On the penultimate day of 2021, with the tickers clock ticking, Mrs RM and I headed to Edinburgh on the 11:17 from Durham, after a quick walk round the majestic cathedral and the dullest High Street in the country.
No, it really is;
Mrs RM fought hard to defend it, even finding a little Christmas display in a vain attempt at quirkiness.
Two hours after leaving Durham we were in the scarcely less quirky main shopping street of Edinburgh, having finally found the 30p needed for a wee at Waverley.
Princes St was busy enough around the German sausage stands of the Christmas fair, but sorely lacking in the European tourists.
A guy who looked liked Louis Theroux proudly carried off his giant carrot, soon to be a mascot for a pub ticker, probably Maltmeister who lives near carrots.
Four ticks in Edinburgh, spread from sea to parliament.
The first was one I nipped in for a wee on the great 2019 CAMRA AGM trip. Why, oh, why didn’t convert that wee into a tick back then ? Curry Charles has been here, possibly in the 1930s to watch something with innuendo in the title.
The Caley is gorgeous, rather like Tunbridge Well’s Opera House or that Spoons in Folkestone, but they’d closed off the top floor as it was quiet and it all looked a bit sad, especially with no bar service and grubby tables.
Mrs RM and I shared a half of Stewart Gold. I wrote down “2.5”. Mrs RM said “That’s nice”, so I crossed out “2.5” and wrote 3. In truth, it was a 3.
There was lots going on in the booths, but my schedule said we needed to be a mile away in 17 minutes, and it never pays to be off-schedule.
retiredmartin 
Shame you didn’t encounter the guy carrying that giant carrot thing when you were in a pub. Because that would be weirdness on a level even Simon might envy.
Is this the first time the input of Mrs RM has resulted in a revised score? I’d like to see what would happen when a beer had you writing 4.5 and she then said “You’ve got to be kidding, this stuff is horrendous.”😉
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If it HAD been Simon the carrot guy would have got stuck at the entrance to the Abbotsford, and Si would have been denied entry because “We have too many vegetables in the pub now and want more flowers”. Or something.
I should have credited Christine for drawing my attention to carrot guy. I bet a minute later it would have been a giant aubergine though.
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You must have jumped in a time machine. Toilets at Waverley are free now.
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These were the ones in the food court at Waverley. Definitely 30p as Mrs RM came back to get the silver off me !
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“Shared a half” … does that suffice for a tick? You make your own rules, I guess.
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Special rules apply under the “Scotland (Inferior Cask) Provisions Vol.37.2” ratified at the 27th Tickers Convention in 1972, Mike.
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“headed to Edinburgh on the 11:17 from Durham” – and then immediately checking if Tim had got Lees Moonraker on sale above Waverley railway station ?
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Missed that Spoons this time, Paul, as headed for the Caley Picture House, which was too quiet.
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