June 2025. Manchester. A lot of gigs in Manchester this endless Summer, all from angsty American females you’ve never heard of, so a chance to tick a few pubs in the GBG’s greatest chapter. All the fast trains from Sheffield head through Piccadilly towards Liverpool, but I have to change at Oxford Road, home to… Continue reading 12 MINUTES WAIT AT OXFORD ROAD STATION. WHAT TO DO ?

June 2025. Cambridge. Some pubs open on Mondays, even if not ’till 4, though there’s not much traffic (vehicle or human) on Cambridge’s Mill Road heading towards them.e So I feel a civic duty, on the dash back to the station, to nip in for a half in the Dev. The most central pub run… Continue reading MARCUS IN THE DEVONSHIRE

June 2025. Cambridge. More Cambridge adventures “over the bridge” into Romsey, where respect and diversity rule. This half mile of Mill Road isn’t as middle class as its western neighbour, though it’s lost the Cambridge Resale shop I bought surplus LPs in the ’90s and I’m not sure if ABC Kebabs has survived. The best… Continue reading BIRDSONG AND BELLERUCHE IN THE BROOK. MORE RARELY VISITED CAMBRIDGE PUBS

June 2025. Cambridge. It’s not just pubs that close on Mondays; the top takeaways in Waterbeach shut up shop, too. Leaving Mrs RM to add the final touches to her blog (she is Kate Bush to my Mark E Smith when it comes to blogging) I took the £2.45 return to Cambridge. I was born… Continue reading THE ROYAL STANDARD, CAMBRIDGE. MILL ROAD OVER THE BRIDGE

June 2025. Nostell. Wakefield. A (short) break from pubs as we attempt to get full value from our annual National Trust membership, our first in a decade. Nostell is 45 minutes north into industrial West Yorkshire, though you wouldn’t know in this bucolic bit betwixt Wakefield and Pontefract. Last time here must have been out… Continue reading MORE SAM SMITHS ANNOYANCE NEAR NOSTELL PRIORY

June 2025. Waterbeach. While all is peace and quiet over in America, here in the UK there’s a heatwave that’s affecting our internet quality. That’s my only explanation for the map extract above. Note in particular the size of the telephone above the White Horse. It’s good to celebrate excellence, and last Sunday we enjoyed… Continue reading A SUPERIOR CURRY NIGHT IN WATERBEACH

June 2025. Poynton. Cheshire. A rare stop in Poynton, doggedly in Cheshire though feeling like Stockport overspill. A burgeoning commuter town famous for the shared space at the heart of its 4 lanes that dispenses with frippery like traffic lights and invites everyone to be polite and give way to each other. There was an… Continue reading POLITE PEOPLE IN POYNTON

June 2025. Macclesfield. Half a dozen pubs in Macclesfield on our Proper Day Out; the Castle (again) the top pub, but our final stop probably won the coveted Beer of the Day. The Queens has the top mobility scooter, too, but lacks the classic multi-room interior of the best of Holt’s Salford estate. Lovely tinsel… Continue reading THE BOYS OF SUMMER SCORE MACCLESFIELD’S HOLT BITTER

June 2025. Macclesfield. A slight change to the “written in stone” itinerary as rumbling tums necessitated a lunch stop, and the Hyde’s place from 2021 hadn’t been great, though at least the Mandarina offered a straight glass. Rumours that Jon had travelled the 4 hours from Frome just for a pint in a Wetherspoons were… Continue reading FOUND IT ! THE MACC BASS HUNT