Sorry. In a Neil Young mood.
Harvest time in England, and this Old Man is preparing to reap the Beer Guide for ticks.
I’ve just completed my GBG cross-checking to establish which pubs in the 2019 Guide I’ve already done, and how many I’ll need to do to make progress in the next 12 months. It’s fun, particularly when a pub previously listed under Holywell is now listed under Dolphin to annoy me. Or changed their name for the third year in a row.
My famous pink marker is exhausted, but Matthew just complimented me on my straight lines, which is better than compliments about my musical taste I suppose.
Here’s the summary spreadsheet.
Ignoring a few already done since Thursday, I went from 3.949 at the end of GBG18 to 3,513 in the new edition. The damage done was 436 pubs lost from the Guide, replaced by brand new entries and some oldies from the time before ticking.
You’ll be surprised at some of those losses when I do a more narrative review of the Guide. And before you ask, all the newbies aren’t micropubs.
Only a man without a Heart of Gold wouldn’t feel sorry for BRAPA as his own tally is decimated by those new micro pubs and tap rooms he loves so much.
Obviously, a Man needs a Maid Mrs RM to provide ticking company if he’s going to achieve the 600 pubs I’m targeting this year. I’ve decided that drinking the dregs is OK.
Are you ready for the country, retiredmartin ? There’s a World out there to tick.
Starting with Stotfold…
You’ve got you’re work cut out in a few regions.
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Independence for the South West now !
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So Isle of Man was the answer to the quiz question! Did nothing change pub wise there?
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Well Dave, we (Pubmeister and Maltmeister) made some lucky guesses about new entries using local magazine before our trip in July ! Have you been ? You really should.
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North Yorkshire really changed. Huge drop. For those of us whose GBGs are on a slow boat crossing the Atlantic, what was the biggest surprise for being dropped from the GBG?
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Lathkil
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The number for North Yorks is the gap, but I still had about 30 to do there anyway, so not THAT bad. Biggest surprise omission, (apart from Lathkil) is loss of several micro pubs, including the two in Burton and the Kentish Belle run by Mr Hair.
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No, I understand that Mr Hair has seriously fallen out with his local branch.
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I won’t comment on rumours like that, Paul, but he got short shrift on Discourse recently.
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Have fun Martin, Comes a Time, so keep Rockin in the Free World!
Southern Man.
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Cumbria and Devon are you campervan trips for this year?
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“Harvest time in England, and this Old Man is preparing to reap the Beer Guide for ticks.”
(slow golf clap)
Nice turn of phrase; and I like Neil’s Harvest Moon.
“which is better than compliments about my musical taste I suppose.”
Wishful thinking there. 😋
“Only a man without a Heart of Gold”
See slow golf clap above, but don’t overdo it. 😎
“the 600 pubs I’m targeting this year.”
Does the list at least normally get a bit shorter every year? 🤔
“There’s a World out there to tick.”
And may it ever be so. 🍻
Cheers
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I’m afraid overdoing it is a Life Goal.
The list doesn’t get shorter, as you have to do the new ones (450 odd) and do some of the ones you’ve never done (the ones in Scotland and Devon etc) to keep edging towards 100%.
Cheers
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Sigh. A bit later like Achilles and the tortoise, or a similar paradox by Zeno. 🙄😉
Cheers
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I finally understood a title reference before reading the post or having to do research!
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I’m sure some of the new ticks will be Down by the River but Don’t Let It Bring You Down. So Saddle Up The Palomino and Bite the Bullet.
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It would be interesting to analyse:
(a) how many of the new entries have appeared in previous guides, and
(b) How many were not in existence five years ago
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I was planning to tot up the new micros/taps etc but I’m not going back thru old guides !
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You must have Tired Eyes
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Tactically, Martin, if your rules permit you to count a RAIB take-away as a bona fide ‘tick’, you could visit a deficient town/city, rampage round several in quick succession (no minimum time/pub requirement – unlike some!) and do 12 or 13 in a day (with leisurely quaffing/sharing later, in the privacy & comfort of your own hotel room/campervan)?
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Tempting, Clive. I think rules are different for off-licenses and bottle shops !
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But I thought that the controversial “Mango-Lassi-Gate” incident was exactly what you did (am I alone in feeling betrayed? lol)? You could have purchased a swift half, taken a sip and then abandoned it (however agreeable): how is this different from frequent behaviour in sub-prime proper pubs? In fact, re-reading the original post, it sounds as if Mrs RM was the one who benefitted, anyway (no comment regarding how terrific/vile the extortionate beer was)!?
Whatever; your game, your rules (only trying to help – a mere 3 trips to London could see it off!).
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Pubmeister and BRAPA take this more seriously than I do, Clive. Mrs RM certainly the beneficiary. I’m still intrigued as to whether I paid £8 for real beer or not 😉🤔
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Oh the Beer was tremendous, best in class etc. I used to enjoy Rebel beers from Penryn, Cornwall. This was better.
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