Pub 13, Day 3 – The Foxwood

By Rob 

As a couple of other pubs were shut, this was the last one on the walk. As far as pubs were concerned, the journey had been a minimal success. However in terms of our fitness and well-being, I personally felt justified in not needing to exercise again for the month.

Our final venue provided a unique set-up for the suburbs: it was half-pub-half-nightclub.

Facing the road is The Embassy (club), while hidden round the back is The Foxwood (pub). Together they form a bizarre joint venture – although the strangest part of all is that the locals love it. The two venues often put on complementary nights (e.g. 80s-night in The Foxwood, 90s-night in The Embassy), and on particularly busy evenings they pull up the partition completely and offer the dancefloor to ravers and pub-dwellers alike.

On our visit the partition was in place, rendering The Foxwood a disappointment. There were few drinks to choose from, so we selected a pint of Caffrey's.

While there's little for me to say about The Foxwood, its business partner is a much livelier proposition. The Embassy is not your typical nightclub: it's quite small, it's only open on a Friday night, and it's not even remotely near town. Whereas The Ball Inn lacked the danger that its reputation had suggested, The Embassy certainly does not.

I've been into The Embassy on two occasions. The first time I went in there with a couple of friends, Andy and Danny (who makes a guest appearance at the Sheffield Tap). I can't remember if we went there to be ironic, or if we genuinely thought it might be OK – perhaps town seemed too far to travel that night. An hour into the experience, tired of treading on broken glass and watching the bouncers drag people outside, we opted to leave.

The second occasion was much worse. Firstly, I was in there with my parents. Again, I'm not sure what perverse lunacy had led me to think it might be a good idea. This time we lasted about half an hour. I went into the loos and came up against a group of lads quite casually enjoying a cheeky little bit of crack. A few threats were thrown at me, and I decided that maybe I wasn't quite so desperate for the toilet as I first thought. The only problem was that my body, my bladder in particular, disagreed with this assessment of affairs. So I nipped outside, did what I had to do, and then came back in. I think it's fair to say that when you have to leave the venue for a wee in order to avoid getting stabbed, it's probably not the place you want to spend your evening. I pulled my parents away before they thought to hit the dancefloor.

Anyway, back to The Foxwood. It got 5/10, if only for being nothing like The Embassy.

Pub: The Foxwood (57 Mansfield Road, S12 2AG)

Rating: 5/10

Pint: Caffrey's Irish Ale 

Brewery: Molson Coors Brewing Company (Burton-upon-Trent)

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