retiredmartin

August 2023. Warton, Lancashire.

Mrs RM has (subsequently) made it very clear she didn’t enjoy the Sunday of serial ticking in North Lancashire.

I drove while she quickly downed a half of pale microbrew, each indiscernible from the last, while I took a sip to confirm her NBSS score and wrote caustic notes.

And to be honest I can’t say I enjoy the rushed ticked anymore now I’ve “completed”; I want to take time to savour the pint, chat to locals, and the scenery like these views from Warton Crag.

The strange bit of Lancashire between Morecambe and the Lakes is packed with interesting detail, including Morecambe Bay, the Carnforth station where Brief Encounter was filmed, and a weird Silverdale pub recently eulogised by Duncan.

None of which appealed to Mrs RM as she sat in the car ordering cheap tickets for “Barbie” while I was dispatched to take a photo of the limestone quarry for her blog (release date pushed back due to writer’s strike).

That building in the forefront of the Crag isn’t a micropub, yet, and the surprise new entry is a solid town pub with unplugged Popeye,

defunct ice cream cabinet,

and limited custom on Sunday lunchtime.

I spent five minutes looking for life in the fish tanks, without success.

So five handpumps carrying exotica such as Lees seemed “ambitious”,

though the Cross Bay “table beer” (3.3%) was good enough.

But the welcome from the two ladies was a winner. “Oooh, I really fancy one of those lime and sodas” said the elder, who then constructed one with the same care with which you’d make a Negroni.

And there then began a good-natured but persistent argument between the two about the heat, or lack of, and whether to wear another layer. To be honest, our British weather just can’t make up its mind at the moment.

I have the same relationship with the soundtrack from Mr. Mister, whose late ’85 smash is one of the most irritating “song whose lyrics stick in the head” of all time.

Though not as bad as the follow-up “Kyrie”.