Long Alley Skittles in Ilkeston, Derbyshire

Weekday afternoon session at the Spanish Bar

With the pub trade still firmly locked down as part of the ongoing response to this dreadful pandemic, and with little hope of release until April at the earliest (May if you'd actually like to drink 'inside' a pub!), the pleasures of pub-going remain frustratingly out of reach for most of us. It's a tough time for all regular pub-goer, tougher still for those that rely on their local pubs and clubs to sustain friendships and contact within the local community. It's harsh on licensees and bar staff too, people who's lives and livelihoods are intrinsically linked with what is, after all, one of the most social of all retail trades. I'm certainly missing the pub, but for licensees who've been rattling around empty premises for the best part of a year it must be a particularly challenging time.

The Dartboard at the Three Horseshoes

If we didn't know it before, I think many of us certainly know now that it's not 'just' the unique British beer experience we're missing. Indeed for some of us it's not the drinking at all given that there's ample opportunity to enjoy good beer at home these days. The shared social experience, the neutral space, the space to be alone when needed, the history and heritage, the unique atmosphere of the pub is what we're all missing. A Zoom call and a few cans might be a great way to stay in touch, but it's no substitute for proper pints in the pub with friends.

So the latest news on the long-awaited re-opening of pubs is quite depressing I have to say. It's clear that we're still such a long way off a return to normal 'pubby' engagement. I guess we all accept that some aspects of our lives may have changed forever, and that the hugs, handshakes and casual intimacy of the very best pub experiences are on hold for the time being. But sharing space with friends, acquaintances, even total strangers, is the very essence of what makes pubs special. Most pubs will clearly survive this disaster, they've weathered much worse over the years. But if they're ever to get back to being the unique social spaces we know and love, and not merely venues for eating and drinking in the company of your own self-selected social circle, we desperately need to return to a time where we can pop-in to the pub on a whim, move around the place freely, and dare I say share a table, a pint, maybe even a game with friends and strangers, all without undue anxiety or fear of breaking the rules.

Afternoon pints and Dominoes at the Spanish Bar

Of all the many positive aspects of pub-going that have been disrupted by this pandemic, it's perhaps the one closest to my own heart that's suffered the most. The hugely important, and highly social competitive games leagues, one of the last links with an era of true socially-inclusive pub-going, and the lifeblood of so many unpretentious local boozers.

All pub games leagues were mothballed around a year ago as infection rates rose and social gaming was necessarily restricted. Some leagues were lucky enough to wrap-up the Winter season ahead of lockdown, but the Summer was a total washout for team games and contact sport, and of course it soon became apparent that the following Winter season would also have to be be cancelled. However, most league organisers held to the belief that this Summer would see the pandemic sufficiently under control for competition to resume. It's now clear that another Summer will come and go without full league competition, hugely disappointing in itself, but the concern is that many of the smaller, perhaps already struggling leagues, may not in fact survive this enforced hiatus.

It's doubtful whether the Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire version of Long Alley Skittles will suffer unduly as a result of this enforced layoff. It remains a popular game throughout the region, and pubs with skittle alleys are still relatively common. There is of course the distinct possibility that some venues for the game won't survive the seemingly endless rounds of restriction on their trade, particularly those without beer gardens or the ability to meet the ridiculous 'Substantial Meal' edict that unfairly targeted wet-led pubs last year.

We know that some pub owning companies have supported their licensees throughout this pandemic, probably as well as they can under the circumstances. But equally we know that others have fallen well-short in this regard, and many licensees are likely to emerge from this pandemic saddled with unsustainable debt, finally pushed over the edge and out of business. That we're then likely to see yet another feeding frenzy for valuable pub properties, often by businesses with little or no regard for our unique pub culture and heritage, seems sadly inevitable. Hopefully Ilkeston's more traditional boozers, including the ones that continue to support its most traditional old pub game, will come through this intact and ready to resume competition in the Winter season should it be at all possible.

The Spanish Bar, Ilkeston

These photographs were taken a couple of years ago on one of our big boozy days out in Ilkeston, taking advantage of the towns recently reopened rail station at a time when the notion that pubs might close en masse was barely conceivable. As such it's yet another blog post awaiting a return visit to firm up some details, maybe even catch a game of skittles in progress. Obviously that never happened, but with reopening on the horizon I felt the time was right to get it out there, even if it's likely that things have changed a little at both of these excellent pubs. The town itself has morphed in recent times into quite a destination for the beer and pub lover. Recently opened micropubs and a specialist craft beer bar complement a range of older traditional locals, some of which have retained much of their heritage and community focus. It's also a stronghold for the local game of Long Alley Skittles.

First impressions of the Spanish Bar might be that it's quite a modern, fairly typical town-centre sports bar. That's certainly the impression I got from the outside at least. In fact it's quite a cosy two-roomer that's perhaps best known for a long-standing commitment to real ales, and a regular award winner with the local CAMRA branch. It's a proper locals pub too, and with a good crowd in for a slow weekday afternoon, which is when we popped in for a couple of pints and a game of Dominoes. It certainly helps that the Spanish Bar is an all-day every-day opener under normal circumstances, increasingly rare these days. The pub fields teams in local Darts and Dominoes leagues, and of course a couple of Skittles teams call the Spanish Bar home.

The Skittle Alley at the Spanish Bar (above & below) is verging on 'plush' by the standards of most alleys in Derbyshire, and would be a strong contender for 'Best Skittle Alley in Bloom' should such a competition actually exist! In fact the Spanish Bar is renowned as having one of the best beer gardens in Ilkeston. The tradition in this part of the country has been for outdoor skittle alleys in yards, beer gardens, or set out on the car park, but more recently the trend has been to cover the playing area against the worst of the English weather. I would imagine that the Spanish Bar skittle alley was originally an outdoor one, but it's now sheltered on all but one side. There are two leagues for Long Alley competition in the Ilkeston area, the Ilkeston & District Long Alley Skittles League, and the Border Skittles League which comprises venues in Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire.

Non-slip Rubber at the skittle alley throwing point

The Three Horseshoes, Ilkeston

The Three Horseshoes sits on the very edge of the town centre, and is a pub recently revived! I recall a very brief visit to this pub just a year or so before the current owners took over the reigns in 2013. Back then it was a very traditional ex-Hardy & Hanson's boozer that had fallen into the acquisition-hungry hands of Anglia's Greene King Brewery. My kind of basic unspoilt boozer for sure, but more than a little frayed around the edges, and somewhat unloved to be honest. I arrived at the end of a long day, the light fading fast, and with very few customers in the bar the place wasn't exactly looking its best. I'd also missed the chance of exploring the outdoor skittle alley so headed home with every intention of returning another day. Fast-forward to our big day out in Ilkeston and the pub had changed beyond recognition. In fact so much so that it was only much later, viewing and editing the photographs I'd taken that day, that I even realised we'd been drinking in the same pub.

The interior has been thoroughly modernised, though the pub still retains separate bar and lounge areas with traditional bench seating, and there's a cosy welcoming feel throughout. The beer range is also much improved from its short term of neglect under Greene King ownership. There's also a smart new function room at the rear and a very attractive patio garden area, but what of the pubs traditional Skittle Alley!

Well the alley is still there and thankfully still in use, though you might be forgiven for missing it at first glance. I'm not sure what form the original Skittle Alley at the Three Horseshoes took, an outdoor one from memory, so probably just the usual steel frame and foot-shaped throwing mark, rudimentary lighting possibly, a return chute/pipe for the balls certainly. Perhaps it still survives under the fresh new slabs that are a feature of the pubs much improved garden.

The 'improved' skittle alley lies adjacent to the new function room (home to landlord Scott Ryder's impressive collection of Hardy & Hanson's Brewery memorabilia), and has been cleverly included as part of the patio slab layout, something I've not come across anywhere else in the Long Alley Skittles area. A thoroughly modern interpretation of a very old design that neatly fulfils the needs of the game without imposing on the all-important Summer beer garden trade.