YA YA LAND

img_20180509_232650-1552975789.jpg

When I booked my ticket for Manchester City v Brighton months ago I thought it might be the title clincher. Instead we’re 20 points clear with a game to go, which even City will struggle to muck up (25 point deduction for playing Queen on Sunday, perhaps ?).

Last night we get Ya Ya Toure‘s swansong, and a fitting post-match tribute to one of the greats (watch this goal v Sunderland on New Years Day 2015).

After BirthdayCake-Gate it was good to see him leave in the proper manner, the Etihad looking fuller 20 minutes after the final whistle than it normally does 20 minutes before the end.

Oh, and well played Brighton. There’s a Seagulls perspective on the match here. (thanks Nick).

My search for budget rooms had turned up a little gem;

Lower Turk’s Head

Yes, clean rooms for £27 in a proper pub, with this classic Manc view.

The Turk was heaving three hours before kick off with drinkers.

Top Seagulls fashion there

If you want to see the strength in depth of the Manc pub scene, consider the Turk isn’t in the Guide. In the 20 minutes I was in there early evening it poured far more pints than in the dozen pubs I’ve visited in Scotland this week.

IMG_20180509_172822.jpg

Some odd seating,

But a traditional beer range,

Dreadful new Moorhouses clips there

and one of the finest pints of Landlord I’ve had in a while.

Passing the Landlord test

Lacings ?  Yep.

IMG_20180509_173429.jpg

 

I’m a bit delicate this morning. Please don’t hum the “No Limits” tune to me.

Unknown's avatar

Published by retiredmartin

Retired NHS, doing long walks around UK and the world to record the great bits. Focused on Good Beer Guide pubs and live music.

17 thoughts on “YA YA LAND”

  1. I went in the Lower Turk’s Head not long after it reopened a few years back and had a decent drop of Landlord there too. There’s an slightly posher wine attached which you probably saw, called, rather incogruously, Scuttlers after gangs of young criminals who fought each other in the streets of Ancoats, east Manchester and Salford in the late nineteenth century.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Nice bit of info I didn’t know. Yes, Turk is a lot smarter than a decade or so ago when it was closer to Hare & Hounds in feel. Very cosy, and would be in Beer Guide almost anywhere else.

      Like

      Reply

  2. That new Moorhouses branding is pretty dreadful, isn’t it? At least the previous pumpclips had a bitmore presence.
    Memories of heading to Manchester for a gig in 2005 and not realising it was the same weekend as a Utd/City game, so ended up in this “interesting” Muslim owned B&B where the cooked breakfast consisted of a fried egg on a piece of unbuttered white bread.
    Or preferably times spent in the Smithfield when it was more of a “proper” bar than now and accomodation cost about £15 a night, with lock-ins.

    Like

    Reply

    1. Dreadful. Couldn’t read those clips. Still selling a fair bit, mind.

      The Smithfield B&B was famous, wasn’t it ? Turk and Mitre (next to Sinclairs) both £30 or less, and a few more pub options nearby, which is unusual these days.

      Like

      Reply

      1. Smithfield breakfast was definite Greasy Spoon territory, but very effective on the morning after the night before in Manc land.
        The lock-ins were dangerous when staying on site.

        Like

  3. But the burning question today is whether Martin us going to be leading the protests after the announcement that Tetley production is to be moved from the legally obligated home of BBB, Wolverhampton, to L**ds?

    Like

    Reply

  5. Hi Martin,

    Enjoying the blog. Myself and a fellow Seagull friend were at the game Weds, and had the afternoon around town. Stand out pubs being The Crown & Kettle, Port St Beer House and, unsurprisingly, the Marble Arch.

    Here’s my friend’s photo diary of the day which he does for the club : https://www.brightonandhovealbion.com/news/2018/may/the-last-pic-manchester-city/

    We’re off to Liverpool for the weekend and hitting the Sefton coast – seems we’re not too far behind you.

    Cheers,

    Nick.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

Leave a reply to Matthew Thompson Cancel reply