St George's Blues Experience

Another epic journey of multiple buses and trains to get to Yaxley, a small village in the middle of Cambridgeshire. With the train going to Peterborough, we stopped at The Draper's Arms for lunch. A huge Wetherspoon's near the station, and another pre-match stop at The Duck & Drake. Post match refreshments were held at The Three Horseshoes, in Yaxley, before getting a bus, a train and another bus back to The Wheatsheaf to be entertained by Sidewinder, a 4-piece blues and rock band from Watford.

Light on numbers, we traveled to deepest Essex. With a train, 20-odd stops on the District Line and a bus to Aveley, we had a well earned break at The Old Ship Inn. On the way home, light refreshments were taken at The Blackfriar, near the station, before being entertained by EasyDread in The Wheatsheaf, back in Dunstable. #COYB

Following two decent performances against Cambridge City and Kidlington, we set off for Bromsgrove with hope in our hearts, that we could turn over the table topping Sporting. Any trip towards the Black Country always requires a trip via New Street and a few beers. Visits to the Post Office Vaults (https://whatpub.com/pubs/BIR/3229/post-office-vaults-birmingham) and The Wellington (https://whatpub.com/pubs/BIR/1828/wellington-birmingham) in Birmingham city centre were complimented by a visit to The Red Lion (https://whatpub.com/pubs/RED/1093/red-lion-bromsgrove) in Bromsgrove. As always the beer selection in Brum was excellent, and the variety in the Red Lion was certainly on a par with the city pubs. Music: "Coffin Nails" by Mark Sultan https://marksultanletmeout.bandcamp.com/album/let-me-out Contact us via Twitter: @StGeorgesBlues1 or email: stgeorgesbluesexperience@gmail.com

On the back of our victory on the road in Oxfordshire, the Blues returned home to take on early play off pace setters Cambridge City, it was proved to be a good test for our young heroes. Opening track: "Rabbit" by Chas & Dave www.chasndave.com/latest-news Contact us via Twitter: @StGeorgesBlues1 or email: stgeorgesbluesexperience@gmail.com

Following a spanking from Aylesbury last week, our GK crisis had been addressed and a loanee was now in place, as well as a “new” centre half. Things were looking up. We popped into The Red Lion www.whatpub.com/pubs/OXF/KN-7/red-lion-kidlington in Kidlington, for a couple of beers before the game. Ember Inns Pale Ale www.emberinns.co.uk/our-ale and the ever delightful BrewDog’s Punk IPA www.brewdog.com/beer/headliners/punk-ipa Once back in town a couple of liveners in the King’s Arms www.whatpub.com/pubs/BES/220/kings-arms-houghton-regis and a surprise visit of the Flying Ants https://my.lemonrock.com/flyingants1 Opening track: "Don't Quote Me On That" by Madness www.madness.co.uk Contact us via Twitter: @StGeorgesBlues1 or email: stgeorgesbluesexperience@gmail.com

After Dunstable Town’s exit from the FA Cup, we had a free Saturday, so met up for a few ales and a short train ride to Bedford to see the Doors Alive www.thedoorsalive.co.uk A busy King’s Arms was our starting point whatpub.com/pubs/BES/220/kings-arms-houghton-regis, before we boarded the busway to Luton and popped in the George II, whatpub.com/pubs/BES/315/george-ii-luton, close to Luton railway station. Once in Bedford, we were drawn into The Ship whatpub.com/pubs/BEN/89/ship-bedford before arriving at Esquires www.bedfordesquires.co.uk for what was an amazing show from Doors Alive. We were fortunate to hear that Dog Day Afternoon www.facebook.com/DogDayBand were running late, when we got off the train at Luton, so were treated to a second band and a very enjoyable day out. Opening track: "The Heist" by The Kubricks www.thekubricks.com Contact us via Twitter: @StGeorgesBlues1 or email: stgeorgesbluesexperience@gmail.com

Even though it was a home game, we had plans to visit a few pubs, quaff a few ales and go and see a band in Luton that evening. The game its self was a great match with plenty of goals, a red card and a penalty. Both teams contributed to a brilliant game of football. After the match, with the Vicar of Dribley as our designated driver, we visited the Wetherspoon’s Gary Cooper’s, The King’s Arms in Houghton Regis and then on to the George II in Luton to watch The Von Trapps. www.facebook.com/groups/5721657742 A fun loving four piece, The Von Trapps are a loud rock and punk covers band, who fully expect audience participation. Unfortunately, having got the settings sorted on the recording equipment, we only managed to capture about 30 seconds of the band, so we will have to try again next time the boys are in town. Opening track: "Total Football" by Parquet Courts https://parquetcourts.wordpress.com Closing track: “Janey” by The Cavemen www.dirtywaterrecords.co.uk/cavemen Contact us via Twitter: @StGeorgesBlues1 or email: stgeorgesbluesexperience@gmail.com

After breakfast, our day started at the local Wetherspoon's, Samuel Lloyd named after the founder of the local steel works which dominated the town, until Thatcher destroyed the British steel industry in the 80s. The usual issue with under staffing at Wetherspoon’s was exacerbated when the duty manager passed out and an ambulance was called. Worth the wait was the selection of beers from the Grainstore Brewery. www.grainstorebrewery.com/drink/ They stocked GB Best, Rutland Panther, a dark mild and Gold, their light golden summer ale. After the game we met in the Chequered Flag, part of the Greene King Hungry Horse chain. All the cask beer was off, so went for the post-modern classic BrewDog Punk IPA, www.brewdog.com/beer/headliners/punk-ipa whilst dissecting our match and half watching the Liverpool-Brighton game. Train home to Dunstable and off to the Wheatsheaf to see a band. The Lash are a local band that have been going for some years and in various formats and never fail to impress. https://my.lemonrock.com/thelash No cask ale again in the Wheaty, so had to resort to bottled Hobgoblin, the legendary ruby beer from the Wychwood Brewery. www.wychwood.co.uk/beers/ A good time was had by all. On to the Dunstable Derby, an FA Cup replay and more league action.

An intro to our little podcast.