retiredmartin

July 2023. Maltby.

Matthew joined us on our latest trip south to check on Mum and Dad, and we opted for a posh breakfast in Maltby’s Spoons.

The journey south takes 2:20 hours now the A1 barrier repairs at Stamford are complete, which is a shorter trip than Waterbeach to Cromer in Summer.

It’s generally the classic M18/A1 with the A57 variant for those needing a petrol and pancakes stop in Worksop, so the detour via the Queen Hotel is a treat.

Matt had the Spoons pancakes via the American breakfast, bemoaning the fact they’re not a patch on what they were a decade ago.

A man doesn’t come to a mining town like Maltby and not have the Miner’s Benedict and three flat whites.

Maltby Colliery was the making of Fiery Fred Trueman,

immortalised at the Queen,

though facts can get mangled as it appears Fred was never actually a miner.

Similar confusion with the facts concerns Maltby’s other claim to fame, as the Chuckle Brothers seemed reluctant to be recognised in the town in 2019.

“Cllr Brian Steele has got his facts wrong. We were born and bred in Rotherham — Masbrough then East Herringthorpe until I was 21 and Barry was 24. I only lived in Maltby on and off for a maximum of 11 years.”

Never mind. There’s great carpets (NWCSS 4.5),

and the Doom Bar is under £2. In 2021 I was actively promoting the idea of ending the Lockdown (again) here. You’ll need to visit that post for the Maltby tourist guide.

We re-join the A1 south at Blyth, passing the White Swan in which Mum chided a smoker in 1997 (that’s 1997, not 2007), causing the sort of embarrassment normally reserved for an in-law requesting a taster.

Two hours later, Matt is giving Dad the sort of cut that costs more than Fred earnt in a week bowling for Yorkshire.

It’s a lovely job.

And his reward is the best Chinese takeaway in the country, particularly the squid (NCTSS 4.5).

Hotel prices were through the roof that weekend, so we made up the spare room upstairs for Matt.

I know you love the domestic detail.