A right Weld Blundell roasting

Being a considerate family guy, I promised my family a lunch at one of the Formby by-pass Bermuda triangle of carveries.

First call was the Red Squirrel, which used to serve cask beer but looks as if it’s given up since becoming part of the Harvester chain. Luckily, it was packed with old farts so we couldn’t get a table.

Next stop was The Pheasant, until recently a granny-eating-soup-for-three-hours nightmare. It’s been tastefully done up and was busy with posh people from Formby knocking back Continental beers and fruity wines.

There was an interesting looking menu but still no real ale, so I trudged back to the car and told my wife there was a 15 minute wait for a table so we should try the Weld Blundell over the road and come back if there was nothing doing there.

The Weld  is the oldest of the new triumvirate and was once a decent boozer until having the life sucked out of it by the stricter drink-driving laws and a succession of chain-pub destructions.

On entering I was impressed by the new decor and even more by the large sign declaring”Cask Beer available, today’s beers Marston Pedigree and Cains’.

Now you can keep your Pedigree, but Liverpool’s Cains is another matter. Darker than most bitters with a lovely malty flavour yet light and refreshing enough to enjoy a gallon of, it has been rightly taken to local hearts.

So imagine my horror on settling down, ordering a meal, then coming to drinks to be told Cains was off, and so was the Pedigree.

No real ale, then? The waitress said she’d check. She returned, beaming, with news that John Smith’s Smooth was on. She was most put out when I told her I wouldn’t drink that slop if she paid me.

After scanning a alcopoppy wine list  I sulkily ordered a Coke.  The dinner was not bad. The children cried. We left early. So it goes.

I’ve since heard that the pub hasn’t had cask beer on other nights despite it’s large and prominent sign. A case for Trading Standards?