PINTS UNDER A POUND IN KETTERING

November 2023. Kettering. Yes, November. I thought I’d never get there. Two years ago, that 2021/22 of GBG completion, I never actually went to a single pub in Northamptonshire, as Covid meant (in common with Ely) no surveys for new GBG pubs. But last year our most underrated county bounced back, and GBG24 sees an… Continue reading PINTS UNDER A POUND IN KETTERING

“See ya, me duck”. You “B” winning in Hilcote.

October 2023. Hilcote. Derbyshire. If you didn’t use the Good Beer Guide you’d never end up in weird places like Holbeach, and Rainham, and Paisley. And your life would be immeasurably less fulfilling with a life spent attending beer festivals and drinking cans of murk in your underpants. The GBG introduced me to the joys… Continue reading “See ya, me duck”. You “B” winning in Hilcote.

KIRKBY-IN-ASHFIELD – BLUE MONKEY, WORN-OUT LOLA

October 2023. Kirkby-in-Ashfield. Now all these trips to honeypot villages in Bradford and Grantham are fine and well, but I know it’s Mansfield you really want to read about. GBG24 brings two (2) new entries in and around Kirkby (not Merseyside) home to Larwood, and once home to four railway stations, impressive for a mining… Continue reading KIRKBY-IN-ASHFIELD – BLUE MONKEY, WORN-OUT LOLA

CAFE #9. YOU BYO, I’LL HAVE A SMOOTHIE

October 2023. Sheffield. Quite a few gigs in October, always a great month for music. Mrs RM had listened to melodic nu-folkies Adam Beattie and Fiona Evans at the Square Chapel in Halifax and insisted I catch it them in Sheffield. Have YOU tried standing up to Mrs RM ? An hour’s walk round West… Continue reading CAFE #9. YOU BYO, I’LL HAVE A SMOOTHIE

THACKLEY MICRO v “THE SMITHS”

October 2023. Thackley, Bradford. One more in West Yorkshire and it’s a rare GBG county completion. Still a thrill, even when you’ve completed the Guide, a bit like Amundsen completing a circumnavigation of Oslo IKEA the year after ticking the North Pole or something. Where are we ? Thackley, north Bradford. Near the Isle Working… Continue reading THACKLEY MICRO v “THE SMITHS”

“Kev left his pound at the swimming pool”

October 2023. Shipley. You can’t actually see the dividing line between Saltaire and Shipley, but you certainly know when you’ve crossed it. And the Crafty Kernel meets every requirement of the “modern micro” playbook, though at least it has a nice protruding sign so you only walk past it 3 times, rather than the median… Continue reading “Kev left his pound at the swimming pool”

HALIFAX MINSTER – MY FIRST NCSS 5

October 2023. Halifax. I’d actually come to Halifax for a gig, and you’ll be astonished to know this wasn’t a 22 year old Californian singing about duff boyfriends with sportscars. Lisa O’ Neill sings about the Irishwoman who shot Mussolini in the nose, which I guess is a marginally more serious topic, unless you’re a… Continue reading HALIFAX MINSTER – MY FIRST NCSS 5