PUBSPY will never reveal his political affiliation but I could not help but agree with Crawley’s Conservative MP Henry Smith who, when asked about Brexit recently, responded with “enough of this bullsh*t”.

As MPs on both sides of the House continue to drag the process on in seemingly endless fashion, I thought if “hooray Henry” was to be found standing at the bar of The Cricketers in Southwick then I would buy him a pint, for this is where the companion and I were heading on a lovely sunny Saturday afternoon.

I’ve always had a soft spot for Greene King pubs. They are relatively cheap and cheerful, invariably busy and buzzing.

So it proved at The Cricketers although there were only two subjects being discussed, namely Manchester City’s performance which was being shown on the big screen and bloody Brexit.

The warning signs were there for all to see. At the bar while waiting to order a drink, two old codgers were agreeing that Theresa May had to go and Boris was the country’s savour. I needed a drink and fast.

First up a pint of Ireland’s finest, Guinness, which always goes down a treat, regardless of problems with the so-called Backstop.

The companion, who only drinks alcohol sporadically, had already had enough of all this Brexit talk and opted for some weird cocktail concoction entitled Sex on the Beach comprising vodka, peach schnapps, orange juice and cranberry juice which, having had a sip, I can confirm tastes far better than it sounds.

As it was lunchtime food was imperative to soak up the beer, so I opted for sausage and mash (£7.99) while the companion went for the classic burger and chips (£7.49). The food was as you would expect, nothing special but perfectly serviceable for the price.

To accompany it I got a pint of Greene King India Pale Ale (a very reasonable £3.40) which really hit the spot.

There was still no escape from the “B” word. At the adjacent table to our left a group of ten spread across the generations were debating whether “Michael Gove was the solution” while to the right four young Remainers sporting I Love the EU badges were engaged in earnest debate too.

Hunger sated, the companion decided another cocktail was in order, this time the exotically named Pornstar Martini (£4.99). Crikey. This was an exotic mix of vodka, passion fruit, lime juice, sugar syrup and Prosecco, I was reliably informed. “This is great” said the companion.

I was staying on the beer and it was time for pint number three. This time I chose a Long Man American Pale Ale (£3.85) which had a lovely citrus tang and again was very competitively priced when you consider that there are plenty of pubs which will charge you the best part of a fiver.

Although The Cricketers was busy when we paid a visit there were enough staff on duty to ensure there wasn’t a queue at the bar. They were friendly and efficient and it is clearly a very popular and family friendly pub, with dogs welcome too.

With a full bladder it was time to pay a visit to the gents which led to one minor quibble. Why is it so dimly lit? Admittedly PubSpy’s eyesight isn’t the best but surely you shouldn’t have to tread quite so carefully until you adjust to the surroundings?

In stark contrast, I was reliably informed, the ladies was lit up like the Crystal Palace.

By the time I returned to our table the Brexit debate had thankfully finally ceased and normal conversation was able to resume.

We both liked The Cricketers, it is a good down to earth boozer and clearly has a loyal regular clientele. If you fancy a pint or three in a convivial atmosphere, it does the job. But no more Brexit talk, please.

The Cricketers

The Green

Southwick

Decor: three stars

Don’t expect anything too fancy but perfectly serviceable.

Drink: three stars

Good choice across the board.

Price: four stars

Extremely competitive, especially the beer.

Atmosphere: three stars

Quite noisy but family friendly. Could have done without all the Brexit debates.

Staff: three stars

There were enough staff on duty and they were friendly enough.

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