A lovely day today chatting American politics, obscure Scottish roads and curry with my 2019 Pub Man of the year and her husband. Dave and I agreed (a rarity) than BRAPA’s blog is on an all-time low, and I admitted that I nick stuff freely off his blog because he’s too busy upgrading mascots to… Continue reading ANOTHER PUB TICKER CRASHES THE WAKE – IT’S THE BIG TREND OF 2022
Month: July 2022
THE PLANT POTS RETURN
I spent more time in Scotland in June than in Sheffield, getting full value from my £5.99 Search for Sites (campervan overnighters) sub. Talking of subs, the next step on the road to completion (down to 85, folks) took me to Rosyth on the Firth of Forth of Fife for the first time ever. Well,… Continue reading THE PLANT POTS RETURN
HAGGIS CIGARS CALLING, THE LOTHIANS HAVE FALLEN
“Tell them about the haggis cigars” said no-one ever. So I’ll tell you about the haggis cigars in an otherwise unremarkable pub in the Lothians, (something to do with Marillion, I think). You CAN’T actually smoke them, and smoking is wrong, but hunting haggi is fine, apparently. It was so unremarkable a GBG pub I… Continue reading HAGGIS CIGARS CALLING, THE LOTHIANS HAVE FALLEN
BASS ROCK AND STEAMPUNK
Never let anyone think this blog is all about pubs. It’s all about the Bass; or the Bass Rock, in this case. Some folk think this bit of rock at North Berwick contains a secret bonus pub that will be in CAMRA’s 50th Good Beer Guide (collectors edition). Which is ridiculous, everyone knows that there’s… Continue reading BASS ROCK AND STEAMPUNK
COUNTING THE CHIPS IN NORTH BERWICK
My North Berwick target ticked, I had a range of options before returning to the warm embrace of Baa Baa Toure in a campervan parked with sight of Bass Rock. Faced with a choice of a) Swim out to Bass Rock or b) revisit the Ship, I took the sensible option, rare for me. The… Continue reading COUNTING THE CHIPS IN NORTH BERWICK
BACK TO THE AULD HOOSE – NORTH BERWICK DELIVERS
Nice carpet, Old Hoose. And a gorgeous Scottish seaside town I failed to do justice to in 2018 but made it up to last month. You can park for free overnight along the coast within sight of Bass Rock, which is one of life’s great bargains. I bet North Berwick Council and read this and… Continue reading BACK TO THE AULD HOOSE – NORTH BERWICK DELIVERS
STILL LOOKING FOR THAT SHILLING IN GULLANE
It was all going so well. Then I had to go to golf-mad Gullane, the St Andrews of the South (except it doesn’t have a university or craft beer). A few years ago my dad stayed at one of the hotels here on a golfing trip with mates from the ‘Beach, so he’d probably done… Continue reading STILL LOOKING FOR THAT SHILLING IN GULLANE
NO GOBLIN IN GIFFORD
The mid-June posts continue as we head towards Bass Rock, the fount of eternal youth, possibly. This trip was targeting the Lothians, the posh Tory-voting stretch between Berwick North and the English border. The farming villages (see : East Linton) round here are gorgeous and underrated, and Gifford in the parish of Yester is stunning,… Continue reading NO GOBLIN IN GIFFORD
KELSO INCREASES THE PRICE OF THE SCRATCHINGS BY 10%
So much for a week off The Tick and 25 posts a day to catch up. This report from mid June comes courtesy of the WiFi in the smart Tesco cafe in Fforest-fach. The Welsh love their surplus f’s. Unbelievably, that’s the Shakshuka eggs in Tesco, whose rebranding of their cafés is a thing of… Continue reading KELSO INCREASES THE PRICE OF THE SCRATCHINGS BY 10%
BINGO NIGHT IN HAWICK SPOONS
The blog reaches Scotland for the first of two long trips into the hospitable north of the GBG. Look how green Scotland looks (or it did, before the last two days). A long slog to Hawick, (pronounced Hoik !, apparently) where I curse not doing the Bourtree when I was here in 2018. You should… Continue reading BINGO NIGHT IN HAWICK SPOONS
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