Rules of Blogging No. 377 – If you can’t find a good picture of a shopping centre, use a lost cat. The alternatives were these photos; I’m still finishing my forensic analysis of the new Beer Guide (I haven’t started yet), but the arrival of a new Hatfield entry will surely be one of the… Continue reading AN UNEXPECTED HOUR IN HATFIELD GALLERIA
Month: September 2019
COLCHESTER – PURE AND SIMPLE
My eldest son James has been serving pizza on his break from Sheffield Uni. Barring a lads trip to Rugby (don’t laugh) to play computer games, and that walk up the tower he hasn’t left the house other than to do his 8 hour shifts at Pizza Hut. Not that the deep crust Marinara isn’t… Continue reading COLCHESTER – PURE AND SIMPLE
WHAT YOU NEED MY SON, IS A HOLIDAY IN WHITTLESEA
I can take the mick (he’s my Uncle) out of Fenland; I was born there. Less than a year after my taxi service took BRAPA to Whittlesey, I was back. The rail journey from Waterbeach to Whittlesey(/a) give you either 35 minutes or 2 hrs 35 minutes in town, so take a book. Really,… Continue reading WHAT YOU NEED MY SON, IS A HOLIDAY IN WHITTLESEA
TAYTOS IN CHICKSANDS
Yes, I’m missing the Last Night of the Proms just so I can bring you another new GBG pub from the Heart (i.e. the dull bit) of Britain. I actually hoped I’d visited all the pubs in Bedfordshire already, and it seems a county to have largely avoided the curse of Taps and micropubs (mainly… Continue reading TAYTOS IN CHICKSANDS
BALDOCK ? ARE YOU SURE ?
The first week of September sees Duncan, Simon and myself comparing the entries in the new Good Beer Guide to the massive spreadsheet/rolls of papyrus containing previous ticks. By and large it’s the same entries year after year, despite retirements, rebranding and the plague (Maidenhead). The entries for North Hertfordshire are pretty much the same… Continue reading BALDOCK ? ARE YOU SURE ?
WATERLOO SUNSET
I spent ages trying to think of a title before this one popped up from nowhere. Always go with the easy option, kids. Singalong with Ray now… From the bustle of Borough we took the quiet back streets south of the river to the South Bank. I hope Mrs RM doesn’t dig too deep and… Continue reading WATERLOO SUNSET
HARVEYS + LANDLORD = MORE BOROUGH BRILLIANCE
Sometime blogging is easy. All I need to do is show you the frontage of a gorgeous backstreet London pub, and a couple of foaming pints of BBB, and make a joke about pashminas. Job done. Oh, and stick a map in. I was a bit confused, as the King’s Arms sounds a bit familiar,… Continue reading HARVEYS + LANDLORD = MORE BOROUGH BRILLIANCE
A BOROUGH BOUNCE
There’s an amazing thing about the new Beer Guide, genuinely extraordinary if you’re a GBG nerd. Here’s a little extract from The Big Spreadsheet showing my progress by GBG chapter. For the first time ever, ever, I’d completed a chapter on Day 1, without lifting a finger. And it was Central London. Yes, the… Continue reading A BOROUGH BOUNCE
PUBLIC BAR, POTTON
Back to a Proper Pub, not just Proper Football for my 4th tick in GBG20. The first month of a new GBG sees me heading out for the Great Home Counties Clearances; Cambs, Herts, Beds, Essex and Bucks. In 2019 you expect all the new entries to be called things like “Millies @ No.37” or… Continue reading PUBLIC BAR, POTTON
GOOD BEER GUIDE 2020 – NOT JUST PUBS
Two days into GBG20 (the embargo days, anyway) and my first non-traditional tick. Loads of Beer Guide entries that don’t look like a Sam Smiths or a Marston’s 2-for-1, of course, and more by the year, even ignoring all those converted banks and shoe cupboards that are now Spoons and micropubs. And don’t get me… Continue reading GOOD BEER GUIDE 2020 – NOT JUST PUBS
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