Local Heroes: The Woodman Inn

In the time that has elapsed since my departure from Durham, my three years in the Northeast increasingly feels like a dream. As I readjust to life back in Singapore and condition myself to call it ‘home’ again, I find my thoughts, from time to time (especially in the tranquility of my hall room), inadvertently drifting to a place some 10,000 kilometres away. While I still have the luxury of relatively free evenings, I’ve decided to pen a few words on a major aspect of my Durham experience: the local friends whom I’ve had the honour of being acquainted with at the Woodman Inn. This post is dedicated to them.

Two nights ago, I dreamed that I was back at my local pub in Durham (I may actually miss Durham more than I think I do!), The Woodman Inn, enjoying the usual banter with a few of the regulars whom I’ve had the wonderful privilege of befriending. A paragraph from a previous blog post, written after my second academic year, recalls how we first met:

'On the 31^st of October last year (2011), I decided to catch a Monday night football game: Newcastle vs. Stoke City. The Woodman Inn is a century-old, local pub situated some five minutes away from my house in Durham and having passed it quite a few times on the way to lectures, I decided to catch the game there. Of course, I had to first verify if it was a safe place for Newcastle fans to be in. The owner, Gary, told me that it was a Newcastle pub (I was to realise that the Woodman was frequented by BOTH Newcastle and Sunderland fans) and that I will be safe there. I popped in an hour later, some ten minutes before the game, quite eager to interact with anyone who would care for a chat. I took a seat at the bar counter and quickly began conversing with those seated around me. They were mostly Durham locals and I warmed up to them with relative comfort. A few were naturally curious about how I’d come to support the Magpies and I genuinely enjoyed listening to their opinions on certain players – those they rated and those they hated. The team defeated Stoke City that evening and it was great fun celebrating with the others. A few weeks later, when the satellite reception was temporarily lost while we were watching another game, Michael, one of the guys I met the other night, offered to take me along with a few others to another pub. He gave us a ride to Belmont, a few miles from the Woodman, where we continued to watch the game. They even bought me drinks! I have since become quite a regular at the Woodman and though I’m usually the only Asian there (Michael refers to me as the ‘Asian Contingent’), I always enjoy the company and the atmosphere there. I even had the opportunity to make friends with Hughie, a die-hard Sunderland fan who constantly offers to take me to the Stadium of Light and divert me to the ‘straight and narrow path.' That aside, with reference to the game of football (and this may apply equally to many other sports), I find it wonderful that people from such vastly different backgrounds can come to share something common that is so close to their hearts, to revel in the joyous moments and to commiserate with one another when things aren’t as rosy. Football can really draw people together and can even form the basis on which friendships can be built across racial and cultural lines.'

I’m glad to say that my final year afforded me ample opportunity to build on these acquaintances and visiting the pub regularly to catch football games in my final year enabled me to get to know the regulars better. There were times when I'd look forward to meeting them as much as I'd anticipated the match. Watching games together at the Woodman is something I really enjoyed doing and I'll miss the celebrations we had after goals were scored and the insightful conversations we had, be it about football, politics (this was quite a tricky one though), or life in general. The generosity of my friends ensured that there were quite a few occasions where I was treated to pints. There were even times when they offered to buy the friends I brought into the pub drinks! I was never really allowed to return the favours. To show my appreciation, I decided to invite them over a Singaporean meal. I prepared chicken rice, complemented with omelettes and stir-fried vegetables, which was, to my relief, rather well-received. Unfortunately, the chicken soup I prepared for them that day remains a divisive subject. I was deeply moved when prior to eating, I was presented with a few gifts: a Newcastle United tie and retro shirt from Dave, a framed picture of St. James’ Park from Don, and a framed photograph of Durham from my favourite Sunderland fans in the world, Charlie, Hughie and Fast. I was actually presented with the Durham photograph after I opened Don’s gift, and knowing that the three of them were Sunderland fans, I uttered, ‘I hope it’s not one with the Stadium of Light.’ I had planned the occasion to repay my dear friends for the kindness they’ve shown to me for more than a year, but ended up being showered yet again with expressions of generosity. I knew then that I’d really miss them. 

From L-R: Dave, Mickey, Don, Charlie, Fast and Hughie

I had the honour of having my last meal in Durham with what I shall remember as ‘The Woodman United’ at Rajpooth’s. We enjoyed an evening out a few nights after I returned from Spain and I was pleased to have been able to arrange a final meal before I departed from Durham. I was moved by the fact that they agreed to sacrifice their precious Sunday evening and although I tried to make it a treat as a way of saying ‘farewell’ and ‘thank you’, my attempt was (once again) foiled and I wasn’t even allowed to pay for my share. I guess I’ll have to wait till they visit Singapore when I can finally do the pint-purchasing (considering the price of alcohol here, I’ll have to start saving now). We adjourned to the Big Jug next door for a little while before having to bid each other a quite emotional final farewell. In all honesty, being the emotional person I am, I shed a few tears that night after receiving a long and sincere text message from Hughie, as I was filled with nothing but gratitude for the generosity and kindness that had been showered upon me and for the marvellous hospitality shown to me which helped to make Durham a second home to me.

No prizes for guessing correctly which team Hughie and Fast support

A few words on Nigel, the bossman of the Woodman...

When I passed the pub shortly after returning for my final year, I noticed a banner with the words ‘Under New Management’ hanging outside the Woodman. The previous owners, Gary and Paula, were lovely people and Gary was the one who first assured me that the Woodman was black and white. A hard-core Magpie himself, he had zero tolerance for the team in red and white. One issue I had with the pub then was the jarring presence of a framed Sunderland shirt which hung on the wall at the section behind (if it had been hung at the front when I first entered the pub, I would have quickly bolted and life would have been so different). Gary explained that Paula was a Sunderland fan. I’m sure his dog was too after it bit me when I screamed after Newcastle scored against Chelsea one fine evening. After settling down, I decided to visit the new-look Woodman with my housemate, Raghav. I was introduced to Nigel and couldn’t help but immediately ask if the pub was still a Newcastle pub. To my relief, his reply was positive. What pleased me most during the visit was when I discovered that the Sunderland shirt was gone! That’s what I’d tell people was the best thing about the change in ownership. Another good thing about the change was that the pub now served burgers and toasties and I found myself no longer confined to dry-roasted peanuts.

With Nigel

During the course of the year, I was certainly not the best of customers (I’m an alcoholic featherweight), but Nigel was always hospitable and I’d always felt at home in the new-look Woodman Inn. He was kind enough to let us hold our farewell party at the pub without charging us for the venue or the barbecue itself. On my last night in Durham, I paid the pub a final visit to bid farewell to Nigel. I was lost for words when, as a farewell gift, he presented me with a framed, autographed picture of my football hero, Alan Shearer, whom he works with occasionally. A few months back, upon finding out that Nigel knew Newcastle’s record goal-scorer, I asked if it was possible for me to get Shearer to autograph something for me. I was deeply moved that Nigel had remembered. I know that I’ll think of the Woodman whenever I enter a pub in Singapore and I’ll miss it for reasons beyond its relatively cheaper pints (I was shocked to see a bottle of Bulmers priced at S$13 at one of the cheaper pubs in Singapore – I used to get them at the Woodman at two for S$10). It may just be my first stop when I revisit Durham. 

With Dave and Lynn @ our Farewell Party

Even though almost all of my friends from university have also left Durham, even if I cease to be a Newcastle United fan and even if the Cathedral somehow gets demolished (I heard that it has, for the longest time, prevented The Half Moon Pub's terrace from receiving proper sunshine), I’m glad to say that I’ve a terrific reason to revisit the lovely university town that's Durham. 

Other notable points...

One must never take my anti-Sunderland quips seriously. Although my time in Durham helped me to better appreciate the Tyne-Wear rivalry and what it means to both sets of fans, to understand what ‘bragging rights’ truly means in that part of the world, I’ve met too many lovely Mackems (Sunderland fans) to feel any real animosity toward the club. In fact, I’m now a ‘proud’ owner of a 2012/13 Sunderland shirt, courtesy of Jeff, our dear Hatfield porter, who presented it to me as a farewell gift. Fate insisted that I kept the shirt. Guy Fawkes’ was not until November (no legitimate reason to start a bonfire) and Oxfam was shut when I attempted to donate the shirt. Ok, I kid here. I was very moved by Jeff’s gesture (being a season-ticket holder, it was a shirt he’d worn to the games all season) although I couldn’t help but suspect that he had wished to divest himself of everything that reminded him of a season when Sunderland finished below us.

With Jeff

Finally, as much as this post is centred upon my experience at the Woodman Inn, I don’t want to give the impression that I’ve become quite an alcoholic. I always drank in moderation during my three years in the U.K. (in fact, I didn’t swallow a drop of alcohol for the longest time as I'd thought I'd become allergic to the substance).