November 2025. Highbury. London. A big (for RM) gig in London, a new venue for me just outside Highbury Station and just below the Arsenal ground, and I find myself with 2 hours to kill before doors. I know it’s imperative I get the largest size Rosie T-shirt before they sell-out, but 2 hours is… Continue reading ROSIE AT THE GRACE
Month: November 2025
PUB DOGS OF HAMPSTEAD HEATH
November 2025. Hampstead. London. I’m timing my trips down to see Dad to coincide with the nostalgia music afternoons at his care home (Dave from Chatteris, it’s always a Dave, sings Beatles and Neil Diamond) and my rather less nostalgic gigs in London. Last Tuesday saw my Gig of the Year, if not Decade, as… Continue reading PUB DOGS OF HAMPSTEAD HEATH
LADYBARN SOCIAL CLUB
October 2025. Ladybarn. Manchester. That’s my view from a £17 a match season ticket at Manchester City a week ago, for one of the most exciting games I’ve seen at the Etihad. Staying over near Stockport meant I had time to join the 15% of the crowd who stay to the final whistle to applaud… Continue reading LADYBARN SOCIAL CLUB
“BRING YOUR OWN VINYL”. THE STATION HOP, LEVENSHULME
November 2025. Levenshulme. It’s been a slow start to ticking the new cohort of Greater Manchester Guide pubs. If you’re approaching middle age like it’s wise not to drink too much before a match or a gig, but a pint in Levenshulme gives me time to admire the red brick, the panda art, the High… Continue reading “BRING YOUR OWN VINYL”. THE STATION HOP, LEVENSHULME
STATION TO STATION. HEATON CHAPEL TO LEVENSHULME
October 2025. Heaton Chapel to Levenshulme. I’m no fan of night driving these days, it’s almost like I’m approaching middle-age or something. And with my usual cheap option for train to Manchester scuppered (no service to Hyde) it suddenly made sense to stay over in Great(er) Stockport for City’s glamour game with Bournemouth, particularly with… Continue reading STATION TO STATION. HEATON CHAPEL TO LEVENSHULME
CHOICES, CHOICES. 🔺 TICKING IN TICKNALL
October 2025. Ticknall. 2 miles from Calke, in the heart of the National Forest, is yet another of those “HOW had I not been here before ?” pubs that the Beer Guide continues to throw up. Ticknall is a gorgeous little Derbyshire village, the sort of place recently retired footballers used to run pubs in,… Continue reading CHOICES, CHOICES. 🔺 TICKING IN TICKNALL
CALKE AND THE MILKING PARLOUR
November 2025. Calke. Derbyshire. A late dash to tick a few National Trust properties before the subs are due (we won’t renew). Blimey, talk about a well-pubbed location. Calke sits between Coalville, Burton, Derby and Beeston in the posh bit of Derbyshire. Real Life After Football territory. Actually, forget pubs, what an astonishing little bit… Continue reading CALKE AND THE MILKING PARLOUR
JIMMY EAT WORLD, RETIRED MARTIN EATS AT THE GLOBE
October 2025. Leicester. Our 36 hours in Leicester concluded with a late lunch in another historic pub, the venue for local CAMRA’s branch meeting that very evening. Even my remarkable powers of persuasion weren’t enough to convince Mrs RM to stay and convince CAMRA to ban halves put the Cherry Tree in the GBG. The… Continue reading JIMMY EAT WORLD, RETIRED MARTIN EATS AT THE GLOBE
IN SEARCH OF KINGS (AND CAR PARKS)
October 2025. Leicester. Regular readers will know I’m no fan of history, which is I why I follow a team founded in 2008 and can’t tell my Art Deco from my Art Nouveau (or Garfunkel). But apparently Leicester is even more famous for a dead king than for the all-time footballing miracle or the curry… Continue reading IN SEARCH OF KINGS (AND CAR PARKS)
LEICESTER CASTLE
October 2025. Leicester. 36 hours in Leicester, and with lunchtime approaching (though we’d barely finished breakfast) it’s time to explore the castle. Leicester looked quite lively with shoppers that late October Thursday, but tourist trade is light, and we are virtually the only folk in Castle Park, apart from that giant heron (or whatever it… Continue reading LEICESTER CASTLE
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