July 2023. Caverswall. Stoke-on-Trent. Last Friday I took six trains in my highly staggered Sheffield-Crewe return, and five (5) of them were virtually full. OK, one in three trains seemed to have been cancelled, and “We are sorry to announce…” becomes a bit wearing after a while, but the demand is certainly there. I’ll have… Continue reading LET THE TRAIN TAKE THE STRAIN
Month: July 2023
JOHNY, REMEMBERS ME
July 2023. Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent. Where were we ? Oh yes, Burslem market place. Johny of Johny’s micropub fame, remembering my earlier enquiry, had just messaged me saying he’d open up an hour earlier than planned. What a great chap. But what’s his pub like ? Well, a small pub, really. Cricket on the TV (“England… Continue reading JOHNY, REMEMBERS ME
TOP 100 PUBS – THE BULLS HEAD, BURSLEM
July 2023. Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent. Nice aerial shot of central Burslem for you, with our two GBG pubs in the bottom left. Used to be Guide pubs all over town. During lockdown I noted “Burslem is awash with small pubs now, called Ale House, Otter’s Tears, Hog Noggins, Johny’s Micro and Chilz“. Now, I’m not sure some… Continue reading TOP 100 PUBS – THE BULLS HEAD, BURSLEM
THE BEAUTY OF BURSLEM
July 2023. Burslem, the Potteries. One of the conditions of my exciting sponsorship deal (come on Pipers, sort it out) is that I promote towns that normal folk never visit. Oddly, if I mention Stoke-on-Trent to Mum and Dad they’d go “Oooh, we used to love Stoke“, but of course they mean the genteel bit… Continue reading THE BEAUTY OF BURSLEM
BORN IN CREWE. LIVE IN CREWE. DRINK CRAFT BEER IN CREWE.
July 2023. Crewe. During the first lockdown of 2020, that one you’ll remember so fondly, I entertained you with some cut-and-paste editions focusing on some of the UK’s tourist honeypots. And Crewe. For many pub tickers, it’s the planning the pub trip that’s the highlight rather than the actual pub and the beer. With a… Continue reading BORN IN CREWE. LIVE IN CREWE. DRINK CRAFT BEER IN CREWE.
A VINTAGE DOOM BAR IN LOXLEY
July 2023. Loxley, Sheffield. Having established that the Robin Hood (RIP) in Little Matlock was, indeed, the furthest point of my 2007 mega Sheffield crawl, I reckoned I ought to find a new pub to write about to justify splitting the trip into two posts. I guess the market for pictures on flowers (I think… Continue reading A VINTAGE DOOM BAR IN LOXLEY
ROBIN HOOD, ROBIN HOOD…
July 2023. Little Matlock, Sheffield. I had a real scare the other day, I can tell you. On the walk up the hill into Sheffield, just past the Crow, a young bloke overtook me. Granted, I was dawdling a bit, and I’d overtook him a few minutes earlier so he may have had a point… Continue reading ROBIN HOOD, ROBIN HOOD…
OUTDRUNK BY SEPTUAGENARIANS FROM FRATTON
July 2023. Sheffield. It’s a good job I finished the Beer Guide last year; I’d never have made it in 2023. I’m the Nico Rosberg of GBG completion; get it done in an easy year and then retire and do more interesting things. While Nico has become an “eco-entrepreneur”, I’ve been content to blog about… Continue reading OUTDRUNK BY SEPTUAGENARIANS FROM FRATTON
CIDER WITH MARTIN
July 2023. Sheffield Compared to, say, St Albans or Dunfermline, Sheffield has a modest musical history. 1960s – Joe Cocker, 1970s – Human League, 1980s – Def Leppard, 1990s – Pulp, 2000s – Arctic Monkeys.. But it has a vibrant small venue scene that allows foreign bands of all ilks to play throughout the week.… Continue reading CIDER WITH MARTIN
TOP 100 PUBS – SKINNERS ARMS, JUDD ST, LONDON
July 2023. London WC1. A Terrific Travelcard Tuesday in terms of distance covered but a rather woeful haul of just two new Guide pubs (Camberwell and Chiswick) before I had to plan a return home to get Mum her favourite tea from Waterbeach Best Kebab. You should never keep your mum waiting beyond 5 for… Continue reading TOP 100 PUBS – SKINNERS ARMS, JUDD ST, LONDON
retiredmartin 