Well done Helen! You beat me to it there - that was fast!
A splendid time was had all round, I think. The attendance was:
Me
DD
Andy
Miss Helen
Jonny
SlapStickSlosh
Muckypup
and, as Miss Helen said, a couple of drunks trying to cadge a light. (Actually, I think he was an
anti-religion bloke but when I tell you that he pulled a 1 foot-long gas cooker lighter from his jacket to try to light a cigar that he'd still not unwrapped from its cellophane, you'll appreciate that his powers of communication were .... somewhat 'limited'! Good comedy value though!)
I'm hoping that the person you spotted with the OS map wasn't looking for us and had missed out, though it would be a bit of a coincidence for someone else to be wandering round a particular pub with an OS map! (I must admit that I didn't spot your map at first when we came in as it looked like part of the menu display, being hooked over it - but 10/10 for the display idea!)
DD's flight had been a bit delayed and, when we got back to the car, I realised I'd forgotten to pay at the machines in the terminal building and had to go back (doh!) so we were a bit later than planned but 'hey' as they say in the States.
I'm still amazed that Jonny drove all the way from Cornwall - there's dedication for you! He and DD will, by now, be in the hotel bar, assuming that they managed to find their way back to it. (When I left them, they were busy getting their bearings again in the town centre and trying to work out which way they should be heading! Warrington's one way and pedestrianised bits are probably as confusing as any other town's.)
The conversation was wide-ranging, including music, comedy and, of course, all varieties of sploshing! The OS maps were perused in order to exchange information on good sploshing locations for mud, which was handy.
The food there wasn't up to much (typical large-chain pub) and Slap Stick Slosh suggested one for next time that he used to frequent just by Central Station. (SSS - I looked on my way back to the car park. The only one I could see there was the King's Head, opposite, unless you meant the one on the
roundabout at the junction of Pinner's Brow/Winwick Road/Winwick Street, the name of which I have now forgotten having glanced at it as I drove out? I couldn't see any pubs on the same side as the station.)
The timing seemed generally good. The pub wasn't too crowded and the music level was lowish. By about 8, they'd faded the lights down and then a bit later on the music level was suddenly boosted substantially, making it difficult to talk at all so we used that as our cue to leave, having spent several happy hours in there. In that respect, I think it was much more successful than if we'd tried to do it in the evening which would have been more like torture if trying to converse. (Apart from which, none of us would have made it there!)
All in all a great afternoon's entertainment! Using Area No 2's regular calendar, the next one should come along on the 3rd Saturday afternoon in January (20th, I think). Think ahead for your diaries now!
Regards,
C_W
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) another guy came to bum a light and started spouting drunken religious crap at us until we finally managed to persuade him to naff off.
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