Celebrating

Listening to the football is never the same as being there. You hear the words, but every throw in is threatening, every pass clinical, every shot goal-bound. Of course they're not, we're in the third division for Clough's sake, but without the visual confirmation of reality, your mind has to fill in the blanks.

And so it was on Saturday, 4:40pm, 81 mins, Kris Commons misses from 5 yards and fails to put Forest in front. I'm already stood up at this point, unable to sit down, too nervous. This miss makes me sink to my knees in frustration. I know Carlisle are getting thumped, but Doncaster are winning, so a win, while not being 100% necessary, would still be good going into the final week.

4:43pm, and this happens:



Firstly, fair play to the lad who took this video. Secondly, I can't remember jumping round my front room so much, especially for scoring against Hartlepool FFS.

Another win, another step towards (hopefully) automatic promotion. So, what to do to celebrate ?

An early doors meeting outside Foreman's, a cracking bar at the best of times, but even nicer when you can sit outside in the warmth. I remember Foreman street when cars were allowed down in between the buildings and the old Evening Post offices. It was dark and enclosed, not a nice route to walk down. Compare that with the continental feel now, bars & restaurants both sides, a pleasure to relax in.

A walk down to the Wetherspoons in the Market Square. I hate it in there, the beers cheap and although they stock a wide sample of real ales, they're never kept well and always taste off. Couple that with the groups of people who congregate in pubs that have a supermarket mentality and you have the perfect recipe for a complete crap-hole.

From one of the worst pubs in Nottingham, to one of the best, The Bell. Bouncers on the door seem to deliberately keep the young people out, but I managed to sneak past them. This has been a regular watering hole of mine since I wasn't old enough to drink and I can't remember EVER having a bad pint in there.

One of the hidden gems in Nottingham is Cucamaras. If The Bell like to keep young people out, in there it's positively compulsory. You don't drink beer in Cucamaras, just the cocktails. I remember having a very good night in there with it being completely empty and three of us going down the menu taking each drink in turn. To show the age of most of the drinkers in Cucamaras, I had a drink made predominantly with milk. Very nice.

On to another permanent venue on a night out, the Tap 'n' Tumbler. While the music is far too heavy for my liking in there, I'd rather listen to that than the boom boom boom repetitive garbage that pretty much all other establishments pump out. When I win the lottery and buy my Indie 80's bar, I'll show them how it's done.

The Stage is another crap-hole, full of fifty year old women flashing their bits to fifty year old blokes, all of whom should know better. There is no decent beer in the whole place, and you need to take a week's holiday to get to the toilets. How it's still going is a mystery to me. I hate the place.

The last pub of the evening, and it's a belter. Langtry's is another pub that has always been on the itinerary and never lets its beer go off. This is how every pub should be, no hassle, decent beer, good food if you want it, no hiking expedition to take a p**s.

Ultimately, no evening out would be the same without a trip to the Irish to top things off. 23 years I've been going now, and it hasn't changed a bit. The DJ booth may have shifted 3 yards to the left, and they've taken some seats out of the bar area, but these are all small cosmetic alterations to something that has never been broke, so doesn't need fixing. The Irish gets a bad reputation by City guides, mostly for the occasional groups of Rugby club students that have to go there because every other club has turned them away, but if you want a good time dancing to proper music, or a late pint talking to your mates, there never has been, or ever will be, anywhere better.

* pics of Foreman's, The Bell & Langty's courtesy of Flickr. Click the pics for the images in context