APRIL ’20 STOCKTAKE + MAY PREVIEW

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April 2020.  We won’t forget it in a hurry. The stats;

Beer Guide ticks – Zero  (2019 – 49)

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It had been going so well.

All Pubs (remember pubs ?) – Zero  (2019 – 99)

Units of alcohol – Zero.  As you know, drinking at home is a mortal sin.

Chinese (or any) takeaways – Zero

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Still closed -sob

Gigs attended – Zero

Football matches seen – Zero

Nights in dodgy Welsh B & Bs – Zero

New places visited – Zero

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No

 

There are SOME positive numbers (Q – Is Zero a positive number ?)

Money spent – £170.34. Half of that went on watering Mrs. RM, who left the house twice.

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Four cans drunk by Mrs RM in 24 hours

That’s the least I’ve spent since September 1981, when at Sixth Form I succumbed to the temptations of Andy’s Records and the Mill Road kebabs. No wonder GDP is down 95%.

Miles travelled – 21.6  lowest since I was six and used to deliver potatoes with Dad.

my travel

Hours Walked – 29.9, all in my permitted 59:59 minute daily exercise.

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I walked past this 27 times

Books read – One, but a good one.  Only took me 18 months.

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Great book, sad ending

Michael Jackson singles found on the side of the A10 – One

Michael Jackson single

Chocolate eaten – Two 200g bars of CDM

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Sorry Nestle

Still, some excellent practice for Dryanuary, I guess.

I hope you home-drinkers enjoyed your Annual Doom Bar Day.

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Photo taken in March, before you ask

May Preview

I will mostly be staying at home, washing my clothes three times daily and planning trips to the supermarket.

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Published by retiredmartin

Retired NHS, doing long walks around UK and the world to record the great bits. Focused on Good Beer Guide pubs and live music.

26 thoughts on “APRIL ’20 STOCKTAKE + MAY PREVIEW”

      2. Not sure I can catch him to do that! Maybe draw him in by playing Banner Pilot’s Shoreline. What a great song and album. You’re never too old to punk and roll apparently.

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      4. I am genuinely curious what you think. I was shocked how interesting I thought this band is. An absolute wall of sound with unbelievable texture. I expected to hate it. This may be my way of complimenting myself for being open minded…

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      5. You’re very open minded, sure I saw you drink a half pint once.

        Just played some Banner’s Pilot. Good stuff, though very similar to a lot of ’90s/’00s speed punk. Local to you, I see.

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  2. Stay strong! We will get through this and come out better pub tickers at the other end. As MJ wisely once sang, we never can say goodbye #PrayForPubTickers

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  4. It would appear that I’ve committed a mortal sin several times this month (114 units in April)…and will continue to do so! I’ve learnt that 330ml bottles of Moretti slip down far too easily (good job for me that the price went back up!), 500ml bottles of Oakham Citra are nectar, two bottles of wine in one evening isn’t the best of ideas (to be fair, I think I knew that already!) and having four cans of Carling on standby in the fridge is a comfort in these uncertain times.

    Tonight I found an open Chinese takeaway after driving past seven others that were not! After however many weeks of my own cooking (no jokes, please!) I fancied a takeaway and it hit the spot!

    Interestingly, there was a streetfood waggon on the British Oak car park as I drove by, but I hadn’t seen any promotions for it so it wasn’t busy. Seemed like a good idea to me!

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    1. Plenty of mortal sinning for me too, Pete! There’s nothing to be gained from depriving yourself of the things you love, and by buying beer from independent breweries, or local pubs that offer takeout’s, I feel I’m doing my bit towards keeping these businesses afloat.

      Yesterday I took delivery of a mixed 24 can case from Moor Beer – “Drink Moor Beer” and this supplements the case from Gun Brewery that arrived the other week.

      This weekend, we’ve ordered Sunday roast dinner for three, which will be delivered from a very enterprising local pub (name, plus details to be revealed later on the blog). I think it’s highly commendable that businesses are adapting in this manner whilst the pandemic rumbles on.

      So no sitting around moping for me, just because I can’t actually visit a pub. Instead I can enjoy good beer and good food in the comfort of my own home, and in company of my family.

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      1. It’s either Chicken & Mushroom curry with Plain Rice or Sweet & Sour Chicken Balls with Fried Rice (and on a Saturday night round at friends it could be Singapore Vermicelli!) As I said, I drove past seven others that were closed!
        Also, if you lived in Birmingham you could have taken advantage of the delivery service offered by Chung Ying Restaurant – https://www.chungying.co.uk/takeaway/ – very enterprising!
        Tonight, I’m going for a pizza – strangely most of these are open!

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      2. Actually wishing I lived in Birmingham at the moment Pete !

        Chung Ying looks my sort of place, been to a couple of “proper” Chines places near New St where I was only “English” person and was great.

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  5. All very sad. Like you, my returns are all inevitably zero for the month. I am expecting a very slight upturn in May for essential needs but won’t score anything.

    Did you not get a couple of units of alcohol from that bottle of Doom Bar? Or was that March? Or did you feed it to Mrs RM?

    I’ve not counted my hours walked – despite the fact that there is no legal limit I will be lower than you as there are enough people out on the streets of Grimsby for me to consider it a risky endeavour to go far apart from at the dead of night.

    At least our home pie and curry making skills should all be improving.

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    1. The Doom Bar was consumed in late March, and only in the cause of preparing my National Doom Bar Day post.

      I understand your reticence about walking, Tom. In my case my brain reacts very badly to repetition if I have to do the same thing over and over again. It’s why I always find a new route to walk from Manchester Piccadilly to the Etihad.

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    2. Tom,
      “All very sad” but if a year ago Martin could have seen those eight Zeros he would have assumed he was dead by now, and it’s not quite that bad !.

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  6. Might I remind the reader, that because zero is the whole number immediately preceding one, it is an even number? It can be divided by two with no remainder…zero…Xerox… the Xerox company was originally founded as a maker of photographic paper in 1906. The later name is based on the Greek formation “xerography” meaning “dry writing”.

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  7. Glad to hear that it’s not all bad Martin, so apologies for the gentle ribbing !

    I too am avoiding the news, where possible, especially as the BBC’s coverage is so repetitive and so negative. Mrs PBT’s, who monopolises the TV remote in our house, has now switched our viewing to include a number of more interesting and light-hearted channels. So programmes about canal boats, travel to India etc, have now, thankfully taken the place of Laura Kuenssberg!

    She has also been looking after my culinary requirements, in a good way, which is why I’m treating us to Sunday lunch, at home this weekend.

    Not much sunshine around today, but I managed to avoid getting caught by a passing thunderstorm.

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    1. No apologies necessary Paul, I’d hate anyone to think I was complaining about my lot when other folk are struggling with work/lack of work/illness or distance !

      Yes, avoid Laura K is my advice.

      I’m all for a good Sunday lunch from the pub, good stuff.

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  8. Glad to see you read “Today South London, Tomorrow South London.” Enjoyed it so much, I read it twice. And yes, those final chapters are unexpectedly emotional.

    It’s funny, because many of the locations they sing the praises of sound like– if I were to visit them– difficult places to love. But the affection in their prose is enough to make me want to visit them all the same. Well, *nearly* enough, if I’m honest. 😉

    The Deserter guys are an interesting counterpoint to you and Simon. They seem to revel in a rather more debauched lifestyle than you guys would consider; but then I wonder if they aren’t playing up that lifestyle, in their writing, so as to achieve a certain comical effect.

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    1. I actually cried in that last chapter.

      My take is that their book is all true you know. Duncan, Simon and I live a less debauched lifestyle (public urination and dress sense apart) that seems to have passed me by.

      I was actually taken aback by the daytime drugtaking in the loos of a Guide pub in Leigh a few years back, which is daft as there must be loads going on.

      The two writers have pretty similar taste in pubs, beer, walking and sights to me, but I’d feel very constrained confined to South London.

      The walk down Old Kent Road is definitely on my To Do list!

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