17/04/26 - Birmingham Culture

Needless and Peaky

The latest West Midlands History Podcast features the Peaky Blinders. It was only a matter of time. Carl Chinn enthusiastically reminding the listeners that they are not to be glamourised and were simply street thugs. And then going on to glamourise them for the next 30 minutes.

Finding Peaky Blinders locations in Birmingham is a little like shooting fish in a barrel. In fact, an Arthur and/or Tommy mural in a pub has now replaced Alsatians on a flat roof pub as the international measure of roughness. 

Coincidentally, I had just finished a book set in Birmingham and during the same time period, Needless Alley. 

Needless Alley is a crime novel set in 1933 Birmingham. William Garrett, a struggling private detective, makes his living staging divorce “honey traps” with his friend Ronnie Edgerton, an out-of-work actor. Their work brings William into contact with Clara Morton, the unhappy wife of a wealthy fascist, and he falls in love with her. When murder and corruption follow, William is drawn into Birmingham’s criminal underworld and canal-side backstreets.

The main characters are William Garrett, the troubled detective; Ronnie Edgerton, his witty but reckless partner; and Queenie Maggs, Ronnie’s tough, resourceful sister who lives on a narrowboat and knows the canal world better than anyone.

Rather fortuitously, there are walking routes pre-made for both Peaky Blinders and Needless Alley. I am able to just get on with walking, spotting key locations.

Book Title and Location of William's Private Detective Agency 

The Grand Hotel - Trysts between Clara and William

Art Gallery and Museum - William and Clara's first date

Gas Street Basin - Queenie lives on a Barge

Jon Jones Mural in Hill Street for the launch of the Peaky Blinders Film

Electric Cinema (looking increasingly sad) - Where William watched Marlene Dietrich movies 

A refreshment interlude. William often meets Ronnie in the White Swan, Digbeth. Last month, I visited this rough and ready pub by error, confusing it for the recently renovated and reopened Anchor.

It's not too surprising a mistake to make. Both pubs were built by the same firm - James and Lister Lea - share the same terracotta brick style and are located on the same street. In the interests of variety, I make the Anchor my port of call. 

An added incentive - the best track on Katherine Priddy's new album, Hurricane, was filmed there.

It's good to have the Anchor back. A Tardis-like multi-roomer, which cries out to be explored. And the chance of a first Bass of the year. Permanently on, Quinno.

Very similar to the White Swan

The light didn't work for the reverse photo

That dog was in the White Swan last month

The Peaky Blinder walk would have had me drinking in the Rainbow. The first mention of the Peaky Blinders in print. Carl Chinn explains;

“An ‘inoffensive chap’ called George Eastwood had been drinking in the Rainbow pub on the corner of High Street, Deritend and Adderley Street. The teetotaller was picked on by three hard men on the evening of March 23, 1890 – and all because he had a non-alcoholic drink. There is a bit of a row, but it dies down. Later, at about 11pm, George decides to go home. The hard men had already gone, so he must have thought it was safe – but as he was walking underneath the Adderley Street viaduct, he hears them shouting at him and then they brutally assault him under one of these two viaducts. One on the attackers was a chap called Thomas Mucklow, another was called Groom. The identity of the third man is still unknown. Groom punched George before they all started kicking with their boots along the street. And then Groom took off his heavy leather belt – these had thick brass buckles and they would wrap it around their wrist and leave about eight inches free, buckle it together and they would slash! Poor old George took so many beatings from the belt and the kicking and the punch that he was in hospital for three weeks. On the Monday night, the Birmingham Mail reported that this brutal assault was carried out by the gang of Peaky Blinders. It was the first time – March 1890 – that the term ‘Peaky Blinders’ had appeared in print.”

This would have been interesting for the walk - but unfortunately, the pub keeps night-time opening hours only.

The Rainbow - looking better during yesteryear

The back streets of Digbeth providing Peaky Blinder menace and the occasional artwork reminders. Montague Street, with the best mural of the day.

King of the Blinders - part of a much bigger art work

Not Peaky at all

Walk Details

Distance - 4.75 Miles

Geocaches - 4

Walk Inspiration - History WM Podcast and The Book Trail

15/04/26 - Good Beer Guide Ticking in Gloucester

Variety Abounds

The Drunken Duck, a tiny micropub down a little alley, has a fine collection of Bibles on the window-shelf.

Running back to the last Millennium

The natural thing is to check your home town - in my case - Stourport-on-Severn - to determine who made it in what year. The town has around 15 pubs - and in no time at all, I can see they have all made it during one year or another. Even the ones where I remember the beer quality, and in some cases, the pub itself to be dreadful.

This means the job of Good Beer Guide Ticking is a true Sisyphean undertaking. I expect much work to be done in the County Town since my last visit in Covid. 

I start at the early opener in the fancily gentrified dockyard area. Dr Foster's lacking in naming stakes originality and I must admit to not holding out much hope in a restaurant.

Unapologetically Gastro

Two major surprises - a Tap Takeover from one of may favourite Cotswold Breweries, Goff's. And everything £3 a pint. I mentioned my surprise to the barman, who simply replied "It's Wednesday, innit". Well long live Wednesdays.

Goffs Lancer - just add customers....

A short distance away is the Hop Kettle. Whereas the good doctor opens at 11am, the tardy kettle leave it to 3pm. 

Moving on to the Drunken Duck - which I remember as Angie's and a wonderful landlord who insisted on calling you by your name as he adhered to Covid delivery rituals. Busy with deliveries, beer salesmen and debt collectors, who left fully paid up. Their own house bitter is Butcombe Original.

Drunken Duck - Angies No More

The Fountain was Covid locked up before and I couldn't even get down the alley to take a photograph. It's discussed on the rather excellent Tourist Information audio tour. The oldest brewery and pub in the City, running since the C14th.

The Fountain

7 cask on - most from South West Breweries. My Tribute a panic buy, after being challenged as to what I was doing scanning the Cask Marque QR code. Full of pensioners eating and if I picked poorly on my pint, I made a worse choice on the seating. You try balancing on a church pew with the smell of fish and chips in your nostrils. The Campaign for Comfy Pub Chairs starts again here.

I was looking forward to The Pelican, a Wye Valley House that simply gave up during Covid and didn't open at all. The door was firmly closed and with no sign of life inside. I was forced to re-check Google for opening hours that said it should be open. A push of the door and indeed it was.

Little sign of life in the Pelican

A group of old boys, with the detritus of a serious session on display on their table, provided the eavesdropping entertainment. The Butty Bach was in fantastic condition. It's my regular pint in my GBG local, but it tops it here.

The Audio Guide had brought my attention to the New Inn, describing it as the finest galleried pub in the country. Built in 1440 by monks for pilgrims, I really had to investigate. Not least because Mr Rolls (of Rolls Royce fame) managed to run over himself here in 1896.

Gives the George in Borough High Street serious competition

What it provided in architectural atmosphere, it negated by having a poor beer selection and no-one on point to serve. I was happy with my mooch around, ready to head back to the station in a thunderstorm.

14/04/26 - The Talbot, Chaddesley Corbett

Licenced Café Vibes

We are borrowing dogs again. The third time out with Ian and Sam (we don't name them). We are told that Sam is likely to chase deer on our planned walk on Clent, so re-arrange for Chaddesley Corbett.

Normally, the post walk refreshment would be Bathams at the Swan but the other pub, built in 1501, has re-opened. Looking at the opening hours, we are not 100% sure as what.

Good Beer Guide Pubs marked with a Star in my Google Maps!

The walk was perfect. Wide open spaces on agricultural fields. Some woodland walking along the Royal Foresters Way. And with two male labs, I am delighted to say that every potential stile has been replaced with a kissing gate. We could kiss the local Ramblers. Or Farmers. Whoever maintains them has made the walk very accessible.

Ian and Sam

Along the Royal Foresters Walk

Where the bluebells are out early

Perfect.

Back to the "pub".  Detailed in my 1960s Historic Inns of Interest Book - where it was run by Banks and catered for 60 diners in an upstairs room.

1960s proof-reader required... Chaddersely Indeed 

Only open to 1pm, it cannot be a pub in the truest sense of the word. The owners are going for a licenced café vibe, with more typical hours on the weekends and no end of social events - from book clubs to Thai Street food takeovers.

Outside - cottages from 1501 knocked together

Insider - other customers out of shot

An opportunity to test Mr Clarkson's brewing abilities or chance the cask with a Worcestershire Way. Both shunned for an Americano. 

It seemed more apt.

Walk Details

Distance - 5.5 Miles

Geocaches - 0

Walk Inspiration - 100 Walks in Hereford and Worcester, Walk 42

12/04/26 - London's Hidden Walks - Mayfair

Rock and Roll, Suicide

There are four volumes of London's Hidden Walks. I start posh. Book 1, Walk 1 is Mayfair. The guide is superb - packed with information, with pages of data on a relatively short tour of the capital's most opulent area. 

I'll pick out the bits that are of most interest to me, otherwise I will have the world's longest blog. The streets of London are paved with stories.

I emerged from the tube at Piccadilly - finding my bearings at Eros.

Eros - was meant to be Anteros, the Greek God of unrequited love

At the edge of Park Lane, I hunted for the flat at Number 9 Curzon Place. In 1974, Mama Cass died in a flat there, to be followed four years later - but incredibly in the same bed - by Keith Moon.

Behind the window at the top right hand corner

A little further on at Audley Square - an innocent enough looking lamp post was a dead drop location for Soviet spies in the 1950s. Letters stored behind a little opening at the rear, with chalk marks on the pavement indicating that there was a hidden message. WhatsApp is more efficient, but not as quaint.

Spy lore - now home of not one, but two Geocaches

Around Berkeley Square to find the nightclub that provides the redtop with so much ammunition. Annabel's used to be in the basement of 44, with the Claremont Club (Lord Lucan's gambling den) above. Number 50 is rumoured to be London's most haunted house - with tales of suicides, madness and toffs with shotguns.

Annabel's is now at 46

And this is as close as I will get to a Private Club

For reasons that may make it into a future blog, I am having an Evelyn Waugh cultural moment. In preparation for a visit to Madresfield Court, I am working my way through Brideshead Revisited. Smack bang in the middle of Mayfair is the Church of the Immaculate Conception. Mr Waugh converted to Catholicism there in 1939. Much like Rex in Brideshead. 

As pretty as a picture

To give you an idea as to how much material route planners have to work with in the Smoke, two adjacent houses in Brook Street both have blue plaques. The first, the home of Handel and next door, a couple of centuries later, Jimi Hendrix.

Jimi - Left; Handel - Right

And finally, Heddon Street - a little alley off Regents Street - was the location for the cover shot of Bowie's Ziggy Stardust. A little imagination is required to make the connection.

Ye, Who was K West? 

A Sunday morning too early for pubs, but there were some beauties along the route. Ye Grapes in Shepherd's Market needs a revisit.

Every pub's a beauty in London

Walk Details

Distance - 4.5 Miles

Geocaches - c30

Walk Inspiration - London's Hidden Walks - Book 1 - Walk 1