QuestionTime With PPB, Instead of Sir Robin Day .

[PPB]

Nope - it really, really isn't. I can't stand the Christmas market.

It's massively overcrowded. It's cold. It's a fucking rip off. It's normally packed with people who don't normally get on but have been frogmarched there by fellow colleagues 'as it's Christmas'. The beer is shit, it's overpriced, you have to pay a deposit for your glass, the tat they sell is the sort of stuff that looks lovely in the setting on the market stall but once you get it home it's just tat that doesn't go with anything.

I will accept some of the food is pretty good though.

Brum is fine, but why bother standing around in the freezing cold drinking shit, vastly overpriced lager with people smoking around you when there are some awesome pubs not a 2 minute walk away which have a roof and heating?

My advice - go to Brum, grab a bite to eat at the market and then find a decent pub and get warm again and get the hell out of there.

Thanks for that Langers, I'd heard mixed views about the whole thing and was asking myself if it was really worth being out in the freezing cold and probably raining weather eating a sausage whilst looking at Christmas tat !! You have confirmed that it really isn't worth it . Ok so my next question. Can you name a couple of good pubs, proper pubs around there, or close ( not ya modern trendy pubs ) that are worth a visit ?

 

[Langers]

Thanks for that Langers, I'd heard mixed views about the whole thing and was asking myself if it was really worth being out in the freezing cold and probably raining weather eating a sausage whilst looking at Christmas tat !! You have confirmed that it really isn't worth it . Ok so my next question. Can you name a couple of good pubs, proper pubs around there, or close ( not ya modern trendy pubs ) that are worth a visit ?

Of course I can. Decent pubs within walking 5 minutes walking distance:

The Wellington (Bennetts Hill - between the Cathedral and the market, so a 2 minute walk away - you can even take hot food in and they supply plates and cutlery. So you could get some fodder from the market and eat it in the Welly with a proper pint of beer in the warm. A vast array of ales, probably my favourite pub in Brum, it's a gem)
The Old Contemptibles (by Snow Hill Station)
The Post Office Vaults (right next to the market - very small but great beers and quite unique)
Pure Bar (new, swanky Purity brewery bar - does amazing food. I know you said 'not trendy' but this is trendy but still traditional if that makes any sense!!)
The Craven Arms (next to Mailbox - same brewery as the Wellington and the Lych Gate Tavern in Wolverhampton)
The Briar Rose (Wetherspoons pub a few yards further down the hill from the Wellington - one of the better Wetherspoons pubs for food and the beer is very well kept)
Old Joint Stock (off Colmore Row opposite the Cathedral - not the best ale pub compared to the Welly etc but still very pleasant)

 

[PPB]

Of course I can. Decent pubs within walking 5 minutes walking distance:

The Wellington (Bennetts Hill - between the Cathedral and the market, so a 2 minute walk away - you can even take hot food in and they supply plates and cutlery. So you could get some fodder from the market and eat it in the Welly with a proper pint of beer in the warm. A vast array of ales, probably my favourite pub in Brum, it's a gem)
The Old Contemptibles (by Snow Hill Station)
The Post Office Vaults (right next to the market - very small but great beers and quite unique)
Pure Bar (new, swanky Purity brewery bar - does amazing food. I know you said 'not trendy' but this is trendy but still traditional if that makes any sense!!)
The Craven Arms (next to Mailbox - same brewery as the Wellington and the Lych Gate Tavern in Wolverhampton)
The Briar Rose (Wetherspoons pub a few yards further down the hill from the Wellington - one of the better Wetherspoons pubs for food and the beer is very well kept)
Old Joint Stock (off Colmore Row opposite the Cathedral - not the best ale pub compared to the Welly etc but still very pleasant)

:icon_lol: Langers, was I ever in any doubt as to you being able to name drop a couple of good, proper pubs ! The Wellington sounds favourable. I like the idea of being able to take the food from the market, into the warmth, with a proper pint on the table and eat in comfort.


I might even have to write a ' PPB Blog ' about some parts of my visit . Now theres a thought !

 

[MARKakaJIM]

Think i'll be in the Wellington on Saturday night, meeting up with some lads from University and we've moved away from Wolverhampton seen as Blast off has died, tried to piece together a bit of a pub crawl from previous outings with different people for them to experience a mix of what Birmingham's got to offer, hoping to fit the Post Office Vaults in somewhere so i can get myself a few wheat beers!

 

[Langers]

Think i'll be in the Wellington on Saturday night, meeting up with some lads from University and we've moved away from Wolverhampton seen as Blast off has died, tried to piece together a bit of a pub crawl from previous outings with different people for them to experience a mix of what Birmingham's got to offer, hoping to fit the Post Office Vaults in somewhere so i can get myself a few wheat beers!

One thing about the Vaults is that it'll be RAMMED with it being so close to the market, especially on a Saturday night.

Also - you can actually get the updated ale list for the Wellington online - I can't link to it from work, but google it and you should be able to see the beer board which changes every hour or so.

 

[Jolemai]

To be fair, the Wellington is usually packed too.

 

[Langers]

To be fair, the Wellington is usually packed too.

Yes this is true - but if you get there at a decent time, you'll be fine for seats, especially upstairs. The Vaults is chocablock any time after 5pm and with the market being right outside the front door, it'll be very very busy.

Though I suppose on a weekend evening, the Welly will always be busy!

 

[Jolemai]

The Wellington has an upstairs. Could have sworn I knew that...

:icon_eek::icon_redface::facepalm:

 

[Langers]

The Wellington has an upstairs. Could have sworn I knew that...

:icon_eek::icon_redface::facepalm:

It didn't used to - the refurb is fairly recent TBF.

 

[Tyrannosaurus Dan]

We'll be doing a few of the aforementioned pubs as well as the German market on the 13th, hopefully it'll only be an hour of standing in the cold! It is a tradition of our Christmas meet ups that we always end up in Bacchus Bar before staggering to the train station so I'm sure we'll be ending the night there once again.

 

[MARKakaJIM]

One thing about the Vaults is that it'll be RAMMED with it being so close to the market, especially on a Saturday night.

Also - you can actually get the updated ale list for the Wellington online - I can't link to it from work, but google it and you should be able to see the beer board which changes every hour or so.

It doesn't take many people for the Vaults to be rammed in all fairness, it was a sunny Saturday afternoon last time i went in there though so it wasn't an issue, had similar problems with The Wellington this sort of time last year though when we had a works Christmas drink, place was rammed.

There's enough decent bars between New Street and Snow Hill though so we'll bounce around a few places and find ourselves some space, then when some of the older/weaker alumni have gone on their way we'll head on down to see what Snobs is like now that it's moved across town.

 

[Langers]

It doesn't take many people for the Vaults to be rammed in all fairness, it was a sunny Saturday afternoon last time i went in there though so it wasn't an issue, had similar problems with The Wellington this sort of time last year though when we had a works Christmas drink, place was rammed.

There's enough decent bars between New Street and Snow Hill though so we'll bounce around a few places and find ourselves some space, then when some of the older/weaker alumni have gone on their way we'll head on down to see what Snobs is like now that it's moved across town.

True - I tend to use the Vaults as a place to meet people for a quick beer straight after work before moving on somewhere else. As you say, it's normally packed.

Where has Snobs moved to? Only went there once, and that was pretty much a year to the day when I was dressed as George Harrison. Bloody fun night out actually.

 

[MARKakaJIM]

True - I tend to use the Vaults as a place to meet people for a quick beer straight after work before moving on somewhere else. As you say, it's normally packed.

Where has Snobs moved to? Only went there once, and that was pretty much a year to the day when I was dressed as George Harrison. Bloody fun night out actually.

It's down by what was Oceana now, just round the corner from Arcadian, think it's right on the corner of Smallbrook Queensway where that horrible old office block bridges the street, they've needed to move for a while to be honest, the old place had been covered in scaffold for years and it looked awful, hopefully not damaged the atmosphere of the place though.

 

[Langers]

It's down by what was Oceana now, just round the corner from Arcadian, think it's right on the corner of Smallbrook Queensway where that horrible old office block bridges the street, they've needed to move for a while to be honest, the old place had been covered in scaffold for years and it looked awful, hopefully not damaged the atmosphere of the place though.

Oh I know where you mean. I hope that the atmosphere will be the same as it's a good laugh in there. I don't see why it can't retain the good vibe if the same people still go there. You'll have to report back for us.

 

[Jolemai]

Never saw the appeal of Snobs to be honest. Can only ever rate it as "it was alright i suppose".

 

[Langers]

Never saw the appeal of Snobs to be honest. Can only ever rate it as "it was alright i suppose".

It's no 5th Avenue but I really enjoyed my night there. Helped I was pretty lubricated by the time we got there of course, but it was a good laugh.

 

[MARKakaJIM]

Oh I know where you mean. I hope that the atmosphere will be the same as it's a good laugh in there. I don't see why it can't retain the good vibe if the same people still go there. You'll have to report back for us.

I think a lot will depend on what the new venue is like inside, i'm sure they tried an 'alternative' night in Wolverhampton Oceana for a while and it just wasn't right, you'd have half the same people who would've normally gone to Blast off but it just didn't feel the same in the clean, crisp, white room with flashing lights and everything else. I think indie/rock nights out need a bit of a mucky setting to give it the right atmosphere, Planet has probably taken that a bit too far but I think i'd rather have it that way that what Oceana tried to offer, Wharf bar in Walsall had a good balance of not looking particularly presentable but without being actually unclean or unsafe, shame it got packed out with chavs after while because it was dirt cheap.

 

[PPB]

Did you used to opt for school dinners or take sandwiches ?

What subject at school did you enjoy, were good at, and that you have found useful in your choice of career ?

Do you own any funny novelty ties ( like cartoon characters, Christmas ties ) and do you ever wear them ?And, do you have to wear a tie for work

What meal of the day do you enjoy most, breakfast, lunch, dinner, supper ?

 

[fizzwolf]

Did you used to opt for school dinners or take sandwiches ?
Used to go to the chippy when I was actually at school and not skiving

What subject at school did you enjoy, were good at, and that you have found useful in your choice of career ?
Tolerated Maths as good with numbers but gave up trying when it moved away from numbers. Work as a freelance bookkeeper/accountant now (but doing a City & Guilds in Plumbing as alternative)


Do you own any funny novelty ties ( like cartoon characters, Christmas ties ) and do you ever wear them ?[/QUOTE]
Have several ties but all boring - don't wear ties where I work at moment as can wear what I like

 

[PPB]

Bubbles, you took the words right out of my mouth for the first question! Then used to take me chips round to the park and eat them on the swings. I then used to catch the bus to town !