Geographically speaking, The Volunteer is my local pub. After over a year living nearby, a friend and I ventured here for a couple of drinks as we'd seen it was 'under new management'.
The downstairs is one large room served by a single bar. Being a Joseph Holt pub, the draught beers are limited to their Bitter and Mild, so it's not going to be somewhere to head to if you wanted to sample a range of local ales. That being said, both pints were pretty decent.
If I'd written the review within the first 15 minutes of entering, it'd probably be awarded two stars, as the landlady was bordering on abrasive when we dared to ask what types of gin they had (the answer was "house gin or Gordon's"). Who knows what the house gin was - maybe it's distilled upstairs in a bathtub. To save you from minor embarrassment, don't ask if they have slices of lime.
Aside from this minor lack of a warm welcome, we settled down round the corner from the bar and surveyed our surroundings. Raised seating areas break up the room nicely. There are two dart boards and a pool table; it was bustling with locals and almost all of them looked like they were regulars. We were probably the youngest in there by 15 years.
Their rating started to climb thanks to the brilliance of the karaoke - there were some who were taking it really seriously - and the large screens meant you could sing along to your heart's content, which we did. We must have been on a savoury high from the packets of Scampi Fries and Bacon Fries.
All in all it's a what-you-see-is-what-you-get kind of pub, for good, ordinary folk out for a few bevvies. I think we'll come back here - I've a need to show the punters how well I can sing Delilah by Tom Jones ;) read more