September 2024. Bishops Stortford. It had seemed an eternity since Stortford (or “The Bish” to the kidz) had a newbie in the Guide, which says a lot about the pace of pubby change in Hertfordshire. Blimey, you could walk to the Belgian Brewer in just over an hour, perhaps do a day trip from Albania… Continue reading BELGIANS IN BISHOP’S STORTFORD

September 2024. St Michaels. Kent. Just as the challenges of one set of octogenarian parents ease (a little) so the challenge of the other set rise to the surface, and by last Sunday it became imperative we got Mrs RM’s dad out of the house for a bit before war broke out. Perhaps the fastest… Continue reading TAKING MICHAEL TO ST MICHAELS

As the Southworths know well, Waterbeach is a boom town, its progress to essential visit status only hindered by an absence of cutlery and plates. Incidentally, I was reading on Mumsnet (my only reading these days) of the American obsession with the “house tour” which might explain the Southworths enduring fascination with my Mum and… Continue reading GREENE KING IPA MAKES AN EMOTIONAL RETURN TO WATERBEACH

September 2024. Newmarket. Most weekends are still based in Waterbeach, but at least there’s a chance of a snatched tick in GBG25, with a first furtive foray across the Suffolk border last Friday. “Why didn’t you pop in here when we stayed in Newmarket last month ?” Well, that’s an annoying question, Mrs RM, almost… Continue reading AT THE RACES – NEWMARKET’S BULL

September 2024. Mexborough. While Simon ticked Mexborough’s Spoons, I set out to bring you the cultural highlights. It’s instructive to look at What Pub and untick the “real ale” and “open pubs only” tabs. Oooh, loads of pubs. Now, untick them; A Spoons, a brewery tap, the Imperial club and a lone “Proper Pub” in… Continue reading MEXBOROUGH – FADED GRANDEUR

September 2024. South Yorkshire. I guess you like to imagine us pub tickers all living in one huge gated community, lounging about all day comparing notes on micro opening hours and mascot names. The truth is, we all live in our own gated communities, and meet up entirely by accident in Dronfield or at Northern… Continue reading “TAXI FOR BRAPA”

No, I hadn’t forgot about the contractually obligated monthly review, I’ve been “travelling” (shock) and couldn’t do the travel map. Here’s September; A hectic month, starting listening to weird music in a field on Cranborne Chase, ending in a new classic in Stamford, and taking it a rich collection of pubs in Greater Rotherham. Those… Continue reading SEPTEMBER ’24 STOCKTAKE AND OCTOBER PREVIEW

September 2024. Barnsley. £8.60 it had cost me for the rail return to Barnsley. Not THAT bad, it’s £58 (fifty-eight) to Atherstone, which has zero GBG entries but does have the Paul Mudge seal of approval, which will no doubt be all have to direct us to the best pubs when CAMRA dies as ageing… Continue reading SOUTH YORKSHIRE HAS (DEFINITELY) FALLEN

September 2024. Barnsley. Barnsley always seems unusually compact, it’s typical ration of half a dozen GBG pubs barely 10 minutes apart, but it’s easy to forget this is a small town of 71,422, albeit with a vast hinterland stretching into the Peak. “Hinterland” is one of those words I don’t really know the meaning of,… Continue reading REAPPRAISING BOYGENIUS IN BARNSLEY