The Pelham Arms

Friday lunchtime and the weather is awful. That thick cold drizzle that gets right into your finger bones. Lunch has to be hot and filling. We decide to head up to the Pelham Arms, which is under new ownership. Last time I was there they did a fantastic fish fingers, beans and chips, for a fiver.

The ownership might have changed but the pub hasn’t. It looks more or less like it did in the eighties, and the clientele look like they might not have moved from their barstools since then. The Wurlitzer pumps out soul classics. The menu is on laminated paper. Two blokes play pool in the background. Suzie chooses the lamb shank (for a change) and I go for the steak and kidney pudding. Only the prices are in this century: £7.50 and £6.50. There’s no Harvey’s, so I go for cider. The meal’s arrival is quite a deal. The pudding is an old-fashioned, breast-shaped thing, coated in suet, covered in gravy. Three other bowls arrive: boiled veg, roast veg and new potatoes. The suet is a rare treat, just like my granny used to make. It certainly warms you up. Did they use it instead of central heating? The meat is good, too. It takes a while to get through (conversation unnecessary), when I do, I realise the pudding has done its job. I’m happy, full and warm. And finally a new year’s resolution. Eat more suet this winter. It never seemed to do my grandparents any harm. AL