Snacks the way, a-ha, a-ha, I like it

No desire to make adrama out of crisps, but there really is a formidable selection of bagged snacks in the Old Vic.

Get it? Old Vic? Drama? Crisps/crisis? Tough crowd.

Moving swiftly on, choose your weapon. Scampi Fry. Bacon Fry. Dorito. A broad spectrum of Walkers. Even Cheese Flavoured Moments, that most divisive of pub savoury; manna from heaven for some (oddballs), blobs of something terrible wrapped in ice-cream wafer to others.

Still, takes different strokes to move the world, yes it does.

Of course there is somewhat more to this old Fishergate pub than an impressive nibble array, a fact no doubt not lost on the surprisingly decent mid-week 6.30pm crowd I found inhabiting its various rooms.

More than healthy, at a time of the week when many pubs are lively as your average crypt.

The bar boasts your expected roster of beverage – beers from cooking to cool European, plenty of brightly-coloured bottles for the young people, quality optics – but as ever I only had eyes for the rotating guest pumps.

A pint of Yorkshire Blonde Premium was my first choice. And my second choice.

And, if I’d had time and money, my 3rd, 4th, 5th and so on, until either my finances or my legs gave out (more likely the latter first – packing a 4.5% wallop I knew that some glasses had been emptied after the pair).

Lovely refreshing ale, just a hint of bitterness, a dab of sweet and exuding a soft floral aroma that briefly convinced me it was late summer.

Took the liberty of a roving swill around the former Vic and Station, and found that little seemed to have changed since my last visit several years ago.

A strange combination of cosy but rambling (plenty of floor-space, spread across three rooms, one each set aside for pool and darts, but with a nice low, heavy beamed ceiling), the furniture is careworn but comfy, the lighting subdued, the ambience relaxed.

A smart new smoking area made me realise I probably hadn’t stopped by since the smoking ban, a revelation so shocking I needed a cigarette. So I had one.

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