The White Horse, Acrefield road, Woolton

Sep 29 2007 by Mike Chapple, Liverpool Daily Post

WHAT is it about the Childwall Fiveways roundabout that sends Yours Truly into a cold sweat?

Being a simple northern soul (as in north Liverpool) the sense of direction goes completely out of the car window when approaching this crucial part of south Liverpool. Inevitably, instead of heading to the chosen destination farther south, such as Speke, the jalopy will somehow mysteriously make the wrong turn and return back into town a bit like one of those planes that goes AWOL in the Bermuda Triangle.

Luckily, on this occasion, Lady Penelope of Pensby was at the wheel. She was able to follow the Pub Column’s tentative directions to steer us to our chosen port of call, Woolton. It’s this reticence to trust in navigational skills which has led to a general reluctance to sample the ample alehouse wares of this leafy enclave of the city’s well-to-do.

First, however, there was an invitation to fulfil – the Liverpool premiere of the new film musical, Across the Universe, based around 33 Beatles classics and being shown at the wondrous Woolton Picture House – more of which will follow in Phil “all right, cock” Key’s arts column on Monday. The film was followed by a reception at St Peter’s Parish Church Hall nearby. This is where 50 years ago on July 6, 1957, Macca met John Lennon and the mightiest musical partnership, perhaps of all, was born.

There are those who mock the continuing veneration of the Fab Four, but the Lady and the Pub Column were quietly thrilled as we munched on our vol au vents, to be inside this small but significant temple of fandom for the first time.

Afterwards, still enveloped in a cloud of nostalgia, we were escorted the short distance to The White Horse, the favourite haunt and local of Castle Greyskull colleague Graeme Currie, and our pub for this week.

While some of the other alehouses round here have had substantial makeovers and their names changed to the daftly unpronounceable, the White Horse is a welcome little bastion of the old school, full of cosy nooks, good beer and fine food.

It’s been run for the past 14 years by Mike Morris and his wife, Liz, who pride themselves on keeping a house that’s as traditional as they come with a reputation for serving quality British Trencherman fodder such as liver, bacon and onions. For £7.95, they even do home delivery Sunday dinners, which are brought around piping hot by push bike with a carrier basket on the front. How cool is that? Potential customers living in Kirkby or Skem, however, should think again. It is, for obvious reasons, a service limited to the village.

There’s well-kept real ale here, too. On our visit, there was Bombardier, Deuchars IPA and Cains on tap.

Mike says that, although the Horse’s customers are predominantly older, they have been getting a younger clientele who are not all worshippers at the altar of bottled beer and bangin’ choons bars.

“This is a village – and even the young ones don’t like too much change,” explained the genial landlord politely but pointedly about some of his modernised neighbours.

Even the MopTop connection is approached without sensation. The pub did have a Magical Mystery coach tour to Liverpool boozers with a Beatles link on the 50th anniversary and an acoustic gig performed afterwards by one of the Bootlegs, but apart from that, the Horse is free of Beatles memorabilia.

“We like to do things quietly here,” said Mike.

And, considering we had already had our Fab Four fix for the night, that suited us all just fine.