Back To The Pouttinerie

On Saturday, a group of us (Wolfie, Panthras, Taneli, Skavi and I) went to Huddersfield to catch England v Ireland in the Rugby League World Cup.

It was the first times I had ever been to an England international, I have strict parameters on which sports teams I support from England, and it was great to be a part of the action. The pre-match build up was great and we also met up with Tiger Sammy and his friend, who had travelled over from Canada to catch the game and a range of other sporting events including the trials of Rotherham FC.

We met in a bar beforehand but with only half an hour to go, we had to head into the stadium pretty quickly. It was a sell out crowd and the biggest for any sporting event in Huddersfield (which the PA guy made a big thing about) so getting beer and a pie proved to be difficult. I sent Wolfie, he sent me text messages asking what I wanted, I got no reception and he missed the first try. He wasn't happy with me but the pie was nice, even if it did disintegrate a little too easily.

We had had seats on the front tow behind the goal but there was a lady on row B with three small kids who asked if we could swap. As this was a party of four and we were a party of five, I had the lone seat on the front row, which was right in front of the cheerleaders who in the first half after every try did a lot of performing. My head was at crotch/bum height and I didn't know where to look XD.

The game itself was a bit of a non-contest and effectively over after 15 minutes after which England had scored three tries. Ireland were not competitive at all and England rushed in seven, sadly five of which at the opposite end to where we were sat. Still we got to see the cheerleaders and the RLWC bear mascot which looks like Bungle from Rainbow has been tasered. The kids played with the big drum, trying to drum up support, while they found the Mexican waves of the second half quite entertaining. I enjoyed the Huddersfield Giants mascot, a knight that looks like a post box dressed in a burka, massage some of his cheerleading staff.

The day itself was characterised by banter amongst friends, something I've missed about going to live sporting events, particularly during the day. These days, when I rarely go to sports events, they're in the evening when you have to head home pretty much after the game. An afternoon kick off allows you to make a day of it.

Afterwards, the five of us headed to a working man's club with Gas in the title to watch the football scores come in and wait for Sammy. A quick half here and we were soon back at the station, trying our best to avoid the pissing rain. We grabbed a drink at the excellent bar there before Skavi had to go home.

We then went to a restaurant called Rhubarb who had shut their kitchen at 6:10pm, citing busyness even though only three tables were occupied. This was a shame as the place looked nice. We bumped into a Pouttinerie further up the road, which Sammy, now hailing from Canada, went into and discussed how authentic it is with the Canadian owner. He then didn't buy anything and everyone went to KFC, which I boycotted because I dislike the food there. We tried Wimpy, a blast from my youth, but that was closed at 6.30pm so it was McDonald's, unfortunately.

The seven of us reconvened and went to Spoons to enjoy the dregs of their US v UK craft ale festival which wasn't really craft ale, just American brews brewed in the English style. Still, it was good to try one more considering this festival had technically ended on the preceding Wednesday. We talked to Sammy and his friend for a bit before they headed off and we tried two new craft beer bars in Huddersfield, Zephyr and one next door to it. The former is a dark craft beer place while the latter was a brighter more airy cafe bar. This one served hot Rekorderlig and more ciders predominantly while Zephyr focused more on beer. Both had their merits.

After this, we headed back to the Pouttinerie, desperate to see what an English twist on this Canadian classic would be like. Instead of cheese curds, they use mozzarella flakes and, to be honest, it really was just glorified chips, gravy and cheese. However, it was gorgeous and the four of us shared two large trays as we walked in the downpour back to the railway station.