The Blue Bear, Nuneaton

Obviously quite an old pub that survived the town-centre redevelopment, but the interior has been stripped out and sparsely provided with a limited mix of basic furniture and some music-themed photographs. On the plus side, two of the three handpumps were in operation, offering Hopadelic from By the Horns and Barn Owl Best Bitter from the local O'Neill's micro-brewery (just £2.29). Theakston Smooth Dark also noted amongst the keg taps.

The Blue Bear seem to be a locals pub as when I called in there was a large group of them watching the racing channel.There was 3 cask pumps where one was redundant and the other 2 both Hobgoblin.On the walls I noticed quite a lot of photos of jazz musicians of yesteryear but not sure if this has any connection to the pubs history.

A typical shopping centre pub, and normally that would be something I would steer clear of, but there's something about the Blue Bear that makes it worth a second look - or a second visit. There are three hand pumps on the bar, with two ales available on my Saturday afternoon visit. These were Courage Directors and Grafton Showman's Grog. The latter was in good condition, though a little on the cold side, which made it difficult for any taste to become apparent. The atmosphere was friendly, with most customers evidently enjoying the rather loud music - it was Tamla Motown, so I was enjoying it too. On the walls were some pictures of jazz or blues musicians. Most walls are painted a deep red, but on some there is the unusual sight of pages of sheet music functioning as wallpaper. There's also a small stage in one corner, so I think it's fairly safe to say this is a music-oriented pub.