Country Girl, Birmingham

Ember Inn beside, but not in direct view of, the Worcester & Birmingham Canal. The building is obviously of some age, but now being lost in deepest suburbia the nearest fields are some miles away. The interior has been totally remodelled and refurbished in the usual light semi-modern style so most character has long-since been lost. May have visited at a bad time, as only six of a total of 11 handpumps were in use, offering the 'house' pale ale, Brakspear Bitter, Bombardier and the Madness Absolutely 'finest pale ale' (£2.95) plus two ciders. The card machine was also out of use...

This is a detached Ember Inns pub, with patio areas, that stands to the side of the Worcs & Brum Canal. It was built c1900, when it stood over the canal from the King's Norton Union Workhouse and Infirmary (now Selly Oak Hospital), and it did have a bowling green at the back. I remember it due to it having a few footy teams back in the 80s - the name seemed a little out of place when the old bloke with a dog used to shout 'cummon the girls'. Anyhow, it is a typical pub of the period, although the brick is now rendered in white, with some black beaming. Now the interior walls have long since gone, there is an L-shaped room, which is basically foody. It is decored in very typical Ember style - the usual vases, bits of wood and twigs with lights on. The walls are so radical in their green, red, white and patterned wallpapers, but luckily a few old photos of the area are juxtaposed with the arty art. A TV was on, which i think had footy on, and the music was charty but at a decent level. The service was fine and the clientele more mature and nearly all were dining that i could see. Beer; usual tap stuff with Peroni. On handpull, there were Purity UBU, Saddle Black, Wye Valley Butty Bach, Brew XI and Thwaites Nutty Black - the Butty was decent enough. The bad point for me is that this pub is so generic it is a bore - the good points are the beer choice (and the quality of mine was fine) and no little children running about (me being miserable). Definitely worth a visit, especially if you want to eat and dont mind wierd vases and twigs with lights on.

Went to this pub as it was in the GBG at the time. Standing at the bar, mid afternoon, the staff were really struggling to serve, 15 minutes later I left after not being served. Looked ok, if they could improve staffing levels it should be ok.

The Country Girl official page, contains menu and real ale details - www.emberinns.co.uk

The Country Girl official page, contains menu and real ale details - www.emberinns.co.uk