Face Of Cheam

An offer of a Tuesday night in Leatherhead and some cup action football was strangely turned down by my friends who I invited to join me.  Can't think why?  I have not been to Leatherhead for years and certainly not the football ground since a similar cup tie in 1991 which i think ended 5-1 to Sutton.  Those were the days the Surrey Senior Cup was taken seriously whereas I knew it would be mostly Sutton United's academy with a small number of senior players 29 years later.
I had planned three pubs before the game which started at the Dukes Head.  However, this has just been turned into an Indian restaurant so I decide to go to the Edmund Tylney wetherspoons instead which was not on my list.
This place is a typical spoons, do similar to others and lacking such interest the only photo opportunity was a selfie by the stairs to the toilets.  At least cheaper than £3 for a Kronenberg.
Anyway onwards to the Penny Black.  This has two friendly bar staff serving (one called Ellie) and they were lovely as i paid an expensive £5.50 for an Estrella.  Could easily spend more time here.  It was a Youngs place with a Burger Shack if you are inclined that way!
Final stop before the game was the Running Horses.  Here was choc full of the Amber Army and I could not get a seat.  The poor news was only two lagers to choose from which were Fosters or Whitstable Gold.  I chose the latter.  Onto the game and the ground in only five minutes from here near the leisure centre.
The admission price was £12, two pounds more expensive than the all Premier League FA cup tie three days ago.  Drinking in sight of the pitch is allowed here and in the competition so with a £4.50 Moretti I watch a relatively dull football match with a strong Leatherhead side running out 3-0 winners.  The evening out would have been certainly better without the football, though without it I would not have been here!

Gig number 3 of the year and this time it is at Under The Bridge located under Chelseas west stand.  A very good venue too, though it has recently gone cashless!
We meet at West Brompton and a place called the Pembroke.  A nice pint of Estrella had in an unremarkable gastropub.
Next stop was the Bolton, a large pub I dont ever recall visiting.  An expensive Paulenar in here and some Earls Court memorabilia on the walls.
I couldn't recall it by seeing the name, but I have been to the Finborough before.  It is an unsual triangular shape with a downstairs theatre.
Our final stop before the show was the Hollywood Arms.  A very glamorous crowd was in here and a very antique-esque decor made it a good place to be.
At the venue we catch the end of Debroah Bonham, but no songs we recognise.

Bernie Marsden was in Whitesnake and this being a blues festival, he mixed their stuff well with some more classic blues, like Walking By Myself and Oh Well.   Joe Bonnamasa turned up for a few songs too and made it into a great evening.
A word on the toilets which are fairly unique here as you can see below.


On the way out my brother mistakes Deborah Bonhams guitarist sister on the merch stand for Deborah herself despite looking nothing like her.  After this embarrassing error,we get a district line to Wimbledon, and a final drink in the Prince of Wales.  Our normal spot was annoyingly taken but we could sit nearby looking at the bus app for a convenient 164 which I made with seconds to spare.

Anyway, onwards I went to the Portland Arms.   This is a recently re-opened pub now concentrating on the Gastro element.  It was alright with multi coloured chairs and tables, and did have Sky Sports and Moretti, but would not call it a place to spend an evening.  Still pubs in the area which were once in number, are now becoming rare as I walked past the boarded up Gladstone and the sadly demolished Port Manor on the way to Norwood.
The final stop before the game was Palace home pub and an ex-wetherspoons called intriguingly The Shelverdine Goathouse.   An unusual but poor selection of ale, it was mainly craft based, though I did find a Praha.  Difficult to comment due to the number of football fans in there what it would normally be like, but I seem to remember in its previous incarnation there was a dartboard which is now sadly gone.
Due to Saints deciding small allocation take ups are the way to go I was stuck more in a corner for the game rather than a more central position in the Arthur Waite.  This must have made the view awful for the people more than 11 rows back due to the poles in the way.
The game was nearly all Southampton and screamers from Redmond and Armstrong gave us a 2-0 victory which perhaps should have been more.  Things are looking good.

Engineering work meant trains were diverted via Staines for my weekend journey to St Mary's.  Complicate by the fact SWR decided to cancel most Southampton services due to a points failure at Brockenhurst meant arriving slightly later than normal.
Still made two of my semi regular pre-match pubs before the game which saw Saints throw away a 2-0 lead at half time v Wolves.

The top one is another Wetherspoons called the Giddy Bridge, and below is from the Rock/Metal pub the Firehouse which is probably where i go most pre match (though not always).

So on Friday (17th Jan) saw Louise have an album launch in St Johns Church on the borders of Kingston and Surbiton.   A slight hiccup with the tickets apparently dispatched on Monday not arriving but the promoter was very helpful in putting my name on the door.  This also ensured we went to the correct church as other gigs have been at the more central All Saints.
I met my friend in the Spring Grove pub, which I do not think I have been in before.  Large selection of ale, but I went for an Estrella.  There were several young females working at the bar or tables.  Apparently we are near Kingston Campus.
On to the show, and to start Louise is the same age as me.  Not that this matters of course.  She played some from her new album but also her main singles from back in the day, including the Eternal song Stay released in 1993.
All in all better than expected and ensured me humming Arms Around the World all weekend.
As it was an early show, (7.20-8.30pm) we then embarked on a Surbiton crawl, starting at the non descript Waggon and Horses.  It does have a very nice garden at the back, but not to do on a cold January evening.
Our intention was to then go to the Grove, but this was closed possibly for a refurb.  Lots of fences around the building anyway.
So we go next door to the Antelope.  A real ale pub if ever there was one, but did manage to find a lager of some description. 
The Gorden Bennett was next where we sat at the bar.  Some tables were reserved from 11pm so I assume this shuts fairly late.  A nice enough place that concentrates mainly of food it seems.
A walk to Surbiton High Street, and with the Victoria looking packed, awful and a strong food smell, we go opposite to the Duke.  My friend says this is normally empty and whilst there were other people dotted around, for a Friday night it is quiet.   Nice pint of Estrella anyway.

With time moving on, our final place was the Coronation Hall, the Surbiton Wetherspoons.  Cheap and Cheerful and it is not too bad considering the chain.   Very near the station anyway so was able to hop on a quick train to Wimbledon followed by a 164 for a quick and uneventful journey home.

Went to the Bdo championship on Thursday. A quick beer in All Bar One at the O2 entrance and then into the Indigo. It seems the BDO are in trouble with no sponsor for this, and low ticket sales. However I preferred this to Lakeside which is a rundown cabaret club. The Indigo is best known for concerts but has a bigger capacity and cheaper beer (four pint jug of Stella was £17, a pound cheaper than the lakeside equivalent Holstein Vier.
We saw Lisa Ashton beat Lorraine Winstanley and Suzuki beat Dobromyslova in the ladies. In the mens a chap called Super Mario beat a young Dutch man, who I spoke to in length afterwards, and finally Paul Hogan averaged nearly 100 in his win. Also dotted about were several players who weren't playing that evening meaning they are fan accessible. All in all a good night. Hopefully the BDO can get back on the tracks so it can be done next year.

On Thursday, was at the IMAX for the Rise Of The Skywalker film. Seen all the Disney Star Wars movies in 3D at the IMAX so a bit of a tradition. I enjoyed it more than the last Jedi, despite the plot / premise being a bit ridiculous. The whole trilogy missed an opportunity really. New characters that were difficult to warm to, due to incessant action, and the old characters, which is the draw for the older fans, misused or killed off in stupid fashion. Still Disney made their money and kids who never saw the originals like them so what do i know. However I would like to see what George Lucas vision of episodes 7-9 were. Possibly like the prequels, interesting concepts that don't translate to being a commercial movie I expect.

Met up with Matt tonight, and in the Little Windsor was charged random amounts for the same drinks three times. We wanted a game of darts but the Nelson had the board in use, so off to The Butterchurn.  Approached by a local paranoid who was convinced Matt was a cop we got on the board with a raised oche. Matt won darts with a highest finish of double 2, with three legs going to x1. Not great. Still we are back to the Ska band in The Nightingale. Kerry says it's busy as we enter & it is! Matt was pleased with the reggae version of Dont Look Back In Anger! Still a good social start to the radiating twenties!

Heartbreakers - Southampton