Pub 10. Square : Oxford Street
Pub Name : The Tottenham
PUB FACILITIES:   Time: 1440 - 1450

By this point, it was pelting down with rain, so I thought it might be a good idea to open the window on the bus, but this seemed to annoy the normal passengers a little when the damn thing refused to close. After playing dodge the tourist, we all made it safely into The Tottenham, without a doubt the busiest pub of the afternoon, and ordered our 10th drink of the day. Everyone was in high spirits by this point, the heavy rain not even dampening our enthusiasm, and as far as I can remember, our entire group of starters from Old Kent Road was still together.

The Tottenham


Pub 11. Square : (Great) Marlborough Street
Pub Name : O'Neills
PUB FACILITIES:      Time: 1500 - 1515

After spilling out of the last pub onto a heaving Oxford Street, we decided battling through the throng of foreigners would take just too long, so another bus ride was called for. Things started to go wrong at this point, with half our group getting onto the first bus to arrive and the rest taking the second, the latter of whom actually got off at the right place for the pub. O'Neills here used to be a Firkin in previous years, but there is now no trace of its former heritage. Many photos were taken after those crawlers on the first bus turned up 10 minutes later, and a swift head count confirmed we still hadn't lost anyone! Even Mr P is getting drunk by now.

O'Neills


Pub 12. Square : Marylebone Station
Pub Name : The Victoria And Albert
PUB FACILITIES:    Time: 1530 - 1540

The rain had eased slightly as we all headed for the tube to Marylebone, our last station of the day. Alcohol was certainly kicking in by now (for some people at least) although the escalators here posed no problem for our intrepid herd. A Bakerloo line train was just pulling in as one of our number came onto the platform so with a cry of "come on" everyone legged it through the short corridor and onto the waiting tube, gasping for breath and generally entertaining the other passengers. Poor Gary was just too slow though, he came onto the platform just as the train doors closed, to excess laughter from the rest of us on board. Another race followed up to the concourse at Marylebone, while the bar staff in the pub sighed "oh no, not again"...

The Victoria And Albert


Pub 13. Square : Mayfair
Pub Name : The Kings Arms
PUB FACILITIES:       Time: 1600 - 1610

Thanks to the poor ones amongst us stopping for more cash, we missed a bus to Mayfair by mere seconds, which caused a walk to Baker Street for the tube to Green Park. Bev must have been very drunk by now as he led half our number across the road and back in a pied piper fashion, while the rest of us enjoyed the intermittent sunshine. We found the tube platform without too much trouble - Mike and I inadvertantly getting into a differnt carriage from everyone else however, which meant using the handy connecting door while the train was moving. Not easy whilst under the influence. I can't really remember much about the next pub apart from the fact a round cost an arm and a leg, and the toilets were at the bottom of a small twisty staircase.

The Kings Arms


Pub 14. Square : (Old) Park Lane
Pub Name : The Rose And Crown
PUB FACILITIES:     Time: 1615 - 1625

It was pissing down again by now, which meant a mad dash from one pub to the next, past all the posh hotels. A few regulars in this pub got chatting to me and Phil about what we were doing, but sadly they declined to buy everyone a drink, which was a shame as it was my round here. Football results were coming in thick and fast by now so we stopped for a bit to catch up on the scores, while the addicted amongst us (not me this time!) played the fruit machines. Someone noticed we were actually over half way through the route, so Mr P had another pint to celebrate. No sign of any of our rival Monopoly crawlers for quite a while now... had they given up?

The Rose And Crown


Pub 15. Square : Bond Street
Pub Name : The Goat Tavern
PUB FACILITIES:   Time: 1635 - 1645

The lazy amongst us argued for a bus to the next pub, but as we were only five minutes away, we all walked, or rather stumbled. I know some of us went to The Goat Tavern for this square - I don't recall whether I went in that one or The Duke Of Albemarle, but as it wasn't my round, I wasn't paying much in the way of attention. In an unprecedented turn of events, after leaving our respective pubs, we found the group still intact... 15 pubs gone and not losing a single person was pretty impressive stuff. And only a short walk to the next pub, might we actually complete the crawl this year?

The Goat Tavern


Pub 16. Square : Piccadily
Pub Name : The Blue Posts, Bennet Street
PUB FACILITIES:     Time: 1650 - 1700

The first of two identically named pubs, The Blue Posts was last visited in 1997, and seemed, well, exactly the same as it did then. No old scary man crept into my photograph this year though!! The satelite TV system here was knackered so we couldn't make out the full time football results, although I managed to decipher the fact that Derby had lost to Arsenal, which amused Jamie. All too soon, it was time to move on, but not before accosting the guardsman with the furry hat for an impromptu photocall... a classic shot taken by some old geezer showed all 20 of us shouting and cheering. 10 pubs to go.

The Blue Posts


Pub 17. Square : Pall Mall
Pub Name : The Red Lion, Crown Passage
PUB FACILITIES:     Time: 1715 - 1725

Half our group found the pub straight away while the rest of us ran past it, and had to double back. Just a quickie here... everyone has started to gain drunkeness rapidly and cannot remember who is to buy the next round, so we decided to buy our own from now on. We are only half way through our possible 12 hours here, but are way ahead of schedule, this being pub number 17. Everyone was sure we would complete the crawl by this point (failing being arrested or falling over drunk) but just to make sure, we left quickly and moved on to the next, and most ridiculous, pub.

The Red Lion


Pub 18. Square : Vine Street
Pub Name : The Swallow Street Bar
PUB FACILITIES:     Time: 1730 - 1750

Forsaking good old Bentleys Cabin, we chose this new place, The Swallow Street Bar. Bev got to the bar first and asked for our usual, single vodka and orange, only to be told that they don't serve single measures!! Unanimously, we reckoned 6 quid for some weird cocktail was too much to pay, so instead opted for a three quid bottle of Stella(!). As we'd paid for the priviledge, we decided to loiter here for longer than normal and enjoy the plush surroundings, but the disapproving looks from the rest of the clientele urged us to move on after twenty minutes. At least it wasn't far to the next pub, Cheers, which was to be the last point our starting group of 20 would be together that day.

The Swallow Street Bar


Continue Onwards To Pubs 19-26

This Page Was Last Updated On Thursday 8th August 2002 At 2330