"A light was on, but nobody was at home". Well, that was true of both myself and the Cock Inn at Birdwell on Monday night.
I must declare myself Grade A Idiot - what a schoolboy BRAPA error to make, to assume a fairly rural pub might be open on a Monday, regardless of what the GBG and WhatPub might say.
After the debacle at Doncaster's Marketplace Deli two Wednesdays ago, I will be strictly sticking to Tuesday in the future and adding this 'no Monday rule' to my code of conduct. I never had this problem with West Yorkshire did I?
My reasoning for attempting a Monday was thus - I am cat-sitting Tue-Thu and had a rare blank Saturday and Sunday so felt this was my one 'window' to shine!
Due to a recurrence of my ankle injury (which as you know, I don't like to talk about!), I'd already cut Hoyland Common out of the evening as I'd have been too tempted to then walk the 1.2 miles to Birdwell rather than get a bus, running the risk of further damage.
Barnsley Bus Station was at it's manic best, with that air of 'I'm friendly but I might stab you' hanging in the air. My bus driver looked bewildered by my PlusBus ticket but let me on anyway. A horrible screaming family were behind me (half term), and I got immersed in a complex conundrum of why BT were ripping me off on my latest two bills. By the time I glanced up, we were already in Birdwell, I panicked and pressed the bell, but two stops too early giving myself a longer walk than needed. Never mind, it wasn't far.
The pub was down a little slope and looked quaint and wonderful:
A small light was on by the entrance, but as I approached to take a picture of an etched cockerel in the window, I realised how dark and closed it looked! I rang the phone number but it just rang out.
It was 6:03pm, no signs of life at all. Freezing cold, I admitted defeat and went for the bus, just missing one that must have been behind schedule. Driver saw my outstretched hand, but he wasn't stopping for anyone! 5 mins later, I decided I'd cross and do Hoyland Common's Saville Square after all, salvage something from the day, but a Barnsley bus sped round the corner and stopped for me without me even trying for it! He basically hijacked me, but he too, looked bewildered by my PlusBus ticket.
I must declare myself Grade A Idiot - what a schoolboy BRAPA error to make, to assume a fairly rural pub might be open on a Monday, regardless of what the GBG and WhatPub might say.
After the debacle at Doncaster's Marketplace Deli two Wednesdays ago, I will be strictly sticking to Tuesday in the future and adding this 'no Monday rule' to my code of conduct. I never had this problem with West Yorkshire did I?
My reasoning for attempting a Monday was thus - I am cat-sitting Tue-Thu and had a rare blank Saturday and Sunday so felt this was my one 'window' to shine!
Due to a recurrence of my ankle injury (which as you know, I don't like to talk about!), I'd already cut Hoyland Common out of the evening as I'd have been too tempted to then walk the 1.2 miles to Birdwell rather than get a bus, running the risk of further damage.
Barnsley Bus Station was at it's manic best, with that air of 'I'm friendly but I might stab you' hanging in the air. My bus driver looked bewildered by my PlusBus ticket but let me on anyway. A horrible screaming family were behind me (half term), and I got immersed in a complex conundrum of why BT were ripping me off on my latest two bills. By the time I glanced up, we were already in Birdwell, I panicked and pressed the bell, but two stops too early giving myself a longer walk than needed. Never mind, it wasn't far.
The pub was down a little slope and looked quaint and wonderful:
 |
| Quaint and wonderful, perhaps. |
It was approaching 5:45pm so I sat on the picnic bench to the right of this photo and decided to wait til 6pm just in case. I spent the 15 minutes productively, finishing solving my BT issue, changing my contract, declaring them cheating bastards. I thought I heard a curtain vigorously swiped open, but it was just a lorry swishing through the trees on the main road below.
There were two empty glasses on my picnic bench, had they been there since Sunday? Had it had a lunchtime opening window? Forensic analysis could not find the conclusion. It was cold by now, only a piece of banana cake (courtesy of former work colleague Christina Sidery) could cheer me up.
 |
| Banana Cake was superb, and the mystery glasses make a blog appearance! |
It was that kind of evening.
BRAPA eh? March is proving a tough month. I'll go again next Tuesday. Before that, some very sporadic Easter ticking in North Yorkshire on Sat, Mon and perhaps Sunday if I have the energy!
Si