My last Nottinghamshire GBG tick for the year. Please, no applause. It was only 11 new pubs this year. Mostly micros though, must count for something. The final tick gave me some drama which I may explore in more detail on a Channel 4 Despatches programme about opening times and hobby pubs. I tipped up… Continue reading “Who’d be a referee in Radcliffe ?” . “Who’d be a pub ticker ?”
Month: January 2019
ROOTS MANOEUVRE
“Taskmaster burst the bionic zit-splitter Breakneck speed we drown ten pints of bitter We lean all day and some say that ain’t productive That depend upon the demons that you’re stuck with” Roots Manuva – Witness Clearly Rodney aka Roots has been on a pub crawl with Stafford’s Paul and knows that ten pints of… Continue reading ROOTS MANOEUVRE
AND IT ALL ENDS IN BOLTON…
The completion of the Greater Manchester GBG entries is always a high point in the pubbing year. I know Duncan and Simon have been desperate to see what it looks like; Of course, if you had to choose your last Manc pub you’d opt for a Brunning & Price on the Cheshire border to give… Continue reading AND IT ALL ENDS IN BOLTON…
WAITING FOR A TRAIN
I feel I’ve neglected Mark Crilley of late by forgetting to add videos of classic 1983 UK pop hits. Here’s one I’d long forgotten from our Antipodean convicts cousins. I had 12 minutes to wait for the 19:08 from Wigan North Western to Bolton, scene of my final tick. Time for a quick half in… Continue reading WAITING FOR A TRAIN
A WOBBLE IN WIGAN
After the high of Roger Protz introducing Bad Kitty at Manchester Beer Festival, there’s nowhere else to go. Except Wigan. 30 minutes from Manchester Deansgate, and a few years ago it would have been 30 years back in time. But not these days. “Wigan is Really Great” as they probably say. Now Duncan had set… Continue reading A WOBBLE IN WIGAN
FULLERS TAKE THE BRASS, BRASS CASTLE TAKE THE PLAUDITS AT MANC FEST ’19
I’m no great fan of beer festivals, and not just because they take people out of pubs (I know, I know). And writing about them is much harder than writing about pubs. But Manchester Fest is always great fun, the beer is cool (in both senses), and being Northern people sometimes speak to you rather… Continue reading FULLERS TAKE THE BRASS, BRASS CASTLE TAKE THE PLAUDITS AT MANC FEST ’19
A STYLISH STOCKPORT START TO MANCHESTER BEER FEST 2019
PUBMAN WARNING: PUB-FREE POST I woke on Friday at Trivelles Mayfair (actually Heaton Chapel) relatively refreshed, determined to survive the Roger Protz beer tasting session at Manchester’s epic fest. A bracing walk down to Stockport cleared the head, if not the calories from Thursday’s crispy beef at Wing Lee (NCTSS 3.5). The walk takes in… Continue reading A STYLISH STOCKPORT START TO MANCHESTER BEER FEST 2019
IN PRAISE OF A BASIC SALFORD HOLT’S PUB
Yes, proper lacings, a sign of fresh beer. In a pub I’m going to have to anonymise as they were very publicity-shy. Telling you it’s a Holt’s pub in Salford hardly narrows it down, does it ? It’s in a village that sounds like it’s owned by a City legend whose first name is shared… Continue reading IN PRAISE OF A BASIC SALFORD HOLT’S PUB
CHEER UP, LEIGH
Oh, joy. A trip out to lovely Leigh. Something always happens there, even if it is just the birds hovering overhead waiting for a carcass. Normally mine. Last time here was New Year’s Day 2017, when an improbable Greene King diner was making its GBG debut. Pleasingly, the traditional George & Dragon has survived… Continue reading CHEER UP, LEIGH
BOARD GAMES (IN HOLMES CHAPEL)
Yes, another rejected song title from Lana Del Ray (but who knows ?), as we enter Cheshire for the second time in GBG19, always a scary prospect. I predict that Simon will have “issues” with the Beer Emporium Bottle Bank, which is uber-Cheshire posh micro. But first, admire the classic exterior. In fairness, the dreadful… Continue reading BOARD GAMES (IN HOLMES CHAPEL)
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