HINCKLEY "GREYHOUND" IN A SORRY STATE.

Oh dear, oh dear !

 

There was a time when the "Greyhound" in Hinckley was a pub worth drinking in but no more. Admittedly it's up for sale, Marston's having decided it's of insufficient value to them, but the current working arrangements are a complete mess. The manager comes and goes while anyone and everyone seems to wander in and out behind the bar; there have been sightings of one or two of these characters snorting cocaine from the tables and how the takings and stock are ever reconciled has to be a mystery. Last night, the place was very quiet, many former customers having already deserted it.

 

Last night, the manager was absent, then appeared for a few minutes before wandering off into town to 'get pissed'. The beer seemed to be of no interest with the Pedigree definitely not right; the Hobgoblin was  unavailable and then the bitter went too. Although the manager returned, though not to work, and a new barrel of bitter was connected, I opted for the Guinness as the most likely of the beers to  be drinkable and was even disappointed to realise that they only have the 'extra-cold' variety. Why so many drinks now have to be served in this freezing fashion is another mystery, as it prevents the drinker from actually tasting what's in their glass and is nothing but a stupid fad invented to screw more money out of the punter.

 

It's clear that the brewery has lost interest in this pub and is just waiting for some unsuspecting fool to cough up the asking price of £265,000; by the time this happens, I suspect the place may actually be closed due to lack of management, customers and beer. I don't think I'll be going there again.

THE 'RAILWAY' IS OPEN BUT ............................... .

As previously announced by the 'Steamin; Billy' brewery, the 'Railway' re-opened yesterday evening selling an assortment of hand-pumped beers plus a variety of continental lagers. So far, so good.

 

The works on the pub appear to be far from completed and, frankly, it looked a bit of a mess, though this view didn't seem to be shared by most of the others present; perhaps I'm being a bit unreasonable, but the decor seemed to me to be all over the place and much of the work which has been done seems to have been a bit pointless while more pressing matters seem to have been ignored. I really didn't like it very much.

 

Worse, while the beer prices were quite reasonable and even a bit lower than in other local pubs, the lagers began at £3:50 and progressed upwards from there - this seems to be extortionate, though there is a loyalty card available for £2 which does knock 30p off of the price of some, but not all of the drinks. There seemed to be a bit of confusion behind the bar about what to charge as well as I and my companion received different treatment for each round bought; no doubt this was a 'glitch' that will be resolved, but it was pretty annoying.

 

From the look and feel of things, this will no longer be a locals' pub but will attempt to cater for a very different trade. One wonders if that trade will materialise.

STEAMIN' BILLY : TROUBLE AT THORNTON.

Steamin' Billy, the brewery company that's taken over my local, 'The Railway Hotel' in Hinckley, seems to be having problems.

 

The manager of one of its current outlets, the 'Steam Trumpet' in the Leicestershire village of Thornton, has apparently had enough and walked out. I've heard, though this is only hearsay, that he considers the deal he was on to be a total waste of time and effort. The brewery has now placed a notice on its website advising customers that opening hours are restricted for an indefinite period of time and there will be no food.

 

For anyone who's interested, the turnover is reported to have been around £212,000 in wet sales and £116,000 in food; the brewery are asking for an initial investment of approaching £40,000 for stock, f & f and so on, and the annual rent is £28,500. Nothing else is mentioned though, if the previous tenant's comments have been correctly reported, one might imagine there may be a little more to it.

 

We await further developments.