March 2020 Before I start, Thank you NHS. Nine days without a pub and counting. How high can I even count ? The isolation isn’t the worst thing. It’s Mrs RM continually asking; “Are you going mad ?” “I’m fine” “I bet you’re not. I bet you’re going mad” etc etc Really, I’m fine. I… Continue reading HOW FAR CAN I WALK IN AN HOUR ?

March 2020 Even shopping is too hazardous now. But I’ve identified the quietest supermarket in Cambridgeshire, which will be of no use to you if you live in Grimsby or Chicago. Sainsbury’s opened last year in Eddington, a new University village on farmland near the Roman road out to Huntingdon. It’s main purpose is to… Continue reading WELCOME TO EDDINGTON

March 2020 The end of Week 1 of the Distancing. No pubs, just one unit of Kernel Saison shared with Mrs RM, no football, no gigs, and worst of all, NO CHINESE TAKEAWAY. Yes, Chung Hwa has closed. Now this is serious. On Sunday afternoon I took a walk around closed pubs in north Cambridge.… Continue reading BLOSSOM

My melancholy playlist has had more comments (47) than my last Bass post, mostly along the lines of “Turn it off”, “Dirge” and “Trout Mask Replica“. So here, courtesy of my Spotify history, are seven happy tracks to see you through the Distancing. This lot aren’t quite as obscure. 1) Danny Wilson – Mary’s Prayer… Continue reading HAPPY SONGS FOR HOLED UP PEOPLE

Yes. I’m doing requests. Even for Dave, who just wrote off most of my playlist as “a dirge“. Where’s best on Thanet (and slightly beyond) ? It’s a good question, and Dave will have plenty of time to plan his trip while sipping East Coast murk in his Minneapolis bar home. Spoiler : It’s Ramsgate… Continue reading THE FUTURE IS OURS SO LET’S PLAN IT, THANET

2 March 2020 Day 6 of the Distancing. I’m getting a couple of hours solid walking into the day, miles from anyone, just enough to stay sane. But yesterday things went a bit awry as I headed west towards hilly (all relative) Royston but somehow ended up at Wimpole. Wimpole Hall is the great South… Continue reading FUN WHILE IT LASTED

No pubs, but it is my diary, and my weird music is keeping me going at the moment. So here’s half a dozen of my current favourite songs for your March mood. Guaranteed Dire Straits free. Songs that make me ache, or weep, or shudder. Or, in this first case, all three; 1) Maria McKee… Continue reading MARTIN’S MARVELLOUS MELANCHOLY MELODIES

20 March 2020 Day 5 of The Isolation, and I finally get to leave the Cambridgeshire Fens. Whoopee. Only just into Hertfordshire, as the Old North Road drifts past Royston . I’m looking for places I’ve never been to before, preferably with hills or entertaining street art or abandoned but unopened barrels of Bass. Let’s… Continue reading SAVE THE CABINET

March 2020 Well, BRAPA is safely back from Spain to find all our pubs closed; the two events are unrelated. I’ve suggested Si start a new blog series called “Saucy Si’s Saturday Sipping Suggestions“. He could have reviewed this bottle of Kernel Saison I got from Ely’s Bake Shop yesterday, He could have but the… Continue reading ELY LOOKS TO RIDE OUT THE STORM