retiredmartin

August 2026. Cardiff.

We’d booked two nights at the £31 a night edge of town Zip Hotel, a Premier Inn concept that doesn’t seem to have taken, off despite high spec capsule rooms and a “Pizza and Pint for a tenner” offer.

Because people are fusspots and can’t deal with windowless rooms.

I’d fancied a trip to the Mumbles on our second day, but Bonnie Tyler was being buried and Mrs RM hadn’t quite done Cardiff justice.

Westgate Street alongside the Principality Stadium looked rather different 24 hours on.

Lunchtime on Sunday saw the City Arms and Tiny Rebel thronged with Blues,

on Monday we had them to ourselves.

And we didn’t have to suffer plastic glasses for our pint of Cwtch, either.

Yes, yes, craft beer and exposed ducts,

but Tiny Rebel’s flagship is a youthful place promoting groundroots Welsh music,

and I’m still a fan of their beers, particularly the bubblegum gin sours that kept us going during Lockdown.

Just glancing back at this blog I see Tiny Rebel on cask pops up rarely, but is gorgeous when it does, which is a sign of a brewery that good pubs like.

Despite coping with long shifts (“and a few scuffles outside“) on match day, the young staff are great here, too, as young staff invariably are.

In fact, my only negative note is that the burger and beer are SO good it reminds me what a loss the original Newport Tap is.

Those of you who have seen Life After Football’s pics from Coventry may be pondering if that lunch was an entirely sensible dietary choice.