August 2025. Birmingham. This was the view from our £45 B & B hotel. Chinatown (via a grotty, Newport-esque, underpass), the Gay Quarter (1 pub I think) and HS2. The next week we returned and had a south facing view of a derelict building site. Birmingham is, like Manchester and Sheffield, a city of architectural… Continue reading CHERRY REDS

August 2025. Birmingham. I’m currently in a field, in Wiltshire (or possibly Dorset) drinking Verdant murk with James, while Mrs RM guards the house. She doesn’t get the weird alt-folk and craft cans, but she does get WiFi. I don’t. So these next few posts may be minimal. But you don’t need to actually say… Continue reading TOP 100 PUBS – THE CRAVEN ARMS, BIRMINGHAM

August 2025. Birmingham. Mrs RM had retired to our B & B hotel in central Brum, probably with a huge bag of crisps, and wasn’t coming out again. So as the train back from Dorridge crawled into Moor Street, a bonus pub. Wonder what BRAPA’s been up to ? It was 6:49 PM on the… Continue reading HOOCH IS BACK !

August 2025. Dorridge. I left Mrs RM to finish her pint under the arches at Indian Brewery so I could catch the fast train to Dorridge, a 17 minute trip with gasping plug sockets the highlight. Obviously I know of Dorridge; I’m a man, I know everywhere. It’s basically a smart Solihull suburb, a Midland… Continue reading WHAT A RACQUET ! DISASTER DODGED IN DORRIDGE

August 2025. Birmingham. Two nights in Birmingham at the reliable (and £45) B & B hotel across the A38 from the Victoria, and with the Great British Beer Festival tomorrow Thursday was the day to explore Brum, unencumbered by GBG ticking. I always reckon you need at least a dozen visits to get to the… Continue reading ON THE BRUM DESI TRAIL

August 2025. Birmingham. I should have been at the Great British Beer Festival on the Wednesday, bringing you tasting notes from the No/Lo Alcohol bar and telling you how the Rolling Stones tribute was worse than the real Oasis. But Father-in-Law’s emergency treatment took precedence, and deferring the Brum trip a couple of days had… Continue reading TROUBLE BRUMMING AT BREWDOG

August 2025. Birmingham. Halesowen. If July was all about Darlington, August is full-on Birmingham. Two (2) x two (2) day trips to Brum, staying next door to the O2 where I saw Lizzy McAlpine on one of the great nights of my life last October. Four days to get to the heart of the city… Continue reading TAKE THE FIRST BUS TO HALESOWEN

August 2025. Thrapston. Northamptonshire. Wednesday saw us down in Kent, whizzing father-in-law to Maidstone Hospital and back, via what I can only call a chaotic stop in Tonbridge Spoons, where Mrs RM managed 2 pints of £2 Jaipur in half an hour. At least someone is getting use of those CAMRA vouchers. Thursday morning brought… Continue reading THRAPSTON AWAITS ITS CRAFT REVOLUTION

August 2025. Sheffield. My annual walk to one of the Kelham GBG perennials takes me past the old Stones brewery, which sadly doesn’t look like it’s getting the makeover its Yorkshire neighbour Tetley is. Across the road the Gardeners Rest continues as a fine example of a community pub, largely unsung though with the best… Continue reading CONTENTIOUS UNTAPPD CHECK-INS AT THE GARDENERS REST

August 2025. Leeds. Rail journeys via Leeds always involve a wait of between 32 and 54 minutes, just long enough to be irritating.Unless you nip out the southern entrance (the one with the water taxi) for a pint. Always best to stride confidently towards a target pub you decide on at the very last moment,… Continue reading THE TETLEY