Face Of Cheam

I was not disappointed.  On the Wednesday it was the same 50 minute set each show, but each performance of each song was different in its own way.  Performing acoustically with a bassist and percussionist Daltrey and Townshend were on fine form, taking the advantage of the intimate nature of the venue to tell many fine anecdotes, including things about Bob Dylan, the local Bentall Centre and how the song Squeeze Box is viewed by both (PT "its a piece of ****!).  The Friday shows added Tattoo to the set, which incited more opinions of being a marked man.  The last show extended it to a hour and was the one we got closed to the front having worked out what to do at the switchover.
All gigs had very hardcore swearing which would surely rate an 18 certificate if it was released on a DVD and are going to rank highly at my year end review.
How do you follow that?  Well obviously go to a Who tribute band on the Saturday for some classic loudness.  Great stuff.

Next door (well just past Sainsburys on the opposite side of the crossroads) is the Bedford.  This was closed for a good while recently but the refurb has done no harm.  Lots of music posters around, a big dining area, a nice function room and a busy bar area where we ended up standing by the water dispenser.
The Balham Bowls Club is next.  No open to the public, and is a trendy place that serves a bingo brunch.  Nice clientele and a decent Estrella.
Final stop is a place called the cyclist.  This used to be a dire wetherspoons, but a dramatic refurb and change of ownership meant treble the prices, with a nice young crowd though veering food based.  We sit by the bar and admire the transformation though not sure what the cycle theme is about.
Wayward Sons were on at 8pm and play a ten song 45 minute set evenly split between their two excellent albums.  As always with Brixton it takes two songs before the sound is anything like good, but once it is sorted then you have a good show.
Nice to see a fairly busy crowd for the support and Toby does his normal stich of getting us all clapping and singing even though most don;t know the material.  Best song was from the new album called Jokes On You, which everyone should check out.
Not seen Steel Panther before, and I quite enjoy some of the non-PC songs.  However after a promising start and some inital jokes with the bass players hair spray and hand mirror, it got thin very quickly.  You do not want the guitarist speaking for 10 minutes between songs when people around are talking amongst them selves.  Towards the end, a part of their show was getting as many girls on stage with them for one of their hits (which was good) and the encore moved fairly swiftly afterwards,  However, for 90 minutes set, you could have been just as entertained in half that time.

It takes 17 minutes to get to Gypsy Hill.  The Railway Bell is a bit of walk up hill (not quite as long as previously) and unfortunately the Estrella is off.  Annoyed that I had to go for a Fosters the £3.60 price cheered me up.  The bar was horseshoe shaped and round to the left is another dartboard, though the throwing line is less than a foot from a step behind.  Taking my coat off to play, out falls my scarf I thought I had lost.  This raises my mood further.   Unimpeeded by the step behind, my third darts leg again is my best this time being 26 darts.
I get the 19.25 train which takes seven minutes to get to Tulse Hill.  This pub was right next door to the station (at last) but had clear signs saying they do not accept cash.  I was charged £5.60 for my Estrella and managed to get a seat in this crowded and surprisingly trendy place.  Definitely female friendly, one girl was a 8/10 for a young Gwyneth Paltrow,
Certainly a nice place to people watch....
Or pole dance maybe....
The 20.04 was on time and seven mintutes later I am at the Railway at Streatham Common.  The Railway here had lots of beardy weird beers on and I could not see a lager i recognised.  I went for a Purity craft lager at £5.20 which was ok.  This had a pub dog, a lovely Shitzu and a clientele as you would imagine for such a place.  It's ok, better than some on the crawl but not one I would make a special effort for.  I did spend some time here as I then got the 20.50
arriving at Thornton Heath at 2105 (fifteen minutes).  The Railway Telegraph had lots of TVs showing Sky Sports but did not feel like a sports bar.  A bargain £4.10 for an Estrella, I wonder round its large area and see a dartboard in the corner.  This was against a large mirror which was distracting at first but then does allow for some artistic photo opportunities.

The 21.40 gets to Sutton at 22.03 and the plan was to get the 22.12 to Carshalton or 22.13 to Cheam (all taking a couple of minutes) and then get one half an hour later to the other one.  However, this is where tiredness and hunger got the better of me.  As I was effectively home and have done the two local railways tons of times, I decide to get something to eat and then head home.
11 Railway pubs during the day I am happy with, but a little regretful I did not do the thirteen in one day.  Had I planned to start there and end further away no doubt I would have done them all.
In the planning I had to ditch the Railway in Bromley North as that took too much traveling time too so not all is lost.  Also there are plenty of Railways north of the river that need to be done on another day. (yes - technically my first two here that were north, but as they were also west heading out is a southwesterly direction from London city they don't count as such)
Need to start planning on another crawl soon so watch this space....

When I get to the station a minute before it is due, the board says it is still on time.  I tap in, and suddenly boom - delayed 10 minutes.  SWR are a joke!  Still it is 8 minutes to Teddington and the Railway is right next door.   You could see it being a traditional boozer once, but now is a bar and kitchen.   A hot buffett is on the bar as you enter, so I walk round to the right hand side and order a £5.50 Moretti.  Having got here at 12.10 I can still make the 12.32 drinking reasonably quickly.  This is surprisingly busy but everyone is eating.  Looking at their website the express lunch at £5 does look good.  Train is on time so after stroking a lovely Golden Retriever on the way out, I get to the station and get the 12.35 to Richmond.
I arrive on time at Richmond at 12.49.  The Railway Tavern, is something I used to know as an O'Neills.  A spacious sports bar with a rugby emphasis, little has changed from inside since I was last here about a decade ago.  They may have increased the ale selection somewhat but with BT Sports on the TV I plump for a £5.60 Peroni from one of the two young bar ladies.  A nice enough pub with a few people, though as it is large it still felt a bit empty.  Rugby fans would probably like it when showing a game as I would imagine the atmosphere would get a bit rowdy.

The 1.34 train is the best option to get to the next Railway, this time at Clapham High Street. This is slightly later than planned due to the first Overground connection at Clapham Junction being cancelled.  This allows some lunch to be bought at the Sainsburys local next to Richmond station.
Making the change at the junction with lots of time to spare, I arrive at Clapham High Street at 14.08.  The pub next to the exit, looks out onto the high road and i get a nice window seat to view the traffic and pedestrians with a £5.65 Estrella.  There were four other customers in here and a bearded barman in a checked shirt.  A decent list of cocktails were advertised too after consulting my pictures to upload. Onwards, I decided it was best to get the Northern Line to London Bridge to make the next destination.

Onto a South Eastern train at London Bridge at 14.58, it takes just under twenty minutes to get to Blackheath and the pub called The Railway.  A nice long thin bar, with a barman in a Wheres Wally outfit I get a £5.40 Estrella and again perch myself a window seat overlooking the road outside.
The next train is due at 15.58 which I make perfect timing for to get to.....
Lewisham where I changed trains for.... (below view of some brutalist architecture and moon from Lewisham Station)
The Railway Tavern in Lower Sydenham.  This is a rough & ready pub about a five-sic minute walk from the station.  I get to the pub at 16.30 where the locals are watching Tipping Point on a big screen.  However, the first dartboard of the day is found and out of three legs my best is 27 darts whilst supping my bargain £4.20 San Miguel. 
Planning how to get to the next venue I leave as The Chase's opening titles start, to get the 17.08 train away.  As this is last of the daylight pubs, we will meet again in part two.

Next stop was the Old Ale Emporium.  This had lots of lager and cider to choose from though nothing unusual, but only two real ales, so did not live up to its name.  A saving grace of the pub was a dartboard at the back where with the house darts i managed a 26 dart leg on the first attempt finishing on the double top.  Nice.
A twenty minute walk towards the ground followed as the Salisbury (with promised imported Czech lager) was closed and seems to have been for a while.
Next stop was by South Tottenham overground, the Old Station House.  The Chase was on the TV and some Jamaican guys playing reggae loudly on their laptop vaping away.
Despite this, the place was definitely an Irish pub and served a nice Moretti.

I met my friends at The High Cross, a converted public lavatory.  Went here before the home game and it is nice and cosy.  Too cosy on this occasion, my friend is waiting outside with an unusual imported lager whose name he cannot remember. Friend number 2 then arrives and we walk down the high road to the Beehive.  A lively side street pub with a big garden accommodating both home and away fans.  This is how a football pub should be.  Decent crowd, music being played, Sky on the TV/
With time pressing on, I split with my friends and head to the away end.  After several flights of stairs, and as it is only ten minutes before kick off I head to an empty bar.  Amstel is off, so i have one of the local brewery beers which is quite nice.  There is a ledge overlooking outside and a nice pun on Tottenhams motto on the bins.
I am front row of the upper tier and the only complaint of the view was, as I am at the end of an aisle, a glass panel is half blocking the goal (unless i lean forward).  This is there to prevent people falling over the edge if they fall down the stairs but still.   Despite going behind Shane Long equalses and its level at half time.  I head back to the concourse and it is back.  It seems for four blocks of away fans there is only one toilet area for men (and one for women) and one bar.  Very uncomfortable.  Again I appreciate this area is normally for home fans who can walk round to better facilities but seems very poor planning and shows the contempt for away fans big clubs seem to have.

Saints dominate the next 30 minutes and Danny Ings scores a fantastic breakaway goal.  Then with 15 minutes left spurs change their system to dramatic effect and score immediately.  A few minutes later Spurs forward Son is beaten to the ball by the Saints keeper yet bizarrely throws himself to the ground.  Unbelievably, a penalty is given.  Even more shocking is VAR review and do not over-rule.

Before this season I thought VAR would level the playing field somewhat preventing the big sides getting iffy decisions, but as the people running it are also Refs, it is corrupt as it can be.   If it is kept modern football will die.

Anyway game ends with Saints knocked out, meaning a home game with Norwich is off my list of things to do. We make Victoria with just about time to get an M&S beer, and despite result and again poor facilities at the ground, it was a good afternoon/evening out.