RE: BIRMINGHAM PUBS as is and was - 11

The Iron Horse is on a Par with the old Meadway Phil.
At least I know now why the Meadway was rough.

SB

If I used it then it had to be rough, it's the only sort of place that would accept me as a customer.

Phil

I went in there in the 70s - 80s but only because we were going into every M&B pub in Birmingham at least once.
Can't remember much about it but it never made in onto my mental blacklist, unlike the Meadway, Cabin. North Star, Blakesley, Yew Tree, Lea Hall Tavern, Manor House and any pub in Shard End and Castle Vale.

Volty

I can remember not long after the Meadway opened and my mate moved up there from Belgrave Road. They used to have a do in the back room on a Saturday Night and it used to be well attended. When I started going back in there some 20 years later the pub had changed somewhat, but being a little rough never bothered me and I used to have a good time in the bar on many a Saturday morning.

Phil

Posted by Voltman

---

I went in there in the 70s - 80s but only because we were going into every M&B pub in Birmingham at least once.
Can't remember much about it but it never made in onto my mental blacklist, unlike the Meadway, Cabin. North Star, Blakesley, Yew Tree, Lea Hall Tavern, Manor House and any pub in Shard End and Castle Vale.

---

Hi Volty I agree with most of your rough choices, but the "Old" Yew Tree was a very good pub up to and including the late 60s and into the 70s. It was a really good calling house being on the no.11 and 17 bus routes. in the old days it used to open at 5.30pm when most other pubs opened at 6 Oclock.
The bar staff had to pull around 30 pints of mild ready for when the doors opened. Mondays to Fridays there would be anything up to about 50 people waiting outside. The bar would be rammed at opening time and after the first hour would be pretty busy all night. The lounge was always a good room too, not forgetting the Rio Grande function room at the back, been to some great parties there. Not so keen on the new place. SB

Hi Phil
Have you been to The Lakes at Barston, going there tonight.
June

Hi June,

No I haven't been, we were booked in a couple of years back to go one Saturday night but the wife was took bad so we had to cancel. Our friends went and enjoyed the evening. You should have a good night they do tribute acts a the weekend and they are supposed to be very good. You will have to let us know how you get on.

Phil

Hi Phil
Will do tonights tribute is Motown not that keen on Motown but open to persuasion.
June

Hi Phil
Well last night was OK there were 42 in our party. The appearance from the outside is very nice, inside maybe a little disappointing
the food taking into account there was about 400/500 there was OK I had fillet steak the meat being of a good quality that came on the plate with a bowl of chips and a bowl of passable vegetables it was a 3 course course meal which finished at about 10.15 then the entertainment came on I use that word loosely it was very loud and not what I would have called Motown, having said all that I would go again there a lot of tribute nights to choose from and I am sure there would be something to suit everyone.
I was talking to someone who was saying the food was good at the ? Owl I think it is at Marston Green don't know that side, although at one time I was based on the Birmingham Retail Park next to the NEC if we went out of a lunch time we would go to the Clock.
June

Hi June

Glad you had a good time, yes it is a problem that bands can sometimes be a bit loud, I think the main thing is the food has to be right if that is not so then something else has to be special to make up for it. I'm not a great fan of tribute acts because they often sound nothing like who they are supposed to. But I have to say two of those I have seen have been really good. One was Raving Rupert (Elvis) at the Cresta and the other was a Roy Orbison imitator also at the Cresta. Now at the Cresta I had a real problem with the meals and I always paid the extra and had the steak, but as I said if it was a good act I didn't mind.

I might give it a try at The Lakes then one of the summer evenings, I can always blame you if the wife doesn't like it.

Phil

I am not a fan of tributes either, but one I have seen is Roxy Magic.They were on in Victoria Square last year at The St Georges day celebrations. For anyone interested in Roxy Music these are brilliant.

Posted by toady

---

Will do, tonights tribute is Motown not that keen on Motown but open to persuasion.
June

---

I thought that was a clever reference to Joan Armatrading's "Love and Affection" so I looked her up but it appears I was wrong and she wasn't part of Motown.
However I discovered I actually knew very little, see http://www.joanarmatrading.com/index.asp?m=misc&n=bio&p=1

Going back to the Yew Tree, I was a barmen there in 1959-60, gaffer was a bloke called Partridge, I was in the side bar (Hobmoor Road) and
we were always mobbed at 5.30 when we opened the doors.
I was young and naive then( ha ha,) and got chatted up by a bird who asked me if I wanted to go to the pictures, she was about 26-30 ish, we ended up in the Adelphi, and that's as far as I'm going with this story.

John if that's the end of the story It obviously wan't the end of the story, so all we need now is her name.

Volty Joan Armatrading has been around Brum for years. Her song Love and affection is a long standing favourite of mine. As is Me Myself I.

All I'm saying is she was a blonde ,and I don't normally go for blondes, her name I will not reveal.