22nd October - around Walsall's Backyard.

BJ's selection this evening as I join the lads at the Red Lion for a steady start via Banks's Original.

"Pretty Bricks" next was the proclamation and so we headed though various bits of the town that possibly need a regeneration grant to find "It's shut" and so we continue our 30 minute tour of industrial wastelands to finally reach the Fountain where The Hoard from Backyard went down well.

Next up to the Victoria for D&B Porter (another Backyard beer and nothing to do with Dunn and Bradstreet GP and DP!)

Lyndon House Hotel and I thought trying the house beer (Lyndon House Bitter) would be a good idea - one lives and learns. At this point TH mentions Lotus Notes - 'nough said!"

We then kicked leaves and hummed hovis theme music as we struggle up the steep cobble infested pathway past the church to the Wheatsheaf, where we samply Timothy Taylor Landlord and proved to be rubbish on the quiz machine before leaving for the Black Country Arms. Salopian Choir Porter was my personal favourite of the evening.

Time to head towards Birmingham and we finished in Bacchus Bar with Purity UBU.

13th Oct - BBC

At the Coopers for the latest BBC meeting.

Commercial beer sample tonight included:

Thornbridge Lumford
Titanic Mild (not a bad beer and they'd sold out of everything else!)

30th Sept - stafford

Lunchtime in Stafford town centre at the Picture House - Caledonian Mellow Yellow

29th Sept - Tamworth

Bolebridge in Tamworth - Exmoor Gold

24th Sept - Loughborough

Off with RG for a trip the Great Central Railway hosted beer festival featuring breweries that are close to where they used to run. Headed into the rushes just off the town cntre first however to The Swan in the Rushes for a couple fo Castle Rock beers (Sherriffs Tipple and Black Gold.)

Over to a Lloyds bar , The Amber Room for Thornbridge Jaipur.

Time for the festival qwhich we foud under canvas on the GCR platform. Milds and Porters typically selected resulting in:

• Boggart Hole Dark Mild (RG who likes mild didn't approve)
  
• Acorn Brewery Old Moor Porter
• Dow Bridge Bonum Mild
• Redemption Urban Dusk
• Vale Black Swan Mild (which we thought was excellent)
  

Between beers took time to review the various engines they have stored by the station.

After the festival took the train to Beeston and the Victoria for Darkstar Hop Head and Thwaites Nutty Black.

23rd Sept - Manchester

Its rains in Manchester!

Up north on business and after the meeting had decided to try the Jolly Anglers but alas it was shut. I therefore went to Monrone's and had a pint of Boddington's Bitter.

Every surface was adorned with pictures and like of the said film star.

18th September - The Wharf at Welford

Wanted a place to break a journey back along the A14 and the old GBG I had included reference to the small town / village of welford in Northamptonshire at the north end of which apparantly was the Wharf.

On arrival we found what appear to be a number of cotteges joined together ajacant a boat yard come wharf.

Inside a good choice of beers from which I selected a beer not featured on the brewer's web site (Langton's) in the form of Lock Keeper (a search o the web revealed it was once a festival special at Leicester - wonder if its an house beer these days?) <-- email sent to brewery to find out.