the highest quality, the bacon is usually excessively fatty and the chicken has not been lavished with taste, but the prawn sandwich is agreeable enough.
This was my view for most of the journey. Well, specifically I mean the empty seats, I didn’t have my head on the table.
The waiting room at Cambridge railway station where I had a wait for the next train of around thirty minutes. A quick word on my rail ticket which technically required me to get off at Cambridge North and then get onto another operator’s train to take me the short distance to Cambridge. With the guard’s permission, I just stayed on the same train to avoid that change, but it’s that quirky switch to a Great Northern train which is why the ticket was much cheaper than the usual fare even to Cambridge. To be honest, at times it feels that securing agreement for an international treaty would be easier than getting cheap rail fares, the system really is sub-optimal in many ways.
The view over Cambridge railway station from the bridge over the platforms.
The only photo that I have of the second train and it was also relatively quiet. Fortunately, everything was running on time and there were no delays. As a side issue, I note that my bag looks in excellent condition there.
I got muddled up at Stansted Airport railway station and managed to leave the ticket gates at the lift which I’ve never used before. I didn’t expect it to go straight into the terminal, I usually meander around some ramps to get there, so that was some operational efficiency that I hadn’t expected.
With that, I had arrived on time and I could start to think about my flight….
With two of our regular team unable to make this week, we had a little bit of excitement to get a team together tonight for this third match. However, we were able to get six players together and the rest of the team spent the early evening practising whilst I focused on finding the best pairing of beer and bar snacks. I went for 0% Guinness and Squares, quite a classy little combination.
Look at the contemplation from Cal before the other team arrived…… We were in the zone. Well, I was eating crisps and was pre-stressed, but the others were more positive.
We have some dramatic photos of me in this post thanks to Cal, who was helpfully documenting matters. Here’s myself and my very capable vice-captain Luke as we did the draw. Thanks to Cal for the clipboard and for the printing as the not quite as capable team captain managed to forget to bring a score-sheet.
And here’s the draw.
I thought that I’d referee the first game which was with the first time league player Cal as I try to be helpful.
We had a lot of interesting table layouts during the evening. I didn’t doubt that Cal was good, but he was very calm and collected with an entirely competent performance. It transpired that his score was the highest singles score of the evening, so I’ve decided that we’ll keep him.
I felt that Cal’s victory meant that I should reward myself with more Squares. Leadership takes many forms.
The next game was with Vaughan and once again I was ignored when I said that I didn’t want any games going to the final ball as they’re too stressful for me. He won the game by just ten points on the final ball…..
PJ’s game went the same way, but the final ball result went our way, which meant that we were 3-0 ahead and I could put us 4-0 up if I was any bloody good.
Thanks to Cal, there are the occasional photos of me playing in this post. I don’t wish to talk about my game though. OK, perhaps I should…. It was very close throughout, but my opponent was very strong at the end and I lost by 990 points to 850. My usual strategy is to try and score 1,000 points and that would have been dead handy here. Had I scored another 150 points, the result would have been completely different. I intend to apply this insight to all my future sporting disappointments.
Cal getting ready to serve the meal of snacks. I had ensured that this was served after my game as I wanted something to look forwards to and to settle my nerves.
Hmmmm, Taytos…. Next up was Gabriel, who insisted on getting to the final shot despite it being made very clear by Luke and myself that this is very stressful for us. Gabriel didn’t make this one, but his game was solid and he was very close.
The final player in the singles was Luke and the game was again very close throughout, he lost by just 40 points. This all meant that we had gone from 3-0 ahead to 3-3, so thoughts of the Black Stars last week came to mind…
Gabriel started to teach various players some hand gestures, but I didn’t get involved with that. Whatever he was actually doing remains unclear to me and I doubt whether any of it is recognised by Sport England.
And then there were three games in the doubles. PJ and Cal surged to nearly 900 ahead, but then the brave players on the other team clawed it right back. But, PJ and Cal triumphed meaning that Luke and I could win the whole game if we just won our game. We didn’t, which made it 4-4 and which put all the pressure on Vaughan and Gabriel. Suddenly the room had the atmosphere of a courtroom waiting for a verdict, except with better crisps. But they surprised and delighted the Artichoke Hearts with a win, a punchy performance which once again went down to the final ball.
A very hard won set of games, but full credit to the Coach and Horses team for not only some very close games but also being a marvellous group of people. There is a real pleasure in playing a team who are both good company and good players, even if it does make winning rather harder than I personally prefer. Cal’s first league appearance was alarmingly competent, which is always a little unsettling when given that my strategy is to build a team culture around anxious improvisation.
I have a new rule that every time the team wins, I go to the King’s Head to celebrate. With no Julian sr, as he’s in Liverpool, it was Cal who was called upon to escort me to the pub. A more professional athlete might have gone home, stretched and hydrated, but I went to the pub and declared the evening a success, which is broadly the same thing. We only went for one, although I got muddled up and we stayed until the pub closed. This wasn’t my fault though, these things happen when a strict sporting recovery protocol is not properly supervised.
And I’d like to note that it’s a fine team, a great atmosphere throughout and it’s all very exciting. And stressful when every game goes down to the wire. Next game is in Coltishall in two weeks and I’ll pretend that everything is under control.
I’m enjoying this. Although I won’t show that of course.
So, the shopping centre at Anglia Square is pretty much all gone now. There are some walls that are still coming down, but it’s nearly entirely rubble and there’s no evidence at all of the Greggs that once stood here. It’ll now be the turn of the larger buildings to be demolished, they present different challenges and may well require specialist asbestos removing handling as well.
I wouldn’t say that I was pre-annoyed when turning up at the Artichoke for our team’s second game, but I was certainly pre-stressed. We were playing the Black Stars and they have their own branded uniform and everything, so they’re evidently a force to be reckoned with and not just a bunch of accidental amateurs. So I thought that I’d calm my nerves with half a cider and an orange juice & lemonade, a drink combination that either suggested moderation or an imminent collapse.
And it was time for the draw and many thanks to Luke for arranging some tags for our team so that I don’t have to tear up little bits of paper. I’m not suggesting the little bits of paper made me look amateurish, but they did perhaps hint at an operation not yet fully entirely touched by modernity. I didn’t mind who I secured in the draw, but I just didn’t want Dave Brewer as he’s in the singles final on Saturday. I’m not saying the other players are inferior to Dave, but he has an aura of invincibility and it would be unlikely that I’d draw him.
And just bloody typical. Dave in the singles and doubles. But, it’s important to remain calm and I just didn’t want a repeat of last week against the Serengeti when three matches went down to the final ball, so I mentioned that we should avoid those situations.
The first game was Andrew against PJ and they ignored my instructions about the final ball, which was disappointing as I had delivered them in the tone of a man who absolutely did not want to be ignored. Andrew went first and he was ahead by 760 to 580 with that final ball left.
Close…. But, as I’ve discovered, being close in this game is often rather sub-optimal.
And PJ was ruthless, he took the opportunity to win the game by just twenty points. I needed a sit down.
The second game and another final shot. Phil knocked the black over and that meant that Vaughan won the game, putting us 2-0 up. But there was an excellent break by Phil of 980 in the match, a very good game. It was then my game against Dave (pictured looking confident on the right) and what could possibly go wrong…. PJ and Vaughan only made their league debuts last week and now they’re looking like established players, it’s a joy to behold and all that.
My only photo of the game and the blurriness was not Dave moving so fast the camera couldn’t catch him, it’s because I was moderately shaking. Anyway, let’s not linger here, Dave pulled 900 ahead and I decided the only tactic was to knock enough 10s and 20s in to catch up slowly but surely without him noticing. The bar dropped and it meant that I would need something of a miracle, but fortunately, the ball went in the 100 and I was able to get the final 200 shot in as well. My strategy for the 200 was not to think about it, but play it quickly, which worked. I hope that I haven’t dented Dave’s confidence for the final of the singles on Saturday.
I don’t drink gin and tonic, but I needed one, along with a Flump, to steady my nerves. It was, in its way, a balanced response to events really and having access to an extensive array of bar snacks is quite important to me.
Thanks to Julian (sr) for supplying these for the teams. And thanks also to manager Cal for offering me therapy as the close games piled up one after another. Incidentally, he’s one of the best people to work with behind a bar and I am unanimous in that. He’s on the team and is practising regularly for when his time comes. I’m sure I’ve mentioned, but Tayto’s have become one of my favourite crisp options.
Julian (sr) arrived to look at the results so far. Although by this stage someone, who shall remain nameless, had already shared the result of the Brewer-White match with numerous other league players and about half the Lionhearts so news was leaking out to the local bar billiards world meaning discretion had not especially survived the evening.
However, the Black Stars were just too formidable for us to hold back, and Mark, Neil and then Russell won their games before they also won all three doubles games which I thought was a bit greedy but I didn’t say anything. Which isn’t to say that we didn’t come very close, with Terri and Luke scoring over 1,000 in their game. Terri has definitely mastered the 20s shot and Luke manages to knock some huge scores out, he obtained a break of 870 in his singles match.
And special mention to Gabriel on the right here who was playing in his first league match and secured a break of 660 in his first game. That’s more than I think most people get in their first competitive game and he’s going to be our secret weapon, I just know it.
As some background, the Black Stars only lost two matches last year, with one of them being against the Artichoke team. So Dave admitted that when they were three-nil down, there was some déjà vu coming back in. But we’re not unhappy with losing 6-3, it’s a long season and, as I am obliged to say, it is not all about winning. It is about having a fun night out in a pub. Unless we win, in which case it is at least partly about that. I also didn’t go to the King’s Head after as I’m reserving that only for when we win, but I did sit for a while to calm down.
We’re at home to the Coach and Horses next week and I’m very much looking forward to it. It might be just a little unnerving at times, but it’s a lot of fun and thanks again to the Black Stars for a really rather lovely evening.
I’ve been planning to come here for a long time and fortunately James was not difficult to persuade to come with me, perhaps because he correctly sensed that I was not going to stop mentioning it. James and I last visited this place when it was Orford Plaice, when he compared it to a Wimpy. Anyway, it’s been here for over a year now and it’s always looked busy when I’ve meandered by.
And there’s the tagline, it’s Korean chicken which is nice with or without the rice. I like direct taglines, there’s no need for a manifesto when they have chicken.
There’s the menu board and the prices were a little towards the higher end, but that’s not unreasonable as it’s all on-trend, they have exposed brick, confidence and a modern font on the screens.
Customers order using tablets on the counter and I’m very happy with that whole process. It lets me spend a little longer seeing what I want to order, it lets me look at the options and it’s also handy for those who don’t speak the local language to be able to get a better understanding of the whole arrangement.
James ordered chicken with a load of vegetables. I think he’s approached middle age with a concern about his health and an acceptance of adulthood. As for me, I’m sure that I’ll be equally concerned about similar things when I approach middle age in a few years. Despite having ordering second, James’s food arrived first, which I outwardly accepted with a moderate amount of grace and inwardly treated as a small personal injustice. On the positive side, the team member soon called my name and handed me my food and he was friendly and jovial.
As I evidently have more basic tastes, I went for a chicken box and a side of spring rolls. I didn’t expect this mound of chicken if I’m being honest, the portion size was way more than I was anticipating. It’s fortunate that I’m quite greedy and I am not easily intimidated by excessive quantities of fried food. There was plenty of sauce on the chicken pieces, which were mainly thigh meat, but they were tender and had a depth of taste and flavour. The sauce is a sticky red Yang-Yum sauce and after fifteen minutes of eating all this chicken, my hands were certainly sticky. The spring rolls were fine, crispy on the exterior and they had a pleasant taste, although I would note that they weren’t really any better than most frozen spring rolls and I didn’t get the impression that there was a grandmother in the kitchen who had devoted a lifetime of work to developing them.
It was busy during our visit, but by the time I had finished, everyone had left or perhaps that was because I was so covered in sauce other customers were just put off their food. Carefully ensuring I didn’t end up with sauce on the camera lens, I took this photo on the way out of the seating area.
The whole atmosphere here is laid-back, informal and it does feel on-trend and interesting. The food quality is high, the portion size was generous and because of that, I felt that there was value for money. They have a loyalty scheme but it requires twenty purchases to get a free chicken box and that’s too many required visits to entice me back for the moment. But, I’m sure that I’ll return here at some point and I left feeling that I had eaten enough decent quality food, so I’ll take that as a win.
On a side issue, James and I will have to come up with a plan for a mini food series before Norwich Market 2027 begins in a few months. The anticipation….
