retiredmartin

January 2025. Linslade/Leighton Buzzard.

A trip to Mum’s home village in Eaton Bray, and a night to unwind in Leighton Buzzard where Mum no doubt used to buy her Panini stickers and Bazooka Joe gum. Oh, that was me.

A chance to complete the Bedfordshire GBG entries too, which might sound like an achievement but in practice means a lone new entry over the Grand Union Canal into Linslade.

Linslade gets lumped under Leighton this year, but probably not in GBG26, such is the Guide’s determination to confuse us.

My fellow tickers will be bemused by the Buckingham Arms,

yet another example of “the sort of pub the you don’t expect to see in the Beer Guide“.

Yep. It’s Old Speckled Hen or…..Old Speckled Hen.

You’ll know my views on lone pump pubs. One beer is plenty, particularly when everyone else is on Madri.

Mrs RM excuses herself from the public/sports bar to take sole occupancy of the lounge,

the Speckly Hen starts at a cool, chewy NBSS 3.5 and stays there, and a trip to the Gents and book shelf says more about the pub than my notes ever will.

Great 1991 soundtrack, too.

It may always be 1991 in Linslade.

What a great way to finish a GBG chapter.

What awful photography.

But you get the picture.