Of all the really good, and occasionally really great pubs I've visited over the years, there's often been a single crucial factor that goes a long way to explaining their particular appeal. Not heritage, though that's clearly a bonus at times. Not the number of hand pumps on the bar, which is of course the 'only' measure that some folk use to judge a pub. No, for me it's the less obvious, but fundamental issue of how long the licensee(s) have been at the pub. Long tenure at a community local was once the norm, it's now very much the exception, and it's this increasingly rare aspect of the pub trade that often determines whether a pub is merely 'decent', or whether it delivers something really special for its locals and visitors alike.
The seemingly endless 'churn' of licensees in the pub trade is so normal now as to seem hardly worthy of comment, but I believe this is one of the major factors in the overall decline of pubs. This constant instability, which usually brings with it regular and often highly inappropriate refurbishment, change for change sake, is anything but attractive to locals. Yes, pub-goers have always enjoyed the novelty of the new, but novelty quickly wears thin. It's a fact that for a pub to be regarded as your local, somewhere you care about and are happy to buy into on a regular basis, there has to be some measure of stability in the faces behind the bar and the direction that the business is moving in.
Which is not to say that a new business can't deliver an instant wow-factor that's highly attractive to customers, particularly with regard to beer range or a great food offering. But what I'm talking about here is that indefinable 'rightness' that you get in a well-established community pub, and in a business where licensees come and go at a truly bewildering rate, I think this goes a long way to explaining why so many pubs struggle to be truly 'great' at what they do, and why it's such a pleasure when you 'do' find one that has that indefinable 'rightness'.
Many of the locals from the Wheatsheaf have moved their trade to the Bulls Head, a pub which has been in the same safe hands for over a dozen years now. Now this may not sound a particularly long time in the grand scheme of things, but the fact is it's a significant period in the current topsy-turvy market, and certainly represents a firm commitment to the business that's been recognised by pub owners Everards on more than one occasion. Licensee Jayne Irwin and her team run a tight ship at the Bull, but always with an eye to what her loyal locals actually want from 'their' pub, which I think is how it should be.
The pub itself is a fairly substantial red brick and mock Tudor affair, sitting on a large plot that includes a well-used garden. It retains a traditional two-room layout of bar and lounge, the latter the quiet space, the former equipped with Pool Table, Dartboard, and when I popped in, the current afternoon bar-fly obsession of Snooker on the telly. The pub dog was lazing on a big floor cushion, and there was a smattering of locals in for a pint even on a slow midweek afternoon when so many pubs don't even bother to open these days. The pub supports numerous games teams, including those for Darts and Pool, and I think Dominoes is still played at the pub if the silverware in the trophy cabinet is anything to go by. There's also skittles of course, Whetstone being at the very heart of Leicestershire's Long Alley and Table Skittles tradition.
Instead, league skittles play is represented at the pub in the Dunton Basset Ladies and Mens Leagues, as well as a couple of mixed teams in the smaller Lutterworth League. That makes for a lot of skittles play, and the Bulls Head is clearly one of those pubs that derive a great deal of trade from its support of traditional pub games.
While I was there rooting around and taking photos in the alley, a local popped his head round the door to see what I was up to and a bit of a chat. He'd spent the morning sprucing up and cleaning the alley ahead of a function, and I could tell the place was his pride and joy. He was also effusive in his praise of Jayne who is clearly the beating heart of one of the finest and well-run community locals I've had the pleasure to visit in a good while.
The skittles table is a local Leicester model, and in common with all similar examples I've seen in the area, there's no indication of who made it. As far as I can tell, the table is used exclusively for the 'county' version of the game with its distinctive yellow plastic pins and cheeses, rather than the thin wooden skittles used in the unique 'city' game and which this style of table was probably originally designed for.The tables shown here are unusual. I've seen plenty of games tables with alcoves for a pint, but not this steel frame design. Sadly, they're on their way out in favour of new furniture, all part of the day-to-day upkeep of the alley and the pub in general.
2 comments:
I'd not really thought about that but it's a valid point! I used to know all the gaffers in my locals twenty five years ago and they'd often been there for donkey's years! Ansells Mild also very good and probably shaded Brew XI for me.
Another great looking boozer and I didn't realise there were still quite so many with skittle alleys in existence.
Britain Beermat
Of course being there for donkeys years is no guarantee of anything on its own, the attitude to the business has to be right too. But when you combine these two factors you end up with the very best pubs in my experience. Ansells Mild was for me the absolutely classic West Mids Mild, dark Mahogany in colour, slightly sweeter than those from the M&B empire, loads of flavour for such a modest abv. I think you can still get it on keg but in my experience, low abv milds are probably the worst to serve in this way, the 'mild' flavour just doesn't get past the chill and fizz.
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