retiredmartin

September 2026. Goldthorpe. South Yorkshire. A real ale gain in the unlikeliest of places, as Goldthorpe becomes the latest South Yorkshire mining village to get a micro, and a CAMRA Pub of the Season micro at that. What are those numbers below the letters ? Scrabble ? In a village of 6,051, any pub needs… Continue reading THE MICRO STRIKES BACK ! CORNER TAP, GOLDTHORPE

September 2026. Goldthorpe. South Yorkshire. Mrs RM and I were having one of our romantic* chats about blogging yesterday. Approaching middle-age, the most important things are to eat healthily and keep the brain telling the body you’d like it to keep going a bit longer, please. Our respective blogs keep the brains going as well… Continue reading I AM GOLDTHORPE’S BLOGGER

September 2026. Barnsley. My visit to Greater Barnsley, which will shortly end in disaster, had both cultural and cask objectives. Nailmakers Brewery had opened a second tap in Barnsley’s shiny shopping centre, sensibly labelling it “1” to distinguish it from their first bar, which itself was called something to do with cows once. It’s a… Continue reading THE PERILS OF RELYING ON THE WI-FI

September 2026. Barnsley. If put on the spot and asked to pick ONE (1) Barnsley pub, it would have been the Old No.7, Acorn’s flagship and the best place to drink the revived Barnsley Bitter. Not any more. Sold to Valiant in 2023, it still feels a cask pub, but today there’s a Tap Takeover… Continue reading ALL CHANGE AT BARNSLEY’S OLD No.7

September 2026. Huntingdon. It hardly mattered as I was about to  drive Mrs RM home from Huntingdon station, but the stagnation of the pub scene (ugh) in what you’d assume to be an affluent Cambridgeshire market town is quite something. First appearances can be deceptive. Entry into town over the Great Ouse takes you past… Continue reading WHAT HAPPENED TO HUNTINGDON’S PUBS ?

September 2026. Huntingdon. I drove back from the in-laws to Waterbeach for a family funeral* on Wednesday morning, leaving Mrs RM to look after her father and then catch up on the train. Rather than hang about in Cambridge for 3 hours when I couldn’t drink anyway, I suggested Mrs RM just head up the… Continue reading IN SEARCH OF CROMWELL

September 2026. Southborough. Kent. Southborough lies betwixt Royal Tunbridge Wells and the more earthy Tonbridge, home to one of the UK’s top beer bloggers. The views into the Weald of Kent from my in-laws house are indeed bucolic, but Southborough itself is a one street, traffic scarred town, rescued only by the rambling common and… Continue reading A DECENT PINT OF MASTERBREW AT THE IN-LAWS’ LOCAL

September 2026. Headcorn. Kent. Only an hour in Headcorn, strategically tucked between Ashford, Maidstone, and Mrs RM (and Shane MacGowan’s) birthplace in Pembury. An hour is enough to visit the White Horse, walk the length of both sides of the High Street, and diligently bring your readers views of the Church Walk around St Peter… Continue reading MORE UNMISSABLE SIGHTS IN HEADCORN