FOOTIE banter has been flying across the bar at a York pub as FA Cup semi-final weekend approached. Steve Sharples has been a fan of Middlesbrough FC since he was four, thanks to living next door to the club's then goalkeeper Bob Appleby.

He's long been a season ticket holder and for the past year he's also been landlord of the Stockton-on-the-Forest Inn on Malton Road.

Brought up in Redcar, Steve has also won over girlfriend Lorraine Sewell to the delights of the Teessiders.

Tomorrow, Middlesborough take on Arsenal for a place in the FA Cup final in Cardiff and Steve will be there, as will his 13-year-old son Gary.

Since the draw, he has been exchanging frank opinions on the likely outcome with his Arsenal supporting colleagues Jason Metcalfe, who works in the kitchen, and night porter Alan Charlesworth.

"It's kiddology," Steve says. "We've been saying, 'you're going to get whupped', or 'We're going to do you'."

Privately, Steve's hardly bursting with confidence about his team's chances.

"It's going to be very difficult. I'm not too optimistic, but there again I wasn't optimistic against Manchester United, and we came through.

"I would like a one-nil victory with an 89th minute penalty."

His Boro favourites are Sixties and Seventies stalwart John Hickton, and Eighties defender Tony Mowbray (also from Redcar).

And Steve said he sympathises with York City fans' recent ordeal - Middlesbrough, now managed by York-born Steve McClaren, also came back from the brink of extinction.

He will leave the pub tomorrow afternoon for the 4pm kick-off at Manchester United's Old Trafford ground, then zoom back to work behind the bar in the evening.

They're a bit mad, these Boro fans. As Bar Talk's colleague Turpin revealed last month, Trevor Copeland at the Ship Inn at Strensall is keeping his Christmas lights flashing until Middlesbrough are kicked out of the FA Cup.

And if the team do win tomorrow, Steve has pledged to dive into the ball pool at the Deep Sea Den - the children's play area at the Stockton-on-the-Forest Inn.

u IN years past, religious fanatics believed that music was a sin and would lead to a downward spiral, most likely involving sex and alcohol. Well the Wonky Donkey, aka the Three-Legged Mare, combined all three with a funfair night of unparalleled debauchery.

Well that's not entirely the case but the popular High Petergate pub-cum-theme-park impressively crammed in a band, wine extravaganza and lingerie shop last Sunday. This was far from a day of rest as drinkers didn't know which way to turn next.

Local three-piece Eiresmith jammed away up front all night with their jaunty repertoire of rock classics and folk favourites.

Meanwhile, the darkened rear of the pub was turned into a lingerie and adult toy shop with all manner of colourful delights. We're not sure what some of these things were for but Andy, owner of the shop Xes, assured me they weren't cocktail stirrers.

Apparently the night was to launch the Goodramgate shop's new name (it was formerly C&A) and celebrate a successful year of business. As we were too embarrassed to look, all we can confirm is that the buy two glasses get the rest of the bottle free offer saw many takers but my choice was a light-hearted and fruity pint of Sweet Life.

u STAYING in this neck of the woods, Bar Talk has good news for those who have been fondly caressing their empty beer glasses thinking of what could have been at the postponed Maltings beer festival. York's two city brewery pubs have stepped into the breach and are planning a beer celebration of their own.

The "Mildly Mad" beer festival will take place over two days and possibly more at the Three-Legged Mare and the Last Drop Inn from Sunday May 12. Last Drop landlord Vernon Seymour said he plans to bring in about 20 beers from ten local independent breweries including Ossett, Roosters, Rudgate, Cropton and Hambleton. He's not sure how long the supplies will last so get in quick.

Over at the Three Legged Mare, boss James Butler said he hopes to load up the beer garden with ales from across the country. It's the first beer festival the two pubs have staged between them and we look forward to seeing them work in glorious tandem.

u LONG-serving Royal Oak landlady Sally Smith briefly mourned the loss of a large colourful banner from the exterior of her Goodramgate pub. The sign, which celebrated the popular tavern's achievement at the York Tourism Awards as Pub of the Year, was grabbed by some light-fingered passers-by in the early hours of Saturday morning.

Sally said the thieves must have stood on each other's shoulders to reach the sign which was happily found further down the street the next day. Some delightful women's toilet curtains, a fireside ornament and screwed-on pictures have also disappeared from the premises in the past.

A bemused Sally gave some advice to other licensees: "It might be an idea to nail everything down - even the customers."

u STAFF at York Brewery are polishing their shoes and getting their glad rags ready for a trip down to the capital after their top-notch Centurion's Ghost won an award at the Brewing Industry Awards at Burton-on-Trent. The heady 5.4 per cent brew is set to receive at least a bronze medal in the strong milds, stouts and porters section.

Brewery boss Tony Thomson said to receive any medal in a competition which received 638 entrants in total is great but said a silver or gold medal would not go amiss. All will be revealed over lunch at London's Guildhall on Tuesday.

Updated: 08:45 Saturday, April 13, 2002