Prompted by several “conversations with the Southworths” (Netflix, Thrs 4am) I’ve decided to give you my 10 favourite UK counties. Of course, they’re not real counties, ancient or post ’74. They’re the counties in the Good Beer Guide, all seventy three of them. So you get anomalies like “Loch Lomond and Stirling” as well as… Continue reading GUESS MY 10 FAVOURITE COUNTIES
Month: September 2020
QUINOA UTTOXETER
I felt fine on Friday morning, just like the Beatles song released a month before my birth, but still hung around to admire Preston over too many flat whites before setting off home for a break from beer. Like BRAPA, I know my limits. A stop in Uttoxeter for fuel seemed a good idea, till… Continue reading QUINOA UTTOXETER
TWO PRESTON CLASSICS AND A MICK’S CHICKEN TIKKA
Once you start you can’t stop. After the Orchard I should have gone straight to Mick’s Hut for the curry and called Mrs RM to report on Matt’s Move. But you can’t walk past an open door, can you ? Particularly this one; The Black Horse has perhaps the most recognisable bar front on Pub… Continue reading TWO PRESTON CLASSICS AND A MICK’S CHICKEN TIKKA
A PRESTON PRE-EMPTIVE
A bit of a confessional tonight (don’t worry, not in a Patrice Evra way). After finishing Lancashire near Clitheroe I toyed with the idea of stopping for the night at the Red Pump. But it was a) £65 a night, b) about to close its bar at 8pm. And the Premier Inn at Preston central… Continue reading A PRESTON PRE-EMPTIVE
THE SUN SETS ON LANCASHIRE GBG FOR ANOTHER YEAR
Ah, bucolic Bowland, favourite of Her Majesty AND me. We also share a love for Doom Bar and errant sons, I believe. Here’s some drone photography of Lancashire for you; see if you can spot the areas in enhanced lockdown (no exchange of bodily fluids allowed after 18:45 Mon to Wed, 20:45, Thr to Sun).… Continue reading THE SUN SETS ON LANCASHIRE GBG FOR ANOTHER YEAR
WELCOME TO MANCHESTER
Back up North (A1/M62/M602) on Wednesday night before a day of Moving Matt to Manchester. Yes, the day after we’d moved the entire Salford flat, giant snails and all, into storage* on Ashton Old Road, Matt and mates belatedly had the keys to the city. One last walk round the office blocks of Exchange Quay,… Continue reading WELCOME TO MANCHESTER
“Who’s your favourite revolutionary ?”
Between moving Matt’s tat into storage and then out to Ancoats I popped back on Wednesday to take my Dad for an X-Ray at Addenbrookes and my Aygo to Newmarket Road for its M.O.T. One of these days I’ll get those things mixed up, with disastrous consequences. With the Aygo at Cambridge Vehicle Services all… Continue reading “Who’s your favourite revolutionary ?”
THE QUEUE FOR A HOLLAND’S PIE
Just to prove I’m a cultured creature, I now head deep into West Lancashire for a Holland’s steak pie and a pint of Bank Top Mild. Eccleston blotted it’s copy book by claiming as its own a Belgian biker who won a race round Box Hill at the 2012 Olympics. Tidy little place, nice northern… Continue reading THE QUEUE FOR A HOLLAND’S PIE
BUSTLING BURSCOUGH
This has been a tiring week of travel, and it’s not often I say that. Two trips to Manchester, a dozen journeys taking Matt and his precious possessions between Salford, a storage depot on Ashton Old Road, and his new house in Ancoats. He’s looking worse for wear too. But he’s moved now, so no… Continue reading BUSTLING BURSCOUGH
THE TEMPLE OF CONVENIENCE
“You haven’t really done Manchester till you’ve done the Temple of Convenience” said no-one ever. I’d never. But these Young People know how to have a good time, and insisted we finish our Freshers’ crawl in a converted public toilet. Frankly, if the Temple can re-open during Covid, anywhere can. Eight of us in, unless… Continue reading THE TEMPLE OF CONVENIENCE
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