EARLY evening on the day after jubilee day, and the Verulam Arms seemed to reflect the general mood hung over after four days of junketing, back at work, overdrawn on plastic and shivering on an unseasonably cold, wet Wednesday.

But the Verulam, a typical Victorian hostelry on the corner of Welclose and Lower Dagnall streets in St Albans, is normally a lot more cheerful and how different it had been only 24 hours before.

Decked out with bunting, it had thrown itself into the festivities, starting by serving breakfast during England versus Sweden on Sunday morning (though we'll draw a veil over that).

With local groups playing live there are monthly Saturday night gigs a barbecue in the paved side beer garden, and the morrismen dancing in the sunshine at the road junction, it was a very different pub to what it was on all-partied-out-Wednesday.

Residents in the adjoining terraced streets form the backbone of the Verulam's regulars, and a few crept in on Wednesday night to make a stab at cheering themselves up.

It is just about a two bar pub one each side of a horseshoe bar divided by a large square pillar in front of the door with an embossed ceiling in rather off-putting dark salmon and two large ceiling fans looking curiously out of context.

Clean and neat, this is not a pub interior of great character, but does boast some attractive pictures of old St Albans the 19th Century view of the Clock Tower is especially notable.

On Wednesday night the draught Courage Best at £2.20 a pint was in decent condition; the two other handpumps dispense Tetleys and Greene King IPA. Guinness, Carlsberg and Stella are also served, and a glass of red wine, rather better than in many pubs, was £1.80.

Though not a fan of background music, the Stones and Kinks did lift my mood. But not enough. An early night was clearly indicated.

June 26, 2002 12:30