Pennies, Kidderminster

This centrally located Wetherspoons pub takes its name from the world's first postal stamp which was created by Kidderminster resident Rowland Hill, a statue of whom can be found just down the road, outside the Town Hall. The pub is a fairly unattractive unit in part of the town's extensive retail district, boasting a few scruffy blue mosaic tiles on the outside, but otherwise looking entirely run down and outdated. Inside, we find a shallow but wide single room layout with large ugly windows along the front wall. You enter directly to the bar area, with the servery running along the back wall. The right side of the room has a lot of high tables and stools, whilst standard tables and chairs make up the majority of the remaining seating options through the rest of the room. In true Wetherspoons tradition, the pub is carpeted throughout and has an unusual three-tone wood striped wall effect that doesn't look too bad. Decor is limited to the usual information boards, giving snippets of local history, although I did also spot a dartboard over on the right hand wall, which must score a fair few points in a game of Wetherspoons I-spy. Stairs lead up to a first floor seating area which I failed to explore, but seemed to be popular given the amount of food that was being taken up there throughout my visit. The beer range was pretty disappointing by 'Spoons standards, with three guest ales and two regulars across the five handpulls. I was here early on for breakfast, so decided to pass on the beer and enjoy a mug of tea instead. There was only one person behind the bar when I arrived and he was dealing with a remarkably complex order from a nightmare customer, so I had quite a long wait before another barman finally arrived. Aside from this delay, I found the staff to be very friendly and helpful, especially the waitress who offered me the chance to pick an extra for my breakfast when it transpired that they'd run out of black pudding. This isn't the nicest Wetherspoons your ever likely to visit and seems to fit a profile of pub that the company are increasingly moving away from. Like most 'Spoons, it still seems to be disproportionately popular with the locals and remains a good bet for top value food and drink but there are plenty of nicer pubs around town that I would use ahead of this one.

As noted below this is a pretty grim Spoons, something I can only put down to the rather bare decor and the fact that it's a shopping centre Spoons. I thought the service and quality were fine. It opened in early 2000 and gets the name from the fact that Rowland Hill the geezer that invented the postage stamp was from Kidderminster. No doubt he's turning in his grave after the Royal Mail privatisation. It doesn't help the fact that there are only five hand pumps but on the plus side there was no sign of the usual suspects. One was unused so the beers were Caledonian Por La Playa, Prescott Chequered Flag & Hill Climb and Backyard D&B Porter. I went for the Caledonian international brew (£2.20) which was in good condition and also ordered some sausage & mash which went down a treat reduced by £1.10 with the 20% CAMRA discount. It's not one of the better Spoons but it's not the end of the world coming here for a pint and a bite to eat.