Pub Odyssey 58

Tuesday 14 February:  THE STEAMER, Welwyn Village (Mike Horsman, Elvis pile, Bob Polydorou, Steve Stott)

COMMENT:  It may have been Valentine's Day, but this was in no way a romantic destination for anyone, including Odyssians.  The Steamer is a small pub which has attached to it a Chinese restaurant.  The pub had, I'm sorry to say, a rather "failing" look about it (few customers, no tea or coffee even though advertised inside and outside the pub- the machine had broken apparently);  however, the Chinese food was excellent and since they provide a takeaway service the Horsmans will probably be using their facilities again.  The connection between the failing pub and the high quality Chinese was not umbilical- you paid for their services seperately- but I couldn't help regretting the absence from the Odyssey this week of Andrew Swift, who would undoubtedly have treated us to his best thoughts about the failure of British enterprise and the way the Chinese are taking over the world, etc, etc.

The Steamer has a picture on the sign of a "steaming" horse pulling a loan up the hill on which the pub stands, but that's a romantic fantasy.  The pub is a railway pub.  It opened for business about 1850 as the"The Steam Engine", linked to the creation of the Geat Northern Railway.  That's about the time that other railway pubs on the Odyssey, the two Cowper Arms at Digswell and Letty Green, were also founded.