31st January 2023. 50 odd years after my first sighting of the ocean (possibly at Aldeburgh) there’s still a thrill about arriving at the sea. Sadly, Sheffield has many great features but the sea isn’t one of them. Bridgend may have limited charms, but the resorts and coastal villages are as good as anywhere, as… Continue reading ON SOUTHERNDOWN BEACH
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.
MARVELLOUS MAESTEG
31st January 2023. A foreign holiday to end the month, as I take the Prince of Wales Bridge into west Glamorgan for a few ticks, a pint with an esteemed reader of this blog, and a gig by Dutch popsters Amber Arcades. First stop, Maesteg. A year ago I was driving round here on the… Continue reading MARVELLOUS MAESTEG
TAKE IT (my Pad Thai) TO THE BANK
30th January 2023. A solo crawl that started at 14:20 ended at 19:50 with the inevitable 7th pub, the one you pop in when you’ve bought takeaway and really ought to be heading straight to the Premier Inn to make a mess over the towels Leaving the Monday bouncers at the Hatchet, I retraced my… Continue reading TAKE IT (my Pad Thai) TO THE BANK
NO HATCHET JOB
30th January 2023. With the Bristol cider pub closed and the Bass pub put of Bass, I succumbed to the inevitable and visited the “local recommended” preemptive for my 6th pub of the night. I’d never heard of the Hatchet, tucked away near the statue of the bloke with the dolphin. It’s the oldest pub… Continue reading NO HATCHET JOB
McARTHUR’S YARD IS MELTING IN THE DARK
30th January 2023 (still). Enough pubs, let’s have some art. With my five (5) Bristol ticks in the bag before six I realised I needed some sort of plan for the evening, other than the immediate one that involved finding a route back to my Premier Inn with a legal loo stop on it. I… Continue reading McARTHUR’S YARD IS MELTING IN THE DARK
AND SO TO BED(MINSTER)
30th January 2023. Going nap in Bristol now (no idea why we call a fivesome “going nap”), assuming we can call Bedminster part of Bristol. For all I know there’s a King of Bedminster and no-one pays taxes as long as they grow sour beers in their garages or something. Look, I just don’t know… Continue reading AND SO TO BED(MINSTER)
THE GOLDEN GUINEA
30th January 2023. From the Stag & Hounds in Bristol’s Old Market I headed back over the river to make sure the thieving Bristolians hadn’t stolen Mrs RM’s car, admire sunset against St Mary’s Redcliffe, and then head on to the Golden Guinea via the scary underpass on loan from Newport. I hadn’t noticed this… Continue reading THE GOLDEN GUINEA
THE JOY OF CREAKY PUBS
30th January 2023. Before you ask, I didn’t walk UP the 15 floors to my Haymarket Premier Inn, but I did walk down. The cheapest price I’ve ever paid for a central hotel in Premier Inn; is Monday the new Sunday ? Pub 3, a quick hop into the Old Market, which bizarrely gets its… Continue reading THE JOY OF CREAKY PUBS
DOWN (or is it up ?) TO ZERO (DEGREES)
30th January 2023. Apart from not getting a gig at the end, and the absence of the usual trip out to the more colourful northern suburbs, Monday in Bristol was as good as it gets for the GBG ticker (not that I’m ticking, just “tick curious”). Two good hours walking in dry, bright weather, a… Continue reading DOWN (or is it up ?) TO ZERO (DEGREES)
“Didn’t this used to be a Brewer’s Fayre ?”
30th January 2023. Three nights in Waterbeach, only one (1) Chung Hwa takeaway, but now time to leave Mum and Dad to enjoy some peace and head off down to Cardiff for the Amber Arcades gig. Mrs RM wanted to come with me but I made her stay in Sheffield while the water meter was… Continue reading “Didn’t this used to be a Brewer’s Fayre ?”
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