Cheers Mark, I hope you do well; YourSay.

I LOVED reading the article about the first Davenports pub in over two decades (Birmingham Mail, June 25).

My girlfriend Josie (who is now my wife), my friends and I used to drink in the Crompton Arms pub on Crompton Road in Handsworth, one of only two Davenports pubs I can remember.

Josie's mother used to work behind the bar in the early 70s, and we started using it in about 1977.

It was a great pub, full of wonderful characters including Sarha, a West Indian lady who used to come in and sell us the best homemade curry patties I have ever tasted, from a basket draped over her arm.

In the downstairs lounge was a small stage where local bands would play. I'm pretty sure I saw Birmingham band The Beat perform there once. If not, then defi- nitely the sax player. The computer game machine was the old Space Invader one.

The lager we drank was Davenports Continental, and one of the most popular drinks was Davenports Top Brew Deluxe (bottled, not available on draught), a very strong drink which resulted in many a sore head on Sunday morning.

I have some fond memories of my time at the Crompton, as do many other people I would expect, so I would like to wish Mark Satchell every success in bringing back the famous Davenports name to Birmingham.

Rob Taylor via email

CAPTION(S):

Cheers! Mark Satchell, landlord of the City Tavern, Birmingham's first Davenports pub for a generation.