Pub 138, Day 51 – The Belfry

By Andy

“They're all the same!” he exclaimed. “We'll be bankrupt before you know it!”

The journey to Beighton is a long one to begin with, but it seems eternal when subjected to half-baked political ramblings.

“This country's not what it used to be!”

As it was election day, we had been assigned a taxi driver who loudly espoused his political beliefs, before admitting he hadn't actually voted.

“But if I had...”

***

Completing our quintet of polling station pubs was The Belfry at Beighton. After being spoken at for the entire journey, we were relieved to catch sight of the pub's giant bell, which sits beside the entrance.

The pub is down a slight grass embankment, but its impressive structure enables it to be seen from the road. Once inside it's a more standard affair, refusing to deviate from the chain pub formula.

The polling booths were hidden away in a corner, but the voters were drying up by this time anyway, replaced by hungry families and evening drinkers.

Waiting for us was our friend Danny, who had completed a mammoth election day undertaking of his own – residing in Leicester these days but spending his week off in Sheffield, he had driven to Leicester (and back) solely to put his X in the box.

While Rob and I had thoroughly enjoyed our day touring pubs in Sheffield, Danny was less appreciative of the scenery on offer on the M1. Still, it's the sort of story which reaffirms your faith in democracy.

The Belfry's cask selection was limited, so we cast our eyes to the bottled beers instead. We went for Over Easy, a session ale from Greene King's Craft Academy project, which puts the company's apprentices in charge of creating the beers.

As the 10pm voting cut-off approached, it suddenly dawned on us that there was no point drinking our way through Election Day, unless we were also going to drink our way through Election Night. It further dawned on us that there was no point staying up with David Dimbleby and co without first seeing the 10pm exit poll, as that is pretty much all they discuss until 2.30am.

Handily, Danny had just bought a new sports car, and he revelled in the opportunity to put it through its paces. With 616bhp and two enthusiastic passengers, we flew through the streets of Sheffield (abiding at all times to the relevant speed limits).

We made it home for 9:59pm, and stayed up drinking until 7am. By this time the pundits had been embarrassed, Paul Nuttall had resigned, and Canterbury had turned their backs on the Conservatives for the first time since 1837.

But more importantly, Pubquest had proved once again to have its finger on the pulse, having accurately predicted Nick Clegg's demise from the back room of the Cobden View.

It's always been the same: if you want to get a true sense of what the nation's thinking, go and sit in the corner of a pub.

Pub: The Belfry (Eckington Road, S20 1EQ)

Rating: 6/10

Pint: Over Easy

Brewery: Greene King Brewery (Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk)

NEXT UP: Collaboration preparation, at the Ship Inn...