26th February 2020 You wait nearly eight hours (hours !) for a blogpost from retiredmartin, then you get three before tea-time. I’ve trying to up with the blog before I give you the February highlights (Spoiler : only 43 pubs in a leap year), and here I am writing about a pub I didn’t even… Continue reading “But they SAID they’d be open !”
Month: February 2020
MORE MELKSHAM MERRIMENT
25th February 2020 I would have worked Holt into the title, but you’d have thought I meant I was in Norfolk, and I can’t have you fearing for my welfare like that. If anything, Wiltshire’s Holt is even posher than the one the Pashmina Paulines and Peters use for their 3rd stop on the way… Continue reading MORE MELKSHAM MERRIMENT
“I’VE DROPPED A SPIKE IN MY TOPLOADER”
25th February 2020 The actual last Wiltshire GBG pub was a couple of miles from the honeypots of Melksham and Chippenham, in the suburbs of Corsham. You’ll remember the joy the Flemish Weaver gave me last year with its “winter hours” definition. I arrived in tiny Neston after one of the rare sunny days this… Continue reading “I’VE DROPPED A SPIKE IN MY TOPLOADER”
NO WILT-ING ON THE PATH TO GBG GLORY
25th February 2020 Getting a sprint on now, with a night on the western edge of Wiltshire to complete my second of three GBG counties this week. Even Duncan is panicking at my progress, which will no doubt be impeded by a Coronavirus lockdown that confines me to the Days Inn at Membury Services for… Continue reading NO WILT-ING ON THE PATH TO GBG GLORY
SELECTIVE DEAFNESS IN WATCHFIELD
25th February 2020 A last tick in a GBG county is always highly anticipated. The thrill of getting the pink marker out, of writing off or bigging up an entire county, of knowing you won’t to need to slog down the A421 for a while. Last up is Watchfield, Nicely placed between the twin cultural… Continue reading SELECTIVE DEAFNESS IN WATCHFIELD
THE BEST STEAK BAP IN WANTAGE
25th February 2020 I was going to spend Tuesday cleaning the house, but due to Mrs RM’s work commitments (boo !) on Sunday I’d failed to do the two ticks to complete Oxon, and a nearly finished GBG county so close to home (well, 2 hours) is a scratch that needs to be itched as… Continue reading THE BEST STEAK BAP IN WANTAGE
AN ASSET OF COMMUNITY VALUE
24th February 2020 “Nottingham’s Pub of the Year“declares the Old Green Dragon, along with its predilection for old Guinness adverts. Glory for tiny Oxton, tucked away in the posh bit between Southwell and Nottingham, safely away from mining villages, pumping stations and CenterParcs. Dave will be thrilled to learn that the other, recent GBG, pub… Continue reading AN ASSET OF COMMUNITY VALUE
“ONCE SERVED, PLEASE LEAVE THE BAR”
24th February 2020 You’ll probably notice the slight dip in enthusiasm as I approach the latest micropub. Perhaps they’re just too young to develop a sense of history, too small to possess the pubby intrigue of a Waggon and Horses or Pelican. In a micro, there’s nowhere to hide, and that can be a bit… Continue reading “ONCE SERVED, PLEASE LEAVE THE BAR”
LARWOOD AND VOCE
24th February 2020 LifeAfterFootball has admitted the area of North Notts between Kimberley IKEA and Mansfield’s picturesque Field Mill is a bit of a mystery to him. That’s the joy of being a GBG ticker; you can become quite an expert on lesser-known Midlands by walking around old mining towns suspiciously as schools close, killing… Continue reading LARWOOD AND VOCE
I AM SUTTON-IN-ASHFIELD’S QUINOA TOURIST
24th February 2020 Mrs RM is doing exciting things in Sevenoaks, which sounds like an oxymoron, so I’m free to go ticking. Hurrah ! A night in North Notts, normally a highlight of the year, as even the micros seem like they want to be pubs. Sutton is famous for having a railway station (of… Continue reading I AM SUTTON-IN-ASHFIELD’S QUINOA TOURIST
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