We even won at bingo...

Aasma Day remembers life BC - Before Children - when she could nip out for a midweek drink

You can be mooching around at home and if there’s nothing on the telly, it’s easy to say: “Fancy a pint?” before pulling on your coat and heading down the local.

But after the little ones arrive, it becomes more of a military operation and has to be planned ahead. You have to arrange babysitters and make sure the children are fed and bathed.

Which is why our days of popping out for a quick drink have been practically  relegated to the past.

However, we decided to make an exception and pay a visit to the Sir Tom Finney on Central Drive, Penwortham, where we used to go regularly when we lived a few minutes away.

Now a longer stroll away, we arrived to find a notice informing us it was under new management. This coupled with the fact it had been a good few years since we last went in led us to believe the interior might look completely different. But apart from a few tweaks, it looked just the same, a good old fashioned yet modern clean and comfortable pub with a great friendly atmosphere..

To our surprise, Thursday night was still quiz night run by the inimitable quizmaster Gordon who despite the missing years instantly recognised us.

“Ello you two!” he greeted us. “I thought you’d emigrated!”

The quiz obviously pulls the punters in as the pub was quite busy for a week night.

Drinks prices are fairly reasonable with a pint of  Carling costing £3.30, a large glass of wine £3.85 and a small one £2.90.

The drinks selection includes Wainwrights, Guiness, Strongbow, John Smiths, Boddingtons and even alcopops.

The pub itself is split into two areas, the main part of the pub and an area called the Vault where there’s a pool table.

With a name like Sir Tom Finney, you have to cater for the sports fans and a large television screen does just that.

There’s also a decent sized car park and a beer garden.

A quick flick through the food menu revealed some good value pub grub and we promised ourselves to return with the kids.

We settled down to enjoy the pre-quiz bingo, a music quiz, the main quiz.

Leaving happily with a bottle of wine for getting a line in the bingo, we made a mental note to not leave it so long  between visits again.