Train form Moor Street at 16.40pm get in just before 5.00pm
Meet in the White Swan from 5.00pm - Station Road at the bottom end of town as you walk from the train station - good selection of ales to suit all palettes!!
Curry booked from 9.15pm.
Ian had chosen a Solihull venue for his 50th celebrations with the Chaps. A bit like the Queen the celebrations appeared to run over a number of weeks culminating in the final session at the White Swan.
An excellent choice as it happened, being a 'Spoons' pub not only did it have an excellent choice of ale but it was very competitively priced with the first round of 5 pints only costing £11.50!!. Subsequent rounds also failed to break the £20 mark. The weather also lent itself to alfresco drinking and as the evening progressed the numbers out for celebration swelled to 16. Plenty of ale, mirth and merriment were had before heading of for a pre-planned ruby-Murray (Ian still can't remember setting this up many moons ago!).
We were a man-down however as Steve W had a pre-match (drinking match) injury, falling off the bus in Birmingham, well he says it was pre any drinking!!. He got a taxi back to the station and headed off home. Must have been bad if 8 pints of Carling was not numbing the pain!.
Off to the Panchuli Restaurant at 9.15pm, the Hilas party were in the mood for a good trough!. Excellent Curry washed down with the odd beer or two and some semblance of a speech from Mr H to wrap up the night.
The 'short walk' back to the train station was not quite so short and those of us that were Brum bound only just made the last train out of Solihull that night, or for that matter the following day.
Another 50 up!, only a couple more left, ah well onwards and upwards to the 60th's!!.