27th February 2020
A glorious February came to an end in the coalfields of Nottinghamshire, inevitably at a community focused micro.
Pleasingly, it filled an irritating gap in the GBG map. These things matter when you’re as old as me.
A fifteen minute hop from Mansfield’s shiny station gave me a few minutes to explore a proper mining community. Scary children, eerie woods,
edible samosas.
A tidy community with a vast number of motorhomes and a Miners Club promising “Kimberley” Smooth.
It’s in a great dead-end location, in the best sense of the word.
I wasn’t expecting such a homely place.
For five points name that painting.
One other chap in at 4, so I could follow his lead and have the Shipstons to finish Notts in appropriate style.
Posh scratchings, too, £4.90 for the two so no bargain but high quality.
There’s some nice old photos of children from Blackpool enjoying winter holidays in Mansfield Woodhouse.
“I love your pub” I said. And I did.
And I think I’ve found Simon the perfect future career once his bank job ends.
retiredmartin 
Now he’s seen that advert Simon will be putting up a paywall for his blog and charging an unsociable hours supplement.
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Is the top photo an indication of an unsuccessful Simon breeding program?
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The Mateus Rosé bottle table lamp was missing.
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And the lava lamp.
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Was that a glitter lamp then?
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That’s a craft beer glass, that is.
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Not sure what that Tretchikoff is called Martin, but here’s one of his for our Alexander:
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I didn’t realize there was such a thing as mining tat, but now that I’ve learned of it I’m very glad it exists. I once stopped at a rather humble gift shop in West Virginia that was related to the coal mining history in the area. They had little sculptures that had been carved from pieces of coal. (So perhaps I knew of mining tat after all!)
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Tat, of course, is a term of endearment, though I’d prefer all tat to be in other people’s houses rather than mine 😉
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What a fantastic looking place 👍 a great map…I notice the great Birmingham theft has finally dried up…
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