JANUARY STOCKTAKE + FEBRUARY PREVIEW (no, not really)

Contractual obligation requires me to bring you the “highlights” from January 2021.

OK, it was the snow, giving Walkley a magical feel. Snow that brought children to the grassy knoll opposite our house with their sleds, only to be berated on Wonderful Walkley for spreading Covid in the frosty air.

Covid kept our pubs and gig venues shut for the foreseeable future, while Sheffield itself posted a resiliently consistent 200 cases a day, ignoring the fad of exponential growth in the Isle of Wight and Herefordshire.

Sheffield seems to be even more compliant with Covid rules than Cambridge, many folk already wearing masks outside. Apart from those evil toddlers on sledges.

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I rediscovered the Royal Mail in January, receiving a lovely bundle of old North-Eastern CAMRA guides from Alastair, and sending goodies on to Duncan and my Dad.

Somehow, fortified mainly by the Pad Thai from Lemongrass in Moor Market, lots of hills and some weird beer from Sheffield’s beer shops,

I stayed sane. Mrs RM can speak for herself, and James remains buried under the carpet.

My 69p ASDA diary looks increasingly like a false bargain.

And as I looked back on life a year ago, a tear came to my eye.

Google Maps sent me this summary of my travels from 2020, a year I never made Wales, let alone Wallonia or Wuhan (good beer scene, I read).

420 “cities” (I think Waterbeach is a “city” on Google) in a year when travel was severely restricted but which now seems like a Golden era.

January was actually the first month since June when I couldn’t visit any pubs, and exploring closed boozers in your new hometown soon starts to lose its initial appeal.

But according to What Pub I’ve still got 297 pubs to bring you exterior shots of, and the Guess the Pub feature seems popular, and if all else fails I can write about beer.

Or perhaps not.

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.

23 thoughts on “JANUARY STOCKTAKE + FEBRUARY PREVIEW (no, not really)”

      1. There’s a currently trading one at Grenoside and one at Gleadless that has become an Indian restaurant. Your one doesn’t show up on WhatPub even as a closed pub.

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      2. Ah, the reason is that it’s listed under “Olde Harrow”, even though it says “Old” on the pub sign. Obviously hasn’t embraced fuzzy search yet.

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  2. Seems to me that you can tick pubs by just looking at them. No need to go in them. You tickers don’t really need the pubs open. Create a new version of pandemic pub ticking that involves only standing outside,

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      1. It’s not just the pubs, it’s the fact I can’t travel to Heaton Chapel and Heckmondwike and take pics of old codgers on scooters anymore. People in Sheffield seem quite fit as they have so many hills to deal with.

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    2. I believe that the Preston Princess did a bit of that that in 2014 writing her book about the Red Lions; keeping the engine running while staring wistfully at closed scummy boozers. It’s a harmless hobby.

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  3. “2020, a year I never made Wales” – so you must be thankful you can look back on that Banks’s in Machynlleth at the end of July 2019.

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      1. Yes indeed.
        My Bass in the Railway in Newtown didn’t quite coincide with your Bass in the Railway in Newtown but three nights staying on the Cambrian Coast offered plenty of good beer in proper pubs.

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      3. Yes, we did perfectly well without the GBG in Congleton six days short of a year ago.
        Since then I’ve only been to Stockport, Kidsgrove, London, Stone and Burton.

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  5. “Snow that brought children to the grassy knoll opposite our house with their sleds, only to be berated on Wonderful Walkley for spreading Covid in the frosty air.”

    * cough* Wankers *cough*

    “while Sheffield itself posted a resiliently consistent 200 cases a day”

    And… when you add in the new flu cases you get… 200 cases a day. 😉

    “many folk already wearing masks outside.”

    Bloody hell.

    “I rediscovered the Royal Mail in January,”

    My darling wife’s been having loads of fun sending freeze dried seafood chowder and some freeze dried fruit to various relatives. It’s been a big hit!

    “My 69p ASDA diary looks increasingly like a false bargain.”

    Start putting the walks in; or maybe links to the blogs for that day. 😉

    “Google Maps sent me this summary of my travels from 2020”

    Google’s never done that for me!
    (though that may change this year)

    “and exploring closed boozers in your new hometown soon starts to lose its initial appeal.”

    Pfft. Break in and make your own 360 degree Google Views. 🙂

    “and the Guess the Pub feature seems popular”

    I love it! Even though I’ll never get close to making an educated guess.

    “and if all else fails I can write about beer.”

    (slow golf clap)

    Cheers!

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    1. You’re full of ideas. Some of them are good.

      I’m going to do it a Guess the Pub you win.

      NB Your point about flu cases is well made. COVID is NOT flu, but it’s interesting that flu cases have virtually disappeared, presumably due to better hygiene and less contact, though possibly because folk with flu won’t go anywhere near medical facilities.

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      3. Yes, those really suffering from with proper flu now risk staying at home without treatment rather than risk catching coronavirus in hospital.

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