September 2025. Sheffield. Another one on the Half Pint Marathon, and one of the few GBG regulars on the map. A skip across Derek Dooley Way (ask your uncle) sits the Harlequin, struggling a bit till the folk behind the Rutland and Crow took it on, at which point it became an essential stop on… Continue reading A HOP TO THE HARLEQUIN

September 2025. Sheffield. Another of those pubs on the Sheffield Half Pint Marathon; do all 26 in September and you’ve donated £6.50 to Mind and won a print. Easier than doing the GBG, I thought. It’s a collection of pubs largely on the periphery of the Beer Guide, like the Riverside (No. 7, Russ), down… Continue reading BERTIE BASSETT AND THE HARNESSING OF THE GIANT SQUIDS

September 2025. Sheffield. Back home (I think I still live in Sheffield) I set off back on the marathon trail in S*x City. It’s all about s*x with Jarvis, isn’t it ? The Shakespeare greets me with Dylan on a Tuesday afternoon; two master wordsmiths, though the real art is in these Wards windows. The… Continue reading DYLAN AND SHAKESPEARE

September 2025. Enfield. You’ve had Enfield’s new GBG pub, and its watch man, and a decent Spoons. But you MUST NOT come here and miss the aptly named Wonder. Except….it didn’t look the basic and unreconstructed McMullen boozer I remember, positively female-friendly in fact (as was the Jolly Butchers). But there’s nothing with that, and… Continue reading ENFIELD’S WONDER

As is traditional, the new Beer Guide is greeted by some of the newer Retired Martin family. This year it’s Snuggles, Wilbury and Buzzy Bee. They come to praise the Guide, officially released this morning with little fanfare and seemingly even less interest amongst CAMRA members. Bit of a brick compared to those early editions… Continue reading THE GOOD BEER GUIDE 2026. A TRIUMPH

September 2025. Enfield. Or “The joy of being wrong about a neglected Greater London town” (see also : Carshalton, Brentford). With an alleged population of 333,587, almost as big as Waterbeach when it’s finished, Enfield ought to have something to commend it. But my impression of it, based largely on a few floodlit matches at… Continue reading HOW I CAME TO LOVE ENFIELD

September 2025. Carshalton. It’s 19:37 as I pass Carshalton’s Sun on a sprint to the station. My fast train goes at 19:45. Now that I’ve ticked the Guide newbie (at last) and revisited the Top 10 pub anything else is a bonus. The 3rd Guide entry is the Railway; that must be near the station,… Continue reading A DASH FOR THE RAILWAY, CARSHALTON

September 2025. Carshalton. Ahead of Thursday’s publication of the most-eagerly awaited Good Beer Guide since GBG25, CAMRA Discourse is again in ferment about Guide entries that aren’t “Proper Pubs”. “When visiting somewhere different I would like to be guided to a good pint enjoyed in the surroundings of a traditional pub. I am not keen… Continue reading AFTER THE HOPE, COMES….MORE CARSHALTON GEMS

September 2025. Carshalton. Greater London. Nope. Not a typo, a Top Ten pub, perhaps better. It’s actually the Cryer Theatre, Bobby Davro and all, that’s drawn me back to Carshalton for the first time in over a decade, but there was zero chance I wasn’t using my £25.55 day return to confirm that The Hope… Continue reading TOP 10 PUBS – THE HOPE, CARSHALTON