July 2023. Cambridge. Congratulations if you guessed this pic from Mill Road was the maternity hospital where baby Retired Martin was born (blue plaque currently being cleaned of graffiti). For a second rapid Cambridge pint in my 2 hour respite I headed across a quiet Parkers Piece, and found the market place and colleges unexpectedly… Continue reading A PINT IN THE PINT SHOP

July 2024. Cambridge. Five stressful days down in Waterbeach, with a bit of respite in the pubs on the Mill Road run, continuing with a pint from Waterbeach’s finest brewery in one of Cambridge’s most unspoilt boozers. The Dev is the place I ended my leaving do in 2014, a pub revived (but not TOO… Continue reading BENCH SEATING IN THE DEVONSHIRE ARMS

July 2024. Clacton-on-Sea. Not much enthusiasm for the election last Thursday, except in coastal Essex, where posters advertising the arrival of Sir Nigel Farage greet you in Greater Clacton. Nigel may be heading back to the States before he’s even had time to open the Jaywick fête, but it seems he’s already boosted the town’s… Continue reading WELL, I’M GOING TO CLACTON, ANYWAY

One of the very best of “counties”, an uneasy alliance of Anglesey, Conwy and Gwynedd that made Number 9 in my Top 10 series during lockdown. Forget the pubs, this stretch of coast and mountain is one of the world’s scenic highlights. Top Victoriana, some of the UK’s best gardens (Bodnant, below), and nothing beats… Continue reading HALF A DOZEN PUBS IN EVERY GBG COUNTY No. 57 – NORTH-WEST WALES

July 2024. Cambridge. Two pints in Cambridge on a Monday afternoon, and an abject failure to bring you anything new and exciting. But I understand some folk prefer old and brilliant to new and inconsistent, so I’d recommended the Cambridge Blue to the lovely Histon (via Walsall) couple I’d bee chatting to in the Kingston.… Continue reading THE CAMBRIDGE BLUE – A GWYDIR STREET GEM

July 2024. Cambridge. A half-hearted attempt to visit all the Cambridge pubs for you while I’m staying with the parents falls at the first hurdle as I leave the station and head towards the old favourites. I welcomed back the Kingston Arms from an il-fated gastro spell last year, and was later delighted to see… Continue reading FORGET THE BASS – THE REAL REASON I GO TO PUBS

July 2024. Milton (Cambridgeshire). After a glorious sunset in Sheffield on Friday, I headed south to the parents for 5 days mainly focused on helping Dad escape the house. Labour had just announced plans to accelerate housebuilding, citing the Northstowe development near Cambridge. 25 years after it was first being touted as the answer to… Continue reading MACARONI CHEESE AND BBB IN MILTON

July 2024. Salford. I feel obliged to do at least one tick in the Matthew Curtis book on each Mancunian trip, but at least there’s no Hungry Horses in Wythenshawe to visit (are there ?). Obviously I’ve been to most of these pubs and brewery taps before, but the “completion” starts at Day 1, the… Continue reading ALL THE PUBS IN THE MANCHESTER BEER BOOK – THE NEW OXFORD, SALFORD

4 July 2024. Sheffield, Manchester, Salford. Independence day, in more than one way. Our first general election since moving to Sheffield. Our polling station was empty at 11:30, but later that afternoon I saw a queue of young folk stretching almost out of Manchester’s Central Library in the direction of the Briton’s Protection, appropriately. Great… Continue reading ELECTION DAY

July 2024. Penkridge. Stafford. Back at the campervan, my guards had done a sterling task protecting my artisanal deli items from Penkridge criminals, and I intended to reward them by infusing the van with the aroma of crispy beef and Singapore rice from over the road, once I’d had a nightcap in one of the… Continue reading PONDERING PENKRIDGE