Pub 33, Day 11 – Star & Garter

The Quest for the 50p Pool Table

Volume Three: The Return of the Bloggers

By Rob

This blog is the third in a trilogy of posts. Together, they detail our epic search for a 50p pool table and all the adventures along the way. 

***

Standing on Winter Street, Crookesmoor, it is instantly apparent that you're in a student area. The immediate landscape is dominated by university architecture, ranging from the one-time tallest building in the city, the Arts Tower, to the redbrick sprawl of Bartolome House.

Visit during term time and the street is teeming with students moving from lecture to seminar, from Western Bank Library to the green pleasantry of Crookes Valley Park. The pedestrian traffic has an average age of nineteen and the whole place reeks of youthful optimism, aspiration, and emptied overdrafts.

Yet there is something strangely out of place within this picture.

Its name?

The Star & Garter.

One remarkable thing about this small pub is that, despite being situated on a prime student thoroughfare and thus in an excellent position to cash in, it's a notably non-student establishment.

Like me, you may be tempted to offer congratulations to the landlord on this point. There's something dignified about a local pub, for local residents, resisting the temptation to change course and transmogrify itself into a student pub. Native Sheffielders need a watering hole too, and it stands to reason that they might prefer their pint without an accompanying horde of rowdy punters at least half their age.

Unfortunately, congratulations are not a recognised form of legal tender and the local residents who do partake of the S&G's services are strikingly few in number. As such, the pub has been teetering on a knife-edge for some time - a "To Let" sign outside has been there for so long that it's practically a structural fixture.

It would appear that the management isn't unaware of this. A small sign by the door now weakly and unconvincingly proclaims "Students Welcome". Sadly, it will take much greater efforts to reverse the pub's declining fortunes and convince the student population, who are all too willing to part with their money in exchange for alcohol, to venture inside.

Like many of my fellow university attendees, I'd walked past the pub a thousand times without ever thinking about popping in. After all, it was notorious for how unfriendly it was to student visitors. But one user on Sheffield Forum had just brought this pub crashing to the forefront of my mind. According to this anonymous hero, the S&G once harboured a pool table. This table, he claimed, used to be 50p a game.

As someone who looked very much like a student, I was dubious about venturing inside. After all, the only thing I knew about the place was that I wouldn't be welcome.

But what else could we do? Did the Hobbits shy away from journeying to Mordor just because they'd heard it was full of orcs? Did Luke Skywalker turn his fighter around and fly away from the Death Star, just because he'd heard it might be filled with Stormtroopers? And what, I ask you, would have happened to the wizarding world if Harry Potter had thrown in the towel because he'd once overheard someone say that his nemesis was a homicidal lunatic?

Not wanting to be outdone by Hobbits, Jedi and teenagers, we steeled ourselves against the cold wintery afternoon chill and made our way from The Graduate to the other side of the city centre. Before too long, we found ourselves standing outside that small and uninviting building in the midst of a student kingdom. Like the brave men of the north we were, we strode boldly inside.

The first thing to say is that, on the inside, it looked exactly as we'd imagined: small, dark, and poorly decorated. A few locals were leant against the bar listening to an overloud and eclectic playlist, but otherwise the place was empty.

The second thing to say is that everything I had heard about the hostile atmosphere appeared to be rubbish. The bar staff were more than happy to have us inside and while the locals didn't leap up from their seats to embrace us, they didn't glare at us either.

Happy about not being threatened with fists and sharp implements, we glanced around the dimly lit interior.

Then, at the far side of the pub we saw it.

The pool table stood there, empty and inviting. The sight of it's not-entirely-pristine baize was like water to a man dying in the desert. Hearts racing, we moved towards it.

Each step lasted a lifetime, each breath consumed an age. We had traversed the endless hills of Sheffield for this moment. Trusting in nothing but the word of a stranger, we had come here, to this rarely visited spot at the end of our hope, and put what little faith we had left into this one, final push.

After what seemed like an eternity, we reached the table. We glanced at the coin slot in unison.

'50p a game'.

Just then, the track on the playlist changed and the hallelujah chorus came on.

(It didn't).

We fell to our knees, holding one another tight, and we wept.

(We didn't).

We slapped each other on the back, ordered two pints and paid our 50p.

(We did).

The choice of drinks was predictably lamentable and we each bought a pint of Guinness.

At the time of writing this blog we have now been to the S&G several times and have built up a considerable pool score there. The pub has, with tragic inevitability, witnessed us return as regulars.

Of course, it hardly deserves a stellar rating. It’s not a great venue. It’s not even nice. But for us, it was a place made of pleasant surprises: nobody wanted to stab us, and the pool table was 50p a game (not to mention completely empty).

So, proving that we are not professional reviewers and are, in fact, easily swayed by even the slightest measure of happiness – the Star & Garter gets an unquestionably undeserved eight stars.

S&G Pool Score: Andy 21-15 Rob 

Pubquest Pool Score: Andy 29-18 Rob

Pub: The Star & Garter (82-84 Winter Street, S3 7ND)
Rating: 8/10
Pint: Guinness
Brewery: Guinness Brewery (Dublin)

NEXT UP: Stuck in traffic, at The Closed Shop... 

Pub 32, Day 11 – The Graduate

The Quest for the 50p Pool Table 
Volume Two: The Two Black Balls   

By A. R. R. Wilson

This blog is the second in a trilogy of posts. Together, they detail our epic search for a 50p pool table and all the adventures along the way.

***

After the opening chapter of our trilogy, we decided to rethink our tactics in pursuit of The Holy Grail. A student pub, we reasoned, would bring us more success – its inhabitants are eternally skint, and quite often have absolutely nothing to do with their day, making cheap pool the perfect distraction. With this in mind, we took our odyssey deeper into Middle Sheffield, to The Graduate by Hallam Uni. What's more, as it was just 2pm, we hoped to catch it before the students arrived for breakfast.

As a kid, on holiday in sunny Scarborough, I remember finding a pool table which cost just 20 pence to play. Such an outcome was but a distant dream on this dreary day in Sheffield. Things were simpler back then...

However, as I had only recently moved back to Sheffield from Howden, I was determined not to be beaten. In sleepy Howden, all pool tables were 50p a pop. Suddenly, on my return to the big city, I was faced with paying twice the price for the same product. No other commodity doubled in price after my relocation – I shudder to think how much a game of pool costs in London.

“I hear the landlord's thinking of putting the pool table up to tuppence a game.”
“Ridiculous! Who's gonna pay that?”

The Graduate is a good-looking pub, with a modern feel and an inviting layout. Located by the beautiful Tudor Square, it is an excellent venue to sit outside and watch the world go by (if the weather permits). The pub is part of the Stonegate Pubs chain, and so has a semi-Spoons vibe about it, but at the same time comes across as much trendier. This is proven by the absence of bearded middle-aged men, a staple of the Spoons diet; in their place are energetic tables of students.

The beer selection though was not the most exciting – ales were sold, but they were all so familiar as to make us turn to lager. A pint of Estrella was selected – a Catalan beer which I once became somewhat addicted to while on holiday in Barcelona.

Upon heading over to the pool table, we were immediately met with disappointment: £1 per game. However, at least The Graduate gives you a bit of added value: bizarrely, the table spat out two black balls, in addition to the requisite reds and yellows.

Not wanting to waste our free ball, we decided to position it behind the triangle (as you would in snooker). Having to think on our feet, we adjusted the rules slightly: only once you have potted all your colours can you begin potting the blacks. The blacks can be potted in any order, but whoever pots the final black wins.

This turned out to have a levelling effect on the game – Rob stormed off into an early lead, but dallied potting the first black. By the time he managed that, I had caught him up, and duly sank the second black to claim victory.

Unsure if we had invented a new sport or ruined an established one, our thoughts once more returned to the objective – to find a pub in the city centre which charges just 50p a frame.

All out of ideas, we turned to the place all Sheffielders visit during their hour of need: the Sheffield Forum. There, a heroic user pointed out the name of a pub we hadn't even considered...

Graduate Pool Score: Andy 1-0 Rob

Pubquest Pool Score: Andy 8-3 Rob

Pub: The Graduate (Surrey Street, S1 2LH)
Rating: 6/10
Pint: Estrella Damm
Brewery: Sociedad Anónima Damm (Barcelona)

NEXT UP: The trilogy concludes, at the Star & Garter... 

Pub 31, Day 11 – The Cavendish

By Rob
 
The Quest for the 50p Pool Table 

Volume One: The Fellowship of the 50p Pool Table 

This blog is the first in a trilogy of posts. Together, they detail our epic search for a 50p pool table and all the adventures along the way.

***

After our visit to The Beehive, our long term ethanol-infused excursion underwent a bit of a slowdown. Andy, having successfully secured himself a job in Sheffield, was busy attending to all those details that accompany a relocation, thus finding himself without the requisite spare time for Pubquest.

The months rolled by, the year changed, and we finally arrived at February 2015 - the year that Andy returned to his homeland. The journey was back on.

Now that we were endeavouring to continue our pool marathon, we decided it would be a good idea to hone our skills on the baize. Neither of us wanted to embarrass ourselves on a table in some ropey back-alley tavern, while irritated regulars looked on in disgust. Nobody wanted a repeat of the events at the The Red Lion.

Alas, there was a problem. Pubquest was morphing into a pricey affair. Travel expenses aside, the cumulative cost of all those pints was far from negligible. Then, throw in the additional expenditure of playing pool, and the money mounts up. As a student, I didn't need to find extra ways to spend what little money I didn't actually have.

Thus began our quest. A quest-within-a-quest, if you will. We would hunt down that most elusive of beasts: a pub, in the city centre, that charged 50p for a game of pool.

The first place we tried was The Cavendish, on West Street. For anybody who has ever set foot inside The Cavendish, no doubt the question that immediately springs to mind is whether or not it is actually a pub.

A similar conundrum to that encountered upon visiting West Street Live, there were good arguments for both sides. However, the place is owned by Stonegate Pubs. It's also listed on Google as a pub and, as our uncodified, self-imposed rules state: if there exists any reasonable doubt about the status of the establishment then we must assume it's a pub and treat it as such.

Inside, it's easy to see why somebody might label it otherwise. The bar stretches for a considerable length along the far wall and there are drinks offers aplenty, most of which gently suggest this not a very 'pubbish' sort of pub.

Of course, that's not necessarily a bad thing. I really like The Cavendish. It's nicely decorated inside with a variety of seating areas and the drink prices are very reasonable considering its central location. It's always lively at the weekend and does an impressive trade most weekdays too.

As for the ales, there's a reliable stream of guest ales on tap that makes it an ideal stop for us. We each bought a pint of Pride of Sheffield, an enjoyable malty ale with an unashamedly local name.

Waiting for a vacant pool table, we sat ourselves down. Minutes into this, we saw that some guys across from us were giving us a strange look: confusion mingled with mild disgust.

We then noticed that one of our pints was full, while the other was significantly less so. We'd been drinking from the same glass. It turns out that there's something oddly perverse and unsettling about seeing two grown men drink continually from the same pint. Wanting to look a little less grossly codependent, we quickly amended our error.

When a pool table became available we leapt up with our characteristic vim and vigour. Unfortunately, it cost one full English pound per game. That's not to bash The Cavendish, as pretty much everywhere charges a pound.

Undeterred from our goal, we played four frames, drawing at two each. We then headed out into the cold bite of midwinter to continue the search for our quarry. 

Cavendish Pool Score: Andy 2-2 Rob

Pubquest Pool Score: Andy 7-3 Rob

Pub: The Cavendish (220-238 West Street, S1 4EU)
Pint: Pride of Sheffield
Brewery: Kelham Island Brewery (Sheffield)
Rating: 8/10

NEXT UP: The quest continues, at The Graduate...