This blog might turn into an ongoing ad for the British pub, Pipers and Trivelles hotels, a small chain of clean, cheap and enterprisingly located boltholes. Such as this one opposite Salford University. £30 a night, decent WiFI and a McDonalds over the road for my double espresso. My car was still there in the… Continue reading FRIDAY NIGHT IN SALFORD
Month: January 2018
MORE STOKE LEGENDS
Say what you like about Stoke; they know how to get a basic Bass pub in the Guide. But the Olde Bull & Bush is a new one on me, though the Chinese takeaway looks vaguely familiar. Reassuringly, someone else has a pint of Bass in front of them, so mine won’t be the first… Continue reading MORE STOKE LEGENDS
BLUES & BOOZE IN THE BOOTHEN END
I intrude quite literally onto LifeAfterFootball territory here, with a couple of Midlands pubs within a cultured Ian Clarkson hoof* of the old Stoke City ground when he donned the famous red and white jersey. Stoke, the town rather than the city, is a convenient train ride from Manchester, which meant I didn’t need to… Continue reading BLUES & BOOZE IN THE BOOTHEN END
HIT THE NORTH – MISSING MARK E. SMITH
I’ve thought hard about commenting on the demise of Mark E. Smith, as I have little truck with folk reminiscing about the dead. Sorry, and all that. I’m sure BRAPA will arrange a suitable pisstake on his next blog. But after 3 pints in Stockport tonight, and noticing the sad closure of Winters, I relented.… Continue reading HIT THE NORTH – MISSING MARK E. SMITH
CAMBRIDGE SAYS “DO ONE, DRYANUARY”
A few dry days after Scotland, interrupted by an urgent need to see how my home town was coping with Dryanuary. Quite well it seems. But first a business trip to what must surely a future Cambridge micro pub. You might think the Regal couldn’t match Lloyds for artistic merit, but there is something hypnotically… Continue reading CAMBRIDGE SAYS “DO ONE, DRYANUARY”
CASK FAILS & SCOTTISH BREAKFAST IN CLOVENFORDS
Those of you who are good at maths will have noticed that 3 pints were drunk in Spoons in Galashiels, which is both an endorsement of that fine establishment and an admission that careful planning can go awry. Mrs RM was beyond delighted to find that the giant Galashiels Tesco was open all day on… Continue reading CASK FAILS & SCOTTISH BREAKFAST IN CLOVENFORDS
GALA FAIRY QUEEN (OF THE SPOONS)
An uneventful trip into Scotland culminated in the Wetherspoons at Galashiels , as it must. I’d suggested a detour to the “Born in the Borders” brewery so Mrs RM could stock up on bottles of Game Bird, but she was focused on the posh supper in Melrose I’d promised her. First we checked out her… Continue reading GALA FAIRY QUEEN (OF THE SPOONS)
OVER THE WALL TO HUMSHAUGH
Apart from visiting all the current Beer Guide entries, I’d like to be able to place on the map any UK village you care to mention. I’d never heard of Humshaugh. Sounds northern though, doesn’t it ? It’s very smart, the sort of village that Essex hides away from the world but Surrey sticks… Continue reading OVER THE WALL TO HUMSHAUGH
OUTSIDE LOOS & BOILED CABBAGE IN ACOMB
Looking at the map now, I could have walked to Acomb. But where’s the fun in that, when you can enjoy Mrs RM’s exemplary driving*. We parked up, and Mrs RM saw her next car after the Picasso conks out. I thought Acomb (pronounced “Yeckam”, of course) was familiar, but there’s one near York… Continue reading OUTSIDE LOOS & BOILED CABBAGE IN ACOMB
HEXED IN HEXHAM
I should give these little posts a special name. How about “Little Posts” ? Next up is Hexham, which I probably said enough about last time I was up here. It hasn’t changed. Except for a new Guide entry and a Starbucks (or WiFi stop, as we call them down south). Mrs RM stayed in… Continue reading HEXED IN HEXHAM
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