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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Nia Dalton

Wetherspoon superfan says boozer 'should have passport' to stop him taking menus home

There are lots of reasons why JD Wetherspoon is the nation's favourite pub chain - from the crowd-pleasing food to the cut-price pints and homely interior.

Tim Clarke is just one of their superfans and while he enjoys their Thursday Curry Club and the traditional large breakfasts, more importantly, he likes that he can visit his favourite boozer just about anywhere in the UK.

He is not just your average regular as the 66-year-old Asda delivery driver has stepped inside 240 different Spoons pubs in the last five years - and he's got the paper menus to prove it.

Tim and his wife Anne, 63, began their Wetherspoon adventure in 2018 and have ticked off hundreds since, stopping for a refillable coffee or pint along the way.

Tim organises his pub menus in alphabetical order and counties (Tim Clarke)
The delivery driver has been to 240 Spoons boozers in five years (Tim Clarke)

Tim, from Nottingham, told the Mirror: "We first started collecting menus when we got a directory in 2018. You don't get them anymore but it lists all the pubs by county.

"We've visited 240 so far, but we went to lots before then, so it's even more than that.

"We've travelled as far as Edinburgh for a week's holiday, and we've done all of the pubs in Nottingham, Derbyshire, Lincolnshire, South Yorkshire and West Yorkshire."

Tim's favourite meal is a traditional large breakfast, which includes a fried egg, bacon, sausage, baked beans, two hash browns, slice of toast and butter, for a fiver.

"I like their breakfasts the most, so wherever we go, we always head to Spoons first. They food is always the same and you know exactly what to expect," Tim said.

Tim and wife Anne love stopping off for a traditional large breakfast and butty (Tim Clarke)

"You get limitless cups of coffee with it and it's a way to break up the journey as well. I don't know if I'm supposed to, but I do collect the paper menus.

"I ask the staff before I take them. The big menu tells you the history of the pub.

"I write on the date and if my favourite football team, Nottingham Forest, are playing, I put the match score on.

"I've got two folders, one downstairs and one in the attic. They're all filed alphabetically under counties. I don't know what I'm going to do with them.

"My missus always says, 'Why do we have to take them?', but I tell her that one day the grandkids might want to look back at the history and say, 'The pints were cheap in those days'."

Even over the last five years, Tim has noticed big changes. As well as Spoons shutting down old pubs, he said the "prices have gone up and you get less food".

He wants to pass the paper menus down to his son and grandkids (Tim Clarke)
Tim will never say no to a Thursday Curry Club or pint of Thatchers (Tim Clarke)

"Back in the old days, you used to get really big helpings. But I guess that's the same with everywhere now," he added.

If it's later in the day, Tim and Anne will stop for a Thatchers Cider or Stowford Press, and sometimes stay in a Wetherspoon hotel.

"We've just come back from staying in a hotel in Brecon, Wales. It's handy so you don't have to worry about driving," Tim said.

"Every Thursday night, the lads go out and we have the chargrilled chicken or curry. You can't go wrong with their fish and chips either.

"The thing with Spoons is that you don't expect top quality, but it's not bad quality either, it's just in the middle."

After taking a trip to all of his local boozers, Tim is struggling to travel further afield and has plans to buy a campervan to continue his mission.

"When we get a campervan, we'll do Cornwall. It does encourage us to go places. We've been to towns that we probably wouldn't hav gone to," he said.

He thinks Wetherspoon is missing a trick by not having a physical passport (Tim Clarke)

"It's a bit of fun too. If we've been driving for hours, we'll look at the directory to find where we can stop off, rather than struggle to find somewhere new.

"You pay £2.50 for a pint of cider instead of £7 like a normal pub. It's a damn sight cheaper. You can buy a round for a tenner."

Tim also uses the app to find pubs and hotels nearby, but prefers a copy that he can physically hold.

"I think Wetherspoon should have a passport. I wrote to them suggesting they bring one out, that can be stamped so people know where the pubs are," he said.

"It would give people an incentive to go. There's definitely a market for it. I think they're missing a trick here!"

Tim has visited 240 out of 826 Wetherspoon pubs in the UK, and if they take his advice to make a passport, he'll definitely visit more.

Are you a Wetherspoon superfan? Get in touch. Email nia.dalton@reachplc.com.

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