The Black Horse, Iver Heath

hello realdrinker.

your comments on the black horse make interesting reading... to be expected i suppose - but thankfully we're all entitled to our opinions. as for "nose put out" - no, not really; more a case of expressing the views of the masses. on the flip side, i'm delighted someone enjoys the rebirth of the black horse. don't get too lonely!

tickleusknee

10 Oct 2008 14:40

The Black Horse, Iver Heath

It saddens me to read all these well-deserved good comments from punters who've clearly enjoyed The Black Horse over the years. It saddens me because The Black Hose has had it's soul ripped out.

If you've not been to The Black Horse since May 2008 and are thinking of popping back to enjoy a good pint and a bit of banter, might I humbly suggest a surgical procedure as a more enjoyable and satisfying way to spend your time? By all means do a drive-by; admire the way they've turned the garden into a car-park and stuck fake timbers and pretty lighting all over the place. But don't stop. No, keep your happy memories intact for that's all that remains of The Black Horse.

You see, in their infinite wisdom, the brewery, Hall & Woodhouse, having successfully fleeced and almost bankrupted too many good landlords, decided it was (finally) going to carry out long-promised refurbishments.

What they effectively managed to do however was a little like taking a perfectly good curry, tipping it over the kitchen table you've just been cleaning your muddy boots on, adding plenty of cornflakes and washing-up liquid, stirring it around a bit and serving it up in a bucket - with a big smile. In other words they've well and truly b*ggered it up.

Never has the term 'Ikea pub' been more justly deserved.

The staff are pleasant enough so long as you're not expecting any conversation – it's probably against company policy anyway. No matter – they'll probably go back to their old jobs at the drive-through soon enough. The food's edible - but so's tripe if you try hard enough. And the menu is about as daring and exciting as picking your nose at the cinema – at first you get a slight tingle but ultimately it's a complete let-down.

But hey, life goes on. The once displaced drinkers of The Black Horse have found new watering holes and continue to make good friends. And if local gossip is anything to go by, the once barred-from-all-the-other-pubs-in-the-area have found a new home too – at The Black Horse! So desperate must the in-house manager be to keep business drummed up – sadly at the expense of losing all the new dining trade they'd managed to muster (somehow – must've had their taste buds removed at birth, the lot of them).

So if you were lucky enough to sample the delights of The Black Horse pre-May 2008, be glad that you were there. Spare a thought for all the laughs, music, friendships and good beer, the efforts invested, the long hours – the community... and then move on.

I'll have another large one. Cheers.

R.I.P.
THE BLACK HORSE PUB
PRE-1881 - 2008

P.S. In case you're wondering why I rated the pub 1 out of 10, the 1 is for the hand-dryers in the loos – which are the new super-powerful variety. They still fill me with a kind of morbid fascination as I watch the skin peeling off my hand and fingers in the hot gush of plastic air that's ejected at the speed of sound. But if that sort of thing doesn't float your boat, you can drop the 1.

3 Oct 2008 16:08