July 2024. Dereham. An absolute joy to meet up with Curry Charles (though blog debutant Julia was the star) properly again after a year or two of no more than exchanging smutty political cartoons on WhatsApp with the King of Double Entendres, whose hilarity is commemorated in our next Dereham pub, appropriately the GBG Cock,… Continue reading AT THE CHIME OF THE DEREHAM CLOCK

July 2024. Dereham. A whole (difficult) week spent in Waterbeach; we’d had enough of sleeping upstairs at Mum’s thatched cottage (rubbish Wi-Fi), so took advantage of the ultra-expensive UK hotel rates in the scruffy posterior of Norfolk and booked the Wetherspoons in Dereham on a gorgeous Monday evening. Free parking 6pm to 10am, round the… Continue reading DEREHAM SPOONS – GOOD ENOUGH FOR JOHN TRAVOLTA, GOOD ENOUGH FOR ME

July 2024. Attercliffe. Sheffield. A rare day at home in Sheffield (I spent more days in Waterbeach last month); an even rarer shopping expedition. The Rieker slip-on purchased a year ago have, after 3,488 miles of use, finally worn through, so it was finally time to take the tram back to Meadowhall and replace them… Continue reading SMODFEST AND A NEW PAIR OF SHOES

July 2024. Knaresborough. Mrs RM realised it wasn’t Ripon, it was Knaresborough that she’d wanted to pop in for her Instagram binge, which was lucky as we shortly passed the home of Mother Shipton escaping the chaos on the A1 , and needed a comfort break. Oddly I seem to have made a dozen trips… Continue reading So, what pub should we visit in Knaresborough next time ?

July 2024. Ripon. Yes, from ripping Yarm to Ripon yarns on the same trip. Some of you think no effort goes into this. The journey back from Sunderland was going smoothly till Boroughbridge, when the A1 had a sharp case of “amateur driver-itis“, as folk who haven’t driven since Easter hit the road for their… Continue reading RIPON YARNS

July 2024. East Boldon. Mrs RM began a 15 minute walk back to the metro while I headed to the Club to complete Tyne & Wear. I like to give her a head start, and recently she dislikes me walking ahead of her as I get in the way of her photos, so win-win. East… Continue reading TYNE AND WEAR FALLS AT THE MID BOLDON CLUB

July 2024. East Boldon. Some gorgeous/grotesque Sunderland art to bring you, but let’s finish the Tyne and Wear GBG chapter first. If I had unlimited time I’d analyse the final ticks in my favourite GBG county, but recently they’ve all been quirky micros, so it’s nice to finish this year in a quirky club. See… Continue reading CONSERVATION AREA, EAST BOLDON

Parked up at our “Boutique” Bed & Breakfast, it was time to explore Sunderland. There’s a lot of dead pub here, but we’re off to a live one, an actual new GBG entry in the heart of the city. I can’t believe I’d never been in the Peacock (or its Londonderry predecessor); I love a… Continue reading TOP 100 PUBS (No. 1973) – THE PEACOCK, SUNDERLAND

July 2024. Sunderland. I know that many of you rely on this site for your holiday tips, so here’s your monthly hotel recommendation when next visiting Super Sunderland. I’d picked the Boar’s Head because it’s “boutique”, perhaps in the meaning of the word used by “Woke” Ron Atkinson when asked about the role of women… Continue reading RETIRED MARTIN GOES BOUTIQUE BY THE WEAR

Time to finish the Welsh chapters of “Half A Dozen Pubs…” I reckon. I only “completed” West Wales for the first time in 2022; seventy pubs hidden around the sprawling coast and hidden down tiny lanes in unpronounceable hamlets. It was a magical journey. West Wales does pubs which open at 6pm and have blokes… Continue reading HALF A DOZEN PUBS IN EVERY GBG COUNTY – No. 58 – WEST WALES