Author: christoff3000

Serving up the best in Sedgley

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Feeling peckish?

Sedgley is well-served by restaurants, with a variety of cuisines on offer to cater for all tastes.

In the centre itself, diners can choose from Indian, Chinese, Thai or traditional English pub grub – all at reasonable prices.

Local resident, Richard Smith, particularly recommends Indian restaurant Sedgley Spice in Bilston Steet, saying: “What a fantastic meal I had at Sedgley Spice – they even gave my brother a free birthday cake. Top service!”

And, just a few doors down from here is one of the village’s best-kept secrets – Mee’s Thai Restaurant, located at the back of the Bull’s Head pub.

Here diners can choose from a delicious array of Thai cuisine made using authentic ingredients and served in a relaxing atmosphere.

Although it’s only been open six months, this latest addition to Sedgley’s dining scene has already built up an excellent reputation among residents, thanks to excellent customer service, reasonable prices and perfectly-

Diners in Sedgley can choose from a wide range of cuisines, including Italian, Thai, Chinese, Indian or traditional

prepared dishes. Booking is a must, as Mee’s is always bustling.

For lovers of Italian food, a visit to Cafe Casita in Clarence Street, Upper Gornal, is essential. Managers Anna and Erminio pride themselves on creating a welcoming atmosphere, accompanied by authentic cuisine.

Choose from a menu bursting with freshly-prepared dishes, such as slithers of salmon served on a bed of lettuce drizzled with balsamic to start, followed by chicken breast, cooked in red wine with tomatoes, peppers, onions and herbs.

And, moving on to Lower Gornal, a visit to The Fountain is always a memorable experience, with a huge range of locally-sourced sausage and mash combinations to choose from, along with a menu featuring Black Country specialities and pub grub favourites. Sunday lunches here are always hugely popular, with a regular choice of three roast meats.

Have you been to one of Sedgley’s superb restaurants recently? We’d love to hear your reviews. Get in touch with us here at Sedgleyscene or via our Twitter feed.

City status bid given bostin’ Black Country makeover

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In recent months, Dudley Metropolitan Council’s bid for city status has been well publicised, with both positive and negative feedback from local residents.

Indeed, despite the council’s insistence that gaining city status will bring much-needed regeneration to the area, a recent poll by Dudley News revealed 72 per cent of its readers are against the proposals.

However, despite this apparent negativity, someone at the council’s press office has seemingly retained their sense of humour and titled the mission statement on their website, www.dudley.gov.uk/, as ‘Dudlay (sic) a city of ambition’.

While it’s not clear at present whether this was an intentional reference to Dudley-born comic

Cheeky reference to local dialect or genuine mistake? Dudley MBC's press release

Lenny Henry or simply a typographical error, one thing’s for certain – the council wants local residents to have their say and is inviting them to do so via its Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Dudley-borough/156476677705498 tonight (Monday, July 25), from 6pm-7pm.

What are your views on Dudley borough gaining city status and how do you feel it will affect Sedgley? Get in touch with us here at Sedgleyscene and we’ll feature your views.

It’s competition time

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Calling all fans of the flicks…

Those lovely people at Light House in Wolverhampton are giving away two tickets to see a film of your choice.

And, if you haven’t been to this highly-regarded media centre before, you’re in for a treat, with comfortable seats and state-of-the-art cinema screens showing some of the best films from around the globe.

Relax with a drink beforehand in the stylish surroundings of Lock Works cafe or take it with you to enjoy while you watch a great movie.

To enter our competition, simply answer this question:

What is the name of the brewery attached to the Beacon Hotel?

Email your answer to sedgleyscene@gmail.com

Whoever sends in the first correct answer will soon be going along to see a film of their choice at one of the region’s best cinemas.

Winners will be able to collect their free tickets from the box office.

For current listings, visit http://light-house.co.uk/

Enjoy a movie for free, courtesy of Light House, Wolverhampton

Beacon Hotel gets a ghostly visit

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Alex Marchant, general manager at the Beacon Hotel, Sedgely, with the mysterious beermats

For more than 40 years, this mysterious figure has ‘haunted’ pubs across the Black Country and Staffordshire, leaving only their calling card – an image of American opera singer and actor Mario Lanza drawn on a beermat accompanied by a quote and often signed simply AJW.

But now, bar staff and regulars at the Beacon Hotel, Sedgley, are one step closer to cracking the mystery of this local enigma – they know what he or she likes to eat for breakfast.

Because, along with beermats featuring newspaper clippings of the historic pub’s staff stuck to them, the mystery customer also left one with a receipt attached from Rob Newey Butchers in Kingswinford, listing home-cured streaky bacon as one of the items.

“He or she must have been in the pub around 12.30pm on Friday, July 15 ,” says general manager, Alex Marchant, who was delighted to find several beermats dedicated to her in reference to the pub’s recent Camra award.

“And, when I checked the CCTV later, I saw a figure get up to leave with what looked like a range of beermats on their table.”

But, despite having captured this famous ‘ghost’ on camera, Alex remains tight-lipped as to this individual’s identity.

She jokes: “I’m not telling anyone who he or she really is – especially not a member of the Press!”

The mystery fan of Mario Lanza – a tenor and Hollywood movie star who died in 1959 – has continued to arouse interest since the first beermats were discovered in the early 1970s.

Over the years, this secretive spectre has displayed a keen interest in local news stories, referring at one time to nearby Woolaston as the ‘Bermuda Triangle’ when there was a large rise in numbers of missing pets there.

As well as being the subject of a documentary by professional filmmaker Barney Snow, AJW even has a Facebook page set up in his or her honour, which currently has 159 members.

And, since many beermats now also include reference to this, along with email address, theblobologist@yahoo.co.uk, some local people think it may now be a younger person who has taken up the role of Mario Lanza’s ghostwriter.

But Alex isn’t giving any clues away. “He could be a younger person, he could be older,” she says, before adding with a smile, “but I’m still not telling.”

Have you recently found one of these famous beermats or already own a collection?

Get in touch with us at Sedgleyscene – we’d love to hear your thoughts.

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Celebrating Sedgley

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Hello world and, especially, anyone who lives in Sedgley 🙂

Not only is this a historic village, it’s one surrounded by beautiful countryside and home to a terrific range of independent businesses, excellent pubs and restaurants and some very talented individuals.

As well as featuring all the latest news in the village, this site also aims to showcase people from all backgrounds, including artists, musicians, entrepreneurs and anyone doing something a little out of the ordinary.

We want to hear from YOU, the local community, about where your favourite places are, what hobbies you’re involved in and what really matters in your neighbourhood.

Get in touch and let’s keep the Sedgley scene vibrant 🙂