I tried the Wetherspoon Christmas menu experience in Shrewsbury - I've eaten in posher places, but it'll do for me

An ambulance was parked outside one of my local Wetherspoon pubs when I went to try out a part of the pub chain's Christmas menu.

My mind wondered what had happened as I crossed the festively decorated threshold into Shrewsbury's Montgomery's Tower on a drizzly December afternoon.

Nothing too serious, I reckon, as the patient said thank you, with the ambulance person saying "that's quite alright" in a polite exchange between the two.

In comparison to the rest of the town, this 'Spoons was busy. Market Hall was down to a few stalls, and the light was fading in the gloom.

Unlike many other places, you don't have to book for a Christmas meal at a 'Spoons in the run up to the big day.

If the works party goes and you can't find seats then I guess that's tough.

Wetherspoon pubs have the company app which means that you don't have to queue up with the rest of the throng at the bar.

There were menu cards throughout the pub, which I used to select a vegetarian burger and a pint of Hobgoblin. Classy.

Click, click, order made.

I've eaten at posher places but that'll do for me.

Indeed, I have been stung by paying over the odds for a meal that was a complete letdown. About 10 years ago, £50 per head, Christmas Day. It still stings.

I've no such complaints about 'Spoons over the years. I've never had a beer that tastes like vinegar. And most of them are hygiene rated 5.

Wetherspoon pubs are great for watching the world go by and for stoking the imagination.

Any writer who says that they have never been in a 'Spoons ought to check it out for their next character or screenplay. Where else could you see a fellow reverse his mobility scooter into a fruit machine? Yes, it did happen, and he did check his mirrors.

And a couple of police officers popped in to have a chat with someone to wonder why some customers suddenly got up and left.

Entirely coincidental, I'm sure.

The food? That filled a plate and the chips were perfectly done. My burger also.

The price? Much less than I paid for an awful meal 10 years ago. The technology worked, the meal and drinks were delivered efficiently.

The ambience? Take your own crackers and hats if you need to. It's basic but some of the staff had Christmas jumpers.

One point to note is that 'Spoons pubs, if they are open, don't serve food on Christmas day.

I guess that means making a booking somewhere else...