The George Staples, Sidcup

Aqualung has this one spot on. When I visited the other day the bank of TVs along one wall were all on showing the same programme; I can't remember what they were all showing, but it would have been a worse nightmare if they were showing different programmes. This place is a bit of a cross between an amusement arcade (it had fruit machines all over the place, plus another "toy grab" game machine), and being a Stonegate pub a sort of 'spoons without the cheap beer. But to be fair if you are a CAMRA member the 20% discount does bring the price of a pint down to a reasonable level. Having learned a lesson from a previous reviewer (muppet) we didn't miss out on the CAMRA discount. In fact the barmaid asked if we were CAMRA members - I suppose we must have looked the part! Like a 'spoons, it is crammed with basic furnishings including both normal tables and chairs and tall tables/tall stools. There's a large courtyard at the front with loads of picnic bench tables. They also scored highly on the beer front, with five real ales on - Doom Bar, Sambrook's Wandle, Rinwood Boondoggle, Elgood's Beer goggles, and Bass. We had the Bass for nostalgia's sake, and it was OK. Being a Stonegate pub there were illustrated menus on all the tables advertising pub grub and assorted meal deals. As far as I could tell food is pretty much available all the time. Although I didn't care much for the ambience of the pub, it scores more points for the generous CAMRA discount and the ale selection, plus the fact that we were offered a taster before ordering.

Official site of The George Staples - www.greatukpubs.co.uk

Official site of The George Staples - www.greatukpubs.co.uk

I came here on a Saturday afternoon which may not have been the best time as all the TVs were going with some of them being watched. It was a bit like going into an old Dixons shop that had been hijacked by a load of people watching the TVs. Despite that the five hand pumps were all going with Sharp's Doom Bore & Sea Fury, Reunion Bloomer, Mad Cat Crispin and Shepherd Neame Whitstable Bay Pale. I went for the Bloomer and for once didn't feel like a gormless muppet as I'd noticed the CAMRA discount and asked about it so the price was £2.72. I spent the rest of the time drinking it while trying to ignore the TVs and attempting to work out with a pen and paper what the full price would have been (£3.28?). The beer was in pretty good nick. I found the TV screens here totally overwhelming but given the substantial discount wouldn't rule out a return visit for a swift one.

This vast inter-war roadside pub in the centre of Blackfen takes it's name from the pub's original landlord, having previously been known as the Woodman. To enter, you pass through a large outdoor seating area which overlooks a busy road junction which, on this visit, was populated almost entirely by kids high on sugary drinks, all of whom were enjoying the play facilities which included a bouncy castle. Having run the gauntlet to get past them all, I found myself inside a huge single roomed pub with a number of distinctly separate spaces. The main bar area is to the front, with the servery on the back wall and ample seating options of all varieties located either side of the front door. Some decent partitioning breaks up what might otherwise have been a cavernous space and looks quite nice - perhaps some of the panelling is original? The servery has a huge pillar at the point it turns and runs towards the rear of the building, but all of the handpulls are located at the shorter section facing the entrance. Moving down the right hand side of the pub, a series of padded banquettes can be found opposite the longer side of the servery, again all nicely partitioned, offering a relatively peaceful spot to relax over a pint. To the rear the room opens out significantly past the bar, into a dancefloor area with a number of large round tables of the sort you usually see at wedding receptions filling out the space. There is a raised section to the rear under a huge pull down screen which was about to show the Cup Final, with other screens around the pub showing rugby and cricket. Quiz machines and one of those arcade machines where you try to grab a toy with a mechanical arm can be found back here in a bid to appeal to a range of customers. The décor consists of photos of the local area, a few gaudy modern art prints and lots of inevitable promo material for live sports. A 90's pop soundtrack played throughout my stay and I noticed a fairly grim sounding menu full of processed food that didn't even look appetising in the promotional photos. The pub has featured in recent editions of the Good Beer Guide and offers a discount of 20% to CAMRA members, although I wasn't aware of this at the time I visited and had to make do with a card the barman gave me which entitled me to a free pint after purchasing six pints. Sadly I didn't have time for seven pints, but I did manage to sample a pint of Bexley Bob, which was in pretty good shape. Other ales available were Shepherd Neame Early Bird, Brains IPA, Cottage Golden Arrow and Whitstable Pale Ale. A rough and ready crowd were in on this visit and although reasonably well behaved at 15:00, I did wonder quite what the place would be like after the Cup Final. This is a nice enough pub that I suspect is a bit of a local landmark and institution but now feels too big for its current purpose. The ale range was actually wider than that offered in the specialist micro pub a few doors down, although the quality was not quite as good and the selection might be viewed as a little more mainstream. I'm not sure the place merits a visit on its own but it worked well enough as a double header with the aforementioned Broken Drum.