No. 113 Alexander's

Visited on 3/11/11. In the endless debate about what is and isn’t a pub, one rule has remained constant. If an establishment charges for entry or if you have to be a member, it’s definitely not a pub so doesn’t qualify for the CBP. There’s a sort of grey area though concerning some places. ‘Alexander’s’ for instance charges for entry on some nights but not on others, depending on which act they have on. What to do then ? We decided to turn up anyhow and see how we got on. Septuagenarian ‘brum-rocker’ Steve Gibbons was playing on this particular night and there was a ten English pounds entry fee. Undeterred however, we waited for a big group to arrive and then walked in without paying while the door technician was distracted. Bingo – theatre instantly reverts to pub ! Let’s get it on. This is an intimate and well-designed performance space with the stage area at a lower level than the bar and it’s a great venue for small bands and comics. But we weren’t about to wait around for any of that nonsense. Real ale from Weetwood is served here – Cheshire Cat and Eastgate ale - and both were on good form. Most enjoyable in fact. We eventually apologised for bunking in and explained that we weren’t interested in seeing the band anyway. The bar staff saw the funny side to be fair. Anyhow, we were out of there before the man arrived on stage and had chance to declare, “It’s groit beein’ back in Chester is this…” Sex and blogs and rock ‘n’ roll. Our ‘main event’ lay elsewhere...