retiredmartin

February 2026. Banner Cross. Sheffield.

Approaching middle-age, I feel less and less inclined to turn down any offers of a pub and a chat, even if it does mean staying in Sheffield rather than a slog to Shetland.

And the pub tickers are the best of men, always positive despite that setback in a micro miles from home, always cheerful about life and with a travel tale to tell.

Ian aka Alfie was back in town to do the Itchy Pig 2 I stopped him doing last year, and though obviously I’d have been happy to walk there’s a PE∆KLINE bus (with irritating stylised ∆) that whizzes from the station through the posh western suburbs and gets you to Banner Cross at 11:58.

And pub tickers love,love, standing outside GBG pubs 2 minutes before opening watching the harried staff getting ready to open. It lets them know we care about pubs.

Our host is just setting up, but as it’s drizzling outside and he’s a nice man we’re invited in, on condition that Ian doesn’t try and sit on the chairs in the window.

I was impressed with the beer and welcome here back in the Autumn, even if the seating wasn’t quite to my taste, and again here the second of the Itchy Pigs delivered.

High quality (NBSS 3.5+) pints of Tiny Rebel and Harrogate for me, halves of the rest for Ian. Since completing the Guide it’s been strictly pints only, which has its drawbacks on long bus trips, as Simon will confirm.

The bus back was at 12:26. We missed that, and the 12:51, which proves pub tickers aren’t in and out of pubs in two minutes.

Not ALWAYS, anyway.