It appears that Joan and Dave Southworth have toured the Garden of Kent without visiting its most sacred and historic monument; which shows how little the Americans value history. Should we be surprised ? If they’d come a month or so earlier they could have participated in the Great Debate on sandwiches (ham or otherwise).… Continue reading IN OR OUT ? – THE BIG QUESTION ANSWERED
Month: August 2022
HOPS ON THE CEILING, HARVEY’S ON THE BAR
There’s an assumption that the annual 500 or so new GBG entries are all micropubs and brewery taps inaccessible by public transport and never open, and of course there’s some truth in that. But not a lot. My final batch of Kent ticks comprised one micro that was really a social pub, a young people’s… Continue reading HOPS ON THE CEILING, HARVEY’S ON THE BAR
DOVER – A HAPPY PLACE
Mrs RM insisted we spend the night in Dover. Well, actually she just insisted we didn’t stay in the campervan before visiting the in-laws as she needed to wash her hair. Vanity, I tell you. Luckily, Dover is home to one of my final GBG22 ticks, and a newish Premier Inn. It was a scruffy… Continue reading DOVER – A HAPPY PLACE
MARTIN POWER, OUTER ASHFORD PUB TICKER EXTRAORDINARY
A mid-June trip to finish Kent. I would have waited till Joan and Dave Southworth arrived a month later so they could have the thrill of pinking a county, but completing the Guide and getting chapters complete had become an obsession and besides, you can’t trust Americans with marker pens. You’ll be seeing a fair… Continue reading MARTIN POWER, OUTER ASHFORD PUB TICKER EXTRAORDINARY
A SURPRISE WINNER OF BEST BEER OF THE NIGHT ON MATT’S 21st BIRTHDAY BASH
As Blackpool Jane told you about 2 years ago (here), she joined us in Manchester in June (on what was also Matt’s birthday) for a mini-Manc crawl. Direct train to Oxford Road for us, meaning we get Italian pastries in Java Bar, which means there’s no time for the Peveril, before we meet Jane in… Continue reading A SURPRISE WINNER OF BEST BEER OF THE NIGHT ON MATT’S 21st BIRTHDAY BASH
A STRATFORD HAVEN IN WEST BRIDGFORD
Trent Bridge was a bit chaotic after the chaos of the England v New Zealand test. Best hide in the nearest GBG pub for a while and then catch a late train, eh ? Nottingham and neighbouring West Bridgford is a bit dull for GBG pubs these days, but Castle Rock do a decent line… Continue reading A STRATFORD HAVEN IN WEST BRIDGFORD
AT THE TEST MATCH
On the evening of Monday 13th June the 2nd Test Match between England (World Cup winners or whatever) and New Zealand (World Test Cup champions, or whatever) was heading towards a dull draw. A nice lady from Notts CCC came on Radio 5 Sports Extra and told us entry to the 5th day, normally about… Continue reading AT THE TEST MATCH
“Do you have anyone to go for an impromptu pint with ?”
Back in Sheffield after a triumphant conquering of Fife and the Lothians I looked forward to a few quiet days catching up on the blog and reading MumsNet. This thread took my fancy… Well, to save you reading MumsNet, the short answer is NO, Mums don’t go out for impromptu pints. They’d expect 3 weeks… Continue reading “Do you have anyone to go for an impromptu pint with ?”
WHO’D A (MILNA)THORT IT – LOCH LEVEN LICKED
BRAPA ruminated, as only he can, on some less than great beer so far this summer. The beer in the east of Scotland was pretty good (NBSS 3 stuff), if never spectacular, but I loved the pubs in Fife and Perthshire, where I headed for a night after concluding “the Kingdom” in St Andrews. On… Continue reading WHO’D A (MILNA)THORT IT – LOCH LEVEN LICKED
JULY ’22 STOCKTAKE + AUGUST PREVIEW
July 2022. Perhaps the best month of my life. Since Mrs RM and I BOTH forgot our wedding anniversary for the 30th time I can safely say that and live. Despite the life-changing crisps from Jones of Cymru, and a record hundred and one (101) GBG ticks in July, it’s been the beauty of the… Continue reading JULY ’22 STOCKTAKE + AUGUST PREVIEW