retiredmartin

2nd December 2022.

Sheffield’s railway station is the starting point for many exciting journeys. but increasingly there’s slim ticking pickings at the end.

Never mind, at least a fourth trip to Nottingham in a year for gigs and cricket allows me to finish a Guide county, and pretend I’m “Doing the GBG” again. Or perhaps I am ?

Not quite sure what I can tell you about Nottingham you don’t already know. It changes slowly, compared to Manchester or even Sheffield,

though their version of a cat cafe involving 400 bunny rabbits licking you says a lot about East Midlands tastes.

I could have saved myself a trip if I’d hung around a year ago when the Partizan opened at 4pm,

My notes say, well, they don’t say anything.

No notes at all. I spent half an hour at the bar discussing travels to Serbia, his love for Partizan Belgrade,

and the vagaries of trade. A top bloke, and a decent micro with proper seating.

What I can remember is that those Northern Alchemy and Lenton Lane beers were wonderful; cool, crisp and chewy (NBSS 4/4.5).

Probably the beers of the year. Good job I didn’t stay another half hour and attempt the keg run;

But what now ? As with Lincoln, nothing else new for miles, the Castle closed, how to get value from that rail ticket ?

Well, admire the street art,

wonder what Alan Winfield made of the glorious Lion Hotel being converted to a “casino”,

resist the fudge in the market square,

and the colour changing cocktails in Alchemy.

Ooh, what’s this ?

Bass livery, Bass window, lots of red triangles….

…but no Bass. And none till the new year “As we’re concentrating on Christmas“.

I sulk, and look a bit like Bernard Cribbins on the 7″ cover of Hole In The Ground on the second hand record store in Hurts Yard.

Hurts Yard is a little thoroughfare without any great artisanal ambitions, but it’s many years since I pre-emptively ticked the Barrel Drop and found it a bit unconvincing.

Oh, go on then.

It looked a place transformed.

Classy, cosy, crafty. The beer board suggests a successor to the much-loved (by me) Crafty Crow,

with the Magpie ROAM a nice drop of murk.

My daily Shazam revealed a track only Shazam’d 30 times, a great result.

Back home, I got the pinker out.

Almost as satisfying as this photo of the moon taken from the garden in Sheffield.