August 2025. Sherburn-in-Elmet. Leon was giving me the Deluxe Curated Tour of Sherburn, even though he doesn’t actually live there or use the pubs regularly. Sherburn is a town of 6,657 souls, who all seemed cheerful enough despite the absence of regular trains to Sheffield. Or a Wetherspoons. It has a Sam Smiths pub, though,… Continue reading TURNING THE PHONE OFF AT THE DOOR OF THE RED BEAR IN SHERBURN IN ELMET

August 2025. Sherburn-in-Elmet. A prime example of the distractions I face having completed the GBG; this Monday Meander round Milford was the sort of pubbing for fun you don’t get when on a ticking mission. South Milford (is there a North ?) Leon, Wetherspoons completist and Park Run ticker, had invited me to join him… Continue reading MARCHING ON TOGETHER. RM AND LEON DO SHERBURN IN ELMET

August was a travel-packed month, to be sure, with fifty-three (53) different pubs visited around the country, and only one duffer (and that closed for good the week after my visit). and now in the first week of September we pay the price with both vehicles in for repairs. Probably just need switching on and… Continue reading AUGUST ’25 STOCKTAKE + SEPTEMBER PREVIEW

August 2025. Birmingham. Our Gang of Four left the NEC at 5pm, just as the crowds were arriving at the Great British Beer Festival‘s Friday night session. Except they weren’t. It was eerily quiet, in contrast to central Brum, packed with Hen parties, cricket fans, and Blues heading to St. Andrews for the start of… Continue reading IN SEARCH OF SOUR SMOOTHIES AT THE COLMORE

August 2025. Birmingham. Just back from four days of nu-folk and falafel wraps and Korean cinema at End of the Road Festival, I bet you can’t wait for my reviews of Glasshouse Red Spider Mite and Tropical F**k Storm, coming up in, ooh, 8th November. The defining image of EOTR 25 is not a pretty… Continue reading CRAZY TRAIN