A Stupid View

Stoke-on-Trent - Pubs & Bars - Bars

Varsity in Stoke-on-Trent is in Hanley, the heart of the nightlife in this city.

I went on a Monday night as Mondays in Hanley are Student Night, and ofcourse the prices are reflective of this. Most drinks from what I could gather were only £1, but I believe this was on the basis of having a Varsity card which was provided on entry.

The drinks weren’t cheap in terms of quality however which I found quite surprising due to comparable bars elsewhere. There wasn’t much of a queue either and the bar wasn’t understaffed.

Going in initially, the venue seemed packed, but it wasn’t as bad as first feared and we actually managed to get a table. The chairs are comfortable tub-style ones, with sofas every now and again. Running along the window are big tables with big sofa-style benches which fit three people either side, four people at a push.

The toilets are situated upstairs and the men’s were relatively clean and well kept. Tables and the bar were cleaned quite regularly so there weren’t piles of drinks lying around from previous customers.

I can only give Varsity in Hanley a 4-star review as I haven’t given the food a go, and I haven’t been on any other evening than a Monday, which is Student night, so it is unfair to give it my full support when I haven’t had the full experience, so to speak.

Check out my review of Varsity Bar - I am dhscott - on Qype

London

Friary Park is a bit of a formal affair with the only formal sport being bowls. The only other sport to be had here are the free Tennis Courts.

The tennis courts are what I would call average for the area; not great, but not falling apart either. The surface of the two courts is very similar, with the far court suffering from the problem of overhanging trees. This is only a problem after it has rained, so for most of the time the surface is good. The nets are in a good condition and well-maintained and the lines of the court are clearly visible.

These courts can be popular however, and with only 2 courts in the entire park, it can get a bit silly on occasion. I had to wait over an hour for a court once, and I have spotted an argument over the courts a couple of times.

Tennis is a popular family sport in the area, and it seems a bit silly that there are only 2 courts for a park of this size and popularity. The fencing isn’t great either, but it does the job.

On the basis of great, but not great surfaces, I’m giving it 3 stars. But on the plus-side, I’d give it 3.5 if the system would let me.

Check out my review of Friary Park Tennis Courts - I am dhscott - on Qype

Stafford

Casa is situated in the heart of Stafford’s nightlife area with Love2Love next-door, Wetherspoons across the road and Zanzibar around the corner. Therefore, it has to be good to compete.

The bar had not been open for long when I visited so the look and decor was still shiny! Everything was clean and tidy too, including the toilets which were rather a surprise; possibly the best to be found on a night out in Stafford (For those that care about such things!).

Prices here are what I would pay in a London pub, so £3 a pint. However, the quality is better. This is probably because the place was new though with clean pipes. I hope the quality stays.

There were deals on spirits when I went and the quality of the glasses were quite frankly a topic of discussion as my vodka coke appeared to be in a small vase.

There was a smoking terrace upstairs which I didn’t get to look at, however, judging by the rest of the place, it would have been good.

The music wasn’t too loud considering the venue’s small size and the staff were all friendly. Seating was comfortable with sofas and the bar had lights underneath it which changed colour periodically which confused many a tipsy student on my visit.

5 Stars because even though the prices weren’t exactly student-friendly, the quality made up for it.

Check out my review of Casa - I am dhscott - on Qype

Stafford

Zanzibar is and has been the biggest nightclub in Stafford for a while. It has some competition, namely from Chicago Rock Cafe (Now Love2Love) just round the corner, but its sheer size compared to the town means that it won’t go out of business anytime soon.

However, this also means it doesn’t have to spend grand amounts of money on décor either. The carpets are generally sticky along with bars and tables. But the clientèle don’t care, and nor did I up to point. But trying to dance (I use the term dance loosely!) on a sticky floor where your feet don’t move easily isn’t very comfortable.

Prices are very favourable with Friday Nights being a 99p special night with drinks at 99p. On Tuesdays, its Student night and drinks are weirdly more expensive at £1.25.

Toilets have attendants and could do with a refit, but it isn’t too bad for the lads.

Zanzibar is going through a refit soon and changing its name to Escapade; which is probably to counter the refit and re-branding of Chicago Rock round the corner, its only real competition.

This place isn’t excellent, but it isn’t somewhere to avoid like the plague either. Worth a try to make up your own mind, but I give it 3 stars.

Check out my review of Zanzibar - I am dhscott - on Qype

It’s not until you realise how much work you actually have to do at University that you knuckle down and get to doing it! This doesn’t leave you with much time to blog about recent happenings, unfortunately!

Going back one post (A fair while ago now!), I was talking about small laptops. I found out soon after writing that post about the Elonex One. A laptop which beats even the Asus eee PC in terms of price. It is the first sub-£100 laptop in the UK. However, the price does affect the specification of the product obviously. It comes with a small 300mhz Processor and only 128mb of RAM; so runs a Linux OS. It does not seem feasible in any way to run Windows XP on this machine for those wanting something a bit more familiar. But, for £100, it seems a cheaper alternative for children to use as opposed to the Asus model.

I also decided to buy an Xbox 360 and I don’t regret it. Yet. The PS3 is getting stronger with every new game that comes out, and every new Blu-Ray movie too. Time will tell!