September 2023. Brasted, Kent. First things, first. Congratulations to Leon for his remarkable achievement in ticking the Spoons, ALL the Spoons. Here he is on the Wirral showing how you raise children properly. In pints, too, the only way to tick. No wonder Simon was first to congratulate him. There’s a Leon just up the… Continue reading THE PUB SIGN SWINGS IN THE BRASTED BREEZE…
Author: retiredmartin
Retired NHS, doing long walks around UK and the world to record the great bits. Focused on Good Beer Guide pubs and live music.
“Hey mate, watch my bag for a minute while I go and get a scratchcard”. Drug drama at Tonbridge Castle.
There are three things likely to improve your blog views. 1) Blogging from an unheralded town and slagging off its classier neighbour, 2) Queueing (especially in Spoons), 3) Tipping your beer in a plant pot. Let’s see if a reference to drugs can be added to our list. We needed to catch a bus back… Continue reading “Hey mate, watch my bag for a minute while I go and get a scratchcard”. Drug drama at Tonbridge Castle.
QUEUEING IN TONBRIDGE SPOONS
September 2023. Tonbridge. Three competing priorities at the moment; elderly family, cross-checking the new GBG, and keeping the blog up-to-date. I’m sure there’s other things to do like the garden but they can wait. So excuse the brevity of these posts, though I guess with Angela Rippon on Strictly Antique Bake-off you’ve got better things… Continue reading QUEUEING IN TONBRIDGE SPOONS
“Jug or straight ?”. For once, I make the WRONG choice in Tonbridge.
September 2023. Tonbridge (not Royal). Three (3) posts from the self-proclaimed Garden of England on a Tuesday night when Tonbridge suddenly made sense. Mrs RM and I have felt exhausted on our return from attending to parents, and that’s as much to do with being confined indoors and missing out on our 20,000 steps as… Continue reading “Jug or straight ?”. For once, I make the WRONG choice in Tonbridge.
LAMBERHURST – FOAMING JUGS, EFFUSIVE WELCOME, 60p OF MISUNDERSTANDING
September 2023. Lamberhurst, Tunbridge Wells. Weeks have taken on a fairly consistent shape in recent months. Weekends spent with my parents in Waterbeach attending to shopping, doctors appointments and Chung Hwa collections, followed by trips to Mrs RM’s Mum and Dad in Tunbridge Well to try and get my father-in-law back on his feet. We… Continue reading LAMBERHURST – FOAMING JUGS, EFFUSIVE WELCOME, 60p OF MISUNDERSTANDING
“I’m a back door man. The men don’t know, but the little girls understand.” Alix Page in Hoxton.
September 2023. Hoxton. You left me in the queue to see Alix Page at Colours (aka Lux) in Hoxton, ANOTHER new east London gig venue for me. I’d unwisely joined a queue at 7pm, as the ticket (a tenner) said doors at 7, and I wanted to discover the rich joys of the Colours beer… Continue reading “I’m a back door man. The men don’t know, but the little girls understand.” Alix Page in Hoxton.
CALLING BEER TWITTER….
September 2023. Hoxton. A pub and music double in London in the last glimmer of Summer; hard to beat. Just like teenage dreams. In truth, two pints was plenty pre-gig, despite the lure of Hackney, so I just gaped in awe at the glories on the way from Tower Hill to Old Street and hoped… Continue reading CALLING BEER TWITTER….
PRIDE DRINKING WELL IN TOWER HILL’S SHIP
September 2023. Tower Hill, London. A second randomly selected City of London pub before my Hoxton gig, and an annual chance to go “Wow” on the walk from Aldgate north of Tower Hill to the Ship. It’s that clash of modern and medieval that always gets me. Quiet on a September Monday in the City;… Continue reading PRIDE DRINKING WELL IN TOWER HILL’S SHIP
BASS MIRRORS IN FARRINGDON
September 2023. London. The first London trip of the new Beer Guide year is a season’s highlight, like Southampton away or a crispy beef and Singapore rice in the campervan in a town beginning with “Z”. Last year that first trip to the City didn’t happen till November, so 18th September is an early treat.… Continue reading BASS MIRRORS IN FARRINGDON
COMPLIMENTARY ROASTIES AND YORKIES ON THE BAR AT THE THARP ARMS
September 2023. Chippenham, near Newmarket. Honestly, it is near Newmarket, though the map is indignant that it’s on High Street, Ely, and Chippenham is a last refuge in that weird bit of Cambridgeshire that encompasses the smart horsey villages. I know this because the Waterbeach MP lives there, and you have to live in the… Continue reading COMPLIMENTARY ROASTIES AND YORKIES ON THE BAR AT THE THARP ARMS
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