Oooh, clickbait Bass. Is a pint of banked Bass REALLY the best visual representation for County Durham (not to be confused with Durham the City or Adrian of Talksport infamy) ? Stockton-on-Tees, home to the Sun’s famed bankers, doesn’t even appear on the Bing Map for the county. But it does appear in the Good… Continue reading TOP 10 COUNTIES – No. 8 – DURHAM
Month: October 2020
“THE BASS IS DRINKING WELL”
Here’s how to get my attention; Well done, Hare & Hounds. Only back from the dead two months as a village-owned pubs and you’ve already got THREE posts out of me. Last month you tempted me back with a promise of Bass but it had sold out in two days to a pub full of… Continue reading “THE BASS IS DRINKING WELL”
TOP 10 COUNTIES – No. 9 – NORTH-WEST WALES
Only number 9 ? Wait and see what’s Number 1. My completely unscientific chart goes foreign. Technically, I think I can drive the 200 miles into Conwy, Gwynedd and Anglesey for a half, but if I stop near Wrexham for a comfort break I’m arrested and put to work in the Bass mirror factory at… Continue reading TOP 10 COUNTIES – No. 9 – NORTH-WEST WALES
HITCHIN, HURTS
More local pubbing. Well, Hitchin is only an area away, next door to where I drop James off for his driving lessons. Covid-19 has just cancelled his driving test, AGAIN; perhaps they’ll give him a licence anyway if it happens a 3rd time and he can drive me to a pub. We lived here for… Continue reading HITCHIN, HURTS
TOP 10 COUNTIES – No.10 – STAFFORDSHIRE
Well, I teased you with a promise of my favourite GBG counties, offered a great prize, and then failed to tell you what they were. Baa Baa Toure gave me a disapproving look at my lazy blogging. OK, let’s start with Staffordshire, in at a respectable 10th for a landlocked county without a standout Chinese… Continue reading TOP 10 COUNTIES – No.10 – STAFFORDSHIRE
A PROPER HEAD ON THE BEER IN THE SUN
204 pub visits since pubs returned, but only half of those were new GBG ticks. Which is what we call deeply unprofessional in GBG Ticker Land. SEVEN trips to my nearest pub, the inimitable Sun. Well, it is imitable; the Three Horseshoes in Ecton that BRAPA just raved about is pretty much a carbon copy.… Continue reading A PROPER HEAD ON THE BEER IN THE SUN
SEPTEMBER ’20 STOCKTAKE + OCTOBER PREVIEW
“You need to slow down, retiredmartin” Oh. And that wasn’t even the whole of it. But that map of September travels shows a relentless focus on the South-West (4 trips), and the Plague-lands of the North. And Preston, which is a law unto itself. With clusters of new GBG pubs now as rare as good… Continue reading SEPTEMBER ’20 STOCKTAKE + OCTOBER PREVIEW
SPECIAL MANCHESTER “GUESS THE PUB” EDITION
You may be horrified that my two lads couldn’t identify Frank Sidebottom on the graffitied walls of Newton Street. “Best street in Manchester” says Matt. Is it ? What’s it got, Police Museum, Ezra & Gill ? I felt old. We’d stopped in Manchester on the way home from bucolic Barrow so Matt could give… Continue reading SPECIAL MANCHESTER “GUESS THE PUB” EDITION
NO PRE-EMPTIVE TICK ON PIEL ISLAND
Day 3 of the Lakes mini-break with the lad. We’d had the spectacular weather for our walk, so only fair it was relentless drizzle on the Wednesday. Time for a last unwise breakfast. Trip Advisor’s trendy tip, The Last Resort Coffee Shop, had literally just closed its door, so we went for the trad option… Continue reading NO PRE-EMPTIVE TICK ON PIEL ISLAND
SUNSET OVER BARROW MORRISONS
Back in Barrow, I somehow cajoled a tired 21 year old to join me on a tour of a workaday Northern town before tea. I knew North Irish Sea Dave would want to see my pics, even if you don’t. We did a circuit of town, stopping so I can bring you the best looking… Continue reading SUNSET OVER BARROW MORRISONS
retiredmartin 