119 Halfway House - Thornham

First  visited : 30  January  2016

We've  dropped  the  ball  a  bit  here  and  missed  out  perhaps  half  a  dozen  pubs  in  the  centre  of  Royton  but  I  can  see  how  it  happened. I  was  initially  using  the  little  red  notebook  for  two  separate  things, one  to  record  the  pubs  passed  and  second  to  write  up  the  trips. Therefore  the  book  starts  with  the  pubs  noted  on  the  14th  October , then  I  left  the  next  5  pages  blank  for  pub  names  before  starting  an  account  of  the  Stoodley  Pike  walk  that  day. Unfortunately  that  never  got  finished  but  I  was  still  intending  to  complete  it   so  when  the  Tipplers  Inn  filled  up  the  last  line  on  the  pages  I'd  left  blank  for  pub  names,  I  had  to  judge  how  many  pages   I'd  need  to  complete  the  Stoodley  Pike  story  before  resuming  the  pub  list. While  I  was  pondering  that  the  bus  whizzed  on  and  so  a  few  pubs  got  missed. I  hope  that  makes  sense.

The  Halfway  House  is  so  named  because  its  half  way  up  the  slope  on  the  flank  of  Tandle  Hill  as  Rochdale  Road  climbs  out  of  Royton  towards  Thornham  Summit. It's  a  John  Willie  Lees  pub  and  seems  to  be  thriving. It's  quite  large  inside , well-lit and  tidy  , with  a  central  bar  serving  separate  areas  for  games / football  watching   and  dining. We  were  a  bit  too  early  for  eating  so  I  couldn't  tell  you  much  about  the  food  but  they  had  a  fair  few  uniformed  young  staff  waiting  around  so  I'm  guessing  it  does  get  quite  busy. The  drinks  seemed  a  bit  expensive.

118 The Tippler's Inn - Royton

Not  visited

There's  a  mention  of  it  on  a  Royton  messageboard  to  prove  it  wasn't  just  a  figment  of  my  imagination  but  otherwise  I've  drawn  a  complete  blank  on  this  one. Anyone  know  anything  more  about  it ?

117 The Marston Tavern - Royton

Not  visited

This  was  on  the  left  hand  side  of   Rochdale  Road. It  closed  in  2011  and  there  is  now  an  Italian  restaurant  on  the  site. I'm  not  sure  whether  any  of  the  original  building  survives.

116 The White Hart

First  visited :  24  January  2016

The  White  Hart  is  a  little  further  on  towards  Rochdale  on  the  right  hand  side. It  looks  spruce  on  the  outside  and  it's  well  maintained  inside  too . It's  sparsely  decorated  but  clean  and  tidy  with  a  number  of  screens  for  football, a  games  room  and  space  for  live  music  on  Fridays. It  has  a  kids  play  area  at  the  back  but  doesn't  appear  to  do  food  which  is  an  odd  combination.

There  were  few  in  it  this  Sunday  afternoon  with  Everton  v  Swansea  on  the  box  but  there  was  a  tasty  barmaid  called  Kirsty  who  was  quite  pleasant.

In  the  games  room  there  was  a  framed  and  signed  picture  of  Joe  Royle  and  I  suspect  it's  getting  by  on  match  day  business.

115 The Old Grey Mare - Royton

First  visited  :  22  December  2015

Although  I've  recorded  this  one  as  being  in  Oldham , its  postal  address  indicates  that  it's  actually  in  Royton.

It  had  only  just  opened  when  Simon  and  I  visited  this  morning  so  it  was  understandably  deserted. It's  a  large  well-kept  pub  with  a  games  room, small  beer  garden  and  a  small  separate  dining  area. They  had  a  problem  with  the  freezer  so  we  couldn't  sample  the  food. There  were  some  interesting  old  photos  on  the  walls  and  posters  advertising  live  bands  on  a  Friday. The  barmaid  was  very  friendly.

Simon  liked  it  and  there's  no   reason  why  we  wouldn't  visit  again  if  we  were  in  the  area.

114 The Queen's Arms - Oldham

First  visited  : 1989

This  is  a  sad  one  for  me.

The  Queen's  used  to  be  on  the  corner  of   Rochdale  Road  and  Chadderton  Way. This  junction  is  controlled  by  traffic  lights  so  my  bus  home  from  work  ( 1987-93 )  would  usually  be  halted  there.  Some  time  in  1989  I  noticed  a  poster  in  the  window  for  "Uncle  Peter's  Pop  Quiz",  a  weekly  event  though  I  can't  now  remember   which  night  of  the  week  it  was. It  would  either  have  been  Wednesday  or  Thursday.

Eventually  I  interested  someone  else  - again  I  can't  remember  who  was  first  - into  going    along  with  me  to  check  it  out. This  was  during  my  first  year  of  driving  and  I  always  preferred  company  even  if  they  weren't  drivers  themselves.

Uncle  Peter's  Pop  Quiz   was  very  simple  in  format. He  played  ten  songs  on  a  theme, you  wrote  down  title  and  artist  and  then  swapped  papers  with  someone  else  in  the  pub. If  you  won  you  got  one  of  those  minature  whiskey  bottles ; if  there  was  a  tie  one  of  you  went  up  to  his  deck   and  he  asked  a  tie-breaker  question. And  then  it  would  all  start  again.

More  often  than  not  my  team  would  win  whoever  my  companions  were; the  competition  was  mainly  a  bloke  called  Colin  who  stood  at  the  bar  and  must  have  been  peeved  whenever  I  showed  up  but  he  never  let  on. It  was  actually  a  very  friendly  pub  and  I  remember  one  time  we  went , we  ended  up  playing  for  two  girls  on  the  adjacent  table  to  win  some  prizes. I  often  wish  I'd  made  a  bit  more  of  that  opportunity. I  can't  tell  you  how  often  I  went  now , perhaps  half  a  dozen  times  over  a  three  year  period  ?

Then  the  poster  disappeared  from  the  window. I  rang  the  pub  up  to  check  whether  it  was  still  on. They  told  me  Peter  didn't  do  it  there  anymore  but  generously  told  me  where  I  could  now  find  him. I  didn't  recognise  the  name  of  the  pub  and  never  followed  it  up.

There  has  been  a  lasting  significance  to  my  visits  there. One  of  my  companions  was  a  guy  called  Graham  Mather  who  started  work  in  our  office  at  the  tail  end  of  1989. He  noted  my  prowess  and  a  couple  of  years  later  invited  me  to  join  him  and  a  couple  of  other  guys  at  a  regional  pop  quiz  run  by  two  guys  calling  themselves  Northern  Pop  Quizzes. I'm  still  in  touch  with  them   - one  was  DJ  at  my  wedding  reception - and  met  my  current  quiz  partner  at  one  of  their  Christmas  quizzes. So  thanks  for  that  Uncle  Peter.  

I  don't  know  when  it  closed. It's  now  a  Shisha  bar.  

113 Trap Inn - Oldham

First  visited : 12  December  2015

This  was  a  strange  one.  The  Trap  Inn  is  further  down  Rochdale  Road  on  the  right  hand  side. Having  worked  out  where  to  park  which  took  a  bit  of  time  as  there's  nowhere  obvious, I  approached  with  some  trepidation. The  corner  window  let  you  see  into  a  completely  bare  games  room, there  was  no  signage  as  far  as  I  could  see  and  there  was  a  hole  - possibly  even  a  bullet  hole- in  the  front  window.

I  walked  into  the  lounge  and  it  was  lovely, practically  deserted  but  well  laid  out  and  spotless. I  had  obviously  visited  mid-refurbishment  with  all  the  seating  newly  upholstered  and  clean. The  bar  man  hadn't  much  to  serve, just  a  couple  of  fridges  full  of  cans  and  bottles  and  a  handful  of  packets  of  crisps  and  you  wonder  why  they've  bothered  to  open  up  at  all  before  the  work's  finished  but  hey  ho  it 's  another  one  off  the  list.