White Swan and the Royal Standard

Mr Plummy Mummy and I got a rare night out last night courtesy of my Mother in Law who watched the tot for us.
We decided to go for a drink and the plan was to take the bus to Greenwich. Of course, this means changing. The route options from Plumstead Common Road being:
Bus to Woolwich, change to another bus.
Stay on 53 to Deptford and take the DLR to Greenwich (2 mins)
Stay on 53 and walk through the park or down South Street.
In the end, we didn't make it to Greenwich. We did a mini pub crawl assuming 2 pubs counts as a crawl.
The first stop was the White Swan in Charlton. I've been meaning to go here since reading about it on the 853 blog. The barlady was friendly and the locals seemed fine. However, the place was more run down than I expected. However, this is a pub trying hard in modern times where pubs are closing on a daily basis. There is a sandpit in the garden for kids perfect for the Monday morning parents club, there is food and teas/coffees. They put on a lot of different nights to attract customers. We had inadvertently turned up on Quiz Night which wasn't really our thing so made a hasty exit after a half. If this was in Plumstead, I'd probably frequent it regularly but for myself, it is not somewhere I'd take a bus to. Having said that, well done them for all they do and good luck for the future.
The next stop on our Route 53 ride was the Royal Standard. My goodness what a difference. A larger pub well laid out with distinct zones, comfy couches to sit on, a garden and food/teas/coffee. The barman was again very friendly and introduced me to the THIRD. Yes, not a half, not a pint but a third. Fabulous for me as I often buy a half or pint of something then halfway through it's gone flat, or tasteless. The first third I went for was Columb-o ABV 4.0% from the Otley Brewery in Pontypridd which was a very fruity pale ale. It was nice, not at all fizzy and just went down well. The second third was Blond Witch from the Moorhouses brewery which didn't taste of much ... a problem as I could see myself easily drinking pint after pint of this without any effort and would fall down drunk before I knew it. Like the White Swan, the Royal wasn't full. Must be due to the footy, which was on TV in both pubs but luckily with the sound turned down so we could have a conversation without the background swarm of bees buzz of vuvuzelas.
Out of the two we preferred the Royal Standard, it is a great place to go mid-week and only a bus ride away. We might even venture one Sunday for a roast.

Beer in the evening reviews:
White Swan
Blackheath Royal Standard

Facebook pages:
White Swan
Blackheath Royal Standard

A&E Comedy ...an update

In February I wrote about Cave Austin/A&E Comedy. The comments on that post suggested that I was not wrong in my review of the place/comedy night.
I'm not keen for this blog to be a source of advertising unless it's for mates. I'm also not keen on my rare nights out with the girls to be wasted on bad adventures.
HOWEVER, if I review somewhere and those comments are taken on board, I kinda feel I should give the organisers the benefit of the doubt. So A&E bod has got back to us, rather tongue-in-cheek methinks but he is promoting female comics and that's a good thing. See below. If you have some time on your hands, and want to risk it then please let me know if it was any good.

"Hi Guys - apologies for the bad time had by all at Cave Austin in February. The guy running the show had a nervous breakdown shortly after this and is now in Australia recovering. We have relaunched the club and I can assure you that the MC will not be rubbish and you will see some very fine new comics. This Wednesday we have a particularly fine line up including three of the funniest female comics to emerge on the circuit in recent years and the wonderful Rich heap who is tipped to be the next big star of stand up.
To make up for your bad experience I will personally see to it that anyone using the code phrase Plummy Mummy will get 2 for 1 entrance at this week's show and it will be a pleasure to welcome you back to the club.
The bar was a bit shambolic but a huge effort has been made to improve things which I think you will notice straight away. But on Wednesday nights cave Austin is all about having a laugh and I can guarantee you that.

Bookings line 07828911353

Best wishes

Adam Preston"

p.s. I don't think he'll get many people quoting PlummyMummy as I don't think my audience is that huge!