New Year's Eve is always an opportunity to give the yearly pub total a final boost. Seeing as many other people are out and about though, there is the problem with pubs being ticketed or closed. We discussed this problem with Richard Bradshaw and some back street pubs in Kingston-upon-Thames that had the potential to be relatively quiet were selected for our festivities.

The previous day we drove down to London to get Avril a haircut, and took the opportunity to visit a couple of pubs near Oxford Circus. The Cock is a very drab Samuel Smiths' establishment with stoney-faced Polish barmaids serving. We stood up, drunk up and used the toilets, then left for Colour Nation. Nothing wrong, just nothing redeeming. After the haircut, we had one in the Champion, another nearby Samuel Smiths pub, which was much nicer. We met some other very friendly customers in there who we talked to about pub crawls. The layout of this pub is also rather conducive to having a pleasant time.

After going back to retrieve the car, we drove to North Cheam for a family gathering and took the opportunity to empty bladders just before arriving (it is never good to rush up to the toilet immediately on arrival) at the HG Wells in Worcester Park. This is quite a foody pub that used to be known as the Drill and had a reputation for being very expensive, but it is now much more reasonably priced although it is nothing special. They had a few real beers on in there which was nice and the overall vibe was quite relaxed and friendly.

The following day was the excursion to Kingston, and after being dropped off in the town centre, we quickly made our way to the Wheelwright’s Arms, which is a traditional first pub in Kingston for Richard when he visits. This is not a particularly nice pub however, being rather cramped and gaudy with loud people on many tables, but they did have a pretty good range of beer available although the quality left a lot to be desired. The pub was filing with people who seemed intent on drinking brightly coloured drinks, so we drank up with haste and left. A bit of a walk through the town centre followed which took us to the Gazebo by the river. Had it been Summer, this place would have been heaving but on this occasion it had the air of a place marking time until closing time, as the staff were rather unattentive, it was half empty, although there were some undesirable characters around, and the beer selection was keg only. One to make a note of for a future visit but otherwise get out of pretty quickly.

The Druid’s Head is a really rather good pub on two levels and we enjoyed our time in there. It was very welcoming and was not all ticket so we contemplated staying for a while, but the quality of the beer wasn't quite up to scratch. There is a nice snug part of the pub which we did not discover until we left, and it is worth noting that the best toilets are upstairs, but that the best beer is downstairs, and can be drunk in grander surroundings. Another fairly long walk back across the town centre followed to the Canbury Arms which is now quite a smart gastro pub, but which has a pretty good array of beer and, although quite busy, was not packed enough that we could not find a table. We ended up staying for two in there due to the range and quality of the ale, for example Tim Taylor Landlord and Hogsback TEA. The pub is nicely set up with a U-shaped bar placed centrally.

Eventually though, it was time to move on and we walked further into the estate and found ourselves at the Willoughby Arms, a rather attractive corner cited pub, which was pretty quiet, which allowed us to get a nice table in a room out towards the back. The pub itself has a number of different rooms, with bar access available in many of them. Our room had a number of useful beer books and board games. The range of beer was good, and it was also very well kept, which allowed us to stay for quite some while, especially as the juke box was playing some excellent music. For some reason though, we decided that we should at least pay a visit to the Wych Elm, just around the corner. This was a much busier pub, although quite friendly, with people enjoying their New Years Eve. There may also have been some disco on. There wasn't much wrong with it, but it was very hot in there and we also felt that we had joined a party in full swing late, so we passed up the opportunity to have another, although the range of ales was fine, and headed back to the Willoughby to see the New Year in.

A good choice too, because the pub had a few more people in and the atmosphere was even better and we were welcomed back with open arms. We stayed for a good few more beers and, shortly after ringing in the New Year, Richard headed off to get the last Green Line/726/X26 or whatever it calls itself these days so that he could get back to Benhilton/Newtown, and for free too. Avril and I however stayed, with the intention of having just one or two more, but in the end spend a good hour enjoying the hospitality of Rick, the friendly barman, who generously gave us a free bottle of bubbly to share although in hindsight this was probably a little more than we actually required, but the gesture was much appreciated. Eventually it was time to leave though, and Rick called us a cab which speeded us back to North Cheam although that was not free - it was actually £40, so Richard had the last laugh there.