HINCKLEY PUB OF THE YEAR : "THE QUEEN'S HEAD"

Last Wednesday, I attended one of my local pubs, 'The Queen's Head' in Hinckley, for its CAMRA 'Pub of the Year' presentation; this was only in relation to the Hinckley and Bosworth area but was, nonetheless, a well-deserved honour. The pub will now progress to the East Midland regional competition and from there 'Who knows ?'.

 

The evening was a noisy one. There must have been close to a hundred attendees and the bar rarely stopped serving; as always in recent times, the beer was varied and excellent. Dawn, the landlady, laid on a fine buffet which seemed too much but very little was left over. It was a great night and the landlord, Phil, surprised everyone by announcing that he planned on increasing his array of handpumps from four to six while also reducing his price to £2:50 a pint, for the night only, I must add.

 

If I have a complaint, it would be that many of the CAMRA members present were less than friendly. As a new member, I do know one or two of the local committee and I did manage to grab a few words with them; however, my attempts to engage in conversations with others rather tended to fall on stony ground. It seemed to me that they were more interested in congratulating themselves and in maintaining their own cliques than in welcoming new members, of whom there have apparently been many in recent months.

 

This was, to say the least, disappointing. It was, of course, a major event for the local branch and it may be that I chose a bad time, and event, at which to try to introduce myself. I will try again.

GREAT NIGHT AT THE QUEEN'S !

Last night saw an unusual event at the 'Queen's Head' on Upper Bond Street.

 

The landlord, Phil, is a fairly fanatical Spurs supporter and he'd arranged a private function involving a visit from an old Spurs' player, Graham Roberts. Graham played more than 200 games for the club between 1980 and 1986, participating in 2 victorious FA Cup Finals, including Ricky Villa's matches in 1981, as well as the 1984 UEFA Cup Final which Tottenham won on penalties; Graham scored in the second leg of the final and was one of the successful penalty takers for the club that night. After he left Tottenham, Graham moved to Rangers, Chelsea and West Bromwich Albion before ending his playing career in non-league football with Stevenage, Yeovil and Slough. In more recent years he's turned to management with a number of teams including both the Pakistan and Nepal national sides.

 

During the evening, Graham talked about the various aspects of his career and entertained the audience with many anecdotes, ranging from racy stories about his experiences in hotels to being followed by an armed man while in Pakistan in 2010; apparently, he was then staying at a location only a few yards from where Osama Bin Laden was 'holed up'. He proved to be a most amusing and amiable speaker and the event was a great success, so much so that Phil may well try to organise further similar events from time to time.

 

To add to the enjoyment, the beer was, as always, excellent and varied - Abbott, Old Peculier, Pedigree and the Hopback Brewery's 'Spring Zing' and there was a buffet as well. All in all, this was a really great way to spend an evening and I look forward to the next such occasion with great enthusiasm  !

HINCKLEY PUBS UP FOR OFFER.

Once upon a time, Hinckley had lots of pubs, almost all owned and run by the Marston's brewery.

 

A few months ago, and quite out of the blue, the brewery placed one of these, "The Railway Hotel", up for sale and that one has now been bought by a small independent Leicestershire brewery. In the last 2 days, 2 more Marston's houses have also appeared on the market, 'The Prince of Wales' and 'The Greyhound'. Both are offered freehold and free of all ties, making them potentially attractive investments at the right price.

 

'The Greyhound' is an old pub not far from the town centre and with a reasonable trade; sadly and for no reason known to anyone in the locality, Marston's has steadfastly refused to maintain it in any sort of decent condition. The exterior is tatty, the carpets need urgent replacement and the exposed floor tiles either need attention or covering up. It's general decoration is poor to say the least and although there is a kitchen, it's reportedly in an unusable state; the rather pokey gents' toilet is not exactly top quality. A large back room which has been used for musical and other events, is mostly empty and in need of attention. The drains frequently produce foul smells and it has no customer parking. The private accommodation has variously been said to be anywhere between disgusting and bearable. Marston's are expecting £265,000 (plus VAT) for this property which needs at least £50,000 spent on it to make it into a decent pub and quite possibly a lot more depending on its structural condition.

 

Conversely, 'The Prince of Wales', which is further from the centre though not by very much, is a more modern building and seems to have been well maintained. The bar and bar areas are much bigger than in 'The Greyhound' and it has a separate and well furnished function room. The general furnishings and decoration are good; the toilets are large and clean. It has a decent and usable commercial kitchen and parking for 20 or so cars; there's a good-sized outside area with a number of tables and chairs. I have no knowledge of the prvate accommodation but there's no reason to believe that it's in a different condition from the rest of the pub. Overall, this is a much nicer, smarter and cleaner pub than 'The Greyhound', and doesn't seem to need much if any further investment. Marston's are looking for £295,000 (plus VAT).

 

I can easily see the price for 'The Prince of Wales' being paid, indeed, I would if I had the money to hand, but why anyone would pay the asking price, or anywhere near it, for 'The Greyhound' defeats me. Time will tell whether or not I'm right.

HINCKLEY PUB CRAWL VERDICT : 'PRINCE OF WALES' ON TOP.

Following the unannounced closure of my local pub, the 'Railway Hotel' in Hinckley, by its new owners, the 'Steamin' Billy' brewery, I and a few friends have tried a few other local hostelries. We already made occasional visits to the 'Greyhound' and the 'Queen's Head', but we've now had a look at one or two others.

 

A few days ago, we started with a couple of pints at the 'Greyhound', before moving on to the 'Railway' which had not quite closed then. A couple more pints, fortunately they still had a stock of our tipples, and then it was time for a trip out to the village of Wolvey and a first visit to the 'Blue Pig', a pub under new management. A pint there and it was time to return to the town for one in the 'Sportsman' before finishing our little journey at the 'Prince of Wales'. This was, I hasten to add, a  trip made possible by our non-drinking driver !

 

What did we learn after all of this racing around ? Well, the 'Greyhound' is an OK Marston's pub and one that has reasonable beer at relatively low prices; it does, though, need a fair bit of 'tarting up' as its decor is pretty poor and no one seems to have spent much money on it for many years. Perhaps this is why Marston's are about to place the pub's freehold on the market ! They've also just shunted the landlord and her family off to another of their 'Retail Agreement' outlets, while moving the former landlord of the 'Railway' in until it's sold.

 

Moving on, the 'Blue Pig' offered a different range of beer as it's one of the few non-Marston's outlets in the area. This is a 'Greene King' house with new tenants, and I'm told that it used to do very well. The other day, a Friday evening, it was pretty quiet and, although a menu was available, it didn't seem to be creating much interest or beng promoted. The beer, I drank the 'IPA' as 'Abbot' really is a bit too powerful for consumption during a pub crawl, was passable though not exceptional, and was also a bit pricey compared with other local pubs. One was enough.

 

Back into Hinckley and we tried the 'Sportsman', a good sized pub under a proper Marston's tenancy. The barmaid was friendly enough, the beer, Marston's Bitter, good enough and the atmosphere ok, though, again, the pub seemed a bit on the quiet side. The prices were a fair bit higher than we've been used to and we only stayed for one in the absence of anything else to keep us there.

 

Our final stop was at the 'Prince of Wales', another Marston's tenanted house a few yards from the 'Sportsman' and one that also has a relatively new landlord. Although not crowded, there were a few people there and it was welcoming; the barmaid was quick to serve and the beer was fine. Sadly for our pockets, prices were similar to the 'Sportsman' and 'Blue Pig', but we stayed because of the general atmosphere. Other customers were friendly and more than happy to chat, while the landlady, Katie, was in the bar with her partner and dog, an enormous furry bear of an animal; all were friendly, befurred or not, and the experience here was far-and-away the best of the night.

 

The result of our circumnavigation was an unequivocal victory for the 'Prince of Wales', with the 'Greyhound' in second place though a fair way back. We reinforced our judgement on Sunday by returning to the 'Prince' late in the evening and again finding it a most pleasant environment with, mostly, friendly people. The only blot was an unnecesssary and almost inexplicable outburst from a customer whom we knew from elsewhere and who had clearly had a pint or six too many. After he departed, those remaining chatted amiably and intelligently; forget the idiot, this is a nice pub and we'll be back.

STEAMIN' BILLY BREWERY : WHAT A LET DOWN.

My local pub, the 'Railway' in Hinckley, was a Marston's house run under that brewery's egregious 'Retail Agreement'. Late last year it was put up for sale and has been bought by a small Leicestershire brewery, 'Steamin' Billy'; all the initial signs were good in that the new owners appeared to promise new life for the pub with a revised selection of beers and a bit of refurbishment. It was a definite case of 'Goodbye Marston's and good riddance' !

Oh dear, how a few weeks can cause one to rethink. Under Marston's, the running of the pub was hardly good, but they usually had well kept beer and were open every day, all day. Following the arrival of 'Steamin Billy', the availability of beer and other beverages has been problematic, the cellar was seriously flooded for more than a fortnight and opening hours were cut drastically. Now the pub has been closed, well ahead of the expected date for a refurbishment to be carried out and with no real notice or explanation being given.

Yes, I know that many pubs, now including most in Hinckley, amend their opening hours to match the times when most of their customers turn up, but what about the customers who want a drink at quieter times ? What is the point of running a business that's closed more than it's open ? Of course, now that it's closed and likely to stay that way for 2 or 3 months, the 'Railway's' regular customers will have to look elsewhere at all times. Those customers who want an early drink will be pushed into the arms of the town's 'Wetherspoon' outlet and the remaining 2 or 3 pubs that open all day, all of which are operated by Marston's; the rest will find themselves wandering the streets in search of a new 'local'.

I don't bemoan the fact that Marston's disposed of the 'Railway' but I am deeply disappointed that 'Steamin' Billy' appears to have no interest in offering the existing customers any sort of real service. It looks increasingly as though their purchase of the 'Railway' will result in a good old fashioned pub being turned into a haven for kids, with the current locals being driven elsewhere. Worst of all is that their website provides no contact details for the company, just a load of tosh about how good they are, loyalty and merchandising - typical of organisations that don't want to hear from their customers.

Whatever you do, don't let them get their hands on your local !

BEER, PUBS, BREWERIES & LANDLORDS

I've been drinking beer since I was knee-high to the proverbial grasshopper and have been in a fair few pubs. Some have been good, some very good and others mediocre or downright awful. Every now and then I feel the need to let off a bit of steam about somewhere I've visited or, perhaps, to lavish praise on a particularly fine pub; so far any such comments have been contained within my general 'Thoughts and Ramblings' but it seems high time that I gave myself the space to put down all such thoughts in one place, hence, this Blog.

 

Recent events in my local area have certainly been a serious incentive to write down a few things about the ways in which breweries and pub management companies operate. Quite simply, and despite all of their protestations to the contrary, they have no interest in their customers or, indeed, their landlords, beyond the money they bring in. They treat both like the muck they might find on their shoes after a walk through a field full of cows - something to have as little contact with as possible. I've written at greater length about one particular issue, 'Marston's Retail Agreement', which readers may find of interest.

 

This might seem a little vitriolic but I'm convinced that it's true. This is not to say, though, that the same applies to pub landlords; undoubtedly, some are of the same ilk as their brewery masters, but many are not. Many landlords try their very best, often against overwhelming odds, to give the very best service that they can and to make customers not only feel welcome but also wanted. Why we should have this dichotomy is anyones' guess, but it does not help the beleagured pub industry.

 

I've written before about a couple of pub and brewery issues; I've written to at least a couple of breweries over the years and can't say that their responses were overly helpful, generous, or even very polite. I'm well aware that CAMRA, the 'Campaign for Real Ale' has worked tirelessly for many years to try to improve our pubs and maybe I can add a tiny amount to their efforts with a few choice postings. I certainly hope so.