I have to admit my Barmaid’s Bosom membership has lapsed a bit in recent weeks. The Barmaid’s, by the way, is my local, and being away on holidays and then round the country with the cricket and gardening and work and everything else, I hadn’t been in for a while.
I’m pleased to say most of the people were in the same place when I did go in. Indeed, I think some of them had the same pints.
It’s funny, but you soon drop back into the feel of a pub and into the chat and the general ambience of the place.
The Barmaid’s is not known for its intelligent conversation but we did end up having a natter about films, following on from the fire at the old cinema in St John’s in Worcester last week.
Several of the older members of the Barmaid’s Brains Trust had been there as kids, as indeed had I, but some of the younger ones can only recall multiplex cinemas.
This bought us round to the Best Film You Ever Saw category.
The problem with Best Films is there are so many different categories you could go into.
Best Western (not the hotel chain): well, how about the Magnificent Seven? Bit dated now but at the time... Well, I saw it seven times.
Best Horror: The Exorcist made me cringe, and I remember going to see it when they had protesters outside and one woman fainted. They even had first-aiders on.
Best Comedy: Blazing Saddles ,I reckoned, or maybe The Commitments although this was more of a musical comedy, I guess.
Anyway, it went on and on and we got into a heated discussion over some of the choices.
Paint Your Wagon – musical or western? Sound Of Music – great film or sentimental tripe?
Still, it passed a happy hour. Not that there is a happy hour in the Barmaid’s, more a happy minute and then the landlord isn’t very happy anyway.
Good to see the lads at New Road doing well this week. I thought Sunday against Warwickshire was one of the best day’s cricket I’ve seen for a long time.
Kumar Sangakhara got a brilliant hundred for the Bears before Vikram Solanki responded with a great knock.
I popped down to Colwall on Saturday. It’s still one of my favourite grounds. I had a cuppa with the ground supremo and went for a stroll round around the bottom end at Colwall, looking back over the hills. Superb.
Could be the setting for a good film, I can just see Julie Andrews running in from the pavilion end.
By the way, if you want to watch a bit of cricket on Sunday, pop into the OEs’ ground off Droitwich Road, where Ray Julien will have his County Players Eleven out, should be fun.
l Dave Bradley is the BBC Hereford & Worcester sports correspondent.