Seaside Sojourn - Day Two

I was up and about quite early - the habit of getting up in good time for travelling north is a hard one to break - and so I watched the F1 Grand Prix qualifying as BBC1 was about the only channel I could get with my titchy aerial.

I joined Tony, Lesley and Brian in the restaurant - the breakfast was rather disappointing in terms of quality but was served by a young girl in her first day on the job who was very polite. Brian confused her somewhat though by asking for just two rashers of bacon but was twice given a full breakfast.

After breakfast, five of our group took the M1 bus (great value - £5 for five people for all day travel on that bus route) and headed off into the centre of Bournemouth.

We had a wander through the Lower Gardens where we resisted the lure of a static balloon ride - not difficult when they're charging £12.50 per person.

(left) Tony with some Darlo-style rock for Neil

We headed to the pier where we bagged some traditional seaside rock - proper break-your-teeth stuff, not the sweet soft stuff you often find these days.

Tony bought some black and white striped 'Darlo' rock for Neil though whether he ever receives it remains to be seen.

It was a bright sunny day so we actually strayed onto the beach and dipped our feet into the sea.
And then after a quick butchers around the aviary, where we admired the collection of exotic finches and teeny-tiny quail, we headed off towards the matchday pub.

It was quite a schlep - a bit further than we realised and in hindsight a bus might have been quicker for most of the journey - but it was just as well as I'd been misled about the opening time.

Getting there at ten minutes to noon and finding it closed wasn't quite as annoying as it would have been to get there at eleven as I'd been advised.

After a few minutes the Cricketers Arms opened and we headed to the bar. Just three ales on offer - the regular beer is Fullers London Pride - and there were two guests; Youngs Kew Gold and one of the Piddle beers.

Most of us stuck to the Kew Gold which was the perfect beer for a nice warm day. Tony had a quick try of the Piddle but some returned to the Gold.

(right) Cricketers Arms

The Cricketers Arms has recently been announced as pub of the year for 2010 for East Dorset. I had a chat with the landlady and she was a bit surprised at winning the award given she has a relatively small range of beer.

We sat inside out of the bright sunshine and played the jukebox - various stragglers joining us - first Bev and then Iain, who'd caught the train from Sussex, and finally Steve.

From the Cricketers it was a 15-20 minute walk to Dean Court (or the Fitness First Stadium if you prefer).

There was a big home crowd plus the usual hardcore of Darlo fans, most of who also appeared to be making a weekend of it.

Darlo had a few injuries so Madden replaced Arnison who has been one of the better players of late. Only five subs were named due to the lack of available players.

In the first half, Darlo more than held their own - Bournemouth were certainly a well-drilled team and had a game plan of getting the ball up to their big forwards, not pretty football but it has worked well for them so far this season.

The Cherries had quite a few opportunities but all efforts were blazed wide or tidied up by the defence. Upfront, Darlo had a couple of efforts on goal but nothing for us to get too excited about.
In the second half, our work rate diminished as Bournemouth moved up a gear and our defending became more frenetic.

(left) Lunchtime DAFTS

Bournemouth broke the deadlock close to the hour mark - a cross ball was met by the head of Robinson and the ball appeared to slip through Redmond's hands. It looked soft from where we were sat.

Inevitably this energised the home side and they upped the pressure even more. The lead was doubled when the ref awarded a penalty for handball by Madden - more a case of ball to hand and very harsh.

It certainly didn't look deliberate which is what Law 12 says it should be but we didn't get the rub of the green from the ref (not that it would have affected the outcome) throughout the game.
For the remainder of the match, Darlo struggled to get the ball out of their half and make meaningful progress up front - Michael Smith was introduced but was inffectual whilst Redmond made a great save close to the end.

After clapping off the team, we made our way via a couple of buses back to the hotel for a quick change into glad rags (for those that had them). A few of us then headed back to the Porterhouse and then the Goat for more beers.

In the Goat we came across John Gray, Richie Parker and chums who were doing their best to get through the eleven handpumps and the conversation turned to the pubs we'll be trying out in the Conference next season.

From the Goat it was a short walk to the West Beach Restaurant more or less right on the beach close to the pier. This is supposedly the best place in town, concentrating mainly on seafood dishes.

Those that had stayed at the hotel had beaten us but we found that our table wasn't yet ready - not a good start. In the end it took about 15 mins for them to get our table ready which did at least allow time for use to fully peruse the specials board.

The restaurant is a cut-above the normal sort of restaurant DAFTS tend to visit on their away trips but given that we're celebrating a few people hitting their half century this year (try and guess who), it was nice to visit somewhere a bit special.

Debbie McGee was also dining at a nearby table - sans hubby who was performing for the Round Table in a nearby hotel - so it's obviously the in place to be in Bournemouth (if you're a former assistant to a magician, that is).

The food was excellent, not quite the quantities that trenchers like us are used to but still very filling, and as the restaurant offered free water and wine in lieu of our extended wait, the meal didn't break the bank either.

All in all a fine finish to a very pleasant weekend away - good company, good beer and good food - what more do you want?

Now all I have to do is get my deposit back...

Seaside Sojourn - Day One

Whilst waiting for my train at Waterloo station, I saw a familiar figure shuffling along the concourse- it took me a few seconds to work out who but it was Bernard Cribbins, looking old and frail, but despite his recent appearances in Dr Who it appears no one else recognised him.

I'd taken the Friday afternoon off in order to beat the rush-hour frenzy and head off to the south coast - a quiet journey just a little under two hours with some nice views of the New Forest along the way - where I met Steve and Cath at Branksome station.

(left) Branksome Railway Hotel

We were staying at the nearby Branksome Railway Hotel - we wandered over and checked in.

After paying for our rooms we were rather dischuffed to find that we also had to pay a deposit in case anything got damaged. Damn cheek - do we look like the types that would smash up our rooms?!

After checking in and dropping off our luggage, we decided against a beer in the hotel and wandered off down the Poole Road into Bournemouth to our first port of call, the Porterhouse.

This is a small pub belonging to Ringwoods serving three of their regular beers - Best Bitter, Fortyniner and Old Thumper - plus guests Harviestoun Bitter and Twisted and Martons Old Empire IPA.

Being mid-afternoon tt was nice and quiet and the beers were in good condition so we settled back to relax for a couple of hours. We were joined by Tony and Lesley who'd driven down from Darlington.

After a couple more beers we wandered off to one of our old haunts, the Goat and Tricycle on West Hill Road.

Several years ago a group of us had come down, not just for a Darlo game but also for Neil's 50th birthday. We stayed at a hotel just down the road and the Goat became our local pub.

(right) The Goat and Tricycle

Neil, along with his other half Mari, had been planning to join us for the weekend but they became one of the early casualties of the Icelandic volcanic dust which was grounding most flights in northern Europe.

As then, the pub had a large range of ales on offer - it's a Wadworths pub so there are quite a few from their stable such as Bishops Tipple, Horizon, 6X, Strong In The Arm and Henry's Original IPA.

There were also a good few guests on offer: Tom Wood's Springtime, Cairngorm Howler, Ushers 1824, O'Hanlons Yellow Hammer, Everards Tiger, Holden's Wind Blower and White Horse Saracen.

On the way in I bumped into a guy who asked if I was from CAMRA? I mean - just how did he guess that? It turned out he was from Sheffield and his local CAMRA mates had asked him to bring down various newsletters but he only knew this pub. Ever organised with my trusty map, I soon put him straight on the places to visit.

John and Bev were next to join us and as well as sampling the beers we also had some food. A very decent menu, the pick of which was the trio of steaks for less than a tenner - gammon, pork and rump steak plus chips, tomato and fried egg - very good quality, well cooked and quickly devoured.

A surprise guest joining us was Gavin Ellis who was looking for some people to tell his bad jokes to.

We remember his comedic talents all too well from pre-season trips to the Isle of Man and Eire several years ago. Suffice to say they've not improved.

(left) Have you heard this one, Ted?

Gavin told us that he'd taken the coach to Rochdale, had taken the train down to Bournemouth and was going to the next game at Cheltenham in his taxi. He's going to take a few fans with him - I hope they're taking cotton wool with them.

Brian was the last to join us - he'd been to see some cricket at Trent Bridge before driving down to complete our merry band - and after a quick pint, we wandered off back to the Porterhouse.

Unlike earlier, the pub was absolutely crammed - it seems to be a real locals place and age-wise the clientele reminded me a little of Number Twenty2. We had another quick pint before heading off back to the hotel for a relatively early night.

Update: Read about Gav and his taxi ride to Cheltenham here.