August 2026. Cardiff. I’d dragged Mrs RM down to South Wales for a few days to escape the monotony of that Yorkshire-Cambridge-Kent run, and treated her to a couple of nights in the Zip hotel on the corner of David Lloyds sprawling fitness centre that impressed me so much in 2023. £31 a night buys… Continue reading A MANCHESTER TAKEOVER OF CARDIFF
SAUSAGE SATURDAY AT THE LYCEUM
August 2026. Newport. Gwent. Back at the ibis Budget hotel (not even a “where you been ?“) Mrs RM says only; “Hope we’re not going far for tea”. For a change, no, not with Sausage Saturday and Garin Fitter’s Oldies Show at the first pub after the underpass*. Not only can you never walk past… Continue reading SAUSAGE SATURDAY AT THE LYCEUM
ANY CHANGE AT THE MURENGER ?
August 2026. Newport. Gwent. My last visit to Newport resulted in a post called “Well, could YOU walk past the Murenger“, and though I rarely seem to visit Sam Smiths pubs these days you should never take that pint of cask OBB for granted. In and out of the Beer Guide, and often looking in… Continue reading ANY CHANGE AT THE MURENGER ?
THE CHARTIST COMMEMORATIVE SCULTURES, NEWPORT
August 2026. Newport. Gwent. I challenge you to find anyone who’s written as much or as positively about Newport over the years. See also : Stockton, Paisley, Dereham. But I’ve still never been to the Transporter Bridge, or done the museum justice, so it won’t be the last time I subject you to pics of… Continue reading THE CHARTIST COMMEMORATIVE SCULTURES, NEWPORT
THE ALEXANDRA, NEWPORT. BETTER ON THE OUTSIDE
August 2026. Newport. Gwent. Four years since my last visit to Newport, but I’ve still probably blogged more about this wonderful town than anywhere outside “home”. Four years means a couple of Beer Guide debutants have crept in, that Weird Dad micro over the Usk, and a lively town pub run by Rhymney Brewery in… Continue reading THE ALEXANDRA, NEWPORT. BETTER ON THE OUTSIDE
WEIRD DAD, CAMRA MAN
August 2026. Newport. The east side of Newport into Maindee doesn’t have the haute couture shops and artisanal delis of the city centre, but it does have the Chicken Man. And it has a GBG newbie that’s been awaiting my visit for a while. Weird Dad (“I know you are, Dad“, says Matt), plays to… Continue reading WEIRD DAD, CAMRA MAN
UNDERPASS ! BACK TO NEWPORT (GWENT)
August 2026. Newport. (The Gwent one). It had been too long. A first night in Newport’s historic IBIS Budget (it wasn’t) since The Great Year of GBG Completion when it was only £34. Well, rather pricier 4 years later, with City and Arsenal fans fighting over Cardiff hotels after The Weeknd (who ?) had priority… Continue reading UNDERPASS ! BACK TO NEWPORT (GWENT)
ROSS OR (D)ROSS ?
August 2026. Ross-on-Wye. Surely you’ve caught up on the blog after subjecting us to a torrent of posts, Retired Martin ? Er, no. Last weekend saw a third big trip of the week (nothing compared to the real ticker who cross continents on a daily basis) as we headed down to Cardiff for the traditional… Continue reading ROSS OR (D)ROSS ?
SKY BLUES….SHOOTING TO WIN !
August 2026. Coventry. The last of our eight/nine/ten (appropriate as appropiate) Coventry pubs last Wednesday, though just because you have “Tavern” in your name doesn’t make you a pub. Things get more interesting on the approach to the station from Chapelfields, with many, many, decisions about crossing the dual carriageway or braving the underpass. Life… Continue reading SKY BLUES….SHOOTING TO WIN !
PIFFLE SNONKERS AT THE BROOMFIELD TAVERN, COVENTRY
August 2026. Coventry. Nearly finished. But not quite. Oxford Nick and I found a short cut to the legendary Broomfield Tavern tucked away off Spon End, and I immediately sighed “Oh, that’s the Broomfield“. In my mind, I visited all the 14,000 odd pubs on my spreadsheet (the big one) in either 1996, 2001 or… Continue reading PIFFLE SNONKERS AT THE BROOMFIELD TAVERN, COVENTRY
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