retiredmartin

THE MAP – Oooh, headed South this month, didn’t I ?

THE HIGHLIGHTS

A cultural month, with Rachmaninov and Russian ballet in Sheffield,

and the Bury tourist trail.

I managed to meet up with Mr and Mrs Prop Up the Bar, Pubmeister and Maltmeister, and Jane and Lee Blackpool (David Ford was a great gig), so I probably win “Tick the Ticker” this month.

But the absolute highlight, possibly of 2022, was the barperson who cleaned my glasses in the Romilly in Cardiff. I’ve left her them my collection of Bass beermats in my will.

THE STATS

Eighty (80) different pubs, and crucially fifty-four (54) of those were new GBG ticks. Multiply that 54 x the number of months and you get (fumbles around for a calculator) a big number, the sort of number you need to finish the Guide this year. Expect a post on that soon, Duncan.

Those 54 ticks included a fair few county completions too;

PUB OF THE MONTH – Old House at Home, Overton, Hampshire

My favourite sort of pub. Village local, friendly and chatty, comfy seating, good beer, bit of grub, no pretension/tasters/bookings. And in Overton, the Old Boys returning for their medium Shiraz.

A close runner-up would be the Fox & Finch in Worthing, where I excitedly told the landlady “Great loos”, even though the Pompey beer was the star. I need to be less excitable in February.

BEER OF THE MONTH – Sam Smiths OBB at the Murenger, Newport

Well, it probably wasn’t the best, really. That was the Wild Weather Knuckle Puck in Newbury, but the OBB looks better in my blog.

CURRY OF THE MONTH – Johney Gurhka, Aldershot

It was so good that Maltmeister couldn’t finish it. Lightweight.

The Thai in Stevenage was even better, but it’s NOT a curry, is it ?

FEBRUARY PREVIEW

Only 28 days in February, so I’ll target 53.7 new Guide pubs, with a focus on Lancashire, Somerset and Devon. But I’ve been saying that about Devon since 1994, so who knows.

Oh, and expect more of this;