Bricking It

I've never been keen on Cheltenham - in theory it's a nice enough town, quite genteel, but it just doesn't feel like a football town. And from the station it's a real hike to the town and the football ground. The pubs are, barring one notable exception, not too exciting either.

So with all that in mind I jumped at the chance of joining Steve for the Fulham -v- Villa game when he offered me a ticket.

And since I didn't need to leave home until late, I finally got the chance to try out one of our local greasy spoons, Ken's Cafe on Green Street, which is just done from the Boleyn Ground and highly regarded by Hammers' fans.

(left) House of Hammers

Phill Jupitus is apparently a regular and he looks like he knows where to get a good meal.

The big breakfast is excellent value - egg, bacon, two sausages, chips, beans, fried slice, bread and a cup of rosy lee for a fiver - and fairly decent quality. I was the first customer of the day but it soon started to fill up as West Ham were at home to Blackburn later in the day.

Despite engineering work on the middle part of the District line, I was able to get to Putney without any great hassle - a very pleasant walk across Putney Bridge and onto the Bricklayers Arms.

Although not officially opening until noon, there were a few people already in the pub, Steve being one of them, so he got the beers in.

The Bricklayers is an independent pub but does more or less the full Tim Taylors range as well as a few guest beers. Today the guest were all from Itchen Valley.

I've been here on numerous occasions over the past few years and I always go straight for the Ram Tam - Steve opting instead for Itchen's IVB.

I was quite surprised to find they were using plastic glasses - I know that it's a match day but we're a good schlep from Craven Cottage and it's not likely to have any bother as we cask ale types tend to be quite peaceable.

The Ram Tam was wonderful stuff regardless - it's quite hard to find outside Yorkshire but it's a lovely beer for a cold day.

It wasn't long before we were joined by Neil and Sam, Villa fans and residents of Cardiff just like Steve, despite both of them being Scots and having Scottish teams to support as well (Hearts and Falkirk respectively).

Not surprising the talk was all of Carling Cup final tickets and who'd managed to get one. Steve and Neil have season tickets so they're all right (jack). For the others it looks like it'll be the TV.

(right) Unlikely Lads

Eastbourne-based Villa fan Pat was next to join us followed by Rhodri, Steve's mate from BBC Wales.

It soon became apparent that all was not well elsewhere. John Bell sent a text saying there was a pitch inspection at Cheltenham - his next text was to say the game was postponed (or "Fuck, fuck, fuck!" as he put it ever so elegantly).

I felt slightly vindicated in giving the game a miss - though Neil and Sam are now suggesting we all make an afternoon of it in Cheltenham for the rearranged fixture.

Likewise we hear from Liz that the game between Rotherham and Macclesfield has also bit the dust - she and the other London Millers instead finding refuge in the Fat Cat. It's a hard life...

The Ram Tam failed to last the lunchtime session and we moved onto a double round of Golden Best - not surprisingly it was a bit watery in comparison - before heading off to the Cottage. The journey is as pleasant as they come - walk over the Thames and then through Fulham Palace Gardens and Bishops Park.

In previous seasons we've been in the away end proper but today we're in the neutral section of the Putney End. The tickets are a bit dear at £40 but we're in row E right behind the goal.

The game started off slowly with no side really putting the keepers to hard work. Villa looked the slightly brighter of the two teams as the half progressed but it looked like going into half-time goalless until Agbonlahor got a brace in the last five minutes - a header which sneaked over the line and then a very tidy lob over Schwarzer.

(above) Villa keeper Brad Friedel beats Zamora to the ball

In the second half Villa sat back somewhat, probably expecting Fulham to pile on some pressure but it was all a bit half-hearted. Gera got the ball in the net but was off-side and the game slowly ran down to it's inevitable conclusion.

After the game we headed back to the Bricklayers to meet Cath who'd been busy shopping at the Dr Martens shop. It was heaving with Fulham and Villa fans so after a quick beer we headed to Aldgate East and a pint in the Pride of Spitalfields.

The pub was equally heaving with a mixture of locals and Hoxton-types so we just had a quick pint of Mighty Oak's Maldon Gold and left for some grub.

It's a long time since I'd had a curry down in Brick Lane - these days there are touts outside most restaurants trying to tempt you in with a variety of offers ("35% off the bill, sir?") who get very annoying.

We opted for one of my old haunts, the Sheba, which I patronised a lot in the 80s with various medic friends from the London Hospital. After waiting ten minutes to be seated we finally got to grips with the menu - a bit more expansive that I remember though old favourites such as bombay duck are no longer available. An acquired taste it has to be said.

The food was good standard fare - nothng outstanding but it hit the spot after having nothing solid since breakfast - and then it was back to ours for Match of the Day and relive the victory all over again...

Making Mischief

No report from our game at Hereford unfortunately as I didn't actually make it. I'd got as far as Paddington but was feeling pretty crap by the time I got there.

I suspect the cause of my malady was a dodgy pizza made by my own fair hand the night before though Liz seemed to have escaped - must have been the anchovy/chilli topping that I do for myself.

I made the only sensible choice and went back home instead of the less-sensible-but-more-enjoyable one of joining Steve and John in the Barrels.

However Steve was up in London to see the Villa at Upton Park and we decided to make an east-end afternoon out of it. Certainly beats working.

I met him at Earls Court and we tubed over to Bethnal Green and the Approach Tavern.

It's a Fullers pub we've been visiting occasionally over the past year and we just stuck to Pride although Steve had opted for Chiswick initially but it came out like soup!

(left) Cyprus Road War Memorial

After a couple of pints we wander along Old Ford Road and take a quick visit to see an interesting local landmark, the War Memorial on Cyprus Street.

The memorial was erected after the First World War by the Duke of Wellington's Discharged and Demobilised Soldiers and Sailors Benevolent Club. They need an acronym.

It's very impressive in that it is beautifully maintained - in fact the whole street seems very pretty with all it's shutters - not how most would imagine the streets of Bethnal Green.

Apparently it is looked after by some elderly local residents but they're having trouble finding new volunteers to help out as all the old families die out.

We saw similar war memorials in St Albans when we had a crawl there in summer and they were also lovingly cared for.

From Cyprus Road we wander to the Roman Road where we're hoping to have some pie and mash in the local Robin's outlet. Steve was keen after being denied when we went to Dagenham a few weeks ago.

But it's not there - the local butcher informs us that it's recently closed and it now appears to be a meze cafe. Looks like Steve is out of luck again but we're told there are a couple more further along at the Roman Road market.

(right) G.Kelly to Steve's rescue

We troll along and find both of these outlets belong to G Kelly and as it's not a proper market day, we're not surprised to see that just one of them is open.

The food is very good - a nice pie, not too crusty with a decent filling of mince, and excellent mash - not too lumpy and certainly not the smooth baby-food style mash you get in most gastro-joints which I absolutely hate. Lovely jubbly!

(left) Traditional pie and mash with less traditional mushy peas


From here it's a short walk back towards Old Ford Road and a new pub for us, the Eleanor Arms.

We've seen the adverts for this pub in editions of the London Drinker for the last year or so and kept meaning to drop in and try it out.

It's a Shepherd Neame pub which has never been one of my favourite breweries but let's not prejudge! They had the Canterbury Jack and the Late Red autumn ale - we had the latter and it was in good condition and not too bad.

We got talking to Frankie and Lesley - the landlord and landlady - and they're a really friendly pair who seem to be on their way to turning this into a real cosy pub without any of the local ne'er-do-wells who previously visited the place. Their experience running NAAFI bars no doubt coming in handy here...

They're both delighted at being included in the latest Good Beer Guide - the first time for this pub - and we have a interesting chat on some of East London's other GBG entries - some of which do not always bear scrutiny in our humble opinions.

Frankie was getting a special brew from Shep's pilot brewery ready for the forthcoming quiz night - an American IPA - and he gave us both a small sample. Very tasty it was too but still with a Sheps aftertaste. I'm sure it will go down well.

(right) The Eleanor Arms

But we couldn't chat all day - next stop was the Palm Tree, one of our old favourites.

It's always a cosy bolt-hole and as dusk fell, the faint glitter of lights in the bar were a welcoming site across the Mile End eco-park.

As ever they had a couple of interesting beers on - one from Oxfordshire Ales plus Old Cocky from the Welton's Brewery in Horsham. We stuck to the latter - good stuff.

Liz then joined us for an hour or so before we left the pub and caught the tube to Upton Park for the West Ham -v- Villa game. Liz and I had got tickets for the home end as tickets in the away end had all gone.

We were in the old East Stand - the only stand which hasn't been revamped over the past few years - and the leg room is probably worse than the away end at Luton - even for a short-arse like me.

And the cost? £47. Which puts the £18 Darlo admission charge into perspective even allowing for the supposed difference in quality between the divisions.

As ever Villa fans are in good voice with their usual gamut of songs - "My Garden Shed (Is Bigger Than This)" and "John Carew, Carew (Is Bigger Than Me and You)" - clearly putting Holland-Dozier-Holland to shame - whilst the Hammers are extremely quiet, presumably through nerves. Just goes to show that a full stadium doesn't guarantee an atmosphere!

Villa more or less boss the game throughout but without taking the lead - West Ham are wasteful in possession and ponderous going forward. Villa live to regret their profligacy when the Hammers are awarded a penalty just before the break.

From our angle - more or less in line with the back line - Hines was offside anyway and the penalty awarded for a shove in the back looked harsh. But ref Bennett was clearly auditioning for a major role in The Simpsons. 1-0 to the Hammers.

Villa got their own penalty in the second-half for a high, clumsy challenge but Green saved Young's kick. But it was a brief respite as Young scored a cracker just a few minutes laterm curling the ball over a despairing Green.

Villa should then have taken West Ham to the cleaners but despite dominating possession they couldn't get another goal. Then ref Bennett sent off Habib Beye for a second yellow.

As Hammers fans around us snuck out early, it was almost inevitable that there'd be a late goal against the ten men and so it was - Villa were cruelly beaten in the 3rd minute of added time.

To ease the pain, we took Steve to a local kerala restaurant - fast becoming the new east end cuisine, much fresher tasting than the traditional Bangladeshi fare - and had some lovely mutton curry and parippu (that's lentils to you).

Still, a good day out, shame about the result - sounds just like Darlo...